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Admin Backend - Environmental Sustainability


steviewdr

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Hi All,

The Long and Short of It:
[a href=\"http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es\" target=\"_blank\"]http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es[/a]

I have just managed to get around to completing a back-end for the previous Environmental Sustainability website I was doing part-time. I used various parts from different systems around the web.

My intention was to have a backend with FCKeditor (WYSIWYG) editor so that NO web admin is required to update the website.

I will wrap the admin section in a .htaccess file - keeps things easier, and out of google.

See if it would be useful on a general scale.

Thanks,
Steve

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It's looking REALLY good.

A few things I noticed:

1) Reordering the pages doesn't seem to work (down works, up doesn't.. and you should disable the up for the top row and down for the bottom row).
2) The main text box for the page when editing a page is sooooo tiny.
3) Main Config page: all those boxes should be the same width and I wouldn't really make the user put a <hr> in to seperate the items. I'd simply limit them to 3 or 4 news items (provide them with 3 or 4 text boxes) and seperate them automatically. Website Title and Heading should be text boxes, not textareas... and you should really limit the length of those items.
4) Website traffic: I get a "forbidden".

And I notice I didn't have to enter any login info... I assume you haven't setup the htaccess file yet?
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Thanks Ober.

I have taken your comments into account and made appropriate changes.

2. I have made the size of the Text Editor (FCKeditor) longer - Hope that was what you were on about.

3. I have put the news into 3 seperate items - allowing for LESS user hassle or intervention required.

I have tidyied up the Input boxes for title and heading. (I had to solve a quotes problem cancelling out stuff typed in with " or ')
I have put a max length on the news, heading and titles on the server side (simplest).

4. Website Traffic problem - fixed. I find that with webalizer, I need a htaccess in place limiting ip addresses due to spam etc.

1. As for the reordering of pages - YES - it is a little messy. Im glad you managed to get it working. I tidyed it up a little. The first page (Introduction with ref_id 1) should not move up/ down anyways.
Basically its a SQL statement which adds 1 onto an integer (the one been moved) and subtracts 1 from the others!
With a combination of up & down, the end-user should be able to move the order of their pages.

Any other comments or ideas on making this good & userfriendly?

Thanks again.
-steve

P.S. yes - I have removed the htaccess file for critique purposes. Is htaccess suffient for single-user editing of an admin back-end?
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The changes you made were very good and very much to the point of what I was getting at.

Still a few things:

1) You need to wrap your news output with the nl2br() function.
2) When saving the main config options, it wouldn't hurt to show the form again after the success message.
3) The re-ordering of the pages still doesn't work at all. I got one page to re-order, then I couldn't even repeat that operation. Buuuuugggggggggy.

And I would be fine using htaccess for one or even a few people to edit with.
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OK. (Website again: [a href=\"http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es/\" target=\"_blank\"]http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es/[/a] )
I liked been pushed and gotten to do stuff for the better.

Ober:
I have done the nl2br with the News - Definately needed it.
The Save Main Config - Yes - it does make it much more user friendly to show the updated form after the save.
I have re-written the Ordering of pages correctly this time ;-)

Moberemk:
I have changed the background color of the toolbars to the light blue used on the Main Content Area - to try and make it a little more integrated. (may not show to yourselves as it caches a lot)
I know I could integrate the FCKeditor more - however would require a lot off teedious re-working of my main css and FCKeditor css.

Thanks lads.
Any more ideas? Hows functionality?
I provide a daily backup for a week. - Sufficient?

Cheers,
Steve
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Awesome work, and the re-ordering definately works like a charm now!

I'd say that's one of the best admin pages I've seen in a while. Clean, efficient, and very easy to use!

And I think the rule of thumb for backups is at least 2 weeks.

Oh, I did have one more complaint... I don't see the point in the "Admin Home", unless you're going to add more content to it. If all it is going to say is "use the nav on the left to make your edits"... then I think you can drop it.
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(One last time: [a href=\"http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es/)\" target=\"_blank\"]http://kartbuilding.net/misc/es/)[/a]

I have removed the Admin Home page - was just adding to the already long Nav menu!
Will set for 2 weeks of backups. I take it the 2 weeks is to cover any holidays people may be taking ;-)

Thanks for your comments Ober - I really appreciate them. I always strive for Ease of Use.

Rgds,
Steve
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Well, it's to avoid holidays and to give people ample time to realize their mistakes. You can set something and not realize it was wrong and not have anyone report it to you for several days. I personally set my cushions at 3 weeks, which pretty much catches 99% of any major screwups. I have had cases where people came to me 3 months after a change was made and I didn't have the backups, but luckily our IT staff was able to go to tape-backups and retrieve it.

Hell, as far as code backups, I have stuff from almost 3 years ago. You never know when an old trick is going to work or you're going to need an example of how you did something.

Backups are a personal decision IMO, but you can't disagree that the more the better! It's a CYA (Cover Your Ass) policy that I try to follow.

EDIT: OH, and you're welcome for the comments... you're always very thorough and I hope I gave you the same experience.
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