Hi All

It would be soooooo great to have wysiwig capability within admin to edit the templates.

There are a number of javascript wysiwyg editors, like htmlArea:

http://www.interactivetools.com/products/htmlarea/

What I would like to do is have real admin create the templates, and then let non-tech admin users call up the templates to edit content.

Would anyone know how to implement this?

The whole idea is to set up form boxes for non-tech guys to fill in without letting them access the html (cuz they'll mess it up)

Many thanks!

I hope I am not misread your request, but why don't you just ftp into your templates directory, download the html templates, customise then with your wysiwyg editor and then upload.

Stu2000

- Top 100 forums / GT Links 2.0 websites -

Hi stu2000. Yes, I do that all the time, no prob. The thing is that I'd like to have a non-techy person go in through the browser and do the routine text updates of stuff like, "Thanks for visiting our site...blahblah..." Thanks for your thoughts

Ah sorry mis-understood your request, ok not a problem, sorry I can't be of any help.

Stu2000

- Top 100 forums / GT Links 2.0 websites -

I'm not sure it's a good idea to let non-techy people touch the template files at all.

It's not as if they need to be updated that often, and they could potentially screw up hundreds or thousands of pages with a misplaced tag.

It wouldn't be very easy to create a true WYSIWYG editor in any case, as the special <% %> tags are only filled in at build time.

The guys who would be able to access this are completely trustworthy. I wouldn't open things to any other kind of person. The reason I thought of this is that I looked at a system called phpWebSite, which allowed users to create and edit new pages. They can choose from some templates and just fill in boxes. No messing with the code. Webmaster would create the templates, upload them, and then users could make selection. That's really my aim - a multi-level user system using templates, no code. Thanks

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I have used XAV's Gensesis Web Authoring Script[/url][/url][/url], and added the Interactive Tools htmlArea to the editing page. Works fine! Genesis is designed to use templates, too.


Leonard
aka PerlFlunkie

Yeah, Genesis is what I originally looked at. It's the right basic idea. The fill-in-the-blank templates are the key. I'm gonna keep pluggin on this one. I think it would be great. Thanks

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I wasn't talking about whether you could trust them to not mess up your site deliberately, I was more concerned about them breaking the site accidentally.

Links 2 isn't designed to be a content management system, and the templates shouldn't need editing once the design is set up.

As far as non-techy users are concerned they should be marked "no user serviceable parts inside".

I think what you're really looking for is an external program that can use the same, or similar templates, to create additional pages - without allowing the templates themselves to be edited.

There are very few of these around that create static HTML and support deep categories if you're on a small budget.

If you haven't done so already, check out the Content Management and News Publishing sections in Hotscript's Perl Scripts and Programs section.

There are also similar sections for PHP scripts and programs, but you're less likely to find something that doesn't create the pages "on the fly" (which is harder on the server).

Unfortunately, an external program isn't going to be able to fill in the right values for the special Links 2 <% %> tags so you may need to find an alternative method of displaying the info they contain.

Thanks very much, wysardry. All your points are right on target. What I'm after is a system that allows a user to create new pages (and even new sections) using templates, but that builds a static site like Links does. I've seen lots and lots of dynamic systems, but I much prefer the static sites for the very reason you mention....server stress. If the site isn't too big, a modified Links system would be the best.

The hunt is on!

Thanks, again.

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