Regarding Content and Blocks, here's some quick notes.

You can always add content to XOOPS by adding a "custom block". That's the easiest way to add text or html and position it on your site.

The Content modules allow more versatility for custom pages, text, etc...so that you can call up specific content by a web address, for instance. On the A is for Antiques website, I used a module called Multimenu to allow me to link to pages in the Content Module. When you click the "about us" link, it takes you to the custom content I added to the content module.

Blocks - you can add a custom block and have it appear on any page in any of five locations. On my site, I have an "About us" link in the main menu. That link takes the visitor to the content I added in the Content module (Content version .5), as mentioned above. In addition to the "About us" content, all sorts of different blocks are visible on that page as well.

The Main Menu is a block (from the Multimenu module), the random images under the Main Menu is a block (from the XoopsGallery module), there's a scrolling marquee (Marquee module) and a couple of other custom blocks in the right column. And in the center block of the main page is a custom block with the big picture, underneath it is the "recent news" block that comes from the News module, etc...

Each module will have a number of blocks that can be used with it - the News module has a recent news block, a news by topics block, etc. You can use all of them or one, or none of the blocks, and you can position them wherever you wish.

If you'd like specifics as to exactly what modules I used on that site, let me know.

Not all modules are compatible with the current version of XOOPS, since it's so new. Looking and searching through the forums for compatibility is the best way to get information as to which modules work (...asking questions helps, too).

Take care...

JC

Hi Chellycat,

It's tough to recommend XOOPS to someone without getting very deep into their actual needs. In my experience, XOOPS has made it very easy to get websites up and running, with the best and most helpful support community. I would suggest looking through the module repository to get an idea of some of the functionality you can add to the base XOOPS package.

However, I will comment on the following:

- Permissions: You can create any number of "groups" of users and assign certain content to only those groups. For instance, you can have pages that are only viewable by registered users, or anonymous users, etc.

You can send "private messages" to your users as well, to communicate individually. You may want to see if there's a communication based module to do more of what you need in this area...again, check the module repository. I don't use the messaging features much...

Though I don't use the modules, you may be able to use the wf-channels or wf-sections modules to create sections of your website content only for specific groups of users.

- To add content: You can add custom "blocks" of any content you wish that can be positioned in any of 5 places (left column, right column, center-left, center-center, center-right).

Additionally, you can add a content module to display content as an actual module would display it, instead of in a block (more versatile..). There are a variety of content modules: Content, TinyD, FreeContent, etc.

- Custom templates: In my experience, being able to modify template files in XOOPS has been a lifesaver. You can create your own "Theme" for the overall look of your site and paste in the XOOPS code to create your personal Theme files. For most of the modules, if not all, you can modify the individual module templates to create the look you want.

Check out the recent site I did here:http://www.aisforantiques.com.

I used a totally custom designed theme, along with a ton of other little modifications. The only content that's being managed on this site is the "news" section, and the "inventory" gallery. Additionally, XOOPS makes it very easy to make changes. If I want to add a newsletter, or a custom block for "recent advertisements" or anything else, it's a simple task.

Anyway, sorry to be long-winded...hope the above helps...

JC

I've used CoreFTP, Coffeecup FTP, and SmartFTP with no issues. SmartFTP seems great, but a bit longer of a learning curve than the others.

You can download all of them at Download.com:

http://www.download.com

JC

I built a new site using XOOPS 2.2 when it was first released and had only 1 minor issue which didn't affect any of my visitors and was resolved fairly quickly. Seems to be stable from my experience. I picked modules that I researched to make sure they worked with 2.2.

That being said, if I was to upgrade my other sites using 2.0, I would stay within 2.0 (2.0.13.1, etc..), and not upgrade to 2.2 unless there is was a security issue or a functional problem that required 2.2, due to the fact that not all of the modules I'm using are compatible with 2.2 yet.

JC

I don't believe you can call a specific block using a URL.

What you CAN do, if you're not using all of your center blocks, is alter the theme template to move the code of one of the center blocks to the area want it to display...in your case, the logo/header area.

Then you would assign the XCGallery random thumbs block to display only in that block (which would now appear in the logo/header).

Of course, this wouldn't work if you're already using all of the block locations (center blocks - left, center blocks - center, center blocks - right) in your layout.

Anyway....kind of a pain, but it does get the job done.

JC

Sorry...I edited out this response, as it was not intended to go with this post...

I agree with MadFish. I would avoid upgrading to 2.2 unless you're really confident. 2.0.13.1 is the latest release of 2.0. There are some modules that have issues with 2.2, which is why I'm recommending you stay with 2.0 for now.

If I get time later today, I'll look at one of my sites that's done with 2.0 and try to revise my instructions.

The essence of my post remains the same, although the instructions would need to be ammended since you're using 2.0. You can still do everything I mentioned without upgrading.

JC

Don't know if you've found the answer to this yet...

You can adjust the time / date format for the news module by going to admin, then preferences>news>module preferences (I'm assuming you're using XOOPS 2.2).

There you'll be able to enter the appropriate php format for the look you're trying to achieve.

I think the following would work for you:

F j, Y g:i a

That would read as "August 17, 2005 5:00 pm" or so on...

If you set the start module as "none", then you'll have nothing displayed in the middle of your pages until you add a block to the center column. If you're using XOOPS 2.2, go to admin, then blocks>list all blocks. Then right under the words "blocks administration" you'll see a drop down list from which you can add the appropriate block under the "news" section in the drop down. Make sure you set it to "visible" and that you select the appropriate groups that you want to see the module, and set it so that it appears in the "center block - center" column.

(Unless you have made heavy modifications, Module content is displayed in the center of your XOOPS site. Block content can be positioned either in the left column, right column, or in three different positions in the center column.)

If all goes correctly, you'll have your news block visible in the top page (or any other page) of your site.

As far as the reads and bytes info, you would need to "comment out" the appropriate code in the template. That's not too big of a deal either. Let me know if you want to tackle that one...

JC

Forget my post...I found the module at sim_suin's website:

http://www.suin.jp/modules/mydownloads/

FYI...doesn't seem to work with XOOPS gallery module. I get the following error:

ERROR: requested index [] out of bounds [11]

If anyone knows a work-around, I would greatly appreciate it...other than that, it works like a charm.

...and if you've moved mainfile.php out of the XOOPS root directory for security reasons (see comments relating to this news item on Xoops-tips.com), it seems like simplified_url.php needs to reside in the same directory as mainfile.php. I was getting errors until I moved it mainfile.php's folder.

Thanks!

JC

Anyone know where to find the latest updated version of the Simplified URLS module along with English instructions?

Any direction would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

JC