webTop Overview Changes

Overview

The webtop overview is a collection of webskins that render out the default admin view for any content item. The FarCry framework provides a default overview for all content types. However, the view can be overridden in both plugins and the project as needed.

Screenshots

Gallery of screengrabs for custom webtop summaries using existing FarCry webtop customisation options. A lot is possible. Proposing we adopt a much more effective generic webtop overview summary.

The Webtop OVerview

Currently webtop overview summaries just show common type properites in a definition list. We need to make this area work a little bit harder. So while we need a common format or approach to the functional design of this area, we need to highlight key common properties or functionalities that could improve the overall user experience.

Primary & Secondary Calls to Action

The left hand side is reserved for the main actions users are likely to perform on any given content item. The defaults cater for content types with and without the status property.

Status Bar

For content types with the status property, the status bar highlights to users the status of the current content item, and provides context sensitive options.

Webskin Hierarchy

The webtop overview is broken down into several different parts making it easy to override just a specific area for your content type while relying on the default for the rest.

editTabOverview.cfm

This is the specialised webtop controller for rendering the "webtop overview" view layer. This works out what version of the object to render, adds a webtop header and footer for the page. There should be no reason at all to modify or change this file.

types.webtopOverview

The webtopOverview is a generic webskin (ie. related to the abstract "types" class) based in ./farcry/core that is available to all content types. The view is responsible for rendering the entire webtop overview screen. By default this calls several other webskins (or views), and renders default formatting based on content type system attributes.

You can override this view in your project or plugins as required. However, we would recommend leaving the view "as is" in the majority of cases and working instead with types.webtopOverviewActionPrimary and types.webtopOverviewSummary to modify behaviour. This ensures a consistent structure to the webtop overview across all content types.

types.webtopOverviewActionPrimary

The webtopOverviewActionPrimary generates the various primary calls to action for the specific content type in question. Its a fairly complicated view that works out what actions should be permissible based on the users permissions and the current state of the underlying object. It's not for the faint hearted but is isolated so that developers can integrate their own actions as needed.

Override the webskin in your project or plugin by creating a webskin of the same name under the webskins sub-directory matching your typename. For example, the News Content type (called dmNews) would have a webskin called ./webskins/dmNews/webtopOverviewActionPrimary.cfm

types.webtopOverviewSummary

The webtopOverviewSummary should be used as the primary point of customisation for different content types.

Override the webskin in your project or plugin by creating a webskin of the same name under the webskins sub-directory matching your typename. For example, the News Content type (called dmNews) would have a webskin called ./webskins/dmNews/webtopOverviewSummary.cfm

farWorkflow.renderWorkflow()

The function integrates the FarCry workflow sub-system if it has been activated for the application. If you haven't activated the workflow sub-system just ignore this option.

Special Situations

Navigation Folders

Should show links to underlying content items in the tree.

Content Locked

Content that is locked by another user needs to be more prominent, with the basic call to action obvious: unlock, who do i contact to unlock.

Publish Date

publishdate is a common property to future publish content items. Need to clearly indicate when a content item is not published due to a future publishdate; count down to publish date.

Expiry date

expirydate is a common property to indicate a content item has auto-expired and been removed from the site. The overview should alert the contributor is the content is in fact expired.

Categorisation

Important to summaries all the relevant categories assigned to a relevant content item. Might also include some allowance for keywords.

Parent Content

Should show a link to the parent content item. Essential if tree content. Perhaps a customisation for non-tree content with a primary parent relationship.