Using CMS Builder with SlideshowPro

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,

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.

<?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

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.

<?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,

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

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

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?

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.

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!

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

Thanks.