XenZine Articles [Deleted]

tenants

Well-known member
tenants submitted a new resource:

XenZine Articles - Article Manager, Ezine style workflow, Pintrest style layout

Please note, one payment covers one install on one forum. A further £80 is required to remove the copyright for that install. If you would like to remove the copyright or buy further copies, use the donation link and mention your site URL in the note.



What this Plugin Does:

  • Publishing work flow, with publishing restrictions/options (similar to Ezine Articles)
  • Option to give the publisher their own "resource box"...

Read more about this resource...


To Do List

1 ) Article count on Members Card and other areas Done v1.1.0
2) Select Forums per category (defined in the ACP) Done v1.1.0
3) Improve animated list layout (remove fouc issues) Done v1.1.0
4) Make article list, category list, article page work well with XenForo 1.2 Responsive Done v1.1.0
5) Options to select default article page ("Articles" in the Nav) via ACP Done v1.1.0
6) Options to select an article area (editors picks/category/article list) as your "home page" (This options will only work for XF 1.2 up) Done v1.1.0
7) Editors Picks (as an optional row for each category, and it's own page) Done v1.1.0
8) Restyle "Article List" to look more like Pintrest Done v1.1.0
9) Scrolling for picks/rated sections Carousel Added Done v1.1.02
10) Articles with multiple pages Done v1.1.05
11) Public control to "convert thread to article" Done v1.1.03
12) Default picture per category (defined in the ACP) Done v1.1.03
13) Allow Admin to publish directly (user group permission to publish direct) Done v1.1.03
14) optional list views (similar to http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/ )
15) Carousel Image Categories (with alternative mechanism when no images) Done v1.1.06
16) On Aritcle Page: Put the content of the Tab named "Reviews" into the Sidebar. Dislike
17) Option to turn SideBar on Article page off Done v1.1.03
x) article list should be located at site/xz-articles not site/xz-articles/article-list Done v1.1.03
18) Masonry Loading-style not "centered", but same "loading style" as at Pinterest (Give the forum admin Masnoary options in the ACP .. turn off centering/ turn off animate / turn off loading image)
19) Option for Articles to go first in the nav bar Done v1.1.05
20) Custom Tabs (at least one to add files and one to add lists)... this might take a while -Done v1.2.00
20B) If easy to implement, make custom tabs as "custom tabs per category" - Done v1.2.00
21) Optional extra submit button with an "absolute" positioning (for article list /category list / article page) Done v1.1.03 This is just for customisation purposes and is switched off by default
22) Pinning (also add personal pins to profile page..)
23) Tags on the article page like "weheartit.com" (an ACP option for clouds, I know some people prefer them) Done v1.1.07
24) make clicking the tags navigate to a filtered article list (filtered by tag) Done v1.1.07
25) mouse over entry tabs like "weheartit.com" on the article list -Reject, not going to work on Tab devices
26) Submit articles to multiple categories
27) Keywords searchable (although this is not necessary, since the body is already searchable) void: will now convert keywords into tags, articles can then be filtered by tags (so in affect, keywords are searchable by filtering)
28) Retina ready images (for Retina Screens) Done v1.1.05
29) Google Authorship
30) Options for animate affects on lazy load http://tympanus.net/Development/GridLoadingEffects/index2.html
31) Option for article to load as an overlay (like pintrest) when clicking via the article list
32)
i) ACP options for article forums to contain "Post New Article" button instead of thread (strict article forums
ii) ACP options for article forums to contain an additional button "Post New Article" (non strict article forums)
iii) ACP options for article forums to not contain the "Post New Article" button

33) Articles at top level category Done v1.1.07
34) Admin update articles Done v1.1.07

35)Permissions per category (similar to forum nodes) Done v1.1.07

36) set size of the elements in the Categories, Editor Picks and other places
37) A count how many characters are left for the body, summary and title when creating an article
38) Resource box to link using core editor
39) Possibility to set the maximum number of visible articles on the article list - Done v1.2.00 Page size is now defined, and the "more article" button can be admin defined to turn on after x pages
40) Possibility to disable reviews Done v1.1.07
41) Search only for articles (new search tab in advance search)
- 41b) Include searchable custom fields in the advance search options
42) change order of articles (recent, activity) - Done v1.2.00
43) count visits - Done v1.2.00
44) Show recent articles in the sidebar - Done v1.2.00 (not yet released)
45) hooks in the template of article list
46) latest user comments under article list if review is disabled
47) viewable tags under the article and the possibility to display articles with selected tags - Done v1.2.00
48) possibility to disable categoryThumbs
49) RSS Feed (external links to articles)
50) Article Category Nodes as Tabs
51) Use a separate route filter for categories, so categories can be listed as: xenzine.com/xyz/dogs
52) Option to direct forum post directly to the article tab
53) Option to show discussions to below the Article (or article above discussions) instead of a separate tab
 
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Nice work! About time someone stepped up to the plate. Looking forward to see how you further develop this...
 
Very nice! Can I move an existing thread into this?

If you choose to create threads with articles, you select a forum where you want this to happen, the article thread is then created on publishing (or by an admin button if the article is not associated to a thread on publishing... this can happen if the forum admin forgets to set up an article forum to begin with, or has the option to create threads turned off, but later decides to turn it on)

If you want to add an existing thread, you'll need to do a thread merge .... But make sure you select the article thread as the destination
 
Added information about performance stats, since I've spent a lot of time getting the query count to a very low number, and have 0 query overhead (and no need for cron jobs) for the rest of the forum:


Performance Stats
This was written with low query count and high code quality in mind
For non articles forums this has 0 queries overhead
For the article forum this has +1 queries overhead (if you choose to associate threads with articles)

The Std-Base for a XF page is 8 Queries (before a plugin does anything to a standard page)

Query Count For XenZine Pages:
The Article List: StdBase + 3 Query's (total 11 queries)
The Category List: StdBase + 1 Query (+ 1 for recent articles, + 1 for top rated) (total 9-11 queries)
The Article Page: StdBase + 2 (total 10 queries)
The Review (Ratings Page): StdBase + 3 (total 11 queries)
The Discussion Page: (corebase +1)

As an example, a standard thread is about 16 queries, a XenZine Article page is just 10 queries (8+2, since I can get everything I need with that page with just 2 queries))
- No cron jobs are required!

If those stats don't mean very much to you, then just take it as "It's designed to perform well with minimal resource usage"
 
Man now that I think about it, someone could (or you can lol) make this into 'also' a detailed 'Classified system' ! Love the pinterst style for sure
 
I love lots of features you have here! and might even drop my own RM Articles project. Great work!

1. The main reservation I have so far is selecting ONE forum for ALL discussions. I think this is a deal breaker.

That isolates Article discussions from the rest of the board.
It will also duplicate threads locations - given a board about animals the chances are high that a category exists about pets, for example. So an article about breeding dogs should logically fall in this existing category for its discussion.
It will generate an Articles forum with a horrible mass of threads on all kinds of stuff. Yes I see the option of having it hidden but I would prefer to have Article threads displayed just like any others, integrated in the forum community.
So select an existing forum for the discussion thread, please. Can always have a Miscellaneous forum where if a collection of same topic develops they can be moved to a new category later.

2. Author's pic. It would be a shame to waste the impact of the pin pics features.
So please consider a default pic per Category if author does not upload one.

3. Rejection. Painful experience! Consider "Your article is NOT being published at the moment"
plus a larger field for admin editor's comment to encourage what to do to get the article accepted.

4. I assume admin just publishes direct? I don't have to put it through a fake moderation?

5. Ordering.
Could a series of articles be manually set so they show up in a preferred order? Not A-Z, not date of publication.
For example a group of articles might be Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 etc only not those names. Especially guides. So you want them listed in a section in that order.

6. Do authors have their own page generated for all their Articles? Linked off Profile and Membercard? Maybe even postbit?

7. This is a powerful complex addon. Please consider a demo at least so we can see the user experience side of it.
 
I love lots of features you have here! and might even drop my own RM Articles project. Great work!

1. The main reservation I have so far is selecting ONE forum for ALL discussions. I think this is a deal breaker.

That isolates Article discussions from the rest of the board.
It will also duplicate threads locations - given a board about animals the chances are high that a category exists about pets, for example. So an article about breeding dogs should logically fall in this existing category for its discussion.
It will generate an Articles forum with a horrible mass of threads on all kinds of stuff. Yes I see the option of having it hidden but I would prefer to have Article threads displayed just like any others, integrated in the forum community.
So select an existing forum for the discussion thread, please. Can always have a Miscellaneous forum where if a collection of same topic develops they can be moved to a new category later.

2. Author's pic. It would be a shame to waste the impact of the pin pics features.
So please consider a default pic per Category if author does not upload one.

3. Rejection. Painful experience! Consider "Your article is NOT being published at the moment"
plus a larger field for admin editor's comment to encourage what to do to get the article accepted.

4. I assume admin just publishes direct? I don't have to put it through a fake moderation?
5. Ordering. Could a series of articles be manually set so they show up in a preferred order? Not A-Z, not date of publication.
For example a group of articles might be Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 etc only not those names. Especially guides. So you want them listed in a section in that order.

6. Do authors have their own page generated for all their Articles? Linked off Profile and Membercard? Maybe even postbit?

7. This is a powerful complex addon. Please consider a demo at least so we can see the user experience side of it.

All of your questions are good, and for some of them I have already accomplished, and the others... well, thats the direction I was going with this anyway

1) One forum to control them all => Currently this is the way it is, but I will next be adding options to select a forum for each category (and use the main "articles category" as a default for categories that do not have a forum selected) .. I too need this, and agree, the article discussions should be published into particular parts of the forum

2) Yes, currently the default question mark is the default pic, but I should be able to change this so you can select a default pictures for the forum (or use the users avatar)

3) That's just a phrase. All the text is phrases, so you can change this to your liking

4) I am not sure what you mean with this one, watch the video... as soon as a moderator selects "publish" it is published, and the alert is removed from the review queue (and the user is sent an alert to tell them that their article is published)

5) It already is based on order. I'm just adding some categories based on set order (it is only alphabetical if all categories have the same order value),
see here for out of order categories: http://pickatutor.com/articles/category-list


Also, and image of how to edit that categories might help:



displayOrder.webp


6) If you look at this profile here, you will see the articles listed on the profile page:
http://www.surreyforum.co.uk/members/neil-canty.761/

At the bottom, you'll also notice "show all articles by this user", since the articles are searchable

However, member card Article count is on my to do list

7) You can use Surrey Forum (as long as you don't mind the articles being rejected). I'm putting all my time and effort into pickatutor right now, so I don't really want to start forums just to display add-ons (sorry)
 
1) One forum to control them all => Currently this is the way it is, but I will next be adding options to select a forum for each category (and use the main "articles category" as a default for categories that do not have a forum selected) .. I too need this, and agree, the article discussions should be published into particular parts of the forum

I don't want to stress you but do you have any timeframe for this feature? I will buy as soon as this is available...
 
Thanks for fast, courteous, efficient - and exciting reply! This indicates another plus for your project - good support.

All of your questions are good, and for some of them I have already accomplished, and the others... well, thats the direction I was going with this anyway
WONDERFUL
1) One forum to control them all => I will next be adding options to select a forum for each category
LOL One Ring to rule them all, sorry couldnt resist.
3) That's just a phrase. All the text is phrases, so you can change this to your liking
Sure I can but I already work with authors and "rejection" is a big demotivator. Do consider softening it so submitters do not give up.
4) I am not sure what you mean with this one
The majority of articles at least at present will be published by me. On one board, all of them.
I want to just prepare them and publish one click, not go through having to approve my own artucles.
5) see here for out of order categories: http://pickatutor.com/articles/category-list
http://pickatutor.com/articles/category-list
# When I click into a Category I dont like the button to Select a Category. Would prefer a small side menu showing the Categories - on my boards I have a sidebar everywhere as default so I'd add it to this but need you to make the section so I can move it.
# Needs the number of Articles in each one to save clicking where there are none? Or does the sub category only display if it has content?
# What I meant here though is I want to click one of those sub-links and it opens a list of Articles in the order I want them. I couldnt find a cat to click that had stuff in it so I could see how it works. This is also about having Chapters.
6)member card Article count is on my to do list
Postbit option? If Articles are an important part of a board i want to see the link whenever I see this user. That way I know they are an author.
7) You can use Surrey Forum (as long as you don't mind the articles being rejected). I'm putting all my time and effort into pickatutor right now, so I don't really want to start forums just to display add-ons (sorry)
I didnt expect a new install. thank you this is great.

Timeframe to beta? Like 2 weeks - 1 month - 2 months - 3 months?
 
Closer to 1-2 weeks for the next version, which will contain forums per category and member card option (article count, with a link to the users article search)

I turn these things around quite fast when I need them myself ;)
 
Oh I'm thinking your pintoro page would make a lovely homepage. You dont need to do that until later I can use Nodes as tabs, or even a LinkForum.
But I'm wondering about how to bring the forums into it a bit more. hmmm hmmmm will keep wondering.

I like you!
 
Closer to 1-2 weeks for the next version, which will contain forums per category and member card option (article count, with a link to the users article search)
I turn these things around quite fast when I need them myself ;)
Sorry - does this mean ability to select an existing forum for the linked discussion?
I would prefer to force author to select, giving option to select a Misc. forum if not sure. Then I can change it from Misc. if I can see a better alllocation.
(Sorry I'll leave you alone for a bit. It's just such a lovely addon)
 
Submission form:

A small point but helpful - on the form for submission I recommend placing the Summary field BELOW the body field.
Only expert writers are able to sum up their work before writing it up.
Only the more experienced and meticulous will return afterwards to improve the summary, after write up indicates it is not as accurate as it could be.
Only the more experienced write first in a document then paste it into a form. This means they are better equipped to summarise as it's already written.
Inexperienced writers need to write first, look over it and think out the summary afterwards. Faced with summarising what may well be still a fuzzy concept, they muck it up or run away!

Can we have the Body form open in a new tab please. Writing a whole page into a small popup is uncomfortable.
Again the more experienced write first in a document then paste it into a form. But even then it helps when editing to see more of the content and in a more substantial page, not a flimsy popup.
I write in document mostly but shorter pieces of a half page I'd often write direct in the form.

OOOOH what about multiple pages?
Some of my articles are far too long to go on one page.
This is why I made my own RM Articles but I haven't moved it to my live forum yet - and I DO like yours.
 
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Hmm I'm seriously thinking of using this as a front page - mainly because of the pictures with their intro text. Ideal to display forum Categories and key forums.
This could be a strikingly simple, powerful and colourful front page - landing page. You already have the Recent Articles and Top Articles part.

The extra bit needed is a display of pics+text to represent my Forum Categories + key forums.
So I make an Articles Category only I as admin can add to for Forum Categories + key forums.
Here I'd write a short introduction on each of my forum Categories and key forums. So they'd each get a powerful graphic image from your system, a short summary description like the description we now have on category strips on forum view, but also longer description in the bodywith more detail, maybe an explanatory pic or two if nec/
This strip of pics goes at the top of the page content.
Clicking the picture opens its designated Category or forum, not a specific thread
.

Then the Most Recent articles below - which you already have..
With a Recent posts section in the sidebar this would be a simple, uncluttered, and colourful front page/ landing page.
This would be an additional option homepage, leaving your main Articles system as it is.
Could you pop that together?
 
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This looks fantastic. Adding articles to an existing forum would be a big advantage for me but I'm going to get this straight away and look forward to updates.
 
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