Main
Index 		Search
Posts 		Who's
Online 		Log
In

Home: Discontinued/Classic Products: Article Manager 2:
The end of the Article Manager?

 
 


biruel
User

Dec 16, 2009, 3:40 AM

Post #1 of 21 (10557 views)
Shortcut
The end of the Article Manager? Can't Post
Reference to the AM2 does not have more in the website. Only in the forum.
It is the end? Unsure


ColinW-O
User

Dec 16, 2009, 9:05 AM

Post #2 of 21 (10541 views)
Shortcut
Re: [biruel] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Yeah I noticed that too. It's a shame. AM2 is very powerful and does things that CMS Builder doesn't.

Not cool.


aussierewards
User

Dec 16, 2009, 11:24 AM

Post #3 of 21 (10528 views)
Shortcut
Re: [ColinW-O] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Does this mean we can't buy "Article Manager" in the future ?
Aussie


Dave
Staff / Moderator


Dec 16, 2009, 4:56 PM

Post #4 of 21 (10510 views)
Shortcut
Re: [biruel] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Guys,

Yes, this is the end of development and marketing for Article Manager. It's been 2 years since we've released CMS Builder and we're putting all our development on that product moving forward.

You can still purchase licenses for Article Manager and all our older products here, though:
http://www.interactivetools.com/order/

If you're comfortable with AM2, by all means, you can continue using it. But if you'd like to try something new we really do recommend CMS Builder. It is different, but it allows you to do a lot more.

We've released almost 40 updates to CMS Builder since v1.00 and are continuing to improve it more every month. If there's something missing that you need to switch over please feel free to contact me at dave@interactivetools.com.

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com
 


tribulatio
User

Dec 17, 2009, 4:14 AM

Post #5 of 21 (10459 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Dave] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Thank you for the information! I had no longer visited the forum for a long time. I have been a user of AM 1 for several years, and I am producing three websites with AM 1. I had decided to upgrade to AM 2 this year, but I am glad I didn't do it: since I realize now I should actually upgrade directly to CMS Builder.

Two very practical questions:

1) Is it possible to upgrade directly from AM 1 to CMS Builder, or is an upgrade first to AM 2 needed?

2) My websites are committed to permanent URLs. Is it possible to keep them during the upgrade process and to get URL such as http://mysite.com/articles/article_454.shtml with CMS Builder? (If it is not possible, rather than to move the material from AM 1, I should probably keep it running on my websites for old articles, and install CMS for new ones - my only fear being that some day, in five or ten years, AM 1 will no longer be working properly for some technical reasons - however, probably I could still keep the older webpages as they are, as long as I do not modify them).

Those are important news, and I am really glad you share them now, so that I can take the right next step.


Dave
Staff / Moderator


Dec 17, 2009, 11:02 AM

Post #6 of 21 (10435 views)
Shortcut
Re: [tribulatio] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi tribulatio,

It isn't possible to upgrade directly, no. So you could setup CMSB for new articles or switch over the next time you redesign your site.

And the urls for CMSB look a little different than AM1 but if your server supports .htaccess files you could either setup redirects from the old pages to the new or even keep using the old url format. Note this is a bit of extra work to setup but it's certainly doable.

Hope that helps!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com
 


tribulatio
User

Dec 17, 2009, 1:39 PM

Post #7 of 21 (10424 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Dave] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Very helpful indeed, thank you! Provided my already existing webpages remain accessible forever (!), even if AM1 stops working in a few years due to technical changes, then the option of having only new articles produced with CMS builder is certainly the best one. Importing existing articles one by one to CMSB is not an option, there are hundreds of them.

I will anyway buy a CMSB licence, and then see how I implement that. I am producing a news site in two languages (English/French), and I assume that CMSB can easily handle 10,000 or 20,000 articles if I reach that number in a few years, right?


Dave
Staff / Moderator


Dec 17, 2009, 1:42 PM

Post #8 of 21 (10423 views)
Shortcut
Re: [tribulatio] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi tribulatio,

Yes, CMS Builder can handle tens of thousands of records easily. Basically anything MySQL can handle, CMS Builder can handle.

Hope that helps!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com
 


tribulatio
User

Dec 17, 2009, 2:03 PM

Post #9 of 21 (10421 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Dave] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Thank you for the prompt reply, Dave! Years are passing, but Interactive Tools support remains the same: courteous, helpful - this is what makes the difference, in addition to quality products.

Wonderful to read that: then CMS is certainly for me the way to go, although I might still have to clarify a few questions - but I will post those in the CMS Builder section of the forum in due time, just posted one already regarding legends below pictures.


bonnie72
User

Dec 21, 2009, 4:41 PM

Post #10 of 21 (10080 views)
Shortcut
Re: [tribulatio] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Very sad to see AM go. Will you continue support for AM2, and if so, for how long? Will CMSB have the same powerful features of AM2 in the future so customers can upgrade from AM2 to CMSB?

Thanks,
Marco


Donna
Staff / Moderator


Dec 22, 2009, 2:05 PM

Post #11 of 21 (10030 views)
Shortcut
Re: [bonnie72] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi there!

We will always offer support for our products. :) Eventually, that will convert to paid support only, but for now nothing is changing. :)

CMS Builder can already do just about everything Article Manager can... and a lot more!

Donna

--
support@interactivetools.com


TerriZ
User

Jan 2, 2010, 10:00 AM

Post #12 of 21 (9759 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Donna] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
I love Article Manager. It does some pretty powerful things with the publishing rules, like creating pieces of code that I can include via SSI into final viewable pages. For instance I have a hidden category where I define the various authors of the articles on my site, with bio, pic, etc., and then integrate that into articles written by each author. Will CMS be able to do that??

Also, above Dave mentions that upgrade from AM1 to CMS isn't possible...but what about from AM2 to CMS? In another thread (circa 2008) this is mentioned as a future goal. Will it be possible? And can I preserve my AM2 url structure?

I'm not in any hurry to switch...although if I understand CMS correctly I can have different editor pages for different categories...hmmm that would be attractive!
[hr]

[b]Terri Zwierzynski[/b]
[url "http://www.solo-e.com"]Solo-E.com[/url] -- Resources for the Solo Entrepreneur Lifestyle
[i]"..because it's not just about the business!"[/i]
Finalist for "Website of the Year" in 2007 Stevie(r) Awards for Women in Business


Donna
Staff / Moderator


Jan 4, 2010, 5:42 PM

Post #13 of 21 (9619 views)
Shortcut
Re: [TerriZ] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Terri,

Everything Dave said about AM1 can be applied to AM2 -- there's no upgrade path by default, but an .htaccess could create rewrites from your old filepaths to the new ones.

I hope this helps! :)

Donna

--
support@interactivetools.com


TerriZ
User

Jan 4, 2010, 6:16 PM

Post #14 of 21 (9615 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Donna] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
Frown

Can I add my name to the list of folks who'd request a seamless upgrade path? Without this, there is no incentive at all for me to move to CMS. The .htaccess issue is one point (I have thousands of articles and over a hundred categories), but I'd also need a way to export articles, categories, etc. from AM2 to CMS...otherwise it's just way too much work. Which isn't a bad thing...I'm really quite happy with AM2 and can see myself staying that way for quite some time. Just never hurts to ask Wink
[hr]

[b]Terri Zwierzynski[/b]
[url "http://www.solo-e.com"]Solo-E.com[/url] -- Resources for the Solo Entrepreneur Lifestyle
[i]"..because it's not just about the business!"[/i]
Finalist for "Website of the Year" in 2007 Stevie(r) Awards for Women in Business


Jesus
User

Jan 6, 2010, 4:59 PM

Post #15 of 21 (9566 views)
Shortcut
Re: [TerriZ] The end of the Article Manager? [In reply to] Can't Post
So sad to read all these about AM. I love the product and I've been a long time customer. I must have 12 to 15 life-time licenses or so :p

Well, I know that Interactivetools has been one of the most respectfull companies I know since I've been doing internet stuff related (back in 1994), so one thing that I'm sure its their will always offer great support.

Eventually if I need it, I might move forward to CMS but I love what I got on AM, prowerfull and great script!


George_h
User

Jan 15, 2010, 10:16 AM

Post #16 of 21 (9238 views)
Shortcut
Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
I will not move away from AM2 as I like SSI and I have thousands of pages in AM and everything is set up sweet.

I am disappointed as a 12 license holder that AM2 is being put on the back burner.

May I ask a hypothetical question?

If MySQL got to version say 10.0.6 and due to a change therein which stopped AM2 from say publishing would we be able to get support for a patch or something that would help all of us AM2 publishers.

I suppose I would even be prepared to pay for a patch using the 'hire us' option

I know we are not there and maybe never will be but it is comfortable to know
Kind Regards

George


Dave
Staff / Moderator


Jan 15, 2010, 11:06 AM

Post #17 of 21 (9236 views)
Shortcut
Re: [George_h] Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi George,

If there was some future issue then:
- We might release a patch (as we did for the IE8 wysiwyg here)
- Or you could hire us to patch the code
- Or you could have any programmer do it since the product comes with full source code.

AM2 should serve you fine for years to come. There's no reason to have to upgrade. I'm still running Windows XP and it's 9 years old. I know Windows 7 may have some new features, but XP is working fine and I have work to do so I'm not going to bother with it until I know there's enough of a benefit to upgrade as to make it worth my time.

If there's anything else you need or you have any concerns please feel free to post or email me direct at dave@interactivetools.com

Hope that helps!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com
 


margaretmh
New User

Jan 27, 2010, 3:47 AM

Post #18 of 21 (8364 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Dave] Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
I am really depressed that AM2 has been discontinued - esp as I have just finally upgraded a site that I purchased ages ago and took so long to get my head around AM2 Unsure

That said I was just about to purchase a new AM2 license for an existing AM1 site that desperately needs a re-build.

Should I go to CMSB? Will it give me what AM2 is giving me?

is there some sort of comparison chart I can check out?

Is CMSB hard to do as I am not that savvy with all of this!Blush


Donna
Staff / Moderator


Jan 27, 2010, 12:47 PM

Post #19 of 21 (8275 views)
Shortcut
Re: [margaretmh] Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Margaret!

If you're happy with what you're using, and it does everything you need to ... then no, there's no need to switch programs. Article Manager 2 still does everything it did before we stopped working on it! If you're comfortable with it, and it does what you want... stick with it. :)

Also, just to let you know, if you have Article Manager 1 already, you don't need to purchase an entirely new license for Article Manager 2. Upgrades are by donation, so you can choose how much you want to pay. (Also, since being discontinued, all Artman licenses are only $99 too.)

Donna

--
support@interactivetools.com


margaretmh
New User

Jan 27, 2010, 1:10 PM

Post #20 of 21 (8269 views)
Shortcut
Re: [Donna] Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
Thanks Donna

I am wondering is CMSB better then AM2?

does it do the same plus more or is it just simpler?

I feel if I am going to upgrade then it would be better to go with the new product.


Donna
Staff / Moderator


Jan 27, 2010, 1:37 PM

Post #21 of 21 (8265 views)
Shortcut
Re: [margaretmh] Looking for reassurance [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Margaret,

Well, it's an entirely different product. "Better" can only be judged if it does what you need it to. What sort of things do you want to do with your site?

But note that there's currently no upgrade path. CMS Builder is *not* a direct upgrade to Article Manager. Articles, templates, categories etc cannot be imported into CMS Builder. And, for setup, there's definitely more of a learning curve, unless you're familiar with PHP. CMS Builder does not come with templates.

If you're planning on creating an entirely new site, then yes, I'd definitely recommend starting fresh with CMS Builder. But for an existing Article Manager installation, it really depends: Is Article Manager currently doing everything you need it to? If so, there's no need to switch. :)

Donna

--
support@interactivetools.com