PUC 2.0

Recently I wrote an MP3 File asset for MySource Matrix which will let you upload file types of .mp3 and the asset will extract the ID3 tags which are then usable in Matrix. This asset is based off of the standard File asset type, but goes one step further for MP3 files giving them a new type code, as well as ID3 extraction functionality.

I am excited to say that I submitted the asset to Squiz and they will be including it in the 3.20 branch. My fingers are crossed that it will be released in the 3.20.0 release, but if it does not make it in that, it will be released in 3.20.1 in February. Squiz has to run it through their test suite first to make sure that the asset does not break any core functionality of MySource Matrix (it better not!).

Right now the MP3 File asset is at version 1.0 which includes the following features:

• Uses getID3(), a great library that gets mp3 tags along with lots of other audio formats. This can be downloaded at www.getid3.org. Right now version 1.7.8 is the version that I am recommending, as the 2.x branch has a few bugs.


• getID3() is a new option in External Tools Configuration (error checking is done in the asset to make sure this is turned on, and that the files exist).


• Asset extracts ID3 tags automatically when the file is uploaded (error checking also if there are none).


• Asset checks for ID3v1 and ID3v2 and uses the appropriate extraction method for the correct version.


• ID3 information can be manually parsed on the assets details page (Great in case you change the tags manually and want to revert back to the ID3 tags in the mp3).


• Custom keywords have been added which dynamically get the ID3 tag information and print it. This information does not have to be in the database.


• Bulk File Import Tool updated to allow bulk importing to .mp3 files through FTP as well as Admin interface. Importing .mp3 files in this way will also extract ID3 tags for each file.


• Squiz coding standards have been followed.

It is exciting to get to write an asset which will be added to MySource Matrix! I will continue to be the person that is in charge of the asset and I already have some additional feature ideas to add to the asset.

Feel free to let me know what you think and go download MySource Matrix 3.20 on January 5th!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 5:41 PM 2 comments

Tags: custom asset, ID3, MP3 File Asset, mysource matrix

Today I added a new plugin to the jQuery Matrix project called matrixFilter. This new plugin is used to filter or search a list of assets, and in real-time only show the matched assets, and hide the rest. This is similar functionality to what iTunes has for searching your music library. There is also an option, which is turned on by default, to show the total assets in the list, as well as the total matched assets. So, when you start typing, you will get something similar to: 10 of 200. This will change based on what you type.

Right now the search is case insensitive, but in the future I will add the option to make it case sensitive. Be sure to use specific selectors with the plugin or you might be less than satisfactory results. For example, if you use div for the selector, the plugin will count ALL divs on the page, so that count will be an incorrect number. But if you give all of the divs that are wrapping your assets a class, and set this within the selector, you will get a satisfactory result.

Hope everyone likes this new plugin, feel free to give me your comments and suggestions!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 9:42 PM 0 comments

Tags: jquery, jquery.matrix.js, mysource matrix

Just wanted to let everyone know that I made a big update to the jQuery Matrix project. I added a new plugin called matrixForm, which lets you turn Asset Builders into ajax Asset Builders! It is quick and easy, and all you have to do it added the ID of the asset builder and the plugin does the rest, allowing you to create assets without a page refresh.

There are also some great options that you can configure as well, including a loading gif, and the option to bring data into the current page from the created screen. So, when you create an asset, you could have it say that your new asset was created, or return the newly created asset ID.

It was a fun plugin to write and I know that it will be useful. Please let me know what you think, and check it out on the Projects page.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 5:53 PM 0 comments

Tags: ajax, asset builder, jquery.matrix.js, mysource matrix

I wanted to make available all of the video demonstrations that I presented at MMIUC2008, so I have uploaded all of them, and included them in this post.

They are posted on my Zed Said Studio Blog, as that is where I am hosting all of my MySource Matrix projects and info from now on. I am also considering moving the blog completely to that site. What do you guys this? Have fun with the videos, let me know what you think.

Just remember that since these were part of my presentation, they are silent, as I was talking over them when giving the presentation.

→ View Simple Edit Videos

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 9:46 PM 0 comments

Tags: ajax, MMIUC2008, simple edit, zed said

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I have been working on a new jQuery plugin that has been incorporating the functionality of the Simple Edit Admin Tools that I showed at MMIUC2008. It is a new plugin called jQuery Matrix, so it has a dependency on jQuery, so make sure that you have this as well.

So far, the plugin has 5 parts:

• matrixFrame


• matrixDelete


• matrixClone


• matrixStatus


• matrixEdit

Each of these are really their own plugin, and can be used by chaining it in the normal jQuery style. This plugin will continue to be actively work on by me, but I do welcome suggestions, feature requests, and also contributions to the plugin. Right now I am still working on the documentation and the demos, so please bear with me in that regard. Also, the plugin is a very early version, so I know there will be alot of fixes and functionality that will be added in the future. Please let me know what you think!

Download jquery.matrix.js and view Documentation and Demos

If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me here on the forums, or through http://www.zedsaid.com.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 3:04 PM 0 comments

Tags: jquery plugin, jquery.matrix.js, mysource matrix, simple edit

I just thought I would let everyone know that I have been rethinking how I am going to release the Simple Edit tools. What I have decided to do is rewrite the tools, and make them into a nice and easy jQuery plugin! So, this will be even easier than before, non-technical users will be able to simply add things like Deleting Assets, Cloning, etc. with just one line of javascript!

I will be getting more information about this up very soon. We are hoping to get contributors to this project as well, and start building a really strong jQuery plugin that is just for Matrix. If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you would like to help with this project, please let me know!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 11:00 AM 0 comments

Tags: jquery, jquery plugin, mysource matrix, simple edit

I just want to let everyone know that I am going to release my Simple Edit Interface Tools for free under a GPL license. The presentation that I gave at MMIUC2008 detailed all of these tools, as well as the Simple Edit Interfaces that I had been working on.

All the details are still being worked out, but I will be posting two seperate javascript files, one which includes the various tools which are in the interface, but the tools are stand alone, allowing someone to easily plug them into their Simple Edit Interface with only a few instructions. The second will be the full javascript file that I use for our Simple Edit Interface, unedited. This will be useful to some that might want to replicate certain interface elements, but others might not need the full version. Tutorials for how to use and implement these are being worked on, as well as video demonstrations of each functionality.

I have also set up a PayPal account if anyone feels so inclined to donate on the Projects page.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions!

→ View the Zed Said Studio Projects Page

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 10:16 PM 2 comments

Tags: ajax, mysource matrix, simple edit

Well, Day 2 came, and the MySource Matrix Conference is sadly over. But, we had an awesome day, so I will try to give a nice recap here.

We started out Day 2 with John Paul giving us a welcome, and went right into Kate Needham giving us a Case Study about thier NSW Department of Primary Industries Intranet. It was very interesting, and I was very impressed by their process of getting users involved with the process of building their Intranet. Following Kate was Rory Mackay from Discover Tasmania, giving us some great tips on SEO and getting our sites optimized for showing up in Google search.

After a break, we heard from Danny Peters, Senior Implementation Specialist at Squiz, he talked about Implementation Tips and Tricks. He gave us all some great ideas, and I think all of us learned something new!

Finally, it was time to see the MySource Mini (MySource 4 as an appliance). This is basically an early version of MySource 4 which Squiz is releasing as an installed solution on hardware that you purchase. I will leave the extra details up to Squiz, but I have to say, what we saw was absolutly amazing. Greg Sherwood gave us a 30 minute demo going through quite a few aspects of MySource Mini. Every interface was beautiful, and very well thought out. The Caching and Versioning interfaces were some of the coolest parts visually, but the simple new WYSIWYG editor takes the win with my favorite feature. Every item on the page can be edited inline, even if there are different design areas on the page, all can be easily edited inline from the edit screen. Even things like menus and asset listings can be easily edited on the same page! After Greg gave us the demo, we were able to test out the system on 3 machines that they had in the foyer. It was great to be able to play around with MySource Mini, and finally get to see what has been a really secretive product. I got the ok to post these pics on the blog, as Squiz will be getting a new MySource Mini site up soon. So, until then, here are a few shots of what we got to see and test.

Before closing the conference, we got to spend $1500 Squiz Dollars at the MySource Matrix Feature Bazaar. There were a ton of features that were bought, but I was pretty excited to have almost all the feature bought that I had been interested in. I nominated the feature of setting the default presentation style, so that when new assets are created, you don't have to set the presentation style to RAW HTML, which will be super nice. A few others that I wanted were Binoculars Icon for Nested Content, Quick Link Plugin for WYSIWYG, and Locking Remaps in the Remaps Manager. Overall, we all bought some really great features, and it was a nice ending to an amazing conference!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 1:27 AM 0 comments

Tags: Australia, Coogee, MMIUC2008, mysource matrix

Today was the first day of the MySource Matrix International Users Conference 2008 in beautiful Coogee, Australia. We had a great day starting out with John Paul Syriatowicz giving the opening address, then followed by Neil Jarvis talking about Web 2.0 and accessibility. Then, it was my turn to speak. I talked about using ajax to extend Matrix and Simple Edit. I showed a series of video demonstrations, showing the PUC Simple Edit Tools that I had been working on. I felt really good about the presentation, and everyone seems to enjoy it and was very interested in the subject. After my presentation we split into two streams, technical and communications.

We heard some very interesting presentations from a wide range of topics, from Interfacing with TRIM, to Integration with Google Maps. Then, to top it all off, we had dinner this evening with the very very funny Dave Hughes for entertainment. I am looking forward to tomorrows sessions, and excited to hear more about MySource4. Stay tuned.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 4:32 AM 3 comments

Tags: ajax, MMIUC2008, mysource matrix, simple edit

Well, I am finally off for MMIUC2008, leaving tonight out of San Fransisco.

I will be presenting on the first day of the conference, giving my talk entitled "Using AJAX to make better simple edit interfaces in MySource Matrix" at 10am on Thursday, October 16th.

I hope to see some of you there, and I will be sure to update the blog with details of the trip, and the conference.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 10:50 AM 0 comments

Tags: ajax, MMIUC2008, mysource matrix, simple edit

It has been a while since I have posted an Admin Tools update. My time has been consumed for the past few months with post launch website work, so I finally have time to post an update about progress made.

New features have been added to the PUC Admin Tools:

• Add New Asset


• Mass Duplicate Asset


• Mass Delete Assets


• Filter Asset List


• Asset listing ajax


• Calendar listing ajax


• Drag and drop items


• Ajax Linking


• Redesigned Edit Interface


• Other UI goodies

Right now I won't go into detail on any of these, I am saving everything for MMIUC2008, which is where I will be showing my Admin Tools. Stay tuned after the conference as I will be posting tutorials for each of these features.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 2:03 PM 0 comments

Tags: admin tools, ajax, MMIUC2008, mysource matrix, simple edit

After over a year of development, I am proud to announce that we launched our brand new Pacific Union College website running MySource Matrix.

Instead of spending time here talking about it, I would rather that you take a look around our new site, and let me know what you think!

→ Visit Pacific Union College's New Website

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 11:24 PM 4 comments

Tags: mysource matrix, pacific union college, puc

I have been on the MySource Matrix forums for quite a few years now. During that time, I have seen alot of tips, tricks, advice, and questions. I thought I would share are few.

Date Keywords
In the past, when I wanted to print a customized date for created, updated or published, I would just use a metadata date field, and set up my specific date format, then print that metadata field for that asset. Instead of doing this, you can use the following keyword format:

%asset_created_<PHP DATE>%

%asset_updated_<PHP DATE>%

%asset_published_<PHP DATE>%

So, if I wanted to print the month, day and year that an asset was created, I could use:

%asset_created_F% %asset_created_d%, %asset_created_Y%

List Current Asset ID
This session var (list_current_asset_id) was introduced in Matrix 3.16.6, and has been a feature that I have greatly welcomed. I use this all the time to display an image which is the child or another asset. For example, for all our news items, we store the associated news image a child of that News Item asset. Also, we store profile images as a child of and User assets. Then, you just use a nested asset listing, with the dynamic perimeters set to session variable, with list_current_asset_id as the value. This is very handy, and can even be nested in the type format of an asset listing, so that each asset that is listed will show its child image. This can be seen on our News & Events page. (FYI, our site is going live on July 7, at around 5pm, so this link won't be correct until then.)

So, the dynamic peramiters of your asset listing would look like the follow:

Using Asset Listings With Asset Builder Dynamic Create Locations
When setting up an Asset Builder, and adding dynamic create locations, there are a few things that Martix does not support; any type of sorting of the create location assets (they are sorted by asset ID by default), or permissions based create locations listing.

To achieve either of the two, do the following:

1. Set up your dynamic create location


2. Add the create location keyword to your custom create form layout


3. Preview the Asset Builder, and copy the source code for the dynamic create location select field


4. Create a new asset listing using the same root node as your configured dynamic create location


5. Configure the asset listing, either for sorting, permissions, or both


6. Build the asset listing so it will create a select field, EXACTLY like the one that was printed by the dynamic create location keyword


7. Preview the Asset Builder, and have a feeling of satisfaction

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 9:13 PM 0 comments

Tags: asset builder, asset listing, keywords, list_current_asset_id, mysource matrix

In a previous post I had talked about getting new hosing with Slice Host. I finally have Matrix up and running, and I am hosting two sites so far on that install. The first is my personal site (nnhubbard.com), which is just an online gallery of personal photos.

I am also using the gallery as a testing site to build an advanced photo gallery similar to Gallery 2, which I used to use. I have already ran into two issues that I am trying to figure out solutions to. The first is using paint layouts with conditional keywords for each image (sounds easy, but more complicated than you think). The second is allowing commenting for file based assets. I think that the second issue is an even bigger problem, as you cannot create comment assets under an image, for obvious reasons, so I have to come up with some alternative solution. Right now, I am racking my brain trying to come up with ideas. Since I am using the GPL version, I can't try any tricks with the search asset...I will keep updating about that.

Update: I have worked out a solution to the commenting on images problem. First, each comment asset has an imageID metadata field. Using the asset builder for the comment, the images ID is appended to the form, and submitted, so that the comment has an association with the image that the comment is about. Then, using an asset listing, with grouping by metadata, I set it up so that it would group based on the imageID. So, for each image, there will be a set of comments associated with this. These comments are created in the images parent folder. Then, using jQuery, all image groups are hidden, and only the current imagesID group is shown.

$(document).ready(function(){
  //Add input field into comments asset builder
  $("p#hiddenMeta").append("<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"
  metadata_field_text_2630_value\" value=\"%asset_assetid%\"
  size=\"30\" class=\"sq-form-field\" id=\"metadata_field_text_2630_value\" />");

 //Hide all comment groups
  $('.commentGroup').hide();
  //Show only current image id's group
  $('#a%asset_assetid%').show();
  });

This solves my problem for now, until a Matrix solution is added.

My second site is for my side business, Zed Said Studio. The site is still under construction, but I am working on finishing it up as soon as I get the time. I don't have too much work for my side business right now, as PUC keeps me so busy. But I do have 2 jobs coming up for companies in the Napa Valley.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 11:49 PM 2 comments

Tags: gallery, mysource matrix, zed said

Last year Squiz held their first annual MySource Matrix International User Conference. Obviously it was in Australia, so I didn't even consider the possibility of attending. After it was over and passed, I read the recapped info that Squiz posed on their website. It sounded like it would have been a fantastic conference, and I wished that I could have gone.

Well, this year I am going! I got asked by Squiz to give a case study on our new PUC Website (launching very, very soon, I swear!), and also on some of the administration tools that I have been working on. Basically I will be showing off Pacific Union College's brand spankin' new site, that we have been working on for the past year. I will be showing examples of our old website, and comparisons with the new. Detailing old processes, and how much time Matrix saves us, and how it gives us the freedom to build a site how we want, without a huge burden of updating multiple pages to reflect a new item (e.g. news items), as we are doing currently. Then I will be talking about my ajaxified (is that even a word?) asset builders, simple edit, etc.

Personally, I am really excited to hear all the other presentations, and network with a great group of people. And another exciting, thing, we will get to have hands on demos of MySource 4! I can't wait. Of course going to Australia in the first place will be a great experience. I will be working most of the time. I will be there for the week before the conference, working in Squiz's Sydney office. Not sure what I will be doing, but Avi Miller says that he will keep my busy! :) I have a feeling that they will just work me really hard as payback for all the questions that I have asked on the Matrix forums, and all the time that has been spent answering my questions!  But honestly, the forums have been an amazing resource, and I thank everyone for their help!

Well, I am excited, and I hope to see some of you there!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 11:25 PM 0 comments

Tags: ajax, asset builder, MMIUC2008, mysource matrix, puc, squiz

Well, I am excited. I finally got my business website and personal site moved over to a different host, and I can finally run Matrix! Thanks to Slice Host, for $20 a month I can run a pretty fast installation of Matrix. I would recommend this to anyone looking to host their own Matrix site. They offer full root access to your own "slice", which is pretty much like having your own dedicated server. Thanks Slice Host!

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 1:11 PM 2 comments

Tags: mysource matrix, slice host

There has been a few postings on the MySource Matrix forums about how to delete an asset using a trigger, but the posts are scattered and not comprehensive. So, I thought I would post the way that I remove assets using a trigger, ajax to "touch" the url, and javascript to hide the asset from view.

→ Take a look at the video: Delete asset using triggers/ajax

Our first task is to set up a trigger that will delete an asset from a specific location. In my case, I want to only delete assets that are in the "All Announcements" folder. Set up the trigger using the following:

Event: Asset Accessed

Conditions: Tree Location, URL Matches, Access Permission (You can change this to admin if needed)

Action: Create Link (Link asset into the trash)

Then we need to use some javascript to make it all happen (jQuery is being used):

function deleteAjaxAsset(message, action, assetid, asseturl) {
   var confirmDelete = confirm(message); 
   if (confirmDelete == true) {
      if(action ==  "delete ") {
         //Add jQuery function to hide the asset from the users view
         $( "# " + assetid).hide(); 
         $( "#announceItemFull ").html( " "); 
         //Use ajax to post the URL so that our trigger will delete the asset 
         $.ajax( {
            type :  "POST ", url : asseturl +  "?action=delete " }
         ); 
         }
      }
   }

I am sure this script could be improved apon, but you can extened it to work with more triggers by just adding another if statement with something like action == archive or action == live and create triggers accordingly.

Then we need to call that function with an event, and pass the necessary arguments:

<input type="button" value="Delete Announcement ID:%asset_assetid%" 
id="subBtn%asset_assetid%" onclick="deleteAjaxAsset('Are you sure you want to 
delete asset #%asset_assetid%?','delete','announceHubItem%asset_assetid%','%asset_url%');" />

We are passing 4 different things to the function. The message you want to appear, the action, which is delete, the id of the div that you want to hide, and finally, the asset URL.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 2:06 PM 2 comments

Tags: ajax, jquery, mysource matrix, triggers

We have a news builder page that creates news items that appear under our News & Events section. These can also be linked under an Academic Department. In addition to this you can link the news item under a non-academic department. But this select list does not have set options. So I wanted a way for the user to quickly add a new non-academic department without having to leave the page, and without having to reload.

A folder is used as the create location, and jQuery is used to post both the asset builder for the folder, and for the news item.

→ Take a look at the video: Add create location w/ Ajax

Use some jQuery POST code.

  function createAssetFolder() {

  $("#createdFolderLoad").show().html('<span id=\"hideFolder\"><img
  src="./?a=16336" /></span>');

  var folderName = $("#folder_0_220").val();

  SQ_FORM_ERROR_CONTAINED = false;

  $.ajax({

  type: "POST",

  data: "19303_ASSET_BUILDER_ACTION=create&19303_ASSET_BUILDER_CREATE_TYPE=

  folder&asset_action=create_custom&asset_ei_screen=details&sq_link_path=
&sq_preview_url=&folder_0_220=" + folderName + "&sq_lock_release=0",

  url: "./?a=19303/?",

  success: function(html){

  $("#createdFolder").append($(html).find("#ajaxResultFolder"));

  $("#non_academic").append("<option value=\"" +
  folderItemId + "\">" + folderName + "</option>");

  $("#hideFolder").hide();

  }

  });

}

We have to use the .find function so that it will only return the div that we want, which contains some "Created" page information:

$("#createdFolder").append($(html).find("#ajaxResultFolder"));

We also have to update the select list, with our newly created option, making sure to add the newly created asset ID and the newly created asset name:

$("#non_academic").append("<option value=\"" + folderItemId + "\">" + folderName + "</option>");

A variable is set on the "Created" page with the new asset ID. This is brought in when we get our thank you results:

var folderItemId = %created_assetid%;

Make sure to add a "submit" button with our function:

<input type="button" id="folderSave" onclick="createAssetFolder();" value="Save" />

And after all this, our new folder are created, and our selection list has been dynamicly updated with our new create location!

Remember that we are NOT nesting this asset builder into our News Item asset builder, we are only refering to it when we are posting, and sending it the nessisary data.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 10:42 PM 2 comments

Tags: admin tools, ajax, asset builder

I just thought that I post a quick preview of our homepage for the new PUC website. We wanted to keep the large dominant photo that we so well loved from the old website, and also keeping current news on the homepage, only expanding it a little. We also needed to incorporate the calendar on the homepage, and instead of only one day, we used the Rolling Calendar Page asset and made a scrolling calendar that has 2 weeks of events.

There is still work to do on some of the top level designs such as "Academics", "Enrollment", etc. But these are fairly minor. One of our last large challenges are our Portal pages: Prospective Students, Current Students, Faculty & Staff, Parents & Family, and Alumni.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 2:39 PM 0 comments

Tags: homepage, mysource matrix, puc

There has been some debate recently in my head about what to do with the matrix wysiwyg editor. There are some positives, such as html tidy, access to linking assets in the asset map, etc. But there are many problems with it, mine being how much bloated javascript is inserted into each page.

Since my main focus right now is figuring out how I can implement ajax where ever I can, the Matrix wysiwyg editor posed a large problem. Because of the large amounts of external javascript files, and large amounts of code, it was very hard to implement it with ajax, and still have it work. Since I am using the jquery GET function, it loads my ajax content in using innerHTML. And, as most of us know, sometimes that can be a problem. It was becoming so tricky to initiate the wysiwyg editor after loading it into a div, that I started rethinking it all together.

I had looked at other solutions in the past. FCK Editor, and TinyMCE, both are nice editors, but both are really bloated! So, I went on the search for an alternative. And, I eventually found what I was looking for.

I found a very light weight, small wysiwyg editor, that is only 2 files! One .js file, and one .gif file. The wysiwyg editor if called NicEdit (strangly enough it has my name in it) It is such a difference from those editors that contain hundreds of files and a million features. In our situation, we only need basic formating options. We don't need anything advanced, and for this application, we don't need to let users link to any other pages in Matrix, so having a need to link with the asset map is not valid here. So I am pretty happy with how it turned out, and it loads very well using ajax which makes me happy! And, it writes nice XHTML code, which is a bonus. I also think that the project will have a great future, and some awesome new features will be continually added.

The editor is easily loaded into every text area, or you can configure it per text area id.

bkLib.onDomLoaded(function() { nicEditors.allTextAreas() }); 

Some of the greatest thing about this editor is how customizable it is. You can customize all of the buttons, showing all, none, or just a few. You can use it as an inline editor, and have your text change to an editable box on clicking it. You can also have the editor buttons detatched from the textarea's that you are editing, and you can edit multiple instances of the editor using one button control area. Very cool! I am pretty excited about it, and am very happy about this choice. Of course I will still be using the Matrix editor in a few places like standard page editing, but for most of our applications, NicEdit is the way to go.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 7:55 PM 2 comments

Tags: mysource matrix, nicedit, simple edit, wysiwyg

There are a few things that are on my list that I would like to implement into our Admin Tools. Well, maybe more than a few. But right now, I need to focus on making everything functional, then add the bells and whistles.

I figure that I will focus on the Announce Admin, and use that as a model for my other editing interfaces. I am also playing with the idea or having a structured root node selector, so that there will be one "Admin Editing" area, and it would allow the changing of the root node, which would change what content could be edited. This is probably the route we will go in the future.

My ideas for future additions are:

• Ajax Asset Builders, including multi-step Builders


• Auto saving of content


• Inline editing of content


• Sorting using Ajax


• Ajax form validation


• Drag to re-position content boxes if desired


• File Type Asset Builder, Upload Progress Bar


• jTip, if needed

Those are just a few off the top of my head, I will update that list as more come to me. Feel free to give me any suggestions or comments.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 9:43 PM 0 comments

Tags: admin tools, ajax, asset builder, jquery

Here is an example of the newly added Ajax for loading in configuration options for each Announcement. This is much better than the previous method, which used display:none; to hide and show content. This was a problem because all code for each Announcement was loaded, but only shown when needed. This put a strain on the server, and added a wait time for users.

Also in this update is a visual change when the user updates attributes. Name, Contact, Email, and Status all change on the fly, and can be seen changing as you type.

View the Ajax video here 1.5 MB Quicktime

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 12:21 PM 0 comments

Tags: admin tools, ajax, mysource matrix

We had a problem. We needed to create Announcements, that needed to be part of a Type category, and also a Department. I had built this all using tags, but this quickly became a problem, as there is really no support for tagging in asset builders or the front end editing interfaces. Tags can be added and removed with triggers, and also passed a dynamic variable, but there still was no way to show the name of the tag that a specific asset had, and there way also no way to know if that tag had really been added or removed.

I decided that I needed to take a different approach to this. I looked into using the linking manager, which in the end turned out to be an amazing asset. Our users are first taken to an asset builder, there they have a choice of two create locations. The first is required, as it is the "Type" of Announcement, this will set which category it will go into. The second create location is not required, and is used to set a "Department". This will be used to show relevant Announcements on Department pages. The create locations for "Type" are just folder assets, while Standard Pages are being used as the create locations for the Department categories. (There is a reason for this which I will explain further down.)

Once the user fills out the required info on the page, they are taken to the Admin area for Announcements. One big challenge was how to show which "Type" groups, and which Departments each Announcement was linked under. For this I used two nested asset listings in the type format. The asset listing uses dynamic parameter, with a session variable of list_current_asset_id for "Replacement Managed Asset for the listing". The asset listing is then set to look up the tree 1 level, so that the listing will see all of the parent assets that it is linked to, on level 1. (This is why I used Folders for the "Type" category, and Standard Pages for departments, because I wanted to keep those two separate, so we let the two different asset listings separate the lists by linked asset type.) So when both of these asset listings are printed, they show under each category, which section they are linked under. Each Announcement can be linked under multiple Types and Departments. If the user wants to change they they just click the button which takes them to a link manager page, which allow them to add or remove links. When they return to the Announcement Admin, their changes are shown. We also show how many links each Announcement has in each section.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 9:59 PM 0 comments

Tags: asset builder, asset listing, dynamic parameters, mysource matrix

Here is the first look at some of the admin interfaces that we have built for puc.edu. Most of these are used to distribute adding and editing of content. We chose to not use the _edit simple edit interface in most cases, as the limitation of only one layout per asset is the deal breaker for us.

When a user is logged in, they see the Admin Interface banner at the top of any page they are visiting. That way the have a drop down menu with quick links to any of the admin tools sections. They also have the option of changing their user details be clicking their username.

This is a look at our Announcement Hub Admin, which is where Announcements are edited, status updated, linking changed, deleted, previewed, etc. This lets us quickly make changes to many assets in a short period of time. Rather than taking the time to enter simple edit for each asset, this is much faster for us.

This is the interface for adding "Campus Emergency" mode to our PUC website. This was created in response to different campus emergencies across the country. When activated by a user with the correct permissions, it will change the design of the homepage. This new design will contain all the relevant information pertaining to a campus emergency.

This is our asset builder for creating new Users/Employees in our Matrix site. There is the option of creating Academic users or Non-Academic users, each of which will be linked into their selected section.

These images show our News Item builder. It uses two different asset builders. The first creates the news item into a dynamic create location. The second asset builder will upload an image under the newly create news item. It uses the news items ID passed as a GET variable to create the image under the correct news item.

This is just a few of our Admin Tools that we are currently using. I hope to add more soon to give you a better idea of how we are letting users manage assets.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 4:49 PM 0 comments

Tags: admin tools, asset builder, mysource matrix, puc

I just thought I would let everyone know that I will be posting details and images of our admin tools that I have been building for the new PUC website. It is pretty cool some of the stuff we are able to do with triggers, and I am excited to share my experiences.

Stay tuned...

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 12:40 PM 0 comments

Tags: admin tools, mysource matrix, puc

Just wanted to make a quick post. I wanted to say that we are well under our way with the new website for Pacific Union College. It will be replacing the very old and dated site that can be found at puc.edu. We are using MySource Matrix as our CMS, which is the most amazing piece of software that I have ever used.

We started the project back in June of 2007. The scope of the project has unfortunately grown, but we are working to bring our focus back, and we plan to launch within the next few months.

I have been using MySource Matrix for almost 2 years now. When I started out we were using version 3.8 and are now running 3.16.6 which is quite a big step from when we were on 3.8. Matrix is a content management system (CMS) that uses PHP and PostgreSQL. It has changed the way that I look at content, and has changed much of the way we built and designed our site because of the amazing things that can be done with this product. I will be posting details of different features that I wanted to build, and how I accomplished those with Matrix. Some of them are quite interesting, stay tuned.

Posted by Nic Hubbard at 11:51 PM 0 comments

Tags: cms, mysource matrix, puc, squiz