MySource Matrix Developer

MySource Matrix Developer Newsletter Issue 9
Friday 4th February 2005

covers versions 3.2.1 stable, 3.3.1 beta, 3.5.0 development

News

MySource Matrix Release Candidate

A new release candidate of MySource Matrix will be released on Monday the 7th. Version 3.4.0 RC1 contains a minimal number of changes from the 3.3.1 beta version currently posted on the web site and will not include upgrade instructions from the current 3.2.x stable versions.

Version 3.2.2 will also be released on Monday, and will contain a small number of bug fixes since 3.2.1.

New Section In The Newsletter

Starting next week (issue 10), the MySource Matrix Developer Newsletter will contain a new section to keep everyone informed of upcoming development projects. The current New Features section is good at informing everyone of the new features that have been completed and committed to MySource Matrix, but doesn't indicate what new features are currently being worked on.

The new section will be of special interest to sales and implementation staff who will be able to inform clients of development tasks that are currently underway or planned for the future. I'll try to give an estimate of when they will be started and when they will be completed (if possible). These will be rough guides only but should help allow clients to get a feel for the kind of features they are able to receive in future upgrades if they are willing to wait, or what features can be prioritised with additional funding.

New Features

Custom Image Varieties

Added to: 3.5.0 development

Image varieties are still a new feature in MySource Matrix, and are primarily used to create auto-resized versions of image assets that can then be used in page content. Image varieties now have another feature where you can upload a specific image as a variety rather than letting the system create an auto-resized version of the original.

You would use this in a situation where an auto-generated thumbnail at 100x100 may just be too small. You can manually crop the original image to create your own 100x100 thumbnail, but then apply this as a variety of the original image rather than create it as a new image. In this way, the images are grouped together in the asset map and it is understood that the thumbnail is based off the original image because it appears under it in the asset map.

Asset Preview Screen

Added to: 3.5.0 development

Previewing an asset was previously done in a new window, which was either opened by right clicking on an asset in the asset map or selecting the preview icon from the top frame. The preview was very limited in what it could do.

Now a new preview screen has been added to all assets. This preview screen allows you to preview the asset in the administration interface rather than a new window, although you still have this option. For assets with multiple URLs, each URL can be selected and previewed. For those assets with user defined designs applied, such as a printer friendly design, each design can be previewed. Caching can also be enabled or disabled for the preview.

For bodycopy, DIV, TABLE assets and the like, the preview screen will locate the web accessible assets above them and allow you to preview those assets.

When the new asset map changes are completed (yes, there are some big changes ahead to be reported next week), the right click preview option will be removed, as will the preview icon. To preview an asset, a user will right click on the asset and select to go to the preview screen, or switch to the preview screen if they are currently on the asset.

Remember to run step_03.php to get the asset map to list the new preview screen in the right click menu.

New Bugs Added To Bug Tracker

Notes:

Bug #445 (Safe Edit - Custom Forms) was submitted by James, but cannot be reproduced again by James or the development team. It is very likely that the design linking changes made to the current development version would stop this bug from occurring regardless of if it can be reproduced. If the bug does not reoccur, it will be closed.

New Feature Requests Added To Bug Tracker

Bugs Fixed In The Bug Tracker

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