iphone

6 posts by 2 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: October 6, 2009   (RSS)

By rez - October 2, 2009

Telling clients they can update their site right from their phone is valuable. It's so close to already working. :(

I could probably use css to make the admin load an alternative cms format on the iphone (haven't looked t your code yet) but with a quick test, the drag and drop feature already killed my idea. :(

Am I missing an alternate way of moving things without the drag and drop (without eliminating this wonderful feature)?

Re: [Dave] iphone

By rez - October 6, 2009

I only tested it on a site that had a few records and noticed i couldn't drag and drop. The site that i would like to use it on (the owner loves technology and has an iPhone) will have a database of hundreds of beers. But even events and news would be awesome to add remotely. It will work to add items now. Most of time, the new record at the top of the list will be just fine.

In order to get a full use out of the CMS, I would be interested in a custom plug-in or something that would work for most mobile phones if that's what it takes.


So by text fileds, you mean if i had 5 items, just leave them in any order in the editor but sort on the front end with the numbers? Great idea but in most cases i would have a lot of items. Is this how you would normally handle a list before you added the drag and drop? Any ideas for me that might even require custom work? I am unfamiliar with any other CMS's or how management would be done.

Maybe just push button up and down arrows that instantly work while scrolling the screen (like you have but buttons)? Still, if a record was on the second page, it may be a pain to get at the top. But, as i said, in most cases a new entry at the top of the list would be fine. Any complicated "moves" would just have to be done at a computer. I would just like to get as much done as possible from a phone to be able to offer it. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Otherwise, I will work it out as i actually try to use it and get feedback from a client. Then get some custom work. I haven't even tried to format specifically for the iPhone yet but I imagine it's not too hard. I'm hoping it's all CSS.

Re: [rez] iphone

By Dave - October 6, 2009

Hi rez,

Hmm, If sorting new records to the top would work then that would probably be the simplest. Generally we remove the drag and drop sorting for sections with lots of records.

What about just sorting the records by name, or last updated date or some other field?

What do you think would make the most sense for the site or how do other related sites sort their records?
Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

Re: [Dave] iphone

By rez - October 6, 2009

Hi Dave. I'll be exploring the different sorting options later. Basically, i just knew that this guy has an iPhone and that he would love the idea of managing things from his phone. When I went in and tried it, the drag and drop didn't work.

I'll have more details later on how things will be sorted, I just didn't know what the options were since it didn't work.

"Generally we remove the drag and drop sorting for sections with lots of records."

Can you explain that? I can remove it myself?

Re: [rez] iphone

By Dave - October 6, 2009

>>"Generally we remove the drag and drop sorting for
>>sections with lots of records."

>Can you explain that? I can remove it myself?

Yes you can, just delete the dragSortOrder field, and remove it from the field list and the sorting tab.

Maybe create a test section and try removing it from that first so you're familiar with the process.

Drag sorting is great for sections with just a few records because people can sort things how they like but when you get many many records it usually makes more sense to sort by date or title or something like that.

Also, almost everyone here has an iphone so we are able to test with those if needed. For the most part it should work fine, but to create an optimized iphone interface would likely be a fair bit of work.

Another thing to try changing the sort order under: Admin > Section Editors > Sorting from "dragSortOrder" to "dragSortOrder DESC" which will reverse the sorting and cause new entries to appear at the top instead of the bottom.

That might be the simplest as it maintains the drag sort feature in the browser, but allows new entries from an iphone to appear at the top. Note that it will reverse your sorting when you change it so you'll need to re-sort things.

Hope that helps!
Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com