TP layout suggestion.

[Chodhry]

Right now TP adds the functionality of a 3 coulmn structure to SMF. What do you think of adding a flexible row which we can add anywhere we like. I dont know if some thing like this is even possible but imagin ethe creative space it can provide while designing your front page. It's like having the power of TP blocks with in an HTML table. Merge/split coulms, rows  as you may like.

This could be possible by adding a layout manager in the TP admin area.

Layout manager will have same functions as we have in blocks. Adding vertical, horizontal bars, changing their positions. defining vertical and horizontal span elments to bars and deciding wether they should appear in other pages or not.

If that is not possible then atleast we could have a top/bottom bar where we could use a TP block code which can be displayed above/below the left, center and right bars. The above bar could be used to display notifications on each and every page of the site including help section and from with in forums and the bottom bar can display some advertisment or what ever you may want.

[G6Cad]

In the next release of Tp you will have some more flexibility for how the forum and portal will show. More columns and more diffrent ways to use the blocks on the layout

[Chodhry]

Well we beleive it when we see it. :p

BTW, that would be really great if you could implement sometihng like  mentiones above.

[IchBin]

If you wanna see it, on the Home page of my test site I have 3 articles. One on the left, two on the right. Left article has Welcome and info. Top/right has game server status, and bottom/right has testing 123 text.

http://www.tmrules.com/beta/

[G6Cad]

Do you beleave what your eyes see?  :laugh:

As for the E layout i dont know if Bloc is going to add, but the others are in the next release.

[bloc]

I hope these new layouts will be of use, but I also understand your original suggestion Chodry - its in fact something i been thinking about ever since v0.5 Its already possible now, partly. If you construct a php page where you echo out the html, you can call one of the "bars" anywhere you want. Like this:

Code Select Expand


echo '
         <div>my site here
            <div style="width: 200px; float: right;">' , tportal_sidebar('center') , '</div>
        </div>';

and the center bar will show in your custom page floated to the right.

Whats needed, and what I need to work on for v1.0 of TP are:

- ability to call it from html pages, like {centerbar}
- abilty to make more "bars", not tied to left/right/center/front
- choose the direction of blocks, vertical or horisontal
- adminstrate it all

Then you call make a custom html page, call {mybar} anywhere in it, set it as featured..and choose frontpage to show single page. And the "mybar" will have the same possibilities as "leftbar", with blocks, types, permissions etc.

Possible uses could be having a "bar" that only have banner code in html blocks, and another bar which show different blocks dependant on which membergroup etc. You make your custom page, leave out all visual options and show just that + the bars.

[anunlike]

How about implementing something that will make it easier for members to understand the layout. For someone who's not used to TP, it could be really confusing. I know they're sorted by date, except for the featured items, but that could be pretty confusing for a regular member who isn't used to it or TP.

How about numbering the front page items, if they rotate through by date, just putting a little "[1]" or something? Or stating "Sorted by date" somewhere? Or something?

For someone who doesn't know how TP works, it could be confusing. It may not be such a big deal after they get used to it, but until then, it could be.

[bloc]

In the actual frontpage you mean? sort of like forum replies have numbers?

[anunlike]

Yeah, something like that. I mean, something to make it a little bit easier to understand on the actual front page. Some kind of "explanation", whether by numbers or maybe something like "sorted by date" somewhere or something.

The way I'm looking at is that, AFAIK, most CMSs / portals have their front page layouts with just a single column in the middle and the newest / featured is on the top and everything else is rotated by date. Which is the same for TP, except the different layout options. So, I think that could be pretty confusing to people if someone comes to a site and sees two columns in the middle with some items on top, etc. They may not understand, for example, that the newest and featured items are on top and that the others rotate from newest to oldest down the left column and then the same to the right side column, etc.

Just something to make it more user-friendly and easier to understand, on the actual front page.

[Chodhry]

I hope these new layouts will be of use, but I also understand your original suggestion Chodry - its in fact something i been thinking about ever since v0.5 Its already possible now, partly. If you construct a php page where you echo out the html, you can call one of the "bars" anywhere you want. Like this:

Code Select Expand


echo '
         <div>my site here
            <div style="width: 200px; float: right;">' , tportal_sidebar('center') , '</div>
        </div>';

and the center bar will show in your custom page floated to the right.

Whats needed, and what I need to work on for v1.0 of TP are:

- ability to call it from html pages, like {centerbar}
- abilty to make more "bars", not tied to left/right/center/front
- choose the direction of blocks, vertical or horisontal
- adminstrate it all

Then you call make a custom html page, call {mybar} anywhere in it, set it as featured..and choose frontpage to show single page. And the "mybar" will have the same possibilities as "leftbar", with blocks, types, permissions etc.

Possible uses could be having a "bar" that only have banner code in html blocks, and another bar which show different blocks dependant on which membergroup etc. You make your custom page, leave out all visual options and show just that + the bars.

thats nice bloc. would be of great use. one suggestion though.

Can we have it down to block level?  I mean instead of calling a bar which may have multiple blocks in it would limit bar's use. As a user I will have to think hard on what to display in a left/center/right bar if I want to use this new function. And if I only want to display one block on a special spot then I will have to have only one block in whole bar, making the rest of the options for that bar useless. So may be it would  provide even a greater flexibility to introduce flexible blocks in next version which can be called from anywhere on any page of the forum or even any non-forum page like a custom support page or client's testimonial pages. A TP block much like the SSI function where we can actually control the layout of the page and have the ability to show any TP/forum block.

or may be Bloc, have it oscommerce way. It basically gives you a blank page and a list of functions which you can call from anywhere.

So all you need to do is make a table, define the coulmns and rows. Do the required spanning (merging, spliting) stuff and call these functions like {login} in the uper right cornor cell. {menu} in the merged row just below the login cell. {Toprated} in the left cell of the third row. and {Welcome} message in the second cell and so on.

That can really make creating your front page with TP like a piece of cake.