Initial setup of an existing modx site on a new host

i recently took over the web work of an existing website that utilized Modx. I have never worked with Modx in the past so this is a learning curve. I have successfully installed Modx and can see the site that was previously created using Modx in the Modz CMS Manager. My question/problem is that I cannot seem to figure out how to get the site files into the tree to be editable. All of the folders are visible in the file manager but I cannot figure this out. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

What you see in the Document Tree is in the database. The files can be found in Resources -> Manage Files.

Quote from: wjstaylor at May 07, 2009, 05:53 PM

i recently took over the web work of an existing website that utilized Modx. I have never worked with Modx in the past so this is a learning curve. I have successfully installed Modx and can see the site that was previously created using Modx in the Modz CMS Manager. My question/problem is that I cannot seem to figure out how to get the site files into the tree to be editable. All of the folders are visible in the file manager but I cannot figure this out. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

You can edit the files in the MODx Manager by right clicking on them and selecting "edit document."

See the site in my sig for an overview of how MODx works.

Thank you for your input, I have uploaded all of the source files that were provided by the original developer. The "manger" file does not show in the file manager section on the right within the assets folder. I can see the manager subdirectory as being in the assets folder from within file manager in the cpanel. Do you have any idea why it would not show in the assets folder?

Do I need to recreate the core .html pages again? I can see some of the pages with the naming convention "id_XX" in the cache subdirectory. Are these the files that i would edit and same as templates with the same naming convention?

Did you transfer across the database sounds like you have ran a fresh install.

With MODx you create all your pages within MODx Manager so theres no need to create html files I would suggest that you install a fresh copy of MODx somewhere and follow this great guide to get you started and give you a good feel for what MODx is about and how it works.

http://codingpad.maryspad.com/beginner-tutorials/

Templates, PHP Code, Html are all stored in the mysql database so you should never edit to edit a file again the cache folder is what MODx uses to create caches of files to help speed up the site.

Quote from: wjstaylor at May 08, 2009, 11:14 AM

Thank you for your input, I have uploaded all of the source files that were provided by the original developer. The "manger" file does not show in the file manager section on the right within the assets folder. I can see the manager subdirectory as being in the assets folder from within file manager in the cpanel. Do you have any idea why it would not show in the assets folder?

Do I need to recreate the core .html pages again? I can see some of the pages with the naming convention "id_XX" in the cache subdirectory. Are these the files that i would edit and same as templates with the same naming convention?

I think you need to spend a little more time at the site in my sig.

The Manager folder is not shown in the File Manager within MODx because there’s pretty much nothing there you would want to edit and changing the Manager could render MODx unusable.

The cache directory is, as its name suggests, a cache. MODx constructs web pages on the fly mostly from content contained in the database. The constructed pages are sometimes cached in (the cache directory) to speed up response time. They should not be edited directly.

In MODx, you very seldom work with physical files and, for the most part, there are no .html files to work with (as you’ve noticed). This is normal. Generally, you edit documents, snippets, chunks, etc. in the MODx Manager (after logging on as an admin). Each document you see in the tree at the left in the Manager corresponds roughly to a web page viewable by visitors to the web site. Right-click on them and you can preview, or edit them.

If you’ve found .html files, there’s a good chance that they are left ever from a pre-MODx version of the site and are no longer useful (and could potentially cause trouble in the MODx site).

All, i appreciate your responses to my question on the blog site. However I am at an impasse on setting up this existing Modx site created using FrontPage and Modx. I have never worked with Modx before and I am on a intense learning curve to get this site transitioned to a new hosting account on my server. After installing Modx and uploading the original site files provided, i can see all of the files in the assets directory however none of the web files are showing in the left hand column as being visible on the web. I have not moved the domain to my name server yet as I am not sure that the site would be visible it did. The completed index page is visible if you follow http://safesurf.info/~wwwcara/index.php. This file does not show on the left as several of you have mentioned.

Would any you be interested in assisting for a fee perhaps?

If it is a MODx site, you need to use the *MODx* index.php file, which never shows in the Manager because once it’s working, it shouldn’t be edited. The MODx index.php is essentially a dispatcher that tells MODx what page to generate based on the request. In a MODx site, index.php is *not* the home page.  The home page is the page designated as the "site start" page in tools | configuration. It’s usually (but not always) the page with a "(1)" next to it in the tree at the left in the Manager. That page will be shown only if you’re using the MODx index.php.

BTW, the idea of a MODx/FrontPage site gives me the willies (kind of like a mechanic being asked to work on a vehicle that is both a Ford Taurus and a Sherman Tank). 

Well I am getting closer. I do not show any files on the left in the tree Do i need to create and new document with all of the coding from the index.php file and save it. Would that have all of the parsing information for the site? Would you be interested in some contract work for a short period?

You need to read this http://www.sottwell.com/how-modx-works.html