Pressbooks Overview

2 The Admin Interface

Last update: Apr 16/20

Select the blue “i” cons in the following image to explore the admin interface in Pressbooks.

Once an account and book have been created in Pressbooks, the Dashboard or Dashboard page is where the account holder is directed after logging in. The account holder is also automatically assigned as the Administrator and has access to all functions listed on the Dashboard. Lesser roles, such as Editor, AuthorContributor, and Subscriber, do not see/access all of these tools. (See Provide Access to Others.)

The Dashboard is also where an author will spend most of their time writing and where links to various tools and functions can be found. This chapter provides an overview of the Dashboard.

IMPORTANT: If you have been assigned a user role other than Administrator, you will not have access to the “Users” or “Settings” panels.

"" For more information, see Navigating the Pressbooks Menus in the Pressbooks User Guide.

My Catalogue

The My Catalogue link in the top red toolbar allows you to create a new book, clone a book, and see and select all books in your Pressbooks Catalogue. (See Add a New Book and Clone a Book.) You can also locate the Dashboard for a specific book as follows:

  • Scroll over “My Catalogue.”
  • Select the arrow by a book.
  • Select “Dashboard” to access the edit view.
  • Select “Visit Book” to access the webbook or reader view.

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On a book’s Dashboard, various tools are listed in the left-hand column Dashboard menu, the parts and chapters of the book are in the middle, and users who have access to the book are shown in a Users box on the far right.

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"" For more information, see My Catalog in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Most major Pressbooks features are found on the Dashboard menu. These are described below.

Organize

Pressbooks icon.For more information, see Organize in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Book Info

Pressbooks icon.For more information, see Book Info in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Appearance

Themes

Pressbooks core has created 20 themes, each with different styles (font, headings, etc.) and features. These can be viewed and activated from navigating to the Appearance tab in the Dashboard menu and clicking “Themes.” Scrolling over a specific theme option reveals a Theme details box that, when clicked, describes the theme.

The BCcampus instance of Pressbooks provides seven of the 20 themes. They are:

  • Austen Classic
  • Clarke
  • Donham
  • Fitzgerald
  • Jacobs
  • Luther
  • McLuhan

Pressbooks icon.For more information, see Selecting Your Book Theme in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Theme options

Pressbooks icon.For more information, see Theme Options in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Recommended PDF Theme Options

While most of the theme options are completely up to your preference, we recommend the following settings to ensure your PDF displays well:

  • Page size: US Letter
  • Paragraph separation: Skip lines between paragraphs

Custom styles

Pressbooks icon. For more information, see Custom Styles in the Pressbooks User Guide.

 

The following are Custom Styles that BCcampus applies to books we publish: BCcampus Custom Styles for Pressbooks Books

Export

Pressbooks icon.For more information, see Export in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Publish

This page offers a list of BUY link with various eBook stores and print-on-demand vendors.

Plugins

This page lists the three plugins that can be activated within the BCcampus Pressbooks instance. (See Plugin Features.)

Media

The Media tab is where all media for a book—images, videos, audio—are uploaded. Click “Add New” to upload media content or click “Library” to see and manage media you have uploaded previously. Media in the Library can be embedded or linked to in the content of your book. (See Images and Files and Media Attributions.) It has the following options:

  • Library
  • Add New
"" For more information, see Media: Images & Best Practices and Image Editing in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Users

The Users tab is where a book Administrator can add other people to their book. (See Provide Access to Others.) It has the following options:

  • All Users
  • Add New
  • Your Profile

Tools

Settings

The Settings tab contains numerous options for privacy and exporting and for displaying formulas with the MathJax tool (used for rendering mathematical formulas).

  • Sharing & Privacy
"" See Privacy Settings: Global and Chapter-level in the Pressbooks User Guide.
"" See Math in Pressbooks in the Pressbooks User Guide.
The below videos are from the Pressbooks Video Tutorial Series.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Pressbooks Guide Copyright © 2016-2022 by OER Production Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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