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Xoops Content
Overview ARTICLES & STATIC CONTENT Many article or content modules are available for download which are not provided with the standard installation. Each content module has its own specific range of features. Webmasters normally choose the content module which suits their preferences. Most of these article or content "wrapping" modules come with a "what you see is what you get" (wysiwyg ) editor. Text can be copied and pasted from text editors like MS Word; or, existing HTML code can be pasted from applications like DreamWeaver or FrontPage if desired How to wrap static HTML content in Xoops The following applies If you wish to have a page of HTML content wrapped inside Xoops without using a content module. This example works if you want the HTML content files to be located in the root of your Xoops installation. First create a PHP file with the following content using your favorite text editor. Notepad for windows is suitable for example. <?php ?> Then name this file anything you wish and save it with a .php extension, and upload to the root folder of your Xoops site. The php extension is important, do not save the file with an HTML extension. To call the file in Xoops you will need to add a link to it, say in a custom block like this. <a href="http://www.yoursite.com/content.php">My Content Link</a> Save the block in HTML format making sure it is set to be visible and in the position required. Remember to go to System Admin-> Groups and add access permissions for the block. You can also use a one-page module setup which will give you the advantage of having the link to your page appear in the main menu. Using a one-page module will also allow you to use the blocks visibility settings for the module because it appears as an option when selecting which modules the page should be visible in. Once one module is created multitudes of duplicates can be made, this only involves tweaking about two lines. To download a useable example click Here To setup a one page module first create a folder and name it anything. You only need two main files inside the folder and a module image file which appears in the Xoops modules admin. So, you need a content file for your HTML called index.php, and a php file called xoops_version.php. The other image file only appears in the Xoops modules admin In this instance your content file (index.php) will look like this <?php ?> Save this file as index.php To turn this into a module you will also need to create the file called xoops_version.php with the following content <?php I have commented out the sub-menu links so they will not appear in the module, these can also be deleted if no sub-menu required. Notice this line from the code above:: $modversion['dirname'] = "mypage";//name of directory The name must match the name of the folder you created Include an image file for your Module: $modversion['image'] = "blackhat.gif";//image for your module appears in admin Inside your module folder you should now have index.php (content file) Add your HTML content to the content file (index.php) and upload it to your modules folder on your server i.e. Then go to System Admin-> Modules and install the module. This module name will appear as a link to the HTML content in your Main Menu. Remember to add access permissions in System Admin-> Groups How to include a standalone app in Xoops Sometimes you may wish not just to wrap a page inside Xoops, but another website, or a folder containing files, or indeed an external application. For example, you may want to include a stand alone music application like Zina inside Xoops which will allow you to present music or sound files for your users. I have a stripped down version of Framebrowser for download Here This module wraps external pages or applications in Xoops. I use it to wrap the Zina media streamer in my website. Some instructions are included. To wrap external content in a block: Firstly create a custom block by going to System Admin -> Blocks Then copy and paste the script below, and adjust the sizes to suit your theme. <iframe src="http://www.mysite.com" height=450 width=450 frameborder=0></iframe> Now position the block center-center or whatever is required. A number of content wrapping modules are available for download, each has its own style and features. Content modules normally come with blocks include for navigation links etc. Another advantage of using a content module is the fact that the pages are included in the Xoops global search. Some content modules like Wfsection, Soapbox and Articles allow the creation of categories and sub-categories I have listed some here with a short overview of their features. Tiny Content A very popular content wrapping module with a wysiwyg editor called "spaw". Spaw does not work in Netscape, if Netscape is used the Xoops editor automatically kicks in. No categories can be set up in this module. - comments can be
activated/deactivated for single contents Soapbox Soapbox is a module that allows a webmaster to create signed columns that will appear in their sites in a magazine-style format. Articles can be submitted by the authors, and users can utilize the XOOPS notification, rating and commenting systems. This has a very good layout and attractive appearance. C-Jay Content The main features are: Wfsection Wfsection is probably the big brother of all content modules with a wealth of features, including categories and sub-categories and a spaw wysiwyg editor. For those who need sophisticated article management features which include group management, article versioning, attaching files to articles, user submit, and everything you would expect from a major article management system--this is the one. In my view this is the most feature rich open source article manager on the Internet today. At the time of writing a new beta release was underway. (June 10, 2004) I also have an older stable version available at my site which is a bug fix version for V 1.1. Many of these bugs were only backend issues which did not affect the stability of the module. I applied bug fixes from around and about. Wfsectionbugfix V1.1 Xfsection This is a clone or duplicate of Wfsection, with more interesting features added. A number of bug fixes were added, and also the ability for users to edit their own articles. See the download for a full description. Articles Articles, Xoops V2xx article management module. This is the only description available on the download, I have never used it so I don't know what features it has. FreeContent The following taken from the Download description: Display your own html or php
pages integrated to Xoops. Beginning from version v2.9 Freecontent implements a URL Rewriting function allowing subsequent local urls to be also showed in Xoops With WebDigest capability
FreeContent becomes the first Knowledge oriented content tool for Xoops. These are some of the well known content modules in Xoops. I am sure there is some others, doing a search in the Xoops site will bring up other choice |
