Setting up the Drupal Module for the Editorial Calendar Software Kordiam

Short feature description

The module connects Kordiam (formerly Desk-Net) with a Drupal site and syncs data between the two systems.

There are two main use cases for syncing data:

1. A story is planned and coordinated in Kordiam. The meta-data of that story is sent to Drupal, where an article is created. Updates made to the story in Drupal are synced back to Kordiam.
2. Breaking news and other stories are created or published in Drupal. The module automatically creates a story list entry in Kordiam.

Learn more about the Kordiam and Drupal integration.

Before you start

The following conditions must be met before you can integrate Kordiam and Drupal:

• You must be a Kordiam customer or have a trial account (learn more about Kordiam and get your free trial)
• You must have received the API credentials for your Kordiam account. If you have a Kordiam account, please create your API-credentials here.
• You must have admin access to a Drupal site (version 7.54 or higher). This site must not be placed behind a firewall, i.e. it must be accessible via the internet.

Installing the module

Install the module in your Drupal backend via the Downloads section.

Once installed you will see a line entry called "Desk-Net" on the Modules page in the Administration section.

Connecting Kordiam and Drupal

You need to "inform" both systems about the other's login credentials. You do this in two steps.

1. Kordiam to Drupal
   

   In the Drupal backend, go to the tab "Drupal Credentials" in the Kordiam module. Keep this page open and access your Kordiam account.

   In Kordiam go to the list of platforms in the admin area and select the platform you want to connect for editing. Access the tab "Advance Settings".

   At "Data export / API" select "Drupal". At least for now, don’t alter the setting "All statuses".

   Now enter the URL, API User, and API Secret data that is displayed in Drupal into the corresponding fields in Kordiam. Don't forget to click Save.

   You may want to test the connection by clicking Test connection.
   
   
2. Drupal to Desk-Net
   

   In the Drupal backend go to the page "Kordiam Credentials" in the Kordiam module.

   Enter the API credentials that you have received from Kordiam and click Save.

That’s it! Now your Kordiam account and your Drupal site are connected.

Configuring the module

Once you have connected Drupal and Kordiam, the two systems start exchanging data.

Now you can define in more detail how and when data should be synced. This is done on the following pages in the Kordiam module:

• Match status levels
• Match categories
• Define content import settings

Matching status levels

In Kordiam, stories have several status levels. In Drupal, the only status levels are Unpublished and Published.

You can map these status levels between the two systems so that a status change in Drupal is immediately and appropriately reflected in Kordiam (and vice versa).

To do so, access the tab “Status Matching” in the Kordiam module in Drupal. It displays two sections:

1. "Kordiam to Drupal": On the left you find the status levels of your Kordiam account. (They can be customized in the Kordiam admin area.)
   
   The menus on the right list the Drupal status levels.

   Using these menus, you can define what status should be set in Drupal depending on what status is set in Kordiam.

   The module also displays the "status" Deleted/Removed, allowing you to define what status should be set in Drupal if a story is removed in Kordiam.
   
   

2. "Drupal to Kordiam": Use this section to define what status level in Kordiam should be set depending on the status level set in Drupal.

Matching categories

The categories in Kordiam and Drupal can be matched on the tab “Category Matching” in the same way the status levels are matched (see above).

Content Settings

Users can upload content in Kordiam. This content is then exported to Drupal.

The module allows you to define where this content should be exported to:

• Media files can be inserted into the article's body AND get stored in the Media Library.
• Alternatively, you can tell the module to move the files to the Media Library only (media files are NOT inserted into the article’s body).
• Text will always be added directly to the article's body.

Note: To import pictures into the article's body, you need to have the WYSIWYG editor installed.
Note: Content matching is only possible in the Kordiam module for Drupal 7.

Uploaded content is never inserted into articles with the Published status in Drupal.

User Matching

The module automatically matches user profiles in Kordiam and Drupal based on email address.

If an email address exists in both systems, the corresponding user is matched.

If a story with multiple assignees is created in Kordiam, the module tries to match the email address of the assignee of the first text assignment.