I'm investigating Adobe CQ5 and would like any advice on how to integrate its drag-and-drop UI to create a responsive website. It seems as if it works on a concept of fairly bland templates with components that can be dropped in pretty much anywhere, including things like "three-column control" - which would make designing a responsive grid structure very hard (as it would be hard to prevent users from dropping in a control that could ruin the layout).
Does anyone have any experience or advice on this? I'm really looking for deep technical details on the structure of templates vs components (paragraphs), and where/how to manage to the CSS.
CQ5 offers ways to control what can be done within a template, so thinking that components "can be dropped in pretty much anywhere" may be misleading. Page templates are designed and configured so that you control which components can be added to a certain area of a page. This allows you to only make those components available that will work with the template layout, excluding components that would wreck the layout. Then authors are only allowed to use things that will work. If they attempt to drag a component onto a paragraph (parsys) where that component has not been configured as available, the UI will not allow them to use it there. So CQ actually makes it easy to prevent users from dropping a control somewhere that would ruin the layout.
This is outlined a bit here:
http://dev.day.com/docs/en/cq/current/howto/components_develop.html#Adding%20a%20new%20component%20to%20the%20paragraph%20system%20%28design%20%20%20%20%20mode%29 which states that
"The components can be activated (or deactivated) to determine which
are offered to the author when editing a page."
When it comes to CSS and JavaScript, you can create a client library and then include the relevant client library on the page. Backend CQ functionality will take care of combining multiple CSS (or JavaScript) files into a single minified file to allow for a single HTTP request of an optimized file. This it outlined a bit here:
http://dev.day.com/docs/en/cq/current/developing/widgets.html#Including%20the%20Client-Sided%20Code%20in%20a%20Page as well as
http://dev.day.com/docs/en/cq/current/howto/taglib.html#%3Ccq:includeClientLib%3E
So you might develop several components that share a client library, then when any of the components is added to a paragraph the client library will be included on the page. You may also want a CSS library that applies to all the templates to give a common look and feel, yet allow components to add their own when they are used.
These guidelines for using templates and components outline how you provide control, yet flexibility:
http://dev.day.com/docs/en/cq/5-5/developing/developing_guidelines_bestpractices.html#Guidelines%20for%20Using%20Templates%20and%20Components
I'll document our successful WIP experience with RWD and CQ5
Assumptions:
A well documented style guide.
Our First Steps:
Modified existing column control component css to utilize twitter bootstrap grid css.
Create a base page property allowing two different classes on the grid container to be set and inherited by child pages. (container||container-fluid).
Leverage out-of-the-box components where ever possible.
All component widths inherit the width of their parent container allowing for components to be dropped into any location within a template.
Issues:
The out-of-the-box column control component can not be nested.
We are looking into building a custom column control component.
Takeaways: this is an evolutionary project and we are constantly iterating.
With the recent launch of AEM 6.0, they have an example website called as Geomatrixx Media. This website is responsive.
You can take this example as reference and start building on top of it.
Related
I have a requirement where I have 2 clientlibs having different CSS files for my website. The business author should be capable of switching the website look and feel by just changing the path of the design under page properties. While I am able to achieve that requirement by changing the clientlib categories name referred in my JSP of base template of my site, can the same thing be achieved by the business author without actually performing a code level change? Basically, he should be able to select the design path present under the page properties section, and selecting a different design should change the look and feel of the website. Please let me know how this can be achieved.
Note: I have placed my clientlibs under /etc/design/proj-name/ path
The foundation page component is designed to include css link in the head if a file called static.css is present under the design. It's done through the design object.
If you have different css in the static.css file under different designs then the look and feel will change with the design. However you will be stuck with one file and cannot leverage the utility of client libs.
This adobe doc suggest's doing something like this for css and related images
<%= currentDesign.getPath() + "/static/img/icon.gif %>
Data from design dialogs is stored under the design , swapping designs to change look and feel will cause data inconsistencies too.
Why not add a selection widget to the page and use it's value to selectively include different client lib categories instead of relying on the design.
I am developing components for CQ5 and wish to control them so that component A is only displayed in the sidekick if the page is of template T_A, and components B and C are only visible if the page is of type template T_B, however I have so far not been able to find a set of properties to allow this.
Does anyone know of any way to achieve this functionality?
I am also able to retrieve the page template in code via the use of
currentPage.getProperties().get("cq:template", "").equals(MyTemplate) however, once I have not been able to find a way to control sidekick component visibility.
I have also attempted variation on Disabling The Components Tab, however this too has met with no success (even at the level of disabling the entire components tab).
This feature is baked into CQ5 and requires no special coding. The general way of controlling what components are visible in the side kick (specially what components are allowed for a given parsys) is controlled via a design. The remainder of my answer is based on the assumption that you have no special requirement other than controlling what components are allowed for a parsys (i.e no run time requirements).
The components (or component groups) allowed for a parsys are stored in the design of the site . You can control this behavior by editing the design dialog of the parsys.
The steps for achieving this are as follows
Go to design mode by clicking on the ruler icon at the bottom of the side kick
Click on edit button of the required parsys
Check the components required from the allowed component list
The allowed components are stored on per template basis. Since this data is stored in a design , all the pages must have the same design. The design must be exported too, for this to work across instances [ref : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17049259/limiting-allowed-components-in-a-template-in-cq5
]
What is to be understood by "Fluid powered TYPO3" (as stated by http://fedext.net/) and what are its benefits for the integration?
Are there other modern templating approaches for TYPO3 6.x that would be best practice to switch to now?
I don't understand the different systems that are around at the moment and I need some clarification.
The background of the question, what I am looking for:
Don't use Templavoila
Keep it simple, little coding overhead
That's why I still use markers!
Enable Custom content items in the backend like FCEs in TV
Foment "structured content" approach in TYPO3: predefined inputs and detailed rendering vs. "Anything goes" like in css_styled_content
And what about https://github.com/Ecodev/bootstrap_package ? Is it recommendable?
Although this question is fairly old by now (I didn't see it until now) and you probably already found out more about what Fluid Powered TYPO3 offers:
The features you ask for (TV-style FCEs, low coding overhead and especially the last one which is more regarding the process than the tool) are exactly what Fluid Powered TYPO3 is all about:
We provide simple ways to get page and content templates recognised by TYPO3 and made available to use by the site's content editors.
We use a common API approach (which is built on top of TYPO3's TCA/TCEforms) which you can use in both page and content templates to add custom fields (as an example: create a field to set the color of the site's header or configure a content element to have a blue background, and so on).
We use Fluid which is (as Michael already stated) a superb rendering engine.
But this is just a small part of the possibilities you have with the extensions (currently there are 20 - no, really, 20) which all provide different feature sets: there's the ViewHelper library VHS which you can use with any type of Fluid template, there's fluidpages, fluidcontent and fluidbackend which lets you place template files in a recognised path and made available to use without further hassle, there's view which lets you use overlay paths for plugin templateRootPaths (example: override only one template file from EXT:news without having to copy all template files from EXT:news). There's builder which can generate extensions, ViewHelper unit test classes, test your Fluid templates and more. There's tool which contains a range of Extbase Service-type classes that you can use in your own Extbase plugins. There's fluidwidget which is a great base for complex Fluid Widgets. You've got side utilities like *extbase_realurl* which can generate automatic realurl rules for any Extbase plugin. And there's schemaker which can let you create your own XSD schemas for your own ViewHelpers (or any version of for example fluid itself, or VHS, or flux etc.).
And there is more than this. Simply put, we offer you every tool you need to create every type of site, template or plugin. Our tools have one primary focus: efficiency.
It sounds like a huge mouthful but it isn't as complicated as it seems. Usually you will start off by using three or four of the extensions and their purpose is quite clear: Flux allows you to add the form fields which content editors use to configure content, pages and plugin instances; VHS provides a large number of multipurpose VieWHelpers to use whenever you need more than just those included with Fluid. And then one or both of fluidcontent and fluidpages which are -very- simple in that all they do is allow you to use template files as content elements or page templates.
There is quite a bit to get used to - this is true of any framework - but we spent a lot of effort on making the API the same across the line, which means anything you learn in one context (for example page templates) you can use in others (like content templates and backend modules).
If you want to save time and be consistent when creating content, pages and plugins, Fluid Powered TYPO3 (which is the umbrella name for all those twenty-something extensions) will do exactly that for you.
I can recommend taking a few minutes to read the new tour I published on fedext.net - the URL is http://fedext.net/tour/form-api.html - it primarily speaks to developers who've touched on Extbase and Fluid earlier, but even if you're used to "just" working with TYPO3 the main points should make sense.
And if you need more details than this you are welcome to find us on Github or on IRC (#typo3 on Freenet). We're always happy to help new users.
Cheers,
Claus aka. NamelessCoder
Fluid offers a much cleaner approach of dividing template logic from display logic and controller logic. Your result will be structured much better when using the possibilities fluid and the mentioned extensions like vhs provide (like layouts and partials).
The usage is actually very simple but can still be combined with the oldschool marker approach (you can do things like <f:cObject typoscriptObjectPath="lib.marks.MAIN-MENU"/>). If you need more flexibility in the backend like in TV, you (of course) have to code some things yourself.
The easiest way is to use an extension which is created by modelling it in the backend to fit your custom needs, but you can also adjust the rendering of pages and/or default content elements by using typoscript and the fields given (like pages.layout, header_layout, section_frame and so on).
So you always have the choice between detailed inputs (extbase extension objects) and using the TYPO3 default things like page properties and RTE config in combination with some typoscript magic (css_styled_content).
So as a conclusion I strongly recommend using fluid templates and additional extensions like vhs as they provide a lot of (additional) power and reusable templates while still let you use markers if you want to. Personally, I also prefer to enhance or limit the RTE in the backend in favor of writing too much special code for an FCE-like result.
BTW: There are very good autocomplete features by using the DTDs/XSDs from fedext.net in your IDE which made my template programming much faster (like 25%).
I was wondering if page templates can be built instead of individual components in Teamsite 7? I've seen other cMS systems where it is just a page template that has lots of functionality built I and you can "switch" on and off elements that you want to display instead of having to drag components onto a page? Is this possible?
Old question, but since I just came across it:
Yes, TeamSite supports templates (.template) files which can be partial or full page templates. The default location is iwadmin/main/livesite/template.
I recommend downloading the developer guides from Autonomy's web site for detailed information.
Templates in teamsite/livesite is like a bag that can contain components. But in order for a functionality to be developed in teamsite/livesite we need to create components. certainly we can avoid dragging and dropping components in each page by creating templates and dropping components within it for once. Keep in mind templates are bound to layouts. for each type of layout we need to create a template. Please have a look at TS_7.3_SiteDeveloper_rev1, Chapter 5.
Yes, you can create templates instead of dragging components.
Since, TeamSite supports templates (.template) files which can be partial or full page templates and resides at location : iwadmin/main/livesite/template.
So, whenever you try to create a new page everytime the HTML code required for that page gets automatically added with the template and layouts you selected.
But, again this is not good since you can have any number of templates you need but this could create confusions at times when you try to create a new page since you will need to remember every template name and contents that you will need for a particular page so it's better to have small lists of templates and layouts since then we can say that there is reusability in our application/website which we are going to develop using Teamsite and Livesite.
Please vote the solution if its helpful.
Thanks!
I have a website that has related pages. They have links that point back and forth to one another but I have no integrated system, nor do I know what that would mean.
What is the minimum code that a group of web pages must have to be considered a Content Management System (CMS). Is it that all the settings are in the database and the pages are generated somehow? Is there some small snippet that all my pages could share that makes them a CMS, database or not?
Thanks. I was also hoping not to have to study a giant CMS to see what makes it a CMS . After maybe a basic understanding I would know what I was looking for.
edit: here's why I ask about code. Whenever I have looked at a CMS, and maybe they aren't all the same, I saw that to develop a module you always had to inherit from certain classes and had some necessary code. I didn't know if there was some magic model that I just don't get that all cms makers understand.
edit: perhaps my question is more about being extendable or pluggable. What would a minimum look like? Is it possible to show that here?
edit: how about this? Is something a CMS if it is not extendable and/or pluggable?
I think this is really impossible to say. We all manage content. The "system" is just whatever mechanism you use to do so(dragging and dropping in Explorer or committing content changes via a SQL query). To say there is a minimum amount of code needed really isn't indicative. What is indicative is how often you find yourself making mistakes and how easy it is for a given user of a given skill level and knowledge to execute the functions in the designed system. That tells you the quality/degree of what you have in place being worthy of being called a "CMS."
Simply put a CMS is an application that allows the user to publish and edit existing web content.
In response to the edit:
A "good" CMS allows of extensibility. By using inheritence you can extend the functionality of a CMS outside of the core components provided. That's the magic.
About Extensibility:
Depending on the language/framework you want to build your CMS with, you can load pages or controls(ASP.NET) using command built into the framework. Typically what is being done is a parent class/interface is being defined that forces an module that is to be developed to follow some given standards:
Public MustInherit Class CMSModule
'Here you will define properties and functions that need to be global to all modules being developed to extend your CMS.
public property ModuleName as string
End Class
public class PlugInFooCMSPage
inherits CMSModule
end class
Then it's just a matter of simply loading a module dynamically in whatever construct a given language/framework provides.
Ultimately, a CMS is a system that lets you manage content, so it needs an user interface that is dedicated to letting you easily create, edit and delete pages on your website.
However, it's fairly usual to expect from a CMS to provide a browser-based WYSIWYG page editor, file uploading, image resizing, url rewriting, page categories and tags, user accounts (editor, moderator, administrator), and some kind of templae system.
Without dragging you into a theoretical explanation of what a CMS is and what it's not, perhaps some tutorials on the building methodology of a CMS will help you better understand.
http://css-tricks.com/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/
http://www.intranetjournal.com/php-cms/
A Content Management System is a System that Manages Content. :)
So if you got many pages that share the same layout, you can create a system that stores the content into a database and when a page is requested, it gets that content, merges it with a template that contains the page header, menu, etc.. and outputs the result.
The basis idea is that you don't want to copy HTML pages, and have to edit hundreds of them when you want to change your layout.
Such a system can be very complex, featuring wysiwyg editors, toolbars, version control, multiple user publishing and much more, but it could be as simple as a single page behind a standard loging, that contains only an input field for the title and a textarea in which you type the html content.