Some questions about configuring the AMS 1.x

[Daniel B]

I just bought the AMS system and is very satisfied with what it does out of the box!
I'm in the middle of configuring it to our needs right now, and have some questions!

We really like the features on the landing page for articles on this site. This part especially!

Is that part of the CTA FT & Portal that I've read about, or can it be configured to look like this without that addon? In case of no, is this the addon that I need to install to get be able to create a similar landing page?

The same question goes for the category sections like the image below

An finally, I've noticed that the articles here have images where the text wrap around. Is that a custom feature on this forum or something default in XF?

Maybe some questions I could figure out the answers to by myself, but being completely new to administration of XF, I thought it'd be better to just ask!

Thanks!

 

[Bob]

We really like the features on the landing page for articles on this site. This part especially!

Is that part of the CTA FT & Portal that I've read about, or can it be configured to look like this without that addon? In case of no, is this the addon that I need to install to get be able to create a similar landing page?

Those are built in functions called "Articles Ticker" and "Articles Slider". They are available on AMS Home, AMS Category Pages, Forum Home, CTA Featured Threads and [bd] Widget Framework (renders to create widgets).

This is the Articles Ticker


On the AMS Options > Home Page option group, there are 2 options that control this. The first one is the amount of articles to fetch and the other one is a category chooser in which categories to fetch articles from. Each Area that allows the ticker has its own options (individual categories can set this on their own). They have their own options so that if you only want it on AMS home, it won't display on Forum Home for example.


This is the Articles Slider. It too is available in all the locations that the Ticker is available.


The Articles Slider has A LOT more options lol You should really just play around with the options settings to see what they do. Most of them should be self explanatory. There are also some Slider Options under the AMS General Options group that control the behavior of the slider itself.



Theses are the Slider Options that control things like auto slide, pause, speed, mode etc. These settings apply to all sliders that are enabled, where as the above only apply to the specific slider (for AMS Home or Forum Home etc).

 

[Bob]

This is an Advanced configuration option known as "Modular Layout". This Advanced Configuration is available for AMS Home page as well as Category Pages. There are 2 completely seperate setups for AMS Home vs AMS Category pages.

The same question goes for the category sections like the image below

The reason I say its an Advanced configuration option is that it takes a little bit of time to configure and it also requires some understanding of how it works. You also need CONTENT in your system or you will be confused when nothing displays.

Its basically a 2 step process. Configure each Category, then change the Home page Layout type to Modular Layout.

Step 1 is editing and configuring each individual Category that you want to display a module of content for on AMS Home page.

Admin CP >> Article Management System >> AMS Categories >> Edit one of your Categories.

We are only concerned with the TAB "Modular Layout Options - AMS Home Page". This is basically just like configuring AMS Home in the AMS Home page options. You select the sort order that you want to fetch content, the layout type that you want to use to display the content, the layout type options that control the specific layout that you are using, the number of articles to fetch and other misc settings. This is why you need content, because if you configure this category and there is no content in it, it won't display.

You need to do this step for EACH CATEGORY that you want to have its own block.



Once you are done configuring your categories for Modular Home, then you can ENABLE it. You do this via AMS Home page options.

One of the Home Page Layout Types is "Modular Layout (advanced setup required)". Choose that and scroll down and hit Save Changes. Then go to AMS Home page and you should see that it is now in Modular Layout vs Index mode.



Once you get a hang of this, then if you are interested (and have a need for it), I can explain setting up an individual Category page that has several sub categories as a Modular Page vs the standard index page.

Hope this makes sense

 

[Bob]

An finally, I've noticed that the articles here have images where the text wrap around. Is that a custom feature on this forum or something default in XF?

Could you screen shot what you are talking about? Im not sure if you are referring to one of the Layout Types for Article Listing pages OR if you are talking about the Content of an Article itself (which is handled by FLOAT BBCode).

Maybe some questions I could figure out the answers to by myself, but being completely new to administration of XF, I thought it'd be better to just ask!

You can ask all the questions you need to

 

[Daniel B]

Thanks @Bob for the detailed reply! I realize there's a lot to just try out and play around with to get the desired result, and your post makes it much easier!

Could you screen shot what you are talking about? Im not sure if you are
referring to one of the Layout Types for Article Listing pages OR if you are talking about the Content of an Article itself (which is handled by FLOAT BBCode).

I want the text and image to display inline like this!

instead of the image being shown on one "line" and then the text before and after!

You can ask all the questions you need to

Thank you!

 

[Bob]

I want the text and image to display inline like this!

This is not something that AMS is doing, I am using the FLOAT_RIGHT BBCode (which is a 3rd party BBCode).



CTA Float BB Code 1.0.0: Unmaintained - CTA Float BB Code

 

[Twisted_pepper]

This thread has really helped us too, so thanks.

 

[Kairete]

@Bob as you know, it's possible to recreate an homepage like xenaddons also in childcategory? Or just in home category?

 

[Bob]

@Bob as you know, it's possible to recreate an homepage like xenaddons also in childcategory? Or just in home category?

Yes, a Category can be configured to Modular Layout as well. The process is SIMILAR but not the same as configuring AMS Home.

For configuring a CATEGORY page to be in Modular Layout its all done via Editing the Category and its child categories.

Step 1: Edit the Category that you want to use Modular Layout on.
Step 2: Select the "Category Page Options" TAB
Step 3: Scroll down until you find the option "Category Layout Options", check "Override default category layout options" and select "Modular Layout" in the dropdown.
OPTIONAL Step: If you want to display a block of content pulling articles from this Category, then select the "Modular Layout Options - Category Page" TAB and configure the options just like you did when doing the same thing for AMS Home page.
Step 4: SAVE and proceed to the next stet of steps below for configuring Child Categories.

Run these next steps for each child category that you want to display content from on the Modular Category page.

Step 1: Edit a category that is a child of the Category that you just configured for Modular Layout.
Step 2: Select the "Modular Layout Options - Category Page" TAB and configure the options just like you did when doing the same thing for AMS Home page.
Step 3: SAVE
Step 4: View the Category Page to make sure that the Child Category Block is now displaying and is configure the way you want it. Make adjustments as neccessary.

Repeat the above Child Category Configuration Steps for each Modular Layout block that you want on your Modular Category Page.

 

[Twisted_pepper]

This is a huge add-on @Bob with so many configurations. Absolutely loving it...
Is there a full guide somewhere explaining what all of the options are though, like headlines. What does this do?
TIA.

 

[Bob]

Is there a full guide somewhere explaining what all of the options are though, like headlines. What does this do?
TIA.

No, however, when I implement functionality, I explain it in detail in the implementation threads, so doing a search should bring up some results on it. NOTE: AMS was developed at my private development site with Early Adopter license holders, so it could be that a lot of the finer details you would want to know would be only available there). If you would like, I could give you temp access for a couple of weeks to search through the 1000's of AMS threads.

As for Headlines, that is a sub feature of the Modular Layout functionality of AMS. Its basically a way to use 2 different layout types within an individual modular block on Modular Layout. Example, if you have a Modular Block of News Articles and are fetching 10 articles for that block, you could set 3 of those as HEADLINES and display them using Tile View layout and the other 7 using Article View layout). That is all their is to it.

 

[Kairete]

@Bob I give up, I do not understand anything.

 

[Bob]

@Bob I give up, I do not understand anything.

I am sure if you ask NICELY that someone (including me) would be more than happy to help you configure your AMS for Modular Layout. Once you see how its configured, you'll be able to fine tune it yourself

 

[Kairete]

I wasn't rude to you. Simply, I admit I don't understand anything. My fault, I don't say it's yours.
For example, I have a magazine network and for every magazine homepage I'd like to put different layouts on the basis of the childcategories. But I don't even know where to start.

 

[Bob]

I wasn't rude to you. Simply, I admit I don't understand anything. My fault, I don't say it's yours.
For example, I have a magazine network and for every magazine homepage I'd like to put different layouts on the basis of the childcategories. But I don't even know where to start.

If you are online this weekend and we are both online at the same time, I will try and help you the best that I can. If I show you how to do one, you should be able to do the rest Its really easy once you understand the basics.

 

[Kairete]

Ok. Which day?

 

[Bob]

I'll be working on XF2 stuff all day both sat and sun.

 

[Kairete]

@Bob i'm online, if you ever available to help me.

 

[Kairete]

@Bob your last time was friday

 

[Bob]

@Bob your last time was friday

ya, sorry about that... FAMILY LIFE got in the way :/ I will TRY and make time this week. Can you please create me an admin account for your site and start a conversation with me? I'd only need admin permissions for AMS (and Showcase if you also want to do with with Showcase).