Release Notes: 2017 Q4

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New Features

New Features

Improved Features

Bugfixes

Styling of text element

This is a new styling of text elements. It will give the element a white background, a coloured side bar, and a slightly smaller font. It can be useful to visually distinguish content.

In the element properties, under Appearance, select 'Wit met Zijlijn' and choose one of the TU Delft theme colours:

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Dynamic content overview - Card Layout

News and Agenda items are usually displayed in what is called a Dynamic Content Overview. The news / agenda feed on your page is one as well. There are several overview templates available, but there was great demand for a template that displayed the search results in a card layout. This has now been introduced, an example can be seen on the right.

Also, check out more Card Layout display options!

Styling is determined by the available content of the result pages, as well as custom settings in the overview element. All card variations (normal, half height, horizontal, and horizontal half height) are available to choose from, as well as the number of results per row.

Because the overviews are difficult to set up properly, changing from your current template to this new template is not done by editors. Please contact your local content manager to apply for this overview template.

‘Human Freedom in the Age of AI’ – recently published – has officially been launched!

How can we best conceptualize the impact of AI systems on Human Freedom? How can we design AI systems that promote, rather than harm, human freedom? These are the two main questions tackled in ‘Human Freedom in the Age of AI’.

Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. TU Delft drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home.

Results of initiatives on fossil industry cooperation

TU Delft is committed to supporting the energy transition and seeks to collaborate with partners who endorse this mission. The question how cooperation with the fossil fuel industry contributes to the energy transition is a topic of significant interest both within and outside the university. Last autumn, TU Delft introduced three initiatives which give students and staff the opportunity to actively contribute to this discussion. These initiatives included an online consultation, open dialogue sessions, and a moral deliberation chamber. The TU Delft community responded in large numbers to this invitation. It resulted in four recommendations that the university will be acting upon. These recommendations are summarised below. 1. Be transparent about collaboration All three initiatives revealed a strong desire within TU Delft for transparency about collaborations with the fossil fuel industry. This includes transparency about collaborations and the motivations behind them. In the online consultation, 80% of the nearly 3,000 participants chose to endorse full transparency. It was the most popular measure. 2. Foster and strengthen an open discussion culture The dialogues and meetings of the moral deliberation chamber took place in an open atmosphere and demonstrated that it is possible to have a constructive, substantive conversation in such a setting. There was a desire among participants for more dialogue on this topic. Recent findings from the Inspectorate of Education on social safety also confirm that TU Delft would do well to continue building an open discussion culture. The three initiatives, or variations thereof, can be useful tools in this regard. 3. Set conditions for collaboration with the fossil fuel industry The three initiatives revealed differing opinions on whether collaboration with the fossil fuel industry can help accelerate the energy transition. A majority of participants in the consultation chose to set conditions for collaboration (76%) – either for the partner (54%) or for the collaboration itself (58%). There was no widespread signal given to not enter into new collaborations or stop current ones. 4. Determine TU Delft's role in the energy transition 94% of the participants in the online consultation believe that TU Delft has an important role to play in the energy transition. However, what exactly this role entails and how we want to fulfil it is not yet sufficiently clear. Therefore, the conversation on this topic will continue. What is the ambition of TU Delft, and what responsibilities lie with scientists, other staff members, students, and administrators? How do we translate new insights into action? Can we find new ways to combine our strengths with other universities? The Executive Board of TU Delft adopted these recommendations. The Executive Board has given the green light to develop, among other things, a framework for new collaborations with the fossil fuel industry. A core team specifically established for this purpose will take on this task. More information Below you find the information on which the recommendations are based. ​​​​​​​Advice to the Executive Board on collaboration with the fossil fuel industry Management summary open deliberation chamber Results of the online consultation Report on the open dialogues
Fountain

A better picture of the subsurface thanks to data assimilation

Max Ramgraber, geowetenschapper bij de TU Delft, ontvangt een NWO Veni-beurs om de ondergrond beter in kaart te brengen. Informatie over de vaak lastig bereikbare diepte zijn schaars, en gaan vaak gepaard met statistische onzekerheid. Daarom werkt Ramgraber aan een statistische methode waarbij hij verschillende, vaak complexe, data combineert.
Sandcastle on the beach

Revealing coastal sediment pathways

Stuart Pearson, coastal engineer at TU Delft, receives a NWO Veni grant to investigate sediment pathways. He will specifically focus on tracking individual sand grains. Revealing the interconnected network of sediment pathways that shape our coast will help us to better manage the sediment that builds ecosystems and protects us against flooding. Dunes are important barriers to protect The Netherlands from flooding. To maintain the coastline and its sandy protectors, coastal engineers try to understand the natural system. This way they can better plan effective future coastal adaptations. S.G. (Stuart) Pearson S.G.Pearson@tudelft.nl Chaos The coast is constantly on the move. Sand is chronically being eroded and then accumulated elsewhere. But where? Stuart Pearson is zooming in to an unprecedented scale and wants to find out which paths specific grains of sand follow between different places on the coast. It is extremely challenging to track the grains, and not only because they all look the same. Sediment transport is influenced by waves and currents and moves in all directions. “It looks like one big chaotic mess”, Pearson says. “I consider coasts as an interconnected network of sediment pathways, like a subway map showing how stations are linked. This connectivity reveals the hidden structure underlying chaotic sediment pathways.” Coloured sand in a big pool To discover these pathways, Pearson will start to work on an experiment in a laboratory beach. Since it is nearly impossible to distinguish individual grains, he came up with a colourful idea. In a wave basin the size of an Olympic swimming pool at Deltares, he will construct a beach divided into areas with different colours of sand. “I developed a technique to create a dataset of the grains’ movements. Cameras will follow the basin from above and identify where the different colours end up, and especially via which path they arrive there.” Validating numerical models During his PhD, Pearson worked on a field experiment where he tracked fluorescent green sand at the Wadden islands. “Measuring sand paths in the wild is very difficult”, he explains. “I was able to see where some of the green sand went, but that only tells us about a small part of the coastal system. I want to understand the pathways between every part of the system, and we can only do that in the lab.” Pearson developed numerical models to investigate plausible pathways. He is looking forward to the new opportunities coming on his own path with this grant. “I hope to prove with new lab experiments that the model is physically representing the right processes. And next to that, I hope that other researchers can validate their models of sediment transport through my dataset.”

Nejc Geržinič presents his work at IATBR conference

On July 14-18, the 17 th International Conference on Travel Behavior Research took place in Vienna, Austria. During this conference, SPTL member Nejc Geržinič shared his work on "The potential of microtransit for regional commute". The slides of his presentation can be found here .

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Tabs as Grid Elements

What changed?

Tabs were difficult to manage, especially when you wanted to re-use and swap content from other pages. Therefore, the tab element has been redesigned for a more user-friendly interface, a better overview of the embedded content, and the added possibility to cut/paste and reference elements in it.

The old Tab element still exists and is not automatically replaced, but will be phased out. For this purpose, the old version has been disabled for editing. In the following weeks, we'll be changing all existing Tab Elements to Tabs Grids. Should you however come across an old Tab Element and you find yourself unable to edit it, please contact your local content manager.

How can I create a new Tabs Grid?

Tabs Grids are created like all other grids. When creating a new element, under Grid Elements, select Tabs grid. This will place a grid on your page with 5 rows, each row representing one of the tabs.

  • The Header in the first element of each tab will also be the title of that tab. So for instance, in this case, the Header of this text element ('How can I create ...') is adapted as Tab title.
  • You can select a colour theme by editing the Tabs Grid properties; under Appearance, select a theme (see fig.)
  • If you don't put any content in a tab, it will be invisible.

 

Any tips and tricks?

When you don't want to start a tab with a header (for instance, when it's an image), you still need to tell Typo3 which title to use for this tab. You can do so by creating a 'Header Only' element, and under Type, select 'Hidden'. This will not show the header inside your tab, but it will be adopted as Tab title.

 

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Youtube video in Header Slider

It is now possible to put a video in the Header Slider on top of any page. 

If you want to add a Youtube video to your header-slider, just paste the youtube URL in the link field of a slide; a play button will be shown on your slide, and a pop-up style video will play when the button is pushed.

Like all slides, this feature also requires you to upload an image.

View an example!

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Full Width page template

This page combines the regular Content page with the Homepage. Its features are identical to the Homepage format in many ways, but it adds the bread crumb on top, so visitors can easily find their way back.

This layout was frequently created with a workaround (Content Page with Left Column, combined with specific element settings), which is why an official option has been included instead. 

To create this layout, go to the page properties, under Appearance, select the Backend Layout 'Content page that is full width'.
(feature renaming can hopefully be included in our next release)

This page is actually an example of this layout. Click 'To Top' to view the breadcrumb.

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Special Page template

This is another new page template (see: Full Width page template). This layout is designed for a long-read format, by dividing the screen in two halves; the left one is designated for images, the right one for all content. There is also a special connection between picture and content, enabling a nice scrolling experience.
Try it out!

This layout is particularly useful for magazine-style pages.

To create this layout:

  • go to the page properties; under Appearance, select the Backend Layout 'Special Page' (see fig.).

  • On this new page, create a new element; under Grid Elements, select Special Container (see fig.). This grid consists of two columns.

  • In the left column, you place a 'Special Image' element.
    This is the image that is displayed stationary alongside the scrolling content on the right; when the visitor is at the end of the content in this Special Container, the image will scroll up, and display the next Special Container.

  • In the right column, you place a normal 100% Grid element.

  • In the element properties of this Grid Element, under Appearance, select 'Used for content on special pages..' (see fig.).

  • Inside this 100% grid, you can place all elements to your liking.

The last steps, creating a 100% grid, are necessary to create the Special layout as it was designed. This element layout compresses the width of the elements within - otherwise, the text would run the entire width of the column.

 

View the new Special Template

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Facts and Figures element

This is a new element to display, for instance, facts and figures.

To create this, add a new Fact element inside a grid. Under Theme, select the header colour.
Then, edit the grid properties, go to the tab Appearance, and choose a background colour under 'Theme'.

Please note: the fact element only properly works in combination with this coloured grid background.

What is the coolest new feature?
Fact Element
How many features are in this new release?
40
Number of new features
11

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Coloured grid background

The background colour feature for grids can also be used without a fact element. It may for instance be useful for magazine-type pages, to highlight a specific text.

Two layout guidelines:

  • Dont overdo it! These coloured grids are very dominant. Don't create an abstract piece of art.
  • See if you should add top and bottom margins (under Appearance), to prevent the grid from overlapping with other elements. 

To create this, edit the grid properties, go to the tab Appearance, and choose a background colour under 'Theme':

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Notification element

This element can be used to draw attention to a certain part of your website, or a call-to-action (for instance, when an application deadline is approaching). You can add one or two buttons. The element is available in all TU Delft theme colours.

To create this, add a new Notification element. Enter a header, text, and theme, and, optionally, one or two buttons. The buttons can either be white or transparent.

Notification element

These are not the only release notes; they are only the new elements. Check out our improvements and bug fixes!

Improvements Bug fixes

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Read More-toggle

This option allows you, in a Text element, to hide paragraphs under a 'read more'-line (as seen below).

To create this, in the Rich Text Editor (RTF) of the Text element, stand in the text on the desired location. Click on 'Insert Custom Element', then 'Tudelft', then 'Insert Readmore'. An orange marker will appear in your text.

To demonstrate this, a piece of literary history:

Alice

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. ‘Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,’ thought Alice; ‘only, as it’s asleep, I suppose it doesn’t mind.’Read more

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: ‘No room! No room!’ they cried out when they saw Alice coming. ‘There’s plenty of room!’ said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

‘Have some wine,’ the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. ‘I don’t see any wine,’ she remarked.

‘There isn’t any,’ said the March Hare.

‘Then it wasn’t very civil of you to offer it,’ said Alice angrily.

‘It wasn’t very civil of you to sit down without being invited,’ said the March Hare.

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Image side caption

An option has been added to display a caption next to an image. This was a feature in the original design, and works well in storytelling articles.

To create this, go the the element properties, under Appearance, and choose 'Image fullwidth with caption'.
On the General tab, under Description, fill in the caption text.

The caption can now be placed next to the image.

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