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iTunes U Update Aug 18, 2008

Page history last edited by S. Landau, PM 15 years, 7 months ago

 


Dear iTunes U Administrator,

 

With today's update to iTunes U we are announcing the following enhancements and changes:

 

  •     Introduction of Apple ID Based Site Administration
  •     Introduction of Advanced and Basic Access Control
  •     Subcategories for iTunes U in the iTunes Store
  •     Additional Criteria for Smart Groups
  •     Top Downloads for Welcome Pages
  •     User Identity Information Display Change
  •     Introduction of Apple ID Based Site Administration

 

Apple ID Based Site Administration

 

Site administrators can now log in to their iTunes U site using an Apple ID and password. Using an Apple ID to log in to your site provides a new way, in addition to using a transfer script, to administer your site and can be helpful for sites where only a few administrators and less access control is needed.

 

With this new feature, there are now both primary administrator and administrator accounts. Be sure to select your site's primary administrator carefully as this is the person capable of doing everything that administrators can do, and is the only person responsible for adding and removing additional Apple ID based administrators. Granting an administrator role provides the same permissions as the existing "Administrator" credential.

 

To enable this feature for your site:

 

    1. Access your iTunes U site as a site administrator.

    2. Click Edit Site Settings in your root page.

    3. Set your site's primary administrator by typing a valid Apple ID and password in the Primary Administrator Account section.

    4. Click Save.

 

In order to take advantage of this new feature, and begin editing and adding other administrators to your site, log out and log back in to your site as the primary administrator using your site's administrator SignIn URL.

 

Note: You can still access your iTunes U site with your transfer script whether or not you set a primary administrator for your site.

 

Introduction of Advanced and Basic Access Control

 

Some institutions have found that they only need to provide administrative access and public visitor access to their iTunes U sites, making custom credentials unnecessary. For these sites, Apple developed a simplified access control called "basic access control".

 

To use this feature:

 

  1. Log in to your iTunes U site as the primary administrator.
  2. Click Edit Site Settings in your root page.
  3. Choose Basic in the Site Access Control section.
  4. Click Save.

 

iTunes U returns you to your root page, hides the Edit Access link from the Tools area, and displays the Page Access option in the Tools area so you can specify on a per-page basis whether you want your content to be public, private, or inherited. The Page Access pop-up menu is available to all administrators on all Welcome, Public Feature, and Course pages.

 

Subcategories for iTunes U in the iTunes Store   

 

iTunes U in the iTunes Store now supports subcategories, allowing users to view content within Category pages based on the subcategories you defined for tracks.  If a Category page has associated subcategories, iTunes U displays the subcateogry pop-up menu next to the selected category name within the Categories box. Users can then choose a subcategory to display from the pop-up menu.

 

Note: iTunes U does not display subcategories until there is sufficient content to feature on the page.

 

Additional Criteria for Smart Groups

 

You can now create a Smart group based on a track's Release Date, enabling you to feature newly available tracks by searching for release dates that fall within the last x number of days.

 

Top Downloads for Welcome Pages

 

In addition to Public Feature pages, you can now add a Top Downloads box to your root Welcome pages. The Top Downloads box is only available for root Welcome pages, and only if your site is included in the iTunes Store

 

User Identity Information Display Change

 

iTunes U updated the way it displays user information with the identity token data key. The identity key value is defined by the following four components: displayName, emailAddress, username, and userIdentifier. This update changes how these components are used in the navigation bar and log and reporting files:

 

Navigation Bar

 

Previously, if username did not exist within your identity token data key, the iTunes U navigation bar displayed emailAddress. If emailAddress did not exist, iTunes U displayed userIdentifier. If userIdentifier did not exist, iTunes U displayed displayName.

 

With this update, if you provide displayName within your identity token data key, the iTunes U navigation bar displays "displayName@SiteName". Where SiteName represents your site's display name as specified in the Edit Site Settings page. If you do not provide displayName within your identity token data key, iTunes U displays only SiteName in the navigation bar.

 

Log and Reporting Files

 

Previously, if username did not exist within your identity token data key, the iTunes U log and reporting files displayed emailAddress. If emailAddress did not exist, iTunes U displayed userIdentifier. If userIdentifier did not exist, iTunes U displayed displayName.  With this update, iTunes U displays user information in the log and reporting files based on the following identity key value component order:

 

  •     userIdentifier
  •     username@domainName
  •     emailAddress
  •     displayName@domainName
  •     member@itunesu.com (displayed if no identity information provided)
  •     If a user is visiting a public site, iTunes U displays visitor@itunesu.com in the log and reporting files.
  •     For more information, see the iTunes U Administrator's Guide.

 

Sincerely,

The iTunes U Team

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