Hi,

I'm wanting to upgrade my hosting package and my provider has an interesting package with Free BSD, php, mySql ready installed.

I've seen in the forums here that at least a few people use Free BSD for their XOOPS sites but I've also seen here that at least one module has a special version for Free BSD. That scares me a bit as I'm a post command liner and a bit afraid that I may get problems. I need to build a site quickly and not learn a new os.

Can anyone give me tips on what I may need to look at or what problems I may get?
Or can I just ignore the advice of my provider that I should look at Free BSD before taking the decision?

Thanks in advance,

Alan

Hi,

what I meant by the "problem" of organising links in the left hand menu is that the standard menu of XOOPS is set up to display one link for each module. This effectively divides your site up more or less "functionaly" - member area, forums, faq, content module 1, content module 2, wiki, news, and so on.
The problem that this brings is that the content contained in each "content module" (let it be wfSections, Articles, or whatever) is strictly seperated from the content in another content module. And that the site hierarchy is a bit steep at this level if youre wanting to present a lot of content.

Should you want however, lets say two entry points to your content in your main menu, and still have the possibility to present an overall content index as is possible with a module such as wfSections, then you fall flat on your face with the standard XOOPS menu.

This is the reason I sugested you look at one of the menu modules - you can either use it to provide a number of direct entry points to your content in addition to the standard XOOPS menu or to completely replace the standard menu.

And then there is the second approach - to use the "smaller" modules on parallel to each other for smaller, independent groups of content. Suitable modules here are TinyD which you can use up to 9 times and wfChannels.

I hope this helps.
I remember I found it frustrating having to "bend" the structure of my old html site to fit the "Xoops Way" but now I'm not sure if I'd consider making a non-Xoops site again.

Good luck,

Alan

p.s. Dont forget that you can rename each module, so that wfSections can become "Last Minute" and the Tutorials Module "Early Bookers".

Hi,
have you seen this item?
Good luck,
Alan

Hi,
regarding the problem of getting links in the left hand column, I remember having read in a post from one of the Wise Men of XOOPS that this has to do with the way that XOOPS is made.
There are several menu modules - I've not tried any of them but the name imenu comes to mind - try a search - and recently there were a lot of posts about menus with sublinks.
Another useful tool for organising your content is TinyD which is a simple wrapping module with you can use up to 9 times.
Good Luck,
Alan

Hi,

these ideas sound really interesting - but don't make everything auto-specific. The field of application will be much larger - and perhaps also the number of people willing to help - if the ideas are held more general:
- Maintenance covers everything from the dogs' injections and kid's bikes through to house painting and software security updates, not to mention reminders to remail my customers. This sounds to me like the further development of a calender module.
- A parts module sounds like the further development of a classifieds module.
- And a results module could be used for team or for individual sports.

Alan

Hi,
maybe you'll find something of use in these two threads:
My Site is a Failure!
and:
How can I beat my Competitors?
Good Luck,
Alan

Hi,
Sections is a bit of a quick an easy solution, but I understand it will be deleted from the standard XOOPS installation in the near future. It is quite simple to use but doesn't use templates. wfChannels or Tiny Content or Articles are alternatives with more future. Tiny D is a duplicable version of Tiny Content - very useful!
Good luck,
Alan

Hi,

Many thanks for the info Brash - I'm sure it's not only of interest to me. I need to work now - yes, I know it's weekend - I'll follow this up later.

Alan

Hi,

its good to have this sort of example data, Brash.

As a relative newbie, I can see that the more blocks and images I have in a page then the longer it'll take to load.
Therefore if I think a lot of my visitors are likely to be using analog modems, then it's a good idea not to pack each page full of blocks.

What I'd like to know is, is there a way of being more specific about the number of requests and the html code in my page/templates? Can I say that each img tag will cause a request? Or how about Forms or Tables or external css or js pages?

Thanks in advance,

Alan

Hi,
maybe Brash's Post in this thread is also relevant.
Good luck
Alan