atomsite.net

News Blog - Browsing Manager

1. Widget Management in AtomSite

   I'm excited about the next release of AtomSite.  The AtomSite Manager is maturing and the one area I'm most excited about is the new Widgets page.  This page will allow you to easily customize the widgets that appear on your site.  Here is a sneak peak:

   

   This may not be the final layout of the page but the functionality allows you to control which widgets show in each area of any page.  You can control this at any scope.  The following areas are setup by default in all the current themes:

   

   For example, say I'd like to have my recent tweets show up next to my blog posts in my blog collection. But for the pages about my software, I want my latest GitHub commits.  You can use this page to setup different widget includes for different collections.

   You can look forward to AtomSite 1.4 this month (March 2010)!

   Update

   

   Posted by JarrettV on March 06 at 10:03 AM

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2. Inline Widgets and Contact Form Plugin

   The next version of AtomSite will include support for inline widgets.  An inline widget is a widget that is activated by placing a widget include into the content of an entry.  This allows all sorts of new scenarios such as polling widgets, dynamic content widgets, and a contact form widget.

   Also, the next release of AtomSite will contain a contact form widget built-in as a core widget.  This widget can be placed on every page at the workspace or collection scopes.  However, with the new inline widget support, you can also place the widget on a single page.

   

   I've detailed some of the development process as a Plugin Developments Basic Tutorial.

   This widget can add an annotation (comment) to your contact page and/or send an email to you each time the form is posted.  The settings can be configured for each workspace in the AtomSite Manager. 

   Note: most of the settings are only required if you are sending an email as it needs all the email server information.

   

   Or, you can configure them directly in the service.config file under the atom:workspace node:

   

   I've set this up on the contact page of the Vance & Sons Cabinets, Inc. website.  I built the site (with AtomSite) for my family who creates the best custom cabinets in Fairhope, AL.

   Posted by JarrettV on February 20 at 1:21 PM

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3. AtomSite Manager is a Work-in-progress

   The AtomSite Manager is new to version 1.0.  Although we made a lot of progress on the administration area, there is still many features that are missing or under construction.

   We are striving to be similar to WordPress which means there will eventually be a ton of features.  However, there are major differences in platform and technologies which take time to build out.  Thanks for being patient as we make progress.

   Common Annoyances with current AtomSite Manager

   • Missing link at top to return to site
   • • Workaround by selecting an entry and choosing "View Entry"
   • Can't insert images or links into posts using the WYSIWYG editor
   • • Workaround by editing the xhtml in source view to add them manually
     • • For example, add the media first then link to the image in source view using an tag
     • Or, use Live Writer
   • Can't use the QuickPub widget on the dashboard
   • • Workaround by using the regular Add Entry page
   • Can't upload plugin on plugin page
   • • Workaround by uploading the plugin using ftp or xcopy into your site
   • Can't add or update users or change their roles
   • • Workaround by editing the service.config and user.config files directly

   Please let us know if you find any other annoyances or workarounds.

   Posted by JarrettV on May 01 at 9:30 PM

   Comments (2)