Customizing Manager HTML structure

Hi there,

I’ve started using MODx recently and it seems like a great little system. One problem I have with it, though is that the Manager pages are built using Frames and seem to be dependent upon Javascript.

Is there anyway of editing the Manager templates so that I can alter that?

Sure, just use a text editor. It’d be interesting to see the results if you get it to work. My gut says that you’re in for a very intense project ...

:’(

Hmmm, not a tempting prospect.

So are you saying that MODx does not provide any way of altering the Manager structure, other than to hack the core?

If that’s the case, it is prohibitive to wide-spread use because it means that anyone using assistive technology is incapable of administering the site.

I hope that’s not the case because MODx has some really good things going for it.

Thanks

We agree and that’s why we’re working on MODx Revolution, which should enter beta next month or soon thereafter.

Revo is even more heavily dependent on JS at this point than the current stable release, but that is simply a matter of prioritization of wanting to get it done and tested by being able to ultra-quickly iterate functionality. We fully plan to have a completely accessible manager sooner than later. I’d love to get your thoughts on this subject.

My thoughts are that that’s a good move!

I’ve been playing around with a few CMS’s to evaluate which one is most worthy of investing my time for the future. I’ve used MODx to setup one site for a client, and he’s delighted with it.

From my point of view as a developer I was really happy with the templating system, which enabled me to get a front-end up and running in barely more time than it would take me for a static site.

Generally the Manager is easy to get around - something appreciated by both me and the client.

But the lack of accessibility on the Manager - particularly the fact that it does not degrade gracefully - would stop me from using it to develop a site with a larger number of contributors / editors. I’d be afraid of the client taking on an employee who uses assistive technology.

That circumstance is fairly remote, but I wouldn’t want to be the sucker who ends up being on the receiving end of any kind of discrimination lawsuit, and I’m sure you’re aware of the increasing importance of accessibility for usability and legal reasons.

The problem would be magnified if the site was planning to build a community, where you might want the general public to have their own limited manager rights: "Sign up in order to join our community of music lovers. Note: Not available for the visually impaired", wouldn’t look good! Thus, at the moment I’m happy to use MODx to quickly produce an updateable website for an individual, but not for a large user base.

I can see that it’s a tough job to get rid of a lot of the Javascript reliance though: The way it’s used is successful at making the Manager quite intuitive and uncluttered. But I think that can be done in such a way that it’s not absolutely necessary to have javascript.

The fact that the Manager is kept seperate from the front-end by default is also a good thing. It makes theming far simpler. I don’t have to worry about the Manager pages, they just work. I just concentrate on getting the front-end looking right (unlike Drupal, for example).

I can’t see any reason why Frames are necessary though, and the javascript does need to degrade gracefully.

If the Manager could be reworked to match those criteria, the importance of being able to edit the Manager pages would be less of an issue.

I look forward to seeing the new release, good to hear that you guys are on the case already.

Frames are gone in Revo already as mentioned and it’s available as an alpha release publicly. However the manager uses ExtJS to generate pretty much the entire manager interface, again as part of our effort at rapidly iterating functionality. Creating an accessible manager is a very important topic for our future, but don’t expect anything in the immediate future. We are, of course, always open to contributions of effort to help us get there!

I might take a look at the alpha release when I get a bit more time.

It’s a shame about the javascript, because I think it does put a bit of a ceiling on the scale of projects I could use MODx on. But I can certainly appreciate that changing those things is a major undertaking that takes plenty of planning and time.

I expect it can be frustrating having people suggest improvements to the system without being prepared to help out themselves. The sad truth is though, I don’t have enough time or knowledge to develop code for something like this.

I’m happy to contribute thoughts and ideas but I bet you get plenty of those as it is.

Constructive feedback is always very much appreciated. But you have to be careful ’cause I have a propensity of volunteering folks that make great suggestions. We do draft folks from time to time here in MODx.