Squiz Matrix Newsletter #363
27 JanAustralians all, let us rejoice~ Yesterday was Australia Day and Aussies around this great nation of ours celebrated the day with a beer in hand, a few snags on the barbie and the warm company of family and mates.
We hope all you dinky-die Aussies out there had a great day! Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!!
Despite the celebrations, we've still been going gung-ho here in the office. The Easy Edit Suite saw a new minor release earlier this week. This build addresses a handful of bugs and introduces a number of minor enhancements.
This release is currently available for download on the Squiz Matrix site.
Existing users of EES Phase 3 will need to merely replace their EES folder on their installation. New users can refer to the EES Installation Guide for install and configuration steps for the Easy Edit Suite.
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In other news, Squiz CMS's revolutionary Viper editing interface has been the base inspiration for the New York Time's new Integrated Content Editor, or ICE.
Faced with the demand of a tailor made interface for its editors, the NYTimes.com Web CMS team developed ICE with a focus on the ability to track changes throughout the publication process.
For more information on ICE, including an overview of its development process, visit the NYTimes blog: Introducing ICE, Writing for the Web. They also have a handy little demo for you to try out for yourself.
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This week we have one new feature to report on, a new field on the WYSIWYG editor's Insert Link tool to allow you to link directly to the target URLs of Link and Redirect Page assets. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.
WYSIWYG Insert Link Tool: Direct Links to Asset External Target URLs
Due for release in version 4.6.3 (February 6th 2012)
The WYSIWYG's Insert Link tool allows you to insert a hyperlink to an external site or an internal asset. Previously, however, this tool, when creating links to Link and Redirect Page assets, would create a link directly to that asset (e.g. "./?a=123").
This features introduces new functionality that allows you to link directly to the target URLs of Link and Redirect Page assets.
A new Asset Type field has been added to the Insert Link tool. This field allows you to specify whether the link is to a Link or Redirect Page asset or, if not, any other asset.
When a user selects ether the Link Asset or Redirect Page Asset options, only assets of those types will be able to be selected in the Select Asset field. Once an asset is selected, and a global keyword replacement will be automatically printed in the Link field, linking directly to the target URL of the asset, as follows:
- %globals_asset_attribute_link_url:123%
- %globals_asset_attribute_redirect_url:123%
This feature has been added to aid editors and simply the process of linking to external urls on Matrix assets.
Squiz Matrix Newsletter #362
20 Jan
This week we have two new features to report, including a trigger action to update the type and value of a link. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.
Update Link Trigger Action
Due for release in version 4.8.0 (March 5th 2012)
Trigger actions allow you to specify tasks that will be performed when a fired trigger meets a specified set of conditions. Squiz Matrix boasts an extensive array of trigger actions that are available, from creating new assets to updating your status on twitter.
This feature introduces a brand new trigger action to update the type and value of a specified link.
The Update Link trigger action allows you to update a single link. This link can be specified by link ID or, alternatively, you can identify attributes to match a link on the firing asset, including the link type and value, the side of the link to look on (parent or child) and the asset type of the linked asset.
This trigger action has been added to strengthen the functionality of the Squiz Matrix trigger system and expand on the trigger set-ups available to users.
Purge Trash Performance Enhancement
Due for release in version 4.8.0 (March 5th 2012)
When purging the trash in your system, Squiz Matrix runs the buildListToDelete() function to determine if any assets in the trash have external links (linked outside the trash). If this is the case, only the asset link in the trash will be deleted rather than the asset itself, in order to maintain these external links.
Previously, this function would individually check each trashed asset as a part of this process. This, however, could cause potential performance issues when dealing with larger numbers of assets.
This minor enhancement modifies this process by checking assets by tree level, skipping the children of parents that have external links. This is because, if a parent assets has an external link, all its children will also be externally linked - the system knows this and, thus, the check is not required.
This enhancement will improve the performance of the purging of trash both using the Purge Trash option in the Backend and the purge_trash.php script, especially on larger systems with many assets marked for deletion.
Squiz Matrix Newsletter #361
13 JanFor many years, Zed Said Studios' Nic Hubbard has established himself as a truly innovative member of the Squiz Matrix community. As webmaster at PUC (Pacific Union College), Nic has demonstrated his vast knowledge of Matrix and his passion for the future development and growth of the product.
Nic's contributions include, most notably, the creation of the JavaScript API, which is now the cornerstone of Matrix's own Easy Edit Suite. He has also provided to the Matrix community through the development of the Squiz Matrix Community web site, as well as countless Matrix-centric posts and tutorials on his blog.
Nic's latest venture has been the development of an IOS application for Squiz Matrix, which is now close to a beta release. He is appealing for beta testers (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad) to trial the app. If you are keen, be sure to sign up to TestFlight to express your interest.
Everyone at Labs is very excited to see just how Nic has brought Matrix over to the IOS system.
This week we have two new enhancements to report, including new options to ignore column headings in CSV Files imported on the Import Bulkmail User tool and the Metadata Select field type. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.
Ignore CSV File Header Option Extended to Bulkmail, Metadata Packages
Due for release in versions 4.6.3 (February 6th 2012)
In last week's newsletter, we reported that a new option had been added to the Remap Manager's CSV Upload tool, allowing you to indicate to Matrix that the CSV file being uploaded (to import remap entries) contained column headers.
This new Column Headings in CSV File? field would ignore the column header values in imported CSV files, which would previously cause imports to fail due to Matrix not recognising these values as valid data.
This minor enhancement has now been extended to the CSV import options on the Import Bulkmail Users tool and the Metadata Select field type.
Online Quiz Interactive Mode: Question Option Format Settings
Due for release in versions 4.8.0 (March 5th 2012)
Late last year, we reported on a new Interactive Mode for the Online Quiz asset. This mode transformed the regular listed quiz format into a one question per page format, with the option of allowing users to retry incorrectly answered questions.
This feature has been updated to include a new Question Option Format field for multiple-choice radio button/checkbox question types on the Interactive Online Quiz.
This new field can be found under the Question Setup (formerly Question Pooling) section on the Details screen of the Online Quiz.
The format defined in this field will affect the output of the individual options for each question on an Interactive Online Quiz. Please note that leaving this field empty will use the default format of questions on the Online Quiz.
The following keyword replacements are available for use when defining the question option format:
- %option_number% : the option order number.
- %option_input_field% : the <input> tag for radio button/checkbox.
- %option_text% : the option text.
- %option_label% : the option text wrapped with a <label> tag.
- %option_response_supplement% : the option response supplement wrapped with a <div> tag (Feedback page only).
The addition has been made to provide users with greater configuration over the style and look of the Online Quiz's new Interactive Mode.
Squiz Matrix Newsletter #360
06 JanWelcome back Matrix aficionados for what we hope will be another exciting year full of new developments and wonderful news: 2012!!
Of course, the year started off with a bang - and I'm not just talking about the fireworks that lit the city skies on New Year's Eve. That's right, Labs kick-started the year by setting off a few little firecrackers of our own in the form of two new releases of Squiz Matrix (4.4.6 and 4.6.2).
Features and enhancements introduced in these versions included the ability to upload Metadata Select Field options from an external CSV file and a new Reply-To field on email settings within Matrix. Be sure to view the release blog post for further information on these versions, including release notes and download links.
This week we have two new features to report, including a brand new Decision Tree asset. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.
Brand New: Decision Tree Asset
Due for release in versions 4.8.0 (March 5th 2012)
A new Decision Tree asset has been developed for Squiz Matrix, leading users through a dynamic series of questions and displaying a final result based on the responses given. By engaging your users through an interactive decision process, the Decision Tree asset allows you to provide information and content that caters specifically on an individual user basis.
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland - the RACQ - has partnered with Squiz to release this new asset. The RACQ website has utilised this new functionality to implement a Membership Selector tool that presents users with a series of questions, based on their responses, and then indicates the most appropriate level of membership cover for them.
View the RACQ's Membership Selector for an implementation example of the new Decision Tree asset.
The Decision Tree asset is essentially comprised of:
- Questions: the questions your users will answer on the decision tree. Questions can be formatted as either select or numeric question types and are similar in configuration to existing questions in form assets.
- Results: result bodycopies are created to display to users based on their answers. For example, in the RACQ's Membership Selector, the result bodycopies display different levels of membership cover that is determined by the user's responses to each question.
- Answer Destinations: response-based destinations for questions on your Decision Tree. An answer destination can be either another question or a result bodycopy. This allows you to cater the questions and results displayed specifically based on the responses your users give.
Decision Tree assets can also implement a points-based system where point values are accumulated based on the responses given. Response bodycopies can then be allocated a points range and are dynamically displayed based on the accumulation of points once users reach a question that does not have an allocated answer destination (ie. the end of the Decision Tree).
A number of new keyword replacements are available when formatting the content of the Decision Tree asset. These include:
Page Contents Bodycopy:
- %decision_tree_contents%
- %reset_button%
Decision Tree Question Bodycopy:
- %question_title%
- %question_field%
- %question_note%
- %accumulated_points%
- %question_button% (numeric only)
Result Bodycopy:
- %accumulated_points%
Additionally, question and result bodycopies on the Decision Tree are wrapped with division tags and classes for easy design implementation and CSS styling (as displayed in the RACQ's Membership Selector).
The introduction of this new Decision Tree asset aims to provide Matrix users with an alternative to complex graphs and diagrams which can be confusing to site users. The interactive decision process allows you to present information tailored specific to users in a simple and accessible manner.
Remap Manager: Option to Ignore Headers in Imported CSV Files
Due for release in versions 4.8.0 (March 5th 2012)
Squiz Matrix's Remap Manager lists the current remaps or redirects that exist in the system and allows you to manage this list.
The Remap Manager includes a CSS Upload tool, allowing you to import a number of remaps in a single batch. Previously, however, if the CSV file uploaded into Matrix contained a header line (first row of the CSV file), the import would fail due to Matrix not recognising these values as valid data.
This minor enhancement adds a new field, allowing you to indicate to Matrix that the CSV file being uploaded contains column headers. The Column Headings in CSV File? field can be found on the Details screen of the Remap Manager.
When this field is enabled, Matrix will ignore the column header values and correctly import the remap information.
Please note that this functionality will also be extended to other CSV import tools within Matrix, such as the CSV Data Source and Import Bulkmail Users Tool, in the near future.
Squiz Matrix Versions 4.4.6 and 4.6.2 Released
03 JanWe are back for another year and kicking 2012 off with a pair of releases, Squiz Matrix 4.4.6 and 4.6.2. Each of these releases contain new features, enhancements and bug fixes.
Squiz Matrix v4.4.6 is the latest release of our 4.4.x branch, released in July 2011, and contains 12 bug fixes and 3 new features and enhancements.
Squiz Matrix v4.6.2 is the latest release of our 4.6.x branch, released in November 2011. This version of Matrix contains 12 bug fixes and 6 new features and enhancements.
Features and enhancements introduced in these versions include the ability to upload Metadata Select Field options from an external CSV file and a new Reply-To field on email settings within Matrix.
These releases are currently available via the public CVS repository (http://public-cvs.squiz.net/). You can download these versions by running the checkout script as follows:
./checkout.sh mysource_4-4-6
./checkout.sh mysource_4-6-2
For more information on checking out from CVS, refer to the Squiz Matrix Manual Installation Guide.
The latest Matrix Automatic Upgrade scripts are also currently available for download on the Squiz Matrix site.
Version 4.6.2 of Matrix will also be released as a virtual machine image. This VM will be made available for download from tomorrow on the Squiz Matrix site. For more information on installing a VM image, refer to the Virtual Machine Setup Guide.
Please be sure to follow the relevant user guides when updating or installing your systems.