Upgrading to v8

[Stereo Steve]

As a holder of Actinik cover, we get a free upgrade to v8 and it looks like it has some great features. We are usingv7 business at the mo and I feel like we have totally messed about with the templates to a huge extent in order to get where we want.

My question is, how will the upgrade handle this? Will all the mods we have made be wiped out? We are currently in the process of creating duplicate products to have one per page with thumbnails etc. This a load of work and I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to just put up with what we have until we get the full v8 and then start from scratch.

One worry I have is how this will affect search engine listings. Any ideas or experiences in upgrading from v6 to v7?

[TBird1]

Just to add to this thread - anybody know yet if you can install v8 to evaluate on a machine already running version 7 ?

[pinbrook]

The site upgrader is supposed to handle most template changes made by users - but it is one of those things you just have to suck and see.

At least with a version upgrade you can keep your v7 in operation whilst working with v8.

SEO should largely be unaffected as v8 will keep all your page names the same.

The thing with Beta is to remember it is beta, therefore if time and patience is of an essence and you don't want to mess around, the best advise is to wait until the full V8 is released and is into at least one of its patches. This is when it will become stable as others will have done all the testing and nursed the software into shape on your behalf.

Personally I won't be upgrading any client sites for approx 4-6 months.

I will be upgrading in-house sites as part of my own learning curve.

[pinbrook]

Yes you can have versions 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 all on one machine.

[Stereo Steve]

Thanks. I probably haven't changed as much as I think I have so it should be OK. On the flip-side, now I have some web-dev under my belt, I'd kind of like to go in a whole new direction so starting afresh may be the right way.

I take it I would be able to still run v7 and update my current site whilst working on the v8 site in test mode? Or would it be best (or even allowed) to run v8 on another machine and upload the test site to some other webspace for testing and development?

[pinbrook]

you can run both versions on one machine.

I am currently running the v5 site I am testing out with v8 on one machine. However to avoid all confusion if you have a 2nd PC it may be advisable to use the second PC. Your license is for one live site, thus I don't think there is to much of an issue with testing on a separate machine

I have v8 in test mode thus uploading it to acatalog/test/acatalog - however I am using my robots file to disallow all spiders from acatalog/test

[cdicken]

Steve & John

If you have any further questions on v8, please email them via v8beta@actinic.co.uk. There's no formal support for the beta program via the community.

[Stereo Steve]

OK Chris, ta.

[jont]

My question is, how will the upgrade handle this? Will all the mods we have made be wiped out?

I test upgraded 2 very extensively modified sites into v8 (including one as pure CSS) and other than 1 error picked up due to a massive template size (I reported this in Alpha and no sane human would have a template like that anyways) everything went perfectly well .

Due to the amount of hacking done to both sites it is real praise to the Actinic coders that it upgraded so easily and without fuss

[george]

I can see two questions that might be an idea to answer on here though.

What versions will be (straight) upgrades? All the 7's? and/or 6? or?

Also will it be possible to import an existing 'site without any tweaks that may have been done to the existing templates? Just thinking aloud that many users have the smart theme, and maybe altered the widths, etc or added sidebar boxes, and are considering changing, perhaps to the new sexy Executive theme. ie: import the products, info details, customer orders, etc only? Jeez, hope that makes sense.

[jont]

will it be possible to import an existing 'site without any tweaks that may have been done to the existing templates?

Don't think that will be an issue George if you are going from a modified Smart to the Executive theme - or any theme for that matter. It will be similar to changing a theme in v7 at the moment. Actinic backs up the old and copies the needed templates into the site1 folder.

When you install v8 you will get the option to upgrade the exisiting site which will convert your v7 to v8 ... your smart theme with boxes and widths etc will be there and v8-ified. You can then simply apply a new theme over the top (which is always at the default settings for that theme) to keep your products, orders etc but with the new layout as applied

[cdicken]

I test upgraded 2 very extensively modified sites into v8 (including one as pure CSS) and other than 1 error picked up due to a massive template size (I reported this in Alpha and no sane human would have a template like that anyways) everything went perfectly well .

Due to the amount of hacking done to both sites it is real praise to the Actinic coders that it upgraded so easily and without fussI cannot tell you how nice it is to hear this. I'm sure you can understand how hard we have been working on upgrading. It's something that's always been an issue in Actinic and I hope we are seeing the end of nightmarish upgrades.

Naturally there is will always be a few sites that cause Actinic to throw a shoe, but that is the wonder of allowing people free rein in customising their sites.

(Hmmm - that's two horse metaphors in one sentence - I have clearly been working too hard).

[pinbrook]

According to the info as you install V8 it will upgrade from V5 onwards.

I am currently engaged in a fight to get a V5 site upgraded, however I expected a fight as it is very customised - V5 had no generate popup feature, my code does - and I can't get rid of it!!

I suspect my tribulations are mainly due to lack of V8 design experience. I have now gone back to V5 and removed the custom code and then asked V8 to upgrade it, lets see who wins this time.

I then plan to change themes to a V8 theme to loose the restof my custom code so hopefully the code will be standard V8 by the time I get started again. I shall also export the data, and reimport it to add the generate popup to all products.

I am having fun!

[george]

Don't think that will be an issue George if you are going from a modified Smart to the Executive theme - or any theme for that matter. It will be similar to changing a theme in v7 at the moment. Actinic backs up the old and copies the needed templates into the site1 folder.

When you install v8 you will get the option to upgrade the exisiting site which will convert your v7 to v8 ... your smart theme with boxes and widths etc will be there and v8-ified. You can then simply apply a new theme over the top (which is always at the default settings for that theme) to keep your products, orders etc but with the new layout as applied

I don't actually mean my own 'site. What I mean is a kind of bare bones import (of an existing, v7.06 website for example), using only templates (and theme) from the new v8, no old templates from v7 to be used at all. Basically a clean fresh start for a snapshot thats maybe been around for two catalog upgrades and a few minor upgrades (7.05 to 7.06, etc).

Should've made it clearer... doh! (Sorry)

[RuralWeb]

In the spirit of jumping in feet first I have upgraded my site to V8 see www.ruralwebdesign.co.uk . All went well - the only things that I see at the moment is that the body text is a size smaller and that the pages are still HTML 4. I have not tested any pages yet so feel free to place some orders etc to check it out.

Update - the site is now V7 again after several problems with V8. CSS and plugins not working correctly.

[RuralWeb]

First problem - Normans Multi Info add-on does not work with V8:eek: Hope there is a solution to that one!

[pinbrook]

Basically a clean fresh start

i'm assuming if you change themes within V8 you will get the fresh start

[jont]

i'm assuming if you change themes within V8 you will get the fresh start

You'd think so in the interest of making like easy for Actinic in making the upgrade path as issue-free as possible. Changing themes generally zero's a lot of the settings but some could still remain.

@George - if very concerned about being legacy free with the upgrade the solution could be to create a default site and then import the products across.

[george]

Where did the NETQUOTE thingy's go? lol

Seriously, a lot of users will have the next/previous links added.

And the original brochure pages remain, even when changing theme after import.

First import of a snapshot? 102 errors. :eek:

V7 for an easy July.

[jont]

First import of a snapshot? 102 errors. :eek:

102??? Blimey matey what have you been doing to poor old v7???

[george]

Rather than just gazing admirably at the noo squeaky clean themes I thought I'd add a touch of realtime drama by importing a recent fh site snapshot.

Wish I hadn't now.

v7 seemed to be working okay, lol.


:o

[Stereo Steve]

There are so many things that v8 says it will do that I have been planning to mangle into v7 that I think I may just start from scratch and bin all the development I was planning for the next few months.

[Jan]

I may just start from scratch
that is what I am going to do (after V8 has been well and truly released for a short while), I like the new themes and think that you can do most things that you might want to do with the new design so will ditch my old design and start again. I never really got on with the old templates so this is really good for me.

Having said that, my sites upgrade perfectly, so I have the choice.

Regards,

[pinbrook]

my 5 to 8 has given me 132 coding errors, all down to nested html form tags. I just wish I understood the error message actinic threw at me so I can start to resolve it. Sent email to beta ...

[RuralWeb]

I am having serious problems with the css - it looks like when the site is upgraded serveral css files are created which define conficting properties.

My upgraded site now uses absolute sizing and the viewer cannot resize the text - this is important to visitors with visual disabilities.

I cannot see how to easily change the text properties - editing the css file in DW is a big job with all the extra bits in there.

[RuralWeb]

I registered a design with Actinic and all seemed ok but there does not seem to be a way of passing the template back and forth between DW and Actinic as can be done with V7.

Also now getting fatal errors and DW crashing big style:eek:

Will try again in the morning

[jont]

there does not seem to be a way of passing the template back and forth between DW and Actinic as can be done with V7

Have registered this previously - apparently Actinic are working on this ... especially the actinic.css being made available.

This is my biggest (albeit small) gripe - the templates are all kept in-house by Actinic and not in the site1 folder

[RuralWeb]

NIGHTMARE :eek: - V8 has overwritten all my V7 css files and now after refreshing the site from V7 they have not been put back and I am stuck with the huge V8 css files that are confilcting.

Looks like Im not going to bed:(

[pinbrook]

yes I noticed the inability to edit css on the fly as you can edit bits of inner layouts

I have a different issue, my hierarcical exported file will not reimport.

I changed the content of a few columns so I could auto generate pop ups (v5 didn't have them) but i get the dreaded "cann ot import, expected 71 got 73 message" at least i know I can find a reply to that in the forum JOY!

[RuralWeb]

Fixed it by deleting the css file from the server and refreshing V7, but on trying to upload V8 again Im getting an error saying the css link is corrupt. Also an error saying every image is duplicated and V8 will not load at all:confused:

Hope they dont bin V7 too soon!

[jont]

All my CUSTOMVAR's set on a section-by-section (and global) basis are converted to v8 "variables" but the upgrade is not populating them even though the variable appears in the properties tab

[pinbrook]

I'm going to bed....

[RuralWeb]

Sweet dreams - V8 style

[RuralWeb]

It gets worse ALL my page titles are now missing

[pinbrook]

counting commas

[jont]

It gets worse ALL my page titles are now missing

Were they set as CUSTOMVAR's?

[jont]

... and more .... my modified Act_NavigationItem.html has been replaced with the default

[RuralWeb]

Were they set as CUSTOMVAR's? No plain text.

Im having to uninstal V8 now as it will not upload due to the css and image errors.

[RuralWeb]

Well thats the end of my fun and games with V8 - after reinstaling it tells me that my evaluation copy has expired.

Wonder how many copies of V7 I can get cheap:rolleyes:

[Mark H]

[QUOTE=george]Where did the NETQUOTE thingy's go? lol[QUOTE]

[QUOTE=RuralWeb]there does not seem to be a way of passing the template back and forth between DW and Actinic as can be done with V7[QUOTE]

[QUOTE=jont]This is my biggest (albeit small) gripe - the templates are all kept in-house by Actinic and not in the site1 folder[QUOTE]

Does this mean that we won't be able to create our own templates from scratch in DW by copying NQVs, CUSTOMVARS plus other Actinic code into a totally custom design (which we wanted also to do totally in CSS in future)?

[RuralWeb]

Looks that way. I can only get Actinic to import a template ( Registering a design - V8) from DW ONCE, there does not seem to be a way of passing it back as in V7.

Changes to the design now have to be done within V8 in HTML with some new Actinic code "bits". The CSS file looks huge and is not available to edit.

My first impression is that it is not as good as V7 - :eek:

[RuralWeb]

I think that it is vital that we have a V8 section on the forum - V8 is so different to V7 that the version people are asking for help on needs to be clear.

[Mark H]

Have I got this right - even if we can design a new template (rather than modifying an existing Actinic template) with our own bells and whistles in it (Java/RSS/online chat/CSS/Flash etc) and drop in the relevant Actinic code and variables - our template is "registered" then passed on to Actinic, never to be seen (by our DW) again? Where are templates held - on Actinic's servers? How is the process of creating a template (or amending an existing one) carried out - usually we pass it to and from DW and upload it about 30 times a day for a week to get it right!

Forgive me if I'm completely off the plot - haven't had my three weetabix yet;)

[RuralWeb]

I dont think templates exist anymore! The template manager has gone and there is a new "design" feature within Actinic - a basic html editor type thing that will allow you to enter Actinic code bits. I cannot see a way of then passing this back to DW.

I cannot see the point of this "design" feature as most people use DW or the like and need the code there not locked into Actinic. Hopefully there is a way and someone will find it.

[Mark H]

No doubt more info will come out today - I can't imagine that a lot of web designers (myself included) and Actinic shop owners/end users are now expected to learn and code in HTML, having had programs (DW and others) to write it for us for years:)

[jont]

The actinic.css is editable ... in design mode select it from the bottom of the list from the "select page type" dialog.

All the key pages are selectable there eg: customer emails, search pages etc

The code editing at the moment is being handled internaly by Actinic with a basic html editor .... the ability to edit the templates directly in DW... save and then preview back inside Actinic has been lost which is a real shame IMHO

[jont]

I am having serious problems with the css - it looks like when the site is upgraded serveral css files are created which define conficting properties.

I have found v8 will ignore original v7 css files if they are attached to the original Act_Primary as standalone files (eg: myfile.css) as well as the actinic.css.

The v8 actinic.css features a theme specific css file @imported via the actinic.css .... the theme.css is viewable in the site1 folder

[Mark H]

The code editing at the moment is being handled internaly by Actinic with a basic html editor .... the ability to edit the templates directly in DW... save and then preview back inside Actinic has been lost which is a real shame IMHO

I know it's very early days, but the lack of integration with DW (which has been improving to date) means that the two sites we are currently developing (and, I suspect, many of the great example sites which appear on Actinic's own site) couldn't be done in V8.........

[jont]

The workflow does seem a little difficult at the moment .. but this may be due to thinking like v7 to be fair ..... need to spend more time with the design side of v8 to get things working more efficiently ... need a v7/v8 switch on my head to operate the two :)

[pinbrook]

its a completely different mind set, you need to forget everything you already know. Moving design elements around is more difficult due to less monitor space

Can you undock all the different page views, I'm felling very cramped on one monitor, I'd lke to spread out over 2 [EDIT] yes you can

[RuralWeb]

The actinic.css is editable

It is now full of "actinic variables" though and you have to edit it in the basic editor within Actinic

[Mark H]

I can understand Actinic concentrating (from a business point of view) on the majority of users who would benefit from being able to make use of a better/easier set of predefined designs which are modified within Actinic, but for instance on one of our new sites we have devised a way of replacing the product descriptions/images etc. with an interactive Flash file fed by NQVs and customvars (all run from a client friendly spreadsheet) - I'm sure we will all have our own views on that approach, but it does look mindblowing and actually has improved accessibility and potential SERPS appeal. As much as I would like to I'm not sure I'm going to be doing that in V8.:(

[cdicken]

It is worth taking a look at the 'Beta Testing Guide' (see THIS THREAD (http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=22072)) to explain how all the new design features work.

The idea is that you can click on anything in the preview in the 'Design' tab in Actinic, and you get the code for it appearing straight away. You can either customise it here, or copy and paste it into Dreamweaver to customise it.

I love the new editor - and have saved me so much hunting around trying to find out where a bit of HTML is coming from. You now just click on the thing you want to change, and all the code is there straight away.

[RuralWeb]

the ability to edit the templates directly in DW... save and then preview back inside Actinic has been lost which is a real shame IMHO

If this is true, and I suspect it is, then V8 is a step backwards:eek: One of the best features of Actinic is (was) its integration with DW and why Actinic would force us to use an html editor is beyond me - I for one will NOT take the step back.

They have, I think, tried to produce a "design" capability within Actinic and removed the Template manager/DW capability - this is fatally flawed as most designers use DW etc not notepad.

As jo says the screen is now very cluttered, with V7 all the design was separate in DW.

[cdicken]

As much as I would like to I'm not sure I'm going to be doing that in V8.Take some time to learn about user definable variables. They are much easier to use than customvars. You just create them in the library (Design | Library | Variables) and then include them into your design by clicking where you want the variable to be inserted in the preview in the Design tab, and then right-click in the code and select 'Insert Variable'. You can then insert your custom variable (rather than typing CUSTOMVAR:WHATEVER into the template).

Anyway, as I say, everything you could do in v7 you can do in v8 - and more besides. There will be a learning curve though - but not a very big one.

[cdicken]

Can you undock all the different page views, I'm felling very cramped on one monitor, I'd lke to spread out over 2Jo - the screen is completely configurable. Just drag the panels where you want them to be.

If you click the title bar on one panel and then drag it onto the title bar of another panel, the two panels will 'tab' on top of each other and you can switch between them. You can also drag them onto other monitors.

[RuralWeb]

copy and paste it into Dreamweaver to customise it. You are joking I hope.

Editing html code direct may be your idea of fun but its not mine. Why has the link with DW been broken????

[Mark H]

Thanks Chris - you know that we are all supportive of Actinic otherwise we wouldn't be here, but many have spent literally years learning how to manipulate previous versions and we get a little jittery if major changes appear - I hope you are right. We are pushing V7 probably further than it ought to go, but we have a big investment in it and at the end of the day we want the order processing, product tree, etc etc, otherwise we would probably have "gone bespoke". I look forward to seeing how it pans out:)

[cdicken]

Malcolm - please hold off posting for about 15 mins. I need to repond to all your points in one post, but it is going to take me a while.

[Jan]

I am pretty sure that you can still edit using Dreamweaver, in fact I recall being told that the Dreamweaver interface has been greatly improved - there is a check box on installation to install the dreamweaver link and if you did this a guide on how to do this should have been installed.

Regards,

[cdicken]

In the spirit of jumping in feet first I have upgraded my site to V8 This is cool, but please remember that the idea of a beta program is to test new features, and it shouldn't be used to upgrade a live business yet. There are going to be upgrade issues in the field that we will find during the beta program and fix within Actinic before we encourage live stores to upgrade.Normans Multi Info add-on does not work with V8This is going to be a Perl change, and it probably will be necessary to re-apply all perl patches to the v8 perl scripts. This has always been the case with upgrading.I cannot see how to easily change the text properties - editing the css file in DW is a big job with all the extra bits in there.Try changing the values in 'Settings | Site Options | General' - you can set the font sizes in there. At the moment it uses pixels - but you can change this to relative sizes.I registered a design with Actinic and all seemed ok but there does not seem to be a way of passing the template back and forth between DW and Actinic as can be done with V7.Once you register a design with Actinic, you can continue to make changes in DW, and Actinic will be updated - and any change you make to the outer page layout in Actinic will affect DW. It's a 2-way interface. With regards to the crashes, please report these to v8beta@actinic.co.uk. V8 has overwritten all my V7 css filesIn your v7 site one folder or on the website?Fixed it by deleting the css file from the server and refreshing V7, but on trying to upload V8 again Im getting an error saying the css link is corrupt. Also an error saying every image is duplicated and V8 will not load at allPlease report these issues to v8beta@actinic.co.uk.It gets worse ALL my page titles are now missingPlease report this to v8beta@actinic.co.ukIf this is true, and I suspect it is, then V8 is a step backwards One of the best features of Actinic is (was) its integration with DW and why Actinic would force us to use an html editor is beyond me - I for one will NOT take the step back.

They have, I think, tried to produce a "design" capability within Actinic and removed the Template manager/DW capability - this is fatally flawed as most designers use DW etc not notepad.
Sorry Malcolm, but I don't understand this. You can manage your overall page layout (v8 equivalent of a primary template) completely in Dreamweaver and then Actinic will insert all the products and sections into it. Are you talking about how you could edit the Act_ProductLine.html etc. templates in Dreamweaver? You couldn't edit those visually anyway as they looked a mess in DW. Could you clarify please?

[pinbrook]

Ah now this is better, yes you can undock all the screen elements ie content view, page preview etc so I can have code on one screen and page preview on another.

But one of my monitors is 1024 the other is 1280, if I slide my page preview to the other bigger monitor I can't use all the screen. i'll draw a pic and attach it,

I can't get any actinic element to enter into the red rectangle, all other progs I use will maximise to use the whole of the 2nd monitor, if I try to drop page preview into the top of the monitor it just bounces back down to where the top of the element is in line with the top of monitor1

[cdicken]

MarkI know it's very early days, but the lack of integration with DW (which has been improving to date) means that the two sites we are currently developing (and, I suspect, many of the great example sites which appear on Actinic's own site) couldn't be done in V8.........Actinic has a much closer integration with DW than it ever has before. The DW integration before was just a glorified template editor which told you which template does what. Now you can actually create a completely customised primary template from scratch in DW and then register it with Actinic, and Actinic will then make the necessary changes to make the design work with Actinic. You can then slot in design elements from the Actinic menu and see the effect straight away within Actinic.

[cdicken]

I can't get any actinic element to enter into the red rectangle, all other progs I use will maximise to use the whole of the 2nd monitor, if I try to drop page preview into the top of the monitor it just bounces back down to where the top of the element is in line with the top of monitor1Please report this to v8beta@actinic.co.uk.

[pinbrook]

I understand outer layout and inner layout...

I have quite got the hang of this bit yet though

I'm looking at executive theme, and for example I want to move the price from below the product name where it is left aligned to be over on the rifgt underneath add to cart, how do I do this.

My gut instinct is to go to the code which I can easily find by clicking on page preview and it highlights it for me in latyout code, and move the code in layout code- is this the easiest way?

[Mark H]

MarkActinic has a much closer integration with DW than it ever has before. The DW integration before was just a glorified template editor which told you which template does what. Now you can actually create a completely customised primary template from scratch in DW and then register it with Actinic, and Actinic will then make the necessary changes to make the design work with Actinic. You can then slot in design elements from the Actinic menu and see the effect straight away within Actinic.

Thanks Chris - we're getting conflicting views on the level of integration with DW this morning, so I for one will keep quiet for a while until the position is a lot clearer!:)

[cdicken]

GeorgeWhere did the NETQUOTE thingy's go? lolThe have now been replaced with variables. Read the beta testing guide for an introduction on these. They are much easier to use, and much more powerful.Seriously, a lot of users will have the next/previous links added.These should be upgraded automatically by the upgrader.And the original brochure pages remain, even when changing theme after import.Check the 'Layout' tab of the brochure pages. Make sure the 'Brochure Overall Layout' is set to 'Use Parent'.First import of a snapshot? 102 errors.Please report this to v8beta@actinic.co.uk. We can take a look at your snapshot and improve the upgrader in time for full release.

[cdicken]

until the position is a lot clearer!Check out the beta testing guide - especially the last section on the DW integration. It'll explain how it all works.

[RuralWeb]

Yes when you install 8 it detects if you haw DW and asks if you want to install the DW Extension. This then appears as a tab in DW which controls the registering of the design and instertion of some Actinic variables.

The problem comes later when you wan to pass a design from Actinic to DW, there does not seem to be a way of doing it. Also if you make a change in the original design it says that the design is already registred and the box is greyed out. The user guide doe not cover this very well at all.

[cdicken]

OK Jont - your turnHave registered this previously - apparently Actinic are working on this ... especially the actinic.css being made available.Here's a quick workaround to make the actinic.css file external to Actinic.

Create a new blank file in your 'Site1' folder called 'custom.css' (or something).

Edit this file in Dreamweaver.

Go to 'Actinic | Import A Page Design From Actinic'.

Select 'Actinic Stylesheet' from the list and click 'Import'.

Delete the following two lines:
/*import theme-specific classes */
@import url("theme.css");

Save the file.

Now go to Actinic and in the 'Design' tab select 'Actinic Stylesheet' from the 'Select Page Type' window.

Underneath
@import url("theme.css");
add the following line:
@import url("custom.css");

You can now delete all the other classes in the layout.

You can now edit 'custom.css' in whatever file you want, and Actinic willl substitute all the variables.All my CUSTOMVAR's set on a section-by-section (and global) basis are converted to v8 "variables" but the upgrade is not populating them even though the variable appears in the properties tabYou probably know what I'm going to say here - please report this via email to v8beta@actinic.co.uk... and more .... my modified Act_NavigationItem.html has been replaced with the defaultAnd again - please report via email.The workflow does seem a little difficult at the moment .. but this may be due to thinking like v7 to be fair ..... need to spend more time with the design side of v8 to get things working more efficiently ... need a v7/v8 switch on my head to operate the two Check out the beta testing guide for a guide to help you contextualise all the new stuff.

[jont]

@import URL .... already there on that one :) Lennie reported the actinic.css availability issue was already being looked at in-house

I have sent Toby the ACD for the CUSTOMVAR propagation

[cdicken]

Also if you make a change in the original design it says that the design is already registred and the box is greyed out. The user guide doe not cover this very well at all.You don't need to re-register a design. Just make the change in DW and the change will automatically appear in Actinic. The link is permenant and dynamically updates.The problem comes later when you wan to pass a design from Actinic to DW, there does not seem to be a way of doing it.Hmm - you're right here - there's no easy way to do this. If you started your design in DW, you are sorted as you can just go into DW to make the changes and Actinic will automatically be updated.

You can go to 'Actinic | Import A Page Design From Actinic' to import an overall page layout from Actinic into a new blank page design, but it never really looks that good as it cannot find the Actinic stylesheet. I think we have some work to do in this area.

[RuralWeb]

Hmm - you're right here - there's no easy way to do this. If you started your design in DW, you are sorted as you can just go into DW to make the changes and Actinic will automatically be updated.

I assume that you can not now easily take a clean theme export to DW change the design and put it back.

[NormanRouxel]

I heard my name mentioned regarding Multi-Other-Info prompts.

As this is a really complex patch I decided to have a go and see how it would need rewritten for V8. The things I noticed were:-

1) The Design / Text / Phase -1, ID 2161 Other Info Prompt while still there doesn't do anything regarding the Product Pages (however it seems to be used within the Perl)! The other info code is now directly in the product template. Locating that and replacing it with my own code wasn't too hard. Indeed it's more flexible as I now have direct access to each variable rather than what the Design / Text way would have produced.

2) The Other Info prompt now seems to be generated with all non alphanumerics escaped (via & # 123 ; type tags). My code expected them as plain text. A bit of JavaScript patching to unescape the ones I use ({}.:|) and that was fixed.

3) The Perl scripts are pretty similar to V7 so my patches went in with no change.

Result: About 4 hours tinkering and I was able to use this patch with V8.

Documenting it in such a way that someone could install it into their design may be somewhat trickier.

[jont]

Result: About 4 hours tinkering and I was able to use this patch with V8.

A moment of sanity amid the panic ... well done Norman

[cdicken]

I assume that you can not now easily take a clean theme export to DW change the design and put it back.We're looking at this at the moment. In the 'Actinic' menu in DW, there is an option to 'Import A Page Design From Actinic'. This enables you to pull a primary template (now called 'overall page layout') into DW and tinker with it. There are two problems though

1) You will not have any of the CSS files from Actinic
2) No easy way to put the design back into Actinic

We are looking into 1) at the minute and will come up with a solution to it in time for release. With regards to '2', you could then register your new page as a design with Actinic and get the design into Actinic that way. Alternatively, you could copy and paste the edited code into Actinic.

How do you do it currently with v7?

[Kermy]

Just a quick note to say that I'll play around with making my Cart Summary patch work with v8 during the next week. Looking at things quickly, it shouldn't be much work.

[RuralWeb]

How do you do it currently with v7 Template exported to DW - edited and then saved, this passes the changes to Actinic and they can be seen in the preview. Further changes can be made in DW with the template left open so mistakes can be corrected.

It also means that the css comes over with the template so you can customise that in DW as well.

In effect Actinic and DW work together in a similar way to the new "Design" options.

[cdicken]

Template exported to DWThere isn't a template export to DW in v7. How are you doing this? Is it just a case of opening the Act_Primary.html file in DW?

[RuralWeb]

Is it just a case of opening the Act_Primary.html file in DW Yes - wrong terminology - its been a long day!.

I use the template manager to locate the template I am interested in and open it in DW via that.

[pinbrook]

I'm confused.....

I want to take the clean CSS layout from actinic, and put it into DW so I can use it as my base for all themes I build from here.

So I go to DW, actinicmenu, Import a page design from Actinic ,

beegbong <sound effect from by PC>,

Dialog box "you have to save a file before executing this command"

any ideas?

I've defined my site in DW, using site1 folder, but if i list the contents of site1 there are only 2 html files there

Brochuretestpage
Act_search_template

OK, its later now

I opened P_index.html, then it let me import a page layout css

I'm sure this isn't correct but at least it lets me mess with the code

[Mark H]

If I understand your problem correctly - you have to have a file open in DW (preferably blank) which has been saved before you use the import function - the code from the imported page willl then be imported into the open, saved, blank DW file. Beenbong!;)

[pinbrook]

just added to my post above.... which I think means yes you understood, I have just now got a page called P_index rather than a page I named myself.

I assume the content is the same had I done it with a blank page

[cdicken]

Jo - the flow is to

1) Create a blank file in the 'Site1' folder called something like 'template.html' (or Act_Primary.html if you prefer :))

2) Then do the import via Dreamweaver.

This is a regular request, so I'm going to raise a task for myself to beef up the Dreamweaver interface documentation in this area. Also - it looks a complete mess atm as the css file isn't available - so we are looking at ways to fix this.

For now, I suggest copying and pasting code within DW and Actinic. Ctrl+A works as a keyboard shortcut in the layout code in Actinic to copy everything.

[jont]

or Act_Primary.html if you prefer :)

Legacy terminolgy - hands up who is missing it already?

[Jan]

I am doing some work with V6 today, haven't used it seriously for ages, I ran it up and couldn't work out what was missing, then realised it was the split page details view - you have to double click on things to see the details, what a pain that is. :-)

Regards,

[RuralWeb]

Anyone tried this:

Create a design in DW, register it with DW it now shows in Actinic and can be altered. If you then apply a new theme in Actinic it breaks the link with DW, if you now go back into DW you cannot register the design with the new theme as it says it is already registred. V7 used to create a backup when changing theme so you could easily go back, V8 does not seem to have this or I have missed it.

[RuralWeb]

I see that the site map still does not include the brochure pages - this would have been a nice little improvement.

[cdicken]

Create a design in DW, register it with DW it now shows in Actinic and can be altered. If you then apply a new theme in Actinic it breaks the link with DW, if you now go back into DW you cannot register the design with the new theme as it says it is already registred. V7 used to create a backup when changing theme so you could easily go back, V8 does not seem to have this or I have missed it.Malcolm, have you discovered 'Site Options' yet? This is where you can choose all the different layouts that are in Actinic.

After allpying a theme, just change the 'Overall Page Layout' in 'Settings | Site Options | Layout' back to 'ExternalDesign'.

[cdicken]

I see that the site map still does not include the brochure pages - this would have been a nice little improvement.In the 'Design' tab, change the 'Select Page Type' drop down list to 'Site Map'.

Click on the sitemap, and then click the 'navigate to parent' button (yelow spiral with up arrow underneath layout code) until you have selected the layout called 'Sitemap Page Bulk Area'.

Click in line 2 and click the 'insert layout' button - pink circle with a plus.

Select 'BrochurePageList' from the top list, and select 'Used Fixed Layout'. From the bottom list select 'Vertical Brochure Page List'.

Click 'Insert'.

Click 'Apply'.

Now you can click on the items in the list and customise them to look how you want.

If you want to create your own custom brochure navigation icons, rather than customising the ones that come with Actinic, then go to 'Design | Library', open 'Brochure Page Links', right-click on 'Standard Brochure Page Link' and click 'New Layout'. Call it 'Sitemap Layout' or something and then select it as the 'Fixed Layout' for the brochure page list in your sitemap page.

[RuralWeb]

Fantastic - thanks for that chris. Are you going to add usefull stuff like this to a knowledge base for V8 otherwise it will get lost in the forum?

[cdicken]

Definitely. I'll be changing the 'Advanced User Guide' to more of a 'tips and tricks' with Actinic guide - when I get round to writing it... (it'll be ready in time for the full release, I'm sure)

[essentialoils]

Just a quick note to say that I'll play around with making my Cart Summary patch work with v8 during the next week. Looking at things quickly, it shouldn't be much work.

Any luck yet.

[essentialoils]

Just a quick note to say that I'll play around with making my Cart Summary patch work with v8 during the next week. Looking at things quickly, it shouldn't be much work.


Any luck yet?