10. Adding (and Updating) Default Petition Content

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Need information about how to set up an effort? Go to Step 1.

Adding Default Content

Usually, default petition content is added during the effort's wizard setup. However, if you chose not to add a template at the time of creation, you can enter this text later. You will not be able to begin running the effort until you've reviewed (and potentially added some text to) the default petition content screen. (Note: If you're seeing a banner on your effort's admin page that says, "This effort has not yet been launched. This means it is not visible to the public. Click on Petition Content to add some content and launch the effort." It is because you've not yet reviewed/entered the default petition text.)

To get started, go to the admin homepage > Efforts > name of your effort > Petition Content. From here you can enter default text, choose a default petition image, and pre-select petition categories.

If you do not want to provide any default text, leave all of the fields blank and click Save Effort. The effort will then be ready to launch. 

If you choose to provide default content, the text you enter will be pre-filled into the new campaign form when a user goes to create a petition in the effort. A couple of hints to keep in mind:

• The title text you enter will only be the first part of the title. Each petition will have a custom title based on the decision maker associated with the petition. Generally, this will take the form of "[Default Title You've Entered]: Decision Maker."
  
  You should ensure that the default title you enter is short enough to allow the decision maker information to be appended without going over the 100 character title limit.
  
  Also, we automatically add a colon after the text you enter, so you don't need to add one yourself.
  
  If you want to override the default formula we use for titles, you can do so by using effort variables. 
• The who field is often left blank. If you want the petitions' who fields to be updated based on each petition's target, then you should leave this field blank. If each petition should have the same who field, but an updated location, enter the who field info here.
• By default, petition creators will be able to edit the text you enter. If you want to prevent campaign leaders from editing the default text, click the lock icon next to the corresponding field. 

• Within an effort, we allow org admins to include markdown in petitions' what and why fields. However, markdown will ONLY be displayed if the fields are locked at the effort level. This means that when you add markdown to the default content on this page, you must click the lock icon next to the field. When the field is locked, the field cannot be edited. If the field is unlocked, we'll display the markdown symbols, but not translate the text into markdown (e.g. we'll show *bolded text* instead of bolded text). 
• If you want to include decision-maker-specific information in petition text, you can do that with effort variables. 
• From this page, you can also decide if you want to display the signature progress bar on petition pages.

When you've finished adding default petition text, click Save Effort.

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Editing Petition Content

If you need to update the effort's default text, including the suggested text for future petitions and the text of active campaigns, you can do so by going to the effort's admin page (org admin homepage > Efforts > name of the effort), and clicking Petition Content.

From this Petition Content page, you'll have three options: Edit Effort Defaults, Edit Effort Defaults and Existing Petitions, or Bulk Edit Existing Petitions via CSV.

• If you choose to Edit Effort Defaults you can enter new default text, which will be used for newly created petitions only. Updating the default text using this option will NOT change the text for existing petitions in the effort.
• If you choose to Edit Effort Defaults and Existing Petitions, the new text you enter will be used for newly created and existing petitions. Updating the text using this option will override the text of all existing petitions included in the effort and update the template for newly created petitions. To edit a field, click the pencil icon. When you've finished your update, click the checkmark. If you want to lock a field, and prevent petition admins from editing the text, click the lock icon so that it turns red. From this page you can also bulk update the moderation status for all petitions in the effort.
• Finally, you can choose to Bulk Edit Existing Petitions via CSV. Using this option will update existing petition content only. To bulk update by CSV, you'll first need to export existing petition information to CSV. Then open the CSV (in google sheets, excel, etc.) and make any desired edits. Save the file and return to this page to upload the edited file. When using this method of updating petitions, please note:
  
  • It is not currently possible to add new targets and petitions to the effort using this workflow.
  • The fields you can update are: title, who, what, why, moderation status, and successful status.
  • When updating petition content, you should not update the petition's ID or slug. The petition's slug is its unique identifier within our database, and the ID is used to match edits to the correct petition. Updating these fields will not work and may cause display issues.
  • For a hint on quickly updating a column, see the bottom of this article.
    
    
  We'll display a progress bar as the CSV is uploaded and you'll receive a success message when your upload is complete.

 Next we'll look at effort reporting.