Hi

First let me congratulate you on an excellent/outstanding product.
Just tried for one hour but was very impressed.
However, it would be nice if you could have the tutorials ( done for beginners ) to show

- how to set up fields that have multiple options ( radio box, drop down lists etc )
-how to use the Validator ( Handler ?,what is regular expression and examples ,Invert match ? ) ,
-How to use Wizard
-How to use Linked Tables
-How To Use Groups
-A simple overview and coverage of JDom ( still dont understand what it is !)

The video tutorials that have been developed so far are very good so just another set to show the full functionality would be GREAT!

I have a few questions :

1.If a component was developed for Joomla 1.7, can the component be upgraded to 2.1 ( when it gets released in Jan 2012 ) ie would we lose our data etc and how will the upgrade be done ( reinstall over the old one ? )

2.How can we make changes to the css of the grid etc that is displayed in the front end ? ( I notice there is a css file called demoxxx.css ).

3.Can we export the data in the backend database to a spreadsheet ? How do we do that ?

4.Right now , the Builder is developing databases with filters but there is no automatic way to create logic (apart from filters ) .Will there be options to create alerts( eg send emails when a particular type of data is loaded into the database ) , create totals and subtotals etc .

5.What is the roadmap for the product ?

Hi marett,

Thank you very much for your interrest.

You attempt new functionnalities, means that you already have adopted Cook Self Service.


The roadmap evolution is not totally defined and we didn't implement an interface to show it.

We are still stabilizating the current version (1.3), so we are not working on new functionalities yet.
The interface must be clear for everyone who discover the service.

The idea is to do not build a too much complex builder, just the nessessary, and then it will evolve in complexity when the manuals and tutorials will be achieved.

For technical reasons, we stops podcasting the tutorials early, but soon we'll continue to podcast them.


Lot's of functionalities you described are already in the list. Exports are currently working, but not released yet.

For the moment, we don't announce the future developements.
Stay in touch, and discover soon the next functionalities.

I absolutely agree, this is really a brilliant service. I'm sure it will become very popular and bring you allot of well deserved success. Congratulations..

What about giving users the ability to load 1 or 2 fully completed demo components that utilize and demonstrate the majority of the Component Creators features?

This would allow new users to see how each feature was correctly/successfully created and configured.


Thanks again for your great work!

Scott

Hi marrett,

I'm with you. Just signed up as a Silver Subscriber and looking forward to achieving great things.

However I would have loved to have seen some clearly defined tutorials on the basics as you hit the nail on the head:

These would enable new users and potential new users to come up to speed very quickly.

And so I hope that some of the above become real before my subscription expires, that would be excellent.

Thank you,

Ed Cox
Sydney Australia.

Hi edwardcox,

Thank you for your subscription.

"Multiple options" are not available because does not handle N:N links between tables. Means that you have to do this by yourself. This functionality is in the roadmap for 2012.


The validators :
'handler' is a string that alias the validator is you want to instance multiple times the same validator.

Cook furnish you a list of predefined validators, and if it not answer your needs, you have to understand little bi RegEx, and enter your own in the custom zone.
The Regular Expression is a test on a string and you can 'invert' the match in order to make validation true if the string DOESN'T match the RegEx. For example, if you want to avoid numbers, you can type "[0-9]" in your RegEx, and invert match. Let's try in the test area.

The wizards :
You have to drop them in the wizard zone, and link them with table fields. If you instance a publishing system for example, you must choose wich table field is used for this publish/unpublish system.
If you want, you can click the green (+) button to automatically create the required table field.


Linked tables :
Only N:1 links for the moment.
Drop the 'Foreign Key' datatype to your table. This is your FKey.
Then, drop a table (from the tables list) in this FK field (droppable zone to the right)
It will create a link, and you'll be able to access joined datas infinitly, in whatever layout in the possible context.
You can see and arrange your database diagram in the "Database" Tab of your project.



Groups :
Once FKeys defined, and grid created, in the grid properties, you'll find the Group property. Choose the field on wich you want to group.
You can find also this group property in the filters, and in the form when you instance a FK.


JDom :
Well, for the moment documentations are not ready.
It is an abstraction layer between your template and the HTML contents.
For example, you can transform a select list, in radio list, just changing the namespace of JDom call.
It seems complicated like this, but in facts, it is a way to write clean HTML without having a lot a mixed HTML/PHP/JS in your template.
Using JDom, you can also customize (inside JDom, rewriting it) the HTML structure of whatever control. The changes will take place everywhere this control is instancied.


Hope it will help you.
As soon as possible, when current devs are released, I'll podcast new video lessons.

Thank you! That reply was timely and helpful and I appreciate your being there to assist us.

Kind Regards,

Ed.

admin wrote:
Is it known when in 2012?