ArtBlockCMS Dev Thread

[rtil]

ArtBlockCMS Development Thread
Current Version: 0.1.1
Download: http://www.thebackalleys.com/dump/download.php?f=6913

ArtBlockCMS (Content Management System) is designed to give an artist complete control over the look over their portfolio website without having to know how to code, as well as manage a portfolio gallery of art, animation and video with extra features like a blog, a shop and resume materials.

Changelog:

• 0.1.1
  • Major bugfixes before adding new features. Fixed anything users found as well as more bugs I encountered while re-examining and testing the current code. Changes:
    • database prefixes are now optional
    • global variable script redundancy reduced
    • splash editor no longer forgets border size when changing alignment
    • splash editor no longer forgets border color when changing alignment
    • removed php short tags for PHP5 compatibility
    • fixed opacity slider breaking after going from transparent to any other value
    • fixed admin splash page button responsiveness issues
    • changes made to the splash page text are now saved when the save button is pressed
• 0.1.0
  • first version - includes installer, admin page, splash content & layout GUI editor and splash page viewer.

Current Features:

• splash content editor
• splash page GUI editor

Upcoming Features:

• blog editor
• main layout GUI editor
• misc file uploader
• art/animation/video gallery uploader/editor
• resume editor
• bigcartel integration
• contact page editor

Live Demos::
http://71.197.146.208/artblock/demos/1/admin/ user: demo1 pass: demo1
http://71.197.146.208/artblock/demos/2/admin/ user: demo2 pass: demo2
http://71.197.146.208/artblock/demos/3/admin/ user: demo3 pass: demo3
please post when you are using a demo and edit the post when you're done, as a way to make sure that 2 people aren't using the same demo at the same time.

Documentation:
HOW TO INSTALL:

• Extract ZIP and put contents on your server.
• CHMOD /admin/ to 777
• visit /install/ in your browser and fill out the required information

SPLASH PAGE CONTENT EDITOR:

• The content editor is a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor, however, it also supports HTML if you prefer to use it. Just press the "< >" button on the editor, and it will switch to HTML mode. You may use any tags you wish, but be aware that if you do not close all HTML tags, you may break the entire page.

SPLASH PAGE GUI EDITOR:

• The GUI editor is a fully functioning wysiwyg editor for the look and style of your splash page. You have complete live control over the look of your page. You may move the GUI editor control panel anywhere and it will remember where you left it. A save button is present if you wish to commit the changes you've made.

Known Bugs:

• The Splash Page Content Editor does not autogrow on first load if the content inside is longer than the height of the editor box. Focus in the box and press the down arrow to fix this currently.

When testing ArtBlockCMS, have fun, try everything and let me know everything you think about it. Is it fun to use? Too constricting? Too confusing? What works and what doesn't?

If you come across a bug, please give me any and all information you can. At the very least, I need to know what you tried to do, what happened (if anything), and what browser you were using.

[rtil]

6/1/11: 0.1.0 - First Build
This build might not seem like much, but it contains a fully functioning version of a GUI editor for page layouts which will be used for the main pages as well. In this build you can edit the content of your hypothetical "splash" page for your art site - something that can be enabled and disabled depending on whether you want it or not. Then, click "preview/edit layout" to see the bulk of the work i've done so far - the GUI editor. Please test this as much as you can, and have fun with it! Let me know everything you think about it, if you'd like to see more features in it, and how easy it is to use. Also, please let me know if you'd be interested in putting in your own custom CSS as well, or if what the editor offers is enough.

If you'd like to see the splash page without the editor in the way, just visit the root page (e.g. http://www.rmcartoons.com/demos/1/ ). this is where visitors will end up, so it's the result of all your work.

[logen]

can't really log in, it always drops me off at the splash page

[Shida]

or not :I

[rtil]

sorry guys, i forgot to fix the access permissions for the demos. try it now

[logen]

Nay

[rtil]

ok sorry it works for real now

[logen]

finished using it

[logen]

Okay, I'm done. Soooo

1. The buttons in the admin splash page don't really respond well, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. There was also one instance where I wanted to go to the splash editor, and nothing happened. Clicked the resume button, and I've got to the splash editor.

2. The splash page doesn't save my content, there's a popup, with my text and html codes, and a button that says ok. I press it, but nothing is changed when I go to edit the layout. It still has the standard lorem ipsum text.

Code Select Expand

<h1>I deleted this wall of text here baby, cos I'm too cool for it.</h1><h2>ok now for some smaller text</h2><h3>and more smaller</h3>and even <b>smaller</b> <u>with a bunch</u> of <i>other</i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm4E4umP9Qc&feature=related">crap</a> in it<br><br>ok how bout a nice picture, <br><img src="http://m.blog.hu/mo/mocsokjo/image/cute_dog.jpg" title="" alt=""><br>aww, adorable, and yeah, as you've said, no autogrow on load<br>

3. As for the layout editor. It's quite nice, only "bug" i've found so far is that, even tho the bg color is on black as a default, the bg is white. Tho, I can only access this, through the "Splash & Catch" page.

[W.A.S.I.M.]

ill have a look at this

[Crabarms]

x

[rtil]

Okay, I'm done. Soooo

1. The buttons in the admin splash page don't really respond well, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. There was also one instance where I wanted to go to the splash editor, and nothing happened. Clicked the resume button, and I've got to the splash editor.

2. The splash page doesn't save my content, there's a popup, with my text and html codes, and a button that says ok. I press it, but nothing is changed when I go to edit the layout. It still has the standard lorem ipsum text.

Code Select Expand

<h1>I deleted this wall of text here baby, cos I'm too cool for it.</h1><h2>ok now for some smaller text</h2><h3>and more smaller</h3>and even <b>smaller</b> <u>with a bunch</u> of <i>other</i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm4E4umP9Qc&feature=related">crap</a> in it<br><br>ok how bout a nice picture, <br><img src="http://m.blog.hu/mo/mocsokjo/image/cute_dog.jpg" title="" alt=""><br>aww, adorable, and yeah, as you've said, no autogrow on load<br>

3. As for the layout editor. It's quite nice, only "bug" i've found so far is that, even tho the bg color is on black as a default, the bg is white. Tho, I can only access this, through the "Splash & Catch" page.

1. this is something i thought i fixed, but i'll look into it again. keep in mind only the splash button is supposed to work right now.

2. this is a mistake on my part. during a time i was trying to fix something i removed its save functionality and wanted to see its output. looks like i never reverted it back. i'll fix this in a minor update soon.

3. are you talking about the background color for the body (the stuff behind the splash box) or the splash background itself?

[logen]

The splash background itself.

[rtil]

ok, thank you for pointing that out.

[DrRumack]

doing demo2

on the splash_layout page, the border switches to the default color/width/style when i change the alignment

[DrRumack]

also the alignment is off

essentially if i change anything about the border and then change the alignment, it gets all messed up

done btw

[rtil]

ok, thanks guys, this is helpful. but for future reference, please post your browser version as well , especially when dealing with page styles

screenshots couldn't hurt either, if applicable

[logen]

firefox 4.0.1

[rtil]

8/10/11: 0.1.1 - ironing
Wanted to fix up all the bugs before I started developing new major features. While fixing the bugs you guys mentioned, I also came across many more and fixed them as well, which is always good. The changelog has been updated to reflect the bugfixes and changes.

In 0.2 I plan to add the layout editor for the main page. This will be like the splash page editor, except you'll have the navigation and the content to play around with. i'm not 100% sure how to tackle this from a coding perspective yet, but now that i've perfected the splash page editor i've already done most of the work.

In the meantime, if you'd like to test 0.1.1 you can download & install it above, or test one of the 3 available demos, all of which have been updated.

[rtil]

the demos are currently broken, please wait while i reinstall them.