We are having major difficulties managing and editing our links in the Admin interface. Although we have done most of the work externally, after the import we need to do final checking in LinksSQL Admin.
We delayed doing this for several weeks to find out if 2.10 was an improvement over 2.05. It is, of course, much better in nearly every respect except one. The Admin interface, while ingenious, is not as advanced as the the backend.
I have a couple of ideas on what I think would be relatively simple modifications resulting in significant benefits to admin and editors.
The first thing is we need the ability to examine and edit links outside the Category Browser. It's especially important when there are many links in alternative categories. What happens now in Database > Links > Search Results (or List All), is that we can list the subset we are interested in -- but we can't do anything except look at them. Frequently, we need to process a list of records sequentially, but it is not possible -- all we can do is copy the ID or URL, then search for it, do the single edit, then go back to square one. To visit the URL, we have to do a copy + paste.
So, can GT or anyone else suggest how to add the following functions to each record at this point? In order of importance ...
1. A text button (ie: 'edit') that would open the record for editing in a new window.
2. Convert the URL to a clickable link.
3. Convert the categories listed at the bottom to clickable links that would open the category pages in dynamic mode.
Just these three functions would make a huge difference: we could see the linked site, edit the record, and check the public view of the record, all in the same place at the same time.
Similarly, in the modify-record form (seen also in the category browser), it would be very helpful to have
4. A clickable link to the URL somewhere at the top of the form
5. Convert the the categories to clickable links to the public category pages.
I make these suggestions because I guess they would be easy for GT -- nothing as complex as a plugin, and the code to do it seems to exist in various modules. I feel a bit frustrated that after four months I still haven't really understood how to modify the admin pages. I find what I think is the right template, but then I am confronted with something like " <%form%> ". Where do we find the code for that? When we edit an admin template, how do we get it compiled?
We delayed doing this for several weeks to find out if 2.10 was an improvement over 2.05. It is, of course, much better in nearly every respect except one. The Admin interface, while ingenious, is not as advanced as the the backend.
I have a couple of ideas on what I think would be relatively simple modifications resulting in significant benefits to admin and editors.
The first thing is we need the ability to examine and edit links outside the Category Browser. It's especially important when there are many links in alternative categories. What happens now in Database > Links > Search Results (or List All), is that we can list the subset we are interested in -- but we can't do anything except look at them. Frequently, we need to process a list of records sequentially, but it is not possible -- all we can do is copy the ID or URL, then search for it, do the single edit, then go back to square one. To visit the URL, we have to do a copy + paste.
So, can GT or anyone else suggest how to add the following functions to each record at this point? In order of importance ...
1. A text button (ie: 'edit') that would open the record for editing in a new window.
2. Convert the URL to a clickable link.
3. Convert the categories listed at the bottom to clickable links that would open the category pages in dynamic mode.
Just these three functions would make a huge difference: we could see the linked site, edit the record, and check the public view of the record, all in the same place at the same time.
Similarly, in the modify-record form (seen also in the category browser), it would be very helpful to have
4. A clickable link to the URL somewhere at the top of the form
5. Convert the the categories to clickable links to the public category pages.
I make these suggestions because I guess they would be easy for GT -- nothing as complex as a plugin, and the code to do it seems to exist in various modules. I feel a bit frustrated that after four months I still haven't really understood how to modify the admin pages. I find what I think is the right template, but then I am confronted with something like " <%form%> ". Where do we find the code for that? When we edit an admin template, how do we get it compiled?