Product Overview
Technology
Server Platform
Titan CMS is designed to operate on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 32-bit operating system.
Web Server
Titan CMS leverages Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 as its web server technology for Web Services, the Titan CMS Workstation (content administration interface), and the primary website application.
User Authentication
Titan CMS utilizes Microsoft Active Directory Application Mode (AD/AM) to store user accounts and to perform user authentication. As a result, Titan CMS benefits from the built-in capabilities of AD/AM to ability to inherit its security model from Active Directory Domain Policy, including password length and complexity requirements.
In addition, Titan CMS provides development interfaces for extending authentication to other Directory Service systems, including Novell eDirectory, Netscape LDAP, and Microsoft Active Directory.
Application Framework
Titan CMS is developed on the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5.
Recent versions of Titan CMS (version 4.5 and higher), are enabled to utilize the built-in AJAX support of .NET 3.5. This gives custom component developers the flexibility to utilize the latest development technologies in the .NET Framework.
Languages
C#, JavaScript, XSL, CSS
Databases
The Titan CMS database is built on Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Using the CLR integration services available in SQL 2005, Titan CMS can also integrate with other database technologies like Oracle, for adding custom functionality to a Titan CMS website.
API
Many of the core features of Titan CMS are extensible. Developer documentation covering common development tasks is available to Titan CMS users through the Titan CMS Workstation. Supporting API documentation on the Titan CMS Web Services is available upon request. Access to source code is negotiable for Enterprise license holders.
Installation
Online How To
Watch this installation video for an overview on installing Titan CMS. Not including the prerequisite configuration steps, a standard single-server installation of Titan CMS takes approximately 1-2 hours.
Download Site
You can download Titan CMS from this website. Please contact Northwoods Software Development (414-434-8200) to gain access to the download page.
Documentation
Installation documentation is included with the Titan CMS installer.
Support
Online Help
You can browse the Support section of this website for help on a number of topics.
Tutorials
There are a growing number of video and textual tutorials available on this website.
Training Classes
We offer several Titan CMS Training courses to meet the needs of a variety of users. The four main courses we offer include:
- Content Author Basics
Covers the use of the Titan CMS Workstation and how to use the page action bar, Edit tabs, CMS tree, add, copy, delete pages, work with text, links, photos and styles, basic SEO techniques and more.
- Power User Training
Covers the functionality of additional blocks, Forms, FAQ, What’s New, and others to enhance the display of your content. Learn additional techniques for enhancing the organization and delivery of your content.
- Website Administration
Covers how to add and remove users, maintain workflow, setup commenting and rating, schedule jobs, manage smart search results and more.
- Advanced Power User Training
Covers how to use advanced content blocks, filter, calendar, and photo. Additionally those attending this advanced class will learn how to “fine tune” existing content and advanced SEO techniques.
Help Desk
You can submit support questions any time through our website.
For customers with Maintenance and Support Agreements, you can call Titan CMS Support at 414-434-8300. Titan CMS Support is available between the hours of 9:00AM and 5:00PM U.S. Central Time.
Content Creation
Acquisition
Supported File Types
A standard installation of Titan CMS is preconfigured to support over 50 well-known, commonly used file types, including several rich media (video and audio) formats, as well as Microsoft Office 2007 file types.
File and Image Importing
Titan CMS includes a scheduled file import tool for automatically uploading and synchronizing external files with Titan CMS Doc Management. Image assets can be uploaded with the ability to configure automatic thumbnail creation.
Inherited/Propagated Content
Streamline the content entry process in Titan CMS by utilizing automatic property inheritance. New content items can automatically inherit layout, navigation, security, and workflow configurations.
Metadata Management
Titan CMS enables content authors to have granular control over the most relevant Metatag elements - Title, Keywords, and Description. Titan CMS automatically populates the Title and Keywords metatags with the name given a content page.
Browser-based Content Authoring
MS Office tools are ubiquitous and most users are already familiar with them. The Titan CMS WYSIWYG Editor minimizes training by providing content authors with an intuitive environment that they already understand. There is no content-authoring software to install and users can login from anywhere using Internet Explorer 7 or FireFox 2.
Authoring
Content Blocks
Titan CMS has an extensive list of standard content blocks for creating content on your website.
Templated Page Layouts
Layouts (templates) designed for different sections of a website - or for different websites - allow for flexible content delivery. Layouts can be created for multi-channel delivery: Web, intranet, extranet, print, or wireless. Layouts allow for re-purposed content and can deliver standard features like -- "print this page" -- automatically to every page of the web site.
How to Change the Page Layout
Content Properties
Every page, file, and event in Titan CMS can leverage a variety of common properties.
- Page Name / Page Title
- Friendly URL
- Start/End Dates
- Metatag Keywords
- Metatag Description
- Short/Long Teaser Text
- Teaser Images and Alt Text
- SSL
- Navigation Caching Prioritization
- Navigation Zones
- What's New
- Auditing
- Indexing (for search)
- Sharing
- Customizable Fields
Content Tagging
Every page, file, or event can leverage the Titan CMS Filter/Tag/Classification engine to categorize content into logical groupings that can be utilized in filtered content.
Multi-Tag and Edit
With a long list of content items from an Advanced Search, or simple list of items in a branch of the tree, you can tag multiple items and make bulk edits on Properties, Tags, Security, etc. For example, Multi-tag your expiring items, reset their End Dates, and Publish - all in one fell swoop. Or, propagate changes to metadata fields over several common content pages at one time.
Full Preview
With version 4 of Titan CMS, we have improved the Preview feature to be a full content preview, complete with full design, navigation, and content for the entire page. You can quickly do a side-by-side comparison of the live copy and the version being edited. This can help you quickly spot content changes or inconsistencies, which greatly simplifies reviewing different versions of content or approving new work.
Previewing extends into Doc Management to allow previews of external files (supporting programs/viewers required to view documents).
Content Management
Workflow
Flexible Workflow Definitions
Every enterprise has unique processes for developing, approving, and publishing content. Titan CMS allows you to define and implement workflows that that match your process. Because Titan CMS is browser-based, you can easily incorporate third-party contributors into your workflows; for example, a representative of your public relations firm, or a content translations service in another country.
Workflow Email Notifications
Titan CMS workflow can be configured to sends status emails to authors, editors, and administrators regarding changes in workflow state of an item. Email notices can be scheduled to send immediately upon a state change, or on a nightly basis. Notice emails can be sent for expiring documents, documents pending approval, and documents entering edit state.
Notes
Every page, file, or event maintains a simple notes field that carries over all versions. Use these notes as a way to relay information with authors/editors regarding background on changes, purpose for content, etc.
Versioning
Versioning History with Rollback
By archiving previous versions of all content, including managed files and documents, Titan CMS allows you to compare any two content versions or to rollback to a previous one. Having the historical data makes it possible to retrieve snapshots of all content at a given point in time - often required for legal, archival, and disaster-recovery purposes.
Scheduled Activation and Expiration
Titan CMS content can be scheduled for automatic activation and/or expiration on a future date, enabling authors and editors to plan ahead and keep content updated.
Personalization
Novice User Interface
Titan CMS offers "Titan Lite", a configurable administrative interface with less complex functionality. This reduced feature interface will be easier to learn and adapt to for novice users.
Dashboard
The Titan CMS Dashboard is a great tool for quickly accessing content that needs your attention, items you've worked on recently, and your most popular content.
Session Edit History
When editing your content, Titan CMS allows you to switch through the various tabs to make a series of modifications without having to save. The items you have changed that are waiting to be saved are summarized in this report.
Storage
Data Format
Titan CMS utilizes Microsoft SQL 2005 to store content, HTML, and configuration information as XML.
Files
Titan CMS is configurable for external file storage. Standard Titan CMS installations leverage the OS File System for storage of the media, and the SQL database for keeping related metadata. The storage medium for external files can be separated from the Web Server onto a Storage Area Network or other File Server.
Security
HTTPS and SSL / TLS Support
HTTPS is a method for establishing secure HTTP connections using SSL or TSL as an encryption layer for the traffic to a website. Supporting these protocols is accomplished primarily through server configuration, but Titan CMS does include the additional functionality needed to configure your content for HTTPS connections.
IPSec
IPSec is a network layer encryption protocol commonly used for securing VPN connections. Titan CMS, as a website management system can easily operate in this type of network environment.
SAML
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an XML standard used to implement single sign-on for web-based applications between secure web domains. When integrating web-based applications with disparate authentication mechanisms, SAML is a sound approach - and Titan CMS can fit into that solution seamlessly.
Content Delivery
Publishing
Separation of Content from Presentation
Titan CMS content is stored and managed separately from the presentation layer, ensuring enforcement of corporate design standards. IT professionals are more productive because they can edit and reuse templates while content creators focus on writing.
Syndication
Sitemap XML
Titan CMS is enabled by default to deliver an XML sitemap feed of your websites pages that can be utilized by utilities like Google Webmaster.
RSS
Titan CMS is enabled by default to deliver a dynamic RSS feed of What's New content from your website. Additionally, Titan CMS can be configured to filter and aggregate tagged pages, files, or events into a standard RSS feed format.
Content Lifecycle
Security
Users and Groups
Titan CMS supports an unlimited number of Users and Groups, which are commonly used to administer both secured access to content on the website and for Workstation access to author and edit content. Titan CMS provides several demographical fields for a user and these values can be leveraged on the website to render personalized content.
Content Authorization
Titan CMS controls user authorization to for every page, file, or event. Access to content can be locked-down to specific groups or categories of Titan CMS users. Authorization to secured or targeted content is granted using ASP.NET Forms Authentication and a built-in Titan CMS Login form.
Granular user permissions allow technology professionals to control not only the pages that each user can access, but also the features accessible to them.
Performance
Navigation Caching
Navigation data is the most frequently requested element of a Titan CMS website. For that reason, Titan CMS supports three varieties of navigation caching to optimize system performance for public and private websites.
Page Response Times
No website technology can guarantee specific page response times. There are simply too many environmental variables to consider. For that reason, every release of Titan CMS is load tested for thousands of simultaneous users to identify possible performance constraints and to remedy critical performance issues.
Load Balancing (Corporate or Enterprise Edition)
Titan CMS supports the use of load balancing hardware appliances or software systems. Acceptable load balancing systems must accommodate Sticky Sessions, which will provide the most consistent user experience, especially on secured websites. Load balancing is supported under the Corporate or Enterprise license models only.
Extensibility
Customizable Interfaces
Titan CMS was designed with several extensible user interfaces. By modifying configuration data available throughout the system, you can modify the behavior many features, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Titan Lite (Novice User) Interface
- Mobile format Websites
- Custom Property Fields
- Freeform WYSIWYG Editor toolbars
- User Properties tabs
- Dashboard Widgets
- Titan CMS Workstation Modules
- Grid Views for various content types
Functional Extension
Titan CMS can be extended by adding your own customizations. Titan CMS supports the development of the following:
- Background Tasks
- Data Sites
- Blocks
- Block XSLs
- Page Layouts
- Page Parts (.NET Server Controls used on Page Layouts)
- CSS files
- Authentication Modules
- Other standard .NET components (HttpHandlers, HttpModules, Web Services, User Controls, etc)
Analytics
Statistics
When a page, file, or event has Auditing enabled, Titan CMS tracks the page view statistics for that item. Those statistics are aggregated and presented to give basic details on traffic to that content.
Third Party Tools
Titan CMS integrates seamlessly with third party traffic analysis tools like Google Analytics and WebTrends.
Search
Advanced Searching
In the Titan CMS administrative Workstation application, a search box and Advanced Search option make it possible to get to the items you're interested in quickly. Advanced search exposes all the additional properties of your content as searchable fields to help you aggregate the items that you need to modify.