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Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro

kevbarker
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Feb 19, 2008, 4:37 AM

Post #1 of 12 (1777 views)
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Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro	Can't Post

Dave,

I am considering using CMSB for a client (a church web site). For this site I would need the capability for the users to upload photos which would then be displayed in a slideshow utilizing SlideshowPro. Are you familiar with SlideshowPro? (see http://www.slideshowpro.net) It is a very popular plugin for Flash which allows someone to create a custom slideshow for photo galleries, videos and audio all in one. Due to it's popularity I think it would be beneficial to allow easy integration with CMS Builder.

SlideshowPro uses an XML file and they also have SlideshowPro Director (a CMS for SlideshowPro) I would rather use one CMS rather than to have a login for CMS Builder and then another for SlideshowPro Director (although Director is an excellent product). Is it possible to setup CMSB so that it would build the XML file(s) which SlideshoPro reads to create the slideshow? I know there are plugins for some of the other CMSs out there for SlideshowPro (Expression Engine is one).

I can provide you the formatting used for the XML and other files if you need to take a closer look at those.

Thanks!

Kevin

Dave
Staff / Moderator

Feb 19, 2008, 8:48 AM

Post #2 of 12 (1771 views)
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Re: [kevbarker] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Kevin,

I'd bet it can. If you could post an example of the type of XML input file or content SlideShowPro needs I'd be happy to help you figure out how to create it with CMS Builder.

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

kevbarker
User

Feb 19, 2008, 6:37 PM

Post #3 of 12 (1760 views)
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Re: [Dave] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Dave,

Thanks for the quick response. The content for SlideshowPro can be .jpg .gif, .png, .flv, .swf, .mp3 (and a few other video formats if the end user has the bleeding edge version of the Flashplayer).

I have pasted an example of the XML format below.

Code

 
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>  
 <gallery> 
<album lgPath="album1/images/" tnPath="album1/thumb/" title="Album title" description="Album description" tn="album1/preview.jpg"> 
  <img src="1.jpg" title="" caption="" link="" target="_blank" pause="" />  
  <img src="1.jpg" title="" caption="" link="" target="_blank" pause="" />  
  <img src="1.jpg" title="" caption="" link="" target="_blank" pause="" />  
  <img src="1.jpg" title="" caption="" link="" target="_blank" pause="" />  
  <img src="1.jpg" title="" caption="" link="" target="_blank" pause="" />  
 </album> 
 </gallery>

lgPath = path to the large version of the photos
tnPath = path to the thumbnails (or preview photo in case of video)
caption = this would show on mouseover of the image
link = if the image is clicked it would follow this link

The user would have to be able to upload the media, thumbnails would be created, and then the user would enter information for the various fields in the XML file(caption, etc.) then the XML file would be updated by CMSB which would then change and update the content displayed in the SlideshowPro media player.

The most important areas for a lot of the clients I design sites for will be an events calendar, photo gallery or slideshow (which could also be used as an events/ads display on the home page), and then the individual page content. I am hoping that CMSB will cover these requirements.

Here is an example of a site I am working on which uses the slideshow for ads on the home page: http://www.clubhouse4042.com and here http://bonevoyageinc.com/gallery/ you can see the mouseover effect which shows the caption that would be entered.

Hope this info helps explain the needs a little better. If you could help me figure out how to do this, I will definitely use CMSB! I have several new clients lined up.

Thanks again!
Kevin

Dave
Staff / Moderator

Feb 20, 2008, 11:24 AM

Post #4 of 12 (1741 views)
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Re: [kevbarker] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Kevin,

The one thing CMS Builder doesn't do is put it's thumbnails in a different directory. It puts them in the same directory and adds a _thumb extension. I've just used the main upload dir for both lgPath and tnPath. Let me know if that's going to be a problem.

Here's some code for a page viewer. Ideally you'd have a list viewer that would list albums and then you'd click through to this one to display an album. You could also direct link to a specific album. This one assumes you have some fields defined called: title, and description. Also you'll need to change the tableName and the require_once path to match your server.

Code

<?php 
  echo "<?xml version='1.0'  encoding='UTF-8'?>\n"; 
 
  require_once "../lib/viewer_functions.php"; 
  $options = array(); 
  $options['tableName'] = 'news'; 
  $options['recordNum'] = ''; 
  $options['where']     = ''; 
  $record = getRecord($options); 
?> 
<gallery> 
<album lgPath="<?php echo $SETTINGS['uploadUrl']; ?>" 
       tnPath="<?php echo $SETTINGS['uploadUrl']; ?>" 
       title="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($record['title']); ?>" 
       description="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($record['description']); ?>" 
       tn="album1/preview.jpg"> 
 
  <?php if ($record): ?> 
    <?php foreach (getUploads($options['tableName'], 'uploads', $record['num']) as $upload): ?> 
 
      <img src="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($upload['filename']); ?>" 
           title="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($upload['info1']); ?>" 
           caption="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($upload['info2']); ?>" 
           link="<?php echo $upload['urlPath'] ?>" 
           target="_blank" 
           pause="" /> 
 
    <?php endforeach ?> 
  <?php endif ?> 
 
</album> 
</gallery>

Give that a try, let me know how it goes.

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

kevbarker
User

Feb 21, 2008, 4:22 AM

Post #5 of 12 (1724 views)
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Re: [Dave] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Dave,

I will give that a try once I get everything setup. I may need some more help down the road...

As always, thanks for the awesome support!

Kevin

Dave
Staff / Moderator

Feb 21, 2008, 1:38 PM

Post #6 of 12 (1706 views)
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Re: [kevbarker] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sounds good, if you can - post a link when it's up and running. We'd love to see it in action!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

mbodamer
User

Feb 27, 2008, 10:27 PM

Post #7 of 12 (1602 views)
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Re: [Dave] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

ok i am trying to get my head around this....

dave the example you posted above... does that get named images.xml which is what ssp is looking for?

then when i upload a few photos it will populate that file with the details?

mbodamer
User

Feb 27, 2008, 11:06 PM

Post #8 of 12 (1599 views)
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Re: [mbodamer] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

ok I think I am getting close...

my flash file loads, that is enough for me to see the colored border, but the actual slides dont load. So I know I have the code right to disply the slide show, but I have the code wrong for grabbing the xml file.

I have edited the code to change the table name to cms_photos which is my table name.

then I copied and pasted that code into a file, and tried to name it images.xml or images.php

then I edited a working html file with slide show as follows, changed the xmlfilepath to images.xml or images.php

all I get is the slide shows frame.... no nav and no pictures.

any ideas?

the possabilities for this are amazing especially if this was in LM, to make dynamic slide shows on teh fly using the uplaoded photos.... awesome.

Dave
Staff / Moderator

Feb 28, 2008, 9:18 AM

Post #9 of 12 (1580 views)
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Re: [mbodamer] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

You'll need to name the file with a .php extension for it to run as a program and not just output it's source code.

First, make sure when you view the url in your browser it outputs the XML you want (view source in your browser to check that).

First, we want to test the output is correct. We can do that by saving the content from view source as images.xml and setting xmlfilepath to that.

If that doesn't work it means something is wrong with the XML format so we'll need to track that down. If it works, it means we have the right format and can continue.

Next, try setting xmlfilepath to the php file. If that doesn't work (but the saved .xml does), it means there's something we need to change with the PHP file.

If that's the case, try adding this to the very top of your php page:

<?php header('Content-type: application/xml; charset=utf-8'); ?>

That helped Berkowitz get his XML/RSS working in another thread.

And if after trying all that it STILL doesn't work -or- if you get stuck anywhere along the way or need more details, post back here and we'll keep trying!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

matrix
User

Mar 11, 2008, 8:38 AM

Post #10 of 12 (1268 views)
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Re: [kevbarker] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Kevin, did you ever get this working with Slideshow Pro? Would be so cool if it does.

Thanks.
Happy Interactive Tools product user since 1999

kevbarker
User

Mar 11, 2008, 2:59 PM

Post #11 of 12 (1255 views)
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Re: [matrix] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Matrix,

Unfortunately I have not had a chance to work on that project yet since I posted, but am fast approaching it after completing my current one. Once I get it working I will be sure post the details here and share with everyone. If we can get CMSB working with SlideShowPro we have some pretty awesome possibilities for our clients the way I see it. I use SlideShowPro quite a bit for various purposes and sites. (http://www.allaboutmegirlspa.com is my latest example) I have been using SlideShowPro Director as the CMS for it (it works great) but wanted one solution and one license for my client's content managment. Looks like CMSB has some awesome possibilities and I plan to use it for my client's CMS needs - just hate the price is going up! Frown

I fear the price increase may put it out of reach for some clients.

I will let you know as soon as I get it worked out.

Take Care,

Kevin

matrix
User

Mar 11, 2008, 3:19 PM

Post #12 of 12 (1251 views)
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Re: [kevbarker] Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks.

I'm working on a site we need to deliver in the next week so, for this one, I think we can use the workaround we've used for SlideShow Pro in ArtMan. It doesn't permit loading additional photos, but by naming the images 01.jpg, 02.jpg.... and designating a separate directory for each slideshow's uploads, we can provide the ability for clients to remove and replace (in that order) as long as they observe the naming convention.

And now that Dave has included a separate "thumbs" directory, this should work even better than before. Of course, I'm saying all this before implementing a slideshow for this project, but don't see why this approach won't be successful. Will know shortly.

I hear you on the price. I recommend going for the 12-pack right away, if you can. I did and am stocked up for at least the next few sites. I had to swallow hard before doing it, but after looking at the numbers, it was a no-brainer for us. I know we're going to use CMS Builder for many more sites than we did ArtMan (which we used a lot) just because of the flexibility. Am liking it. Anyhow, I think it simply has to be written into the bid for any client who needs a truly reliable CMS.

Thanks again for the input and please keep us posted.

PS: Cute site! Well done!
Happy Interactive Tools product user since 1999

(This post was edited by matrix on Mar 11, 2008, 3:23 PM)

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