MySource Matrix Developer

MySource Matrix Developer Newsletter Issue 106
Friday 22nd December 2006

covers versions 3.8.9 stable, 3.10.4 stable, 3.12.0 RC1, 3.13.0 development

News

Changes to Asset Tree Weightings

The Asset Tree Weightings system inside the Search Manager has changed slightly, effective from the 3.12 and development versions. Previously, when determining which tree weighting applied to which asset, the Search Manager looks through each tree for an asset type which matches (or inherits from) the asset being indexed.

However, the order of which tree was searched first was flawed because of the way the getParents() function worked. The function expected getParents() to return the closest parents to the current asset first, however it now returns the list ordered by tree ID, so this assumption does not hold.

The system now works the other way around - searching for each type code, of the asset type and its ancestors, across all trees. This means that an "All Asset Types" setting in a closer folder will not take precedence over a higher tree with an exact match for the asset type. The getParents() function also now orders by decreasing depth in the tree, which is still not perfect, but closer to what was expected by this function.

New Features

Online Quiz Asset

Added to: 3.13.0 development

This new asset is part of the CMS package. This is an asset that allows a user to take an online quiz, displaying a number of questions (currently only multiple-choice style is available, although this is extensible) from a pool of questions created within a folder. (Note that only special Online Quiz questions can be used, not regular Custom Form questions.)

The Online Quiz is predominantly a listing type asset, and therefore most of the options are similar to that found in an Asset Listing Page. The Root Node option is now the Question Pool option, and the maximum number of questions to print can be set. Pagination is also possible. User details is set up either from the currently logged in user, or from a Simple Form asset for non-logged in users (this can be set to be used all the time). Other options allow you to stop a user from retaking a quiz.

The Multiple-Choice Online Quiz Question asset allows either a simple text field or a bodycopy for the question title, and allows the front-end user to select one or more options from a list. Each option contains a points value (which can be negative), and a forfeit penalty can also be applied if the question is skipped or answered improperly (eg. if three options are selected but only two should be). The question can either use radio buttons and check boxes (for single and multiple selection respectively), or a drop-down or standard selection list.

Comment Asset

Added to: 3.13.0 development

This new asset is part of the News package. This is a lightweight asset that can be used for comments - containing a title and a comment field - which can transform an asset into a blog-like page. Other standard fields, such as created date and author, will also be useful in a typical comment display.

The comment asset defines a number of options as Preferences (and as such they can be modified on a global or a user-group level) - the size of the input boxes, the maximum number of characters allowed in the comment, and whether HTML in comments are allowed, escaped using HTML entities, or stripped completely.

This asset is best used with a Paint Layout combined with a nested Asset Builder and Asset Listing that can create and list Comment assets.

Release Locks Button for LDAP Users

Added to: 3.13.0 development, 3.12.0 stable

LDAP Users, both of the backend and normal variety, now contain a Release Locks button on their details screen, similar to that found on users authenticated internally, which will release all locks that they own.

Current User Type Condition

Added to: 3.13.0 development

This new condition checks the asset type of the currently logged in user against a list of user asset types. This allows you, for example, to execute different parts of a paint layout based on whether or not the user is, for instance, a user authenticated by LDAP instead of internally.

WYSIWYG: Disable Keywords/URL Resolution

Added to: 3.13.0 development, 3.12.0 stable

This new system of keyword suffixes allows you to bypass the processing of the global keywords system and/or resolution of MySource Matrix's internal URLs (./?a=xxxx). If a keyword you would normally use is known as "%keyword%", then these keywords provide the following functions:

- %keyword_disablekeywords%: prints %keyword% with percent signs ("%") replaced with HTML entity codes, preventing them from being replaced by global keywords.

- %keyword_disableurls%: prints %keyword% without internal URLs being resolved (rewritten to a full URL).

- %keyword_disableall%: does both of the above functions.

New Suggestion Messages for Search Pages

Added to: 3.13.0 development, 3.12.0 stable

The keywords for spell check and synonym suggestions have been augmented by new keywords allowing you to create a message that only gets displayed when suggestions are available. This can remove the awkward situation where a "did you mean" message as part of the suggestion would have not previously been replaced if no suggestions are available.

A new Messages screen has been added to Search Page to allow you to customise these messages. The keywords used to display the messages are %[term]_query_suggestions_message% for spell check suggestions, and %[term]_query_synonyms_message% for synonym suggestions - basically the normal keyword with "_message" added to the end.

Password Rules Improvements

Added to: 3.13.0 development

The details screen of a user now displays a summary of the current password rules, as configured on the Password Rules Configuration system config screen. This note is shown as its own field, and can be included in Simple Edit layouts using the keyword "%details-F_password_note%", and in the Password Change design area using the tag: <MySource_PRINT var="password_rules_note" />

Also, if password rules are violated while changing a password using the Password Change system design, the violation details are now displayed using a system message, instead of as a MySource Error.

"Publicly Readable" Tooltip on WYSIWYG

Added to: 3.13.0 development

The Edit Properties tooltip on a Bodycopy Container now specifies whether that container is live and publicly readable. The tooltip will specify "Public: Yes" if it is.

Excel Document Asset Type

Added to: 3.13.0 development

This new specialised File asset type allows you perform specialised actions, such as specialising Asset Listing formats, with Microsoft Excel workbook files (extension .XLS). Currently no indexing is done with this file type.

Server Variable Selection for HTTP Auth

Added to: 3.13.0 development

The System Configuration screen now contains a list of server variable names recognised by PHP, to be used with the HTTP Authentication Variable setting. Clicking on a variable name will insert it into that field.

Set Workflow Schema Trigger Action

Added to: 3.13.0 development, 3.12.0 stable

This new trigger action allows you to automatically apply a workflow schema to an asset upon the successful running of a trigger.

Planned Development

No new generic features are currently scheduled for development.

Upgrading

3.13.0 Development

Additional queries: No additional queries are required for upgrades.

Additional comments: No additional upgrade steps are required.

New Bugs Added To Bug Tracker

Notes:

Bug #1945 (Slow linking in WYSIWYG and javascript exceptions) was reported by Richard but was marked as Can Not Replicate after the issue could not be replicated by a developer. It is recommended to clear the browser cache following updates to the WYSIWYG to ensure the correct JavaScript code is being used.

Bug #1950 (Custom form reset not working when error message appears) was reported by nnhubbard but was marked as not being a bug because the reset button resets the form to its initial state when the page loads, including any fields filled in if the form re-displayed itself due to a submission error.

Bug #1952 (Error report for option list not working) was reported by nnhubbard but was marked as Can Not Replicate after the issue could not be replicated by a developer in 3.10, 3.12 and development versions.

New Feature Requests Added To Bug Tracker

Bugs Fixed In The Bug Tracker

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