Getting started

Brightspot is a content management system designed to power dynamic consumer experiences that are editorially rich and visually stunning. Brightspot brings teams together and streamlines daily design, development, and editorial processes.

Logging in

Brightspot supports three kinds of authentication in order to log in:

• Generic login requiring only a username and password.
• Two-factor authenticated login requiring a username, password, and a third-party authentication app like Google Authenticator. For details, see Two-factor authentication.
• External authentication using an identity and access management service like OneLogin. For details, see Single sign-on and SAML.

This topic briefly explains how to log into Brightspot using these methods.

To log in to Brightspot with only a username and password:

1. Go to the URL provided by your Brightspot administrator.

2. Enter the username and password provided to you by your administrator.

   

3. Click Log in.

To log in to Brightspot with two-factor authentication enabled:

1. Go to the URL provided by your Brightspot administrator.
2. Enter the username and password provided to you by your administrator.
3. Click Log in.
4. Enter the code found in your authentication app.
5. Click Submit.

To log in to Brightspot using external authentication:

1. Go to the URL provided by your Brightspot administrator.
2. Enter the username provided to you by your administrator.
3. Click Submit.

Note

If you are already authenticated through the external authenticator, you are logged in to Brightspot. If not, complete the verification steps as directed by the external authenticator.

User interface

Brightspot features an intuitive user interface to make working in the CMS easy and efficient.

When you first log into Brightspot, you are taken to your dashboard. Below is an example of what your dashboard might look like. Keep in mind, dashboards are customizable, and yours may look different.

Left navigation

On the left is the left navigation, which allows you to navigate to many different administrative areas of Brightspot. It also includes the following:

• Guide, where you can see descriptions of the fields you are viewing
• Notifications, where you can view your mentions across Brightspot.
• Your profile, where you can personalize Brightspot.

If you have the Ask AI plugin enabled, you can access Ask AI here as well.

Current site and site switcher

The search field allows you to enter text to find assets within Brightspot. There are several filters and options available to you as you search. See Brightspot search for more information.

Link to site

Clicking opens the front end of the site you are in.

Language

The language in which you are viewing Brightspot.

Banner

An optional display of the type of environment you are using (for example, Production or QA).

Search bar

A site-wide search where you can enter text and find assets within Brightspot There are several filters and options available to you as you search. See CMS Search for more information.

Add (+) icon

The add icon provides an easy way to create assets within Brightspot. See Creating content for more information on using this icon.

Dashboard tab

Dashboard tabs allow you to access different facets of your dashboard. These tabs will vary based on your dashboard.

Quick Start widget

The Quick Start widget is a series of buttons that allow you to quickly create assets or access the items you use most within Brightspot.

Dashboard widgets

Dashboard widgets vary by dashboard. Some widgets provide information on assets that have recently been created or updated, while other widgets can provide analytics information.

Profile menu

The Brightspot user menu provides links to several bits of functionality that are specific to your user account. From the user menu you can modify your profile settings, view your history, etc.

To access your user menu, click your username.

This expands a menu with several items you can modify or use when you are logged into Brightspot.

The user menu has several options available to you that are specific to your Brightspot user account.

Using the above image as a reference, here are the options available to you from the user menu:

• Profile—Opens your user profile where you can set your user options for how Brightspot looks and behaves for you. See Configuring your profile for more information.
• History—Displays a list of the assets or areas within Brightspot that you have most recently visited.
• Mirror Preview—Provides a QR code you can use to preview assets on other devices. See Previewing content on mobile devices for more information.
• Enable Two-Factor Authentication—Provides a QR code where you can set up two-factor authentication for logging into Brightspot.
• WIPs—Displays a list of assets you have made changes to that are not yet saved or published.
• Shared Preview Links—Opens a list of all the shared preview links a user has generated, allowing you to delete them if you no longer want them to be accessible.
• Downloads—Opens a history of your downloads from the CMS.
• Log Out—Logs you out of Brightspot.

User profile

Brightspot offers you several ways to customize your experience by modifying your user settings. This includes avatars, colors, dashboards, etc.

To access your profile:

1. In the header, click your username to open the profile menu.
2. Click Profile.

Configuring your profile

Your profile is divided into two main tabs: Main and CMS. Each tab has specific settings you can configure. The Main tab focuses on your settings as a user such as username, password, etc. The CMS tab focuses on how Brightspot appears to you when you use it in terms of dashboards, themes, etc.

Note

Depending on your Brightspot implementation, there may be additional tabs specific to your configuration.

To configure your profile:

1. In the header, click your username, then click Profile.
2. Select either the Main or CMS tab.
3. Using the following tables as a reference, configure your profile.
4. Click Save.

Main tab

Field	Description
Name	The name associated with items you create. This name appears in various widgets in Brightspot, such as the Recent Activity widget on the dashboard, or the Version History widget on a content edit page.
Email	Your email address.
Username	The username you use to log in to Brightspot.
Password	The password used for logging in to Brightspot. You have two choices: Keep Same - your password remains what it has been. Change - allows you to change your password. You must re-authenticate with your current password to make this change.
Avatar	Your avatar. None—No avatar. New Upload—Displays a field for uploading an avatar. New URL—Displays a field for entering an avatar's URL.
Locale	Sets your language and location. Setting the locale has two effects: Brightspot's appearance changes to the selected language. For example, if you select Spanish, Brightspot appears in Spanish. If the selected language is not available, Brightspot appears in English. Brightspot uses associated dictionaries to spell-check your text.
Time Zone	Sets your time zone.
Phone Number	Your phone number for receiving text messages from Brightspot.

Notifications

Field	Description
Delivery Methods	Displays the delivery methods you have set up for notifications. Click to add additional methods.
Subscriptions	Displays your subscriptions. Click to add additional subscriptions.
Automatic Subscriptions	Automatic subscriptions are configured by your administrator. You can specify your default delivery methods for all of them, as well as override or disable on an individual basis.

Slack

Note

This tab only displays if you have the Slack integration configured. See Slack.

Field	Description
Linked Accounts	Displays any Slack accounts you have linked to your Brightspot account. You can configure Slack as one of your delivery methods for notifications.

CMS tab

Dashboard

Field	Description
Dashboard	Sets the dashboard you see when you log into Brightspot. This setting has three options: None—You use the dashboard associated with your role. One Off—Selecting this option allows you to create a one-off dashboard for your own use. Shared—A shared dashboard that has been previously created and you select from the menu.
Edit Existing Content	Allows you to add specific assets to your Quick Start widget for easy access. For instance, perhaps you edit the same page every week. You can set that page so it appears in your Quick Start widget so you do not have to search for it.

Content Templates

Field	Description
Global Defaults	List of available default templates. If blank, the default templates flow from your role's default templates (if any).
Global Extras	List of available extra templates. If blank, the extra templates flow from your role's extra templates (if any).
Site Specific Defaults	Overrides the default templates for individual sites. If blank, the site-specific default templates flow from your role's site-specific default templates (if any).
Site Specific Extras	Overrides the extra templates for individual sites. If blank, the site-specific extra templates flow from your role's site-specific extra templates (if any).

UI

Fields	Description
Preset Theme	Select one of the themes to use for Brightspot. If you select Custom, you can configure the following colors for individual UI elements: Dominant—Editorial toolbar background, field labels. Gray—Tab labels, placeholders, numbers in selection fields. Red—Error messages. Orange—Used in customized versions of Brightspot. Yellow—Field changed since last save. Green—Editorial toolbar border, color of Publish button. Blue—Cursor in field. Purple—Used in customized versions of Brightspot. For information about using the color picker, see Configuring a theme's swatch.
Appearance	List of appearances, including: Light—The standard Brightspot appearance. Dark—Brightspot's Dark mode. Follow OS—The default appearance mode of the operating system being used.
Enable Boxed Input	If enabled, places border around fields. If disabled, places border at bottom of fields.
Enable Compact	Displays the content edit form with smaller labels and fields, so more of it appears in your screen without scrolling.
Enable Compact Rails	Displays widgets in the right and left rails with smaller labels and fields, so more of them appear in your screen without scrolling.
Enable High Contrast	Displays Brightspot in a high-contrast mode, improving accessibility and ideal when working outside or with strong ambient light.
Header Background	Background color of header.
Enable Post Publish Actions	If toggled on, Brightspot provides suggestions for positioning assets after they are published. For more information, see Post-publishing actions.
Open Post Publish Actions Automatically	If toggled on, Brightspot displays the widget for post-publish positioning after the asset is first published. If toggled off, you can still access post-publish positioning by clicking > Post Publish Actions. For more information, see Post-publishing actions.

Advanced

Field	Description
Inline Editing	Items you can edit using the inline editor. Disabled—Inline editor is not available. Only Main Content—You can edit the item but not its subsidiary items. All Contents—You can edit the item and the subsidiary items. For example, if an article contains an author item, you can modify both the article and the author.
Return to Dashboard on Save	If marked, you automatically return to the dashboard after saving changes to an item.
Return to Dashboard on Workflow	If marked, you automatically return to the dashboard after adding an item to a workflow.
Disable Navigate Away Alert	If marked, you do not receive a message when leaving the content edit page without saving or publishing. The following illustration is an example of a navigate-away alert.
Disable Work In Progress	Disables the work-in-progress feature. When toggled on, this feature maintains live backups of work if your Brightspot session unexpectedly ends.
Global Theme Override	Displays previews using the selected theme.
Site Theme Overrides	Displays previews using the selected theme for the selected site.

Assignment Desk tab

Note

This tab is only visible if the Assignment Desk plugin has been enabled.

Field	Description
Team Member Role	Expand and select your role. If your role isn't available you can click Create New to add your role.
Contact Information	Click Set to display the contact information fields: Email—Enter the email address you want to use as your contact email for Assignment Desk. PhoneNumber—Enter the phone number you want to use as your contact phone for Assignment Desk. SlackDisplayName—Enter the Slack ID you want to use as your Slack contact for Assignment Desk.
Notes	Enter any special information pertaining to your Assignment Desk profile.