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Monday 24 August 2009 4:38:41 am
i was about to scrap this project entirely. i started with a fresh install of ezflow which was a bad idea. then i did a fresh install of ezpub. being self-taught and having operated websites since 2001, i am by no means a novice but i am far from an expert. i will say that with enough time, i usually can figure out a script . this one however...WOW! it's giving me a migraine and it's over the simplest things. look, i wouldn't mind paying for a manual or training or whatever IF i felt confident that it wouldn't be a waste of money. unfortunately, the free manuals are so inept and sparce that i think the average person would give up on ez publish and seek out a more user-friendly interface. by dumbing-down the FAQ/manuals, i think you will dramatically decrease the frustration curve associated with this script. and the EASIEST way to do that is to clearly demo how to create a template. you don't do that by telling people how to create it from scratch and that's what the manual currently does.
<b>MODIFY or START FRESH</b>
"Is it best to somehow modify the design_blue templates and CSS into our design?" my suggestion for people who are new to any script would be to modify one of the existing templates. first back-up all of the files associated with the template and save it locally. easy to do if you're ftping. if you're editing from the admin panel, copy the content and save it locally before you edit. this way, whatever changes you make can be undone. modifying the existing template will help you deconstruct a script template-wise. you can visually see how changing this/that impacts the design and effects the script. the problem with this script is that the file structure sucks. there are about 1000 tpl files. to my knowledge, there's no guide/directive telling you where to locate these files or helping you understand what's in the file so that you're able to easily locate and modify to suit your needs.
<b>THE FILE STRUCTURE</b>
so let's say that i'm a person who prefers to use ftp to alter files. to even begin editing the template i have to navigate through the following folders...
/public_html/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/templates/ <b>THIS IS INSANE!</b> on top of that, you have how many CSS files in how many different locations? again, <b>INSANE!</b> so my first impression would be, this is awful! this is the most horribly designed script (structurally) that i have ever encountered. and if you're not diligent, it's so easy to justify giving up. now, after having played around with it for a day or two, the file structure is still asinine but i have a general idea of where to go and what to look for. i would however suggest that someone(s) who is more familiar with the script begin a FAQ for the most novice of users. A REAL FAQ, the one's i see with good scripts, would look something like this...
<b>PRIMARY TPLs</b>
/public_html/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/templates/ normally, with html based sites, you have to generate a new html file for each page of your website. this means that you have to constantly reproduce static content over and over again. for example, if you have a copyright notice at the bottom of every page, you have to put this copyright notice at the bottom of every html file. this is time consuming. also, what happens if you need to change the copyright? if you have 1000 html files, each with a copyright notice, you have to change 1000 files! .tpl files allow you to store content in small, individual files so that you may call specific content whenever and wherever needed. so in the case of our copyright notice, we might have a tpl file called copyright.tpl. we can then call copyright.tpl whenever we need it. and if we ever need to make changes to our copyright, we only need edit copyright.tpl. once it's edited, the changes take effect site-wide.
<b>PAGELAYOUT.TPL</b>
/public_html/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/templates/pagelayout.tpl This file contains the main structure of your site. Your < head > < title> < body > tags are included here. it also includes the main areas of your site - header, footer, main body, left/right columns. you can change the orientation of these elements in the pagelayout.tpl file but keep in mind, their orientation also depends on any class designations in your css file.
<b>PAGE_LEFTMENU.TPL</b>
/public_html/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/templates/page_leftmenu.tpl This file contains all content for the left column/menu. ---- the guide could go on in this manner. explaining commonly edited tpl files. it could also explain how to create new tpls (like if you want a new column) and how to include them. ----
<b>EXISTING TEMPLATES</b>
/public_html/my_ez_publish_directory/var/storage/packages/eZ-systems
<b>CSS</b>
You can determine the location of your css files by looking at your ez publish site's source code. In general, the files are located here...
/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/stylesheets/core.css
/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/stylesheets/pagelayout.css
/my_ez_publish_directory/extension/ezwebin/design/ezwebin/stylesheets/content.css
/my_ez_publish_directory/var/storage/packages/eZ-systems/my_chosen_theme/files/default/file/classes-colors.css Some classes appear in multiple files so when making changes, you will need may need to search and review the content in multiple files. ---- my point is, this should be basic and unless i'm missing it, this article - http://ez.no/doc/ez_publish/technical_manual/4_x/templates does a POOR job explaining how to edit/design a template. it's written with the assumption that the people who will be using this script are savvy developers. when in reality, most folks have probably migrated here after using other open source scripts...joomla, wordpress, drupal for example. when you consider the alternatives, ez_publish fails not because of quality but because no one is trying to truly help you use it. i mean i asked a simple question about how to change the default email address and i got a response about executing a shell command. <b>ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS CHANGE THE EMAIL!</b> i dont understand how apparently people on this forum don't understand how unwelcoming this script/forum is to new users.
Aang: Just like the legend says, we let love lead the way.
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