Enable the Document Finder and Media A to Z

The document finder is a page where staff can find forms, policies and other files in the media library by searching, by first letter, by document type or by category. It is provided by the (Govintra) Media A to Z plugin, not by the theme itself, so the first step is to install and activate that plugin. Once it is active you get two page templates and three ways of classifying files in the media library.

Install and activate the Media A to Z plugin

  1. Download the plugin from the Govintra plugins page: (Govintra) Media A to Z.
  2. Go to Plugins, then Add New, then Upload Plugin, choose the file and select Install Now.
  3. Select Activate.

There is no switch for the document finder in the theme’s Options screens; activating the plugin is all that is needed. The old Media Categories plugin is not required and can be deactivated if it is still installed.

What the plugin adds to the media library

Three classification panels appear on every file’s edit screen in the media library, and three new lists appear under the Media menu:

  • Media A to Z: the letters a file is listed under in the finder’s A to Z. This is separate from the A to Z used for pages and tasks.
  • Document types: kinds of document, such as Forms, Policies, Presentations and Posters. You create the list.
  • Categories: the same categories as tasks and guides, now available on files too, so a form can sit in the same category as the guide that explains it.

Administrators can create and edit the letters and document types under Media. Contributors, Authors and Editors can assign them to files but not add new ones. Setting them up and tagging files is covered in Add documents to the document finder.

The two page templates

Both templates list the same documents; they differ in where the filters sit. Create a page, choose the template in the Page Attributes box and publish it. See Create a document finder page template.

  • Document finder: the filters are stacked in a left-hand sidebar: a search box, an A to Z letter bar, a list of document types and a list of categories. Suits a page with many types and categories. See Document finder template.
  • Media A to Z: the filters run in a row across the top: search box, letter bar, and drop-down lists for document type and category. Suits a simpler collection. See Media A to Z template.

Anything you write in the page’s content appears above the filters, so use it for a short line about what the page holds and who to contact about missing documents.

Page settings: the Filters box

When either template is selected, a Filters box appears under the editor.

  • Show filters: tick which of Search, A to Z, Document type and Category to show. At least one is required. A new page shows all four until you save a choice. The Document type and Category filters only appear once there are terms with documents in them.
  • Show page links: off by default. When on, each document shows a link to the page it belongs to: the page it was uploaded to, and any page that lists it in its Documents panel. When a file is used on several pages the link opens into a list of them.
  • Link text: the wording of that link. The default is “View in context”. Appears when Show page links is on.

How the finder lists documents

With no filter chosen, the page lists every file that has a document type or a category, in title order, 25 to a page. Files with neither are not shown until someone searches or picks a letter, so give every document a type. Each result links straight to the file, with an icon for its kind (PDF, Word, spreadsheet and so on). The search box matches words in a file’s title, caption and description; it does not read inside the file.

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