Navigating the DataCamp course editor
1. Navigating the DataCamp Course Editor
Now we're going to discuss the most important features of the DataCamp course editor, also known as "Teach" which is the tool we use to build our courses.2. Navigating the course editor
On the left side of the editor is a series of tabs. The first is the "edit" tab, represented by a pencil.3. Navigating the course editor
The next one is the "assets" tab, represented by a paper clip icon,4. Navigating the course editor
then settings, documentation,5. Navigating the course editor
and keyboard shortcuts. The editor is rapidly evolving; so there may be more tabs by the time you start using the editor.6. Navigating the course editor
To the right of these icons, you have the course outline, where you can see all chapters and exercises for your course.7. Navigating the course editor
If you hover over an exercise, you have the option to edit its title, delete it, or reorder it by clicking and dragging the three small bars on the left.8. Adding exercises
To start working in the editor, you'll create an exercise by clicking the "add exercise" button, which opens a menu of available exercise types. These include Video, Coding, Multiple Choice, and beyond. We're constantly innovating so this list will continue to expand. Each exercise type will be covered in more detail later in the course. If you're unsure about which type to use in a particular situation, you can always talk to your DataCamp contact.9. Editing exercises
Once you've added an exercise, you'll need to edit it. This is the exercise editing screen, where you're going to spend most of your time. Each exercise type contains different fields. The most common exercise type, the Coding exercise, has fields for background context, instructions on how to complete the exercise, hints, space for code that gets executed upon exercise initialization, sample code that the learner starts with, and finally the solution code, which is the exercise solution.10. Text vs. code fields
Fields can be either text or code.11. Text vs. code fields
Text fields are formatted in Markdown, one of the most popular ways to stylize plain text. If you've never used Markdown before, have no fear. There is also a toolbar of buttons that help you format the text displayed in the exercise.12. Text vs. code fields
Code fields are used for pre-exercise code, sample code, solution code, and submission correctness tests, which you will learn about later in the course.13. Preview your content
You can preview an exercise at any point in time by clicking on the preview button in the bottom right. The preview will appear in a new tab in your browser, so make sure you have pop-ups enabled.14. Managing assets
In the next tab, the assets tab, you can load your data and images by either browsing for a file or dragging-and-dropping a file in the upload file section. Assets are stored on our servers and can be used in your course by copying the URL to clipboard and pasting it into the relevant exercise or slide.15. Image drag and drop
You can also drag-and-drop an image directly into a text field. This will automatically upload the image onto our servers, and apply the relevant Markdown formatting.16. Find
In the top right of the editor, there's a "find" button. This opens a menu on the right-hand side that allows you to search for any text in the exercises or slides.17. Find and replace
You can also find and replace. When you type something into the "replace" field, you'll see the matches below updated in real-time with your replaced text. You can select just the cases you wish to replace or hit the "replace all" button to replace all instances at once.18. Saving your work
As you're editing your course, you'll notice an "unsaved changes" indicator in the bottom right. This is a simple reminder that something has changed since your last save.19. Saving your work
We suggest that you save after each meaningful batch of changes. When it's time to save, just click the save button.20. Naming your commits
We strongly recommend including an informative message describing your changes. It will make it much easier to review them later. If you're familiar with Git and GitHub, every save corresponds to a Git commit behind-the-scenes, and this message will be your commit message. More on this later in the course.21. Let's practice!
We've covered the basic features of the editor. You'll learn more as you go. If you have any feedback on how we can improve the authoring experience, please let us know! Ok, let's put your knowledge to the test!Create Your Free Account
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