new to modx and already stuck

hi,

i have just found modx and been playing for about a week...
i see its power but im having a bugger of a time learning it!!

i got the packt book (MODx Web Development) but the things it wants me to go through dont work.
for example page 63, creating a blog site tels me to add [!NewsPublisher? &folder=`PID` &makefolder=`1`!] to a new document, change the PID to the doc number and save.
then i should have a imput page.. yet nothing happens.

me and my pal are both following this book and neither of us can work it out..

is there anything better (easier) out there?
dont want to give up on MODx, we like it.. but this book’s driving us mad!

You might want to start by going through some of the beginners tutorials found in the right column at http://modxcms.com/learn/it.html

I put together a series of articles with video tutorials on
http://tipsfor.us/category/software/modx/

There are a number of other sites out there with helpful tutorials...

thanks guys...

those are great, im totally new to MODx and indeed new to PHP, however i have mastered "HELLO WORLD" lol

i found out why i cant get the thing in the book to work,

http://wiki.modxcms.com/index.php/Basic_Blog says NOTE that the NewsPublisher snippet is no longer included from MODx 1.0.0 on
LOL...

best CMS i have ever played with!

The new PubKitBlog snippet package is a good one, although it is a bit complex to set up to begin with.

http://modxcms.com/extras/package/577

Thanks Susan,

lol, im just learning.. i was folling the book but i think it is going have the odd bit outdated, the online tutorials look the best things to follow...
I havent even tried ditto or wayfinder yet...

only as far as applying a css file and [*#content*]

Thank you tho.. enjoying the learning curve!!

Well, I am hesitant to say anything unkind, but the truth is I was one of the "technical editors" of the book, and I would never recommend it to anyone. I have no clue who the author is; he’s certainly not active on the forums (unless he’s hiding his light under a very dense bushel basket).

There are tons of tutorials and articles online now; here’s a list of available video tutorials:

http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php/topic,43702.msg260735.html#msg260735

thanks Susan,

I have to say i also got the packt book for zen-cart and that too turned out to be lacking in accurate quality content. i learnt more about zen-cart using their online guides and the forums than i did from packt’s book..

LOL, nevermind...

Cheers

A friend of mine was asked to write a Packt book... they don’t necessarily ask the leaders in the field, just people who are responsible and write well enough to get the project finished, but that may leave a lot of room for authors who are inexperienced in the subject matter.

Hmmm . . . I think they turned down my original proposal for a MODx book.

Some interesting info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packt