Snippet CMS Problems

[Poppy]

Hello
My programmer has added Snippet Lite to one of my clients sites www.coynachieguesthouse.com - however things are not working well - if I edit say some text or image within Snippet it completely ruins the layout or at least the menu (which is a CSS based drop down menu)

I am very worried and wonder if my drop down menu is in conflict with Snippet?

Any help appreciated
Thanks
Joanne

[admin]

Did your programmer use the Snippet Tag feature, or are you editing the entire page?

The whole point of SnippetMaster is to allow you to specify "editable regions" of your webpage (called "Snippets") that can be edited.

This way, you have no chance to ruin the page layout and navigation, etc...

See the documentation here:

http://www.snippetmaster.com/documentation/snippet-tags.html

And specifically here:

http://www.snippetmaster.com/documentation/snippet-tags-basic-config.html

Shows this to your programmer and ask them to set your pages up to use SNIPPET TAGS instead of allowing you to edit the entire page. 

(Or, if they already did this.. then be sure to select the SNIPPET from the drop down list instead of WHOLE FILE.)

[Poppy]

Hello

Yes he added the snippet tags to each page and it is within these "snippets" that we changed the about us page and it completelty altered the layout.

What we and the client did was change one image that was within the snippet area - this changed successfully but the whole page was completely messed up as in it took another 2 photos that we had NOT touched and stuck them at the top of the page!

I am very concerned as I have spent 2 months putting this site together and worry that Snippetmaster will ruin the whole site!

I wonder if there is any conflict between the CSS drop down menu?

Any ideas greatly received!
Thanks
Joanne

[admin]

Hello,

If your page is configured to use the Snippet Tags, then SnippetMaster will ONLY edit that portion of the page.  Your CSS drop down will NOT be edited.

It sounds to me like whomever set up the Snippet Tags might not have done the work correctly.

Can you point me to a webpage that you're trying to edit and I will have a look to confirm everything looks correct?  If you prefer to keep it private, you can send me the info at "henri @ www.snippetmaster.com".

(Please also include a link to this thread so I know what the email is about.

I have thousands of customers using Snippetmaster without problem to edit all kinds of pages.. so I'm 100% sure that whatever problem you're having can be resolved.

[Jenkinhill]

I have looked at your about us page and can see the image placement problem. Not good! The snippet tags are definitely paced in the wrong place - and this may have  allowed the added images to be outside your table structure.

The editor in SnippetMaster works best with XHTML and with divs used for layout. It can work with tables in HTML if the tags are placed around either the entire table or around table rows or entirely within a single cell. In your case I see the start tag is placed just within a <td> element, but the end tag is a long way down the table structure and is placed within another <td>. During the saving process the editor tries to correct any coding errors and save everything as valid XHTML. One problem it will have encountered is the closing tag for the cell in which the start tag is placed. As there is no opening tag in the snippet the </td> tag will be removed. If there was a </tr> tag without an opening tag within the snippet then that will also be removed. Similarly the opening tag for the final <td>, just before the snippet will be removed as there is no matching closing tag within the snippet.

With proper snippet tag placement you should have no problems, and it may be that you need to use multiple snippets on a page. Do not use the editor for the whole page or it will break the menu - Project7 menus do tend to be fragile and use browser specific hacks in order to work, so using an editor which tries to convert everything to valid XHTML is asking for trouble!

Nice site!

[Poppy]

hello Kelyvn

Thanks for the very helpful post.
I have not experience with Snippet and purely asked my programmer who also did a gallery for me to do a CMS for the site.

It seems I will need to go through each page and move the snippets - I cannot change the structure of the site i.e tables to CSS div tags as that would be too much work and I am only still finding my feet with css/div - so should I place the snippets at the start of the overall <table> tag or before the  <td>'s?

Why, if you should only edit snippets does it offer the option edit whole pages?  or again is this something I can configure?

Drop down menu - can you recommend a good multi-browser drop down menu?  I spent about 8 hours sourcing a suitable one (had to be level 11 accessible compliant) only to download one, get to know it and then realise it did not work in IE6 a few times so the Pop menu seemed the best solution at the time.

many thanks
Joanne

[Poppy]

Hello,

If your page is configured to use the Snippet Tags, then SnippetMaster will ONLY edit that portion of the page.  Your CSS drop down will NOT be edited.

It sounds to me like whomever set up the Snippet Tags might not have done the work correctly.

Can you point me to a webpage that you're trying to edit and I will have a look to confirm everything looks correct?  If you prefer to keep it private, you can send me the info at "henri @ www.snippetmaster.com".

(Please also include a link to this thread so I know what the email is about.

I have thousands of customers using Snippetmaster without problem to edit all kinds of pages.. so I'm 100% sure that whatever problem you're having can be resolved.

Hello

It looks like the snippets are incorrectly placed and i need to adjust/move them - just not sure where?  The page is www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus.html

Also since it looks like we should be editing snippets only not whole pages is there a facility to delete the whole pages?

Thanks
Joanne

[admin]

First, thanks Kelvyn for the great post! 

so should I place the snippets at the start of the overall <table> tag or before the  <td>'s?

The Snippet Tags need to be placed "between" HTML elements that form a complete block of HTML code.

For example, something like this would be incorrect and cause problems, because the code that is "given" to SnippetMaster to edit is not valid, and so (like Kelvyn explained) Snippetmaster would try to fix it.. and then when the "fixed" code is inserted back into the original page, it will mess up the overall HTML.

This is INCORRECT:

Code:

<table>
<!-- #BeginSnippet name="something" -->
<tr>
<td>
Your HTML here
</td>
<!-- #EndSnippet -->
</tr>
</table>

To fix the above problem, you have two choices:

1. This method puts the Snippet Tags "outside" the entire TABLE code.  This way, the entire table is given to SnippetMaster and can be edited.

Code:

<!-- #BeginSnippet name="something" -->
<table>
<tr>
<td>
Your HTML here
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- #EndSnippet -->

2.  Or, you could put the Snippet Tags "inside" the <TD> part, so that the user is not able to modify the TABLE element or properties.  (This is the recommended method.)

Code:

<table>
<tr>
<td><!-- #BeginSnippet name="something" -->
Your HTML here
<!-- #EndSnippet -->
</td>
</tr>
</table>

I hope that helps to clarify the problem and how to fix it.

Why, if you should only edit snippets does it offer the option edit whole pages?  or again is this something I can configure?

Yes, you can modify the user permissions of your Users so that they only have "Power User" permission.  This will allow them to edit ONLY the Snippets, and NOT the "Whole File".  You can even use "regular user" permissions, if you want to limit certain "Snippets" to be editable by only specific users. 

You can read more about User Permissions here in the documentation:

  http://www.snippetmaster.com/documentation/admin-users.html

[admin]

It looks like the snippets are incorrectly placed and i need to adjust/move them - just not sure where?  The page is www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus.html

Is it possible you could show me what the "original" file looks like before it was modified with SnippetMaster?  This way, we can quickly determine where is a better location to place the Snippet Tags for you.

[Poppy]

It looks like the snippets are incorrectly placed and i need to adjust/move them - just not sure where?  The page is www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus.html

Is it possible you could show me what the "original" file looks like before it was modified with SnippetMaster?  This way, we can quickly determine where is a better location to place the Snippet Tags for you.

Hi

Here is a non snippet page http://www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus2.html
I would like client to be able to edit text and images from below the drop down menu to the mauve address bar at the bottom if poss.

Thanks
Joanne

[Jenkinhill]

Why, if you should only edit snippets does it offer the option edit whole pages?  or again is this something I can configure?

The whole page edit is very useful for site admins but not for the end user (client), who will break things if it can be broken. The proviso is that the page is edited without using the WYSIWYG if it is not an XHTML1.x, so it can be used, for example, to edit CSS files (there is an option in the admin CP to open whole files in the plain text editor). This gives me the ability to make site edits & changes while visiting a client and they can see the changes immediately.
There is no problem editing full XHTML pages with the WYSIWYG editor as long as there is no JavaScript on the page (the editor itself uses JavaScript), no form text boxes and no PHP.

Drop down menu - can you recommend a good multi-browser drop down menu?  I spent about 8 hours sourcing a suitable one (had to be level 11 accessible compliant) only to download one, get to know it and then realise it did not work in IE6 a few times so the Pop menu seemed the best solution at the time.

Stu Nichols has en extensive range of dropdown (multi-level) and other CSS menus on his site. You probably won't want to change the site now, but have a look at this one which uses just CSS with no JavaScript or browser hacks - and is valid XHTML.

[admin]

Here is a non snippet page http://www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus2.html
I would like client to be able to edit text and images from below the drop down menu to the mauve address bar at the bottom if poss.

OK, I have attached a .txt file to this page.

1. Save the file to your computer.
2. Rename to aboutus2-test.html
3. Upload to your website and give it "write" permissions.
4. Look at the page in a browser, to make sure it looks ok.
5. Open it for editing in Snippetmaster.  It will be listed under the "SNIPPETS" section of the dropdown list.  DO NOT select the "whole file" editing one...
6. Make a few changes, save, and then text.

Let me know how that goes. 

[Poppy]

Here is a non snippet page http://www.coynachieguesthouse.com/aboutus2.html
I would like client to be able to edit text and images from below the drop down menu to the mauve address bar at the bottom if poss.

OK, I have attached a .txt file to this page.

1. Save the file to your computer.
2. Rename to aboutus2-test.html
3. Upload to your website and give it "write" permissions.
4. Look at the page in a browser, to make sure it looks ok.
5. Open it for editing in Snippetmaster.  It will be listed under the "SNIPPETS" section of the dropdown list.  DO NOT select the "whole file" editing one...
6. Make a few changes, save, and then text.

Let me know how that goes. 

Hello
Finally have got a free moment to do this.
Not sure what you meany about "give it write permissions"?  Is this something I do in Snippet as I cannot see this option?

I see where you have put the opening snippet tags within a <td> tag but notice you did not close snippet within this </td> tag which I thought you would have to do?

Also - assume I would be able, as the designer, to come back at a later stage and change the pages in Dreamweaver if I need to (i.e not snippet)?

Thanks
Joanne

[admin]

Hello,

For the "Write permissions".. I mean you'll need to change the permission of the file you are trying to edit so that the SnippetMaster program (PHP) can update the file when you click the save button.  I hope that makes sense.  Usually you can do this through your FTP program..

Whoops.. I made a mistake in the snippet tag there. Good catch.  Yes, you'll need to cloe the snippet within the TD tag, before the </td>.. sorry about that.  Let me know if you get stuck with that.

Yes, you can edit the pages later with Dreamweaver, no problem.  Just make sure you download the latest version of the page from the server first, before opening on your computer.. otherwise you'll be editing an old version of the file and when you upload it.. it won't have any edits/changes made previously through Snippetmaster. 

Cheers!

[Poppy]

Hello,

For the "Write permissions".. I mean you'll need to change the permission of the file you are trying to edit so that the SnippetMaster program (PHP) can update the file when you click the save button.  I hope that makes sense.  Usually you can do this through your FTP program..

Whoops.. I made a mistake in the snippet tag there. Good catch.  Yes, you'll need to cloe the snippet within the TD tag, before the </td>.. sorry about that.  Let me know if you get stuck with that.

Yes, you can edit the pages later with Dreamweaver, no problem.  Just make sure you download the latest version of the page from the server first, before opening on your computer.. otherwise you'll be editing an old version of the file and when you upload it.. it won't have any edits/changes made previously through Snippetmaster. 

Cheers!

Hello
Thanks for the reply.

Not sure about setting write permissions via FTP as it is not something I have been asked for before?

To confirm if I open a snippet within a <td> (not a <tr>?) I must also close within that </td> so I may have multiple snippets on one page?

Also I notice my programmer has named all the snippets on each page the same i.e <!-- #BeginSnippet name="content" -->  is this correct or should each one be unique?  What happens if you have 2 or 3 snippets on one page - would this cause conflict?

If each ones needs to be uniquely named - what should this be? and where do I do this.

The licence for this site is Lite version but once I see all is working I want to buy the pro version so I can define what my clients can edit and not edit!

Thanks
Joanne

[admin]

Not sure about setting write permissions via FTP as it is not something I have been asked for before?

This is something your web host can help you with, if you don't know how to do it.  Just tel them that you need to allow a PHP program (SnippetMaster) to have "write" access to whatever file(s) you need to edit.  They should explain how to do this.

(Note, that on some web hosting accounts (depending on the server configuration), you don't need to do this step.  The web server might already be configured so that the SnippetMaster program has sufficient privileges to save the file.)

The best thing to do is try to save a file.  If the save button is disabled, then this means there isn't enough permissions to save the file.

To confirm if I open a snippet within a <td> (not a <tr>?) I must also close within that </td> so I may have multiple snippets on one page?

Yes, you can have unlimited Snippets on one page. 

The Snippet Tag must be located "inside" any HTML "block".  I hope that makes sense.  So you can't open a snippet inside a <TD> and then close it inside a different <TD>.  If you wanted to edit two different <TD> HTML blocks, then you would need specify use two different Snippets.

Also I notice my programmer has named all the snippets on each page the same i.e <!-- #BeginSnippet name="content" -->  is this correct or should each one be unique?  What happens if you have 2 or 3 snippets on one page - would this cause conflict?

  Each Snippet needs to have a unique name.

Just change the "content" part in the name="content" to anything you'd like.  ie: Content 1, Content 2, or whatever...

The licence for this site is Lite version but once I see all is working I want to buy the pro version so I can define what my clients can edit and not edit!

Sounds good.  Let me know if you need a hand with anything. 

[Poppy]

Also I notice my programmer has named all the snippets on each page the same i.e <!-- #BeginSnippet name="content" -->  is this correct or should each one be unique?  What happens if you have 2 or 3 snippets on one page - would this cause conflict?

  Each Snippet needs to have a unique name.

Just change the "content" part in the name="content" to anything you'd like.  ie: Content 1, Content 2, or whatever...
[/quote]

Thanks Henri - I understand now where I need to put the snippets.

Just to reconfirm before I redefine all 30 pages of the site I am working on is that I could in Dreamweaver and not doing anything in the Snippet Admin rename all me snippets to content1, content2, content3 etc etc??

I have just bought the pro version for both this site and also another so I should be able to define what areas my clients can edit only.

thanks
Joanne

[Jenkinhill]

Joanne, add the SnippetMaster tags in DreamWeaver using the code view. You can speed up the process of adding the tags by making DW code snippets to do this. Then you can add each tag with a couple of mouseclicks. All you have to do is edit the tag name so each one is unique.

[Poppy]

Joanne, add the SnippetMaster tags in DreamWeaver using the code view. You can speed up the process of adding the tags by making DW code snippets to do this. Then you can add each tag with a couple of mouseclicks. All you have to do is edit the tag name so each one is unique.

Thanks
I will go and check and rename all the tags
Joanne

[admin]

Hello,

Also... you can use the SAME name for each snippet as long as the snippets are on a different page.

The Snippet Tags only need to have a unique name if they are on the same page.

For example:

page1.html  (You can have four snippet tags, and each MUST have a unique name.)
page2.html (You can have one snippet tag, and it can have the same name as a snippet tag on page1.html)

I hope this helps...