MODX CMS

After a very long hiatus I’m finally getting back to transferring my site over to MODX Revolution and it’s been great so far. This thing was obviously developed by designers for designers. For such a robust CMS it’s been a remarkably pleasant process. Quite the opposite of Wordpress which is great for the end-user but a nightmare to design around.

If you’re looking for a powerful CMS it’s worth a look. I like it better than EE and it’s free with a thriving community behind it. A real sleeper of a CMS. Well-conceived and executed.

Todd
http://xiiro.com


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Out of curiosity I did a quick test to see if MODX could be integrated into FW and if so, how easily. Well, I was pleasantly surprised: it’s ridiculously easy. Shockingly so. But here’s the disclaimer: I only did a very rudimentary test and while it Just Works™ MODX has a lot of features so there may be more advanced aspects that require extra effort. Or not. I can’t say since I do have time to fully test it with FW. But in any case this is very good news for those that are looking for a full-featured CMS but are put off by some of the non-designer-friendly options out there. This could possibly mean it’s a good candidate for an action dev to write some MODX actions. If anyone out there has time and wants to fully test the compatibility I encourage you to do so.

Pretty cool.

Todd
http://xiiro.com


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I just may bite on that, Todd.

Not that I have time either – but the Wordpress thing with my site has been
disastrous… my portfolio is THE most important thing I have now as nobody
is interested in physical interviews these days without checking you out
electronically first.

While Freeway Pro is fine for getting stuff up, I don’t want to regenerate
a whole site-worth of code every time I add or edit content, so CMS’s
become very attractive for limiting the effort to just what is needed. The
problem with a lot of the light-weight CMS’s (imo, obviously) is they are
not very well-supported. I remember that little cms from Solucjia or
whatever that some of tried used years ago – I ended up rewriting so much
of the PHP code that I grew a third lobe in my brain (which, predictably,
now sits on the couch all day drinking beer and watching tv). Wordpress has
millions of developers, and many more sources of support – and as soon as
my hosting service works out their issues with it, I would like to give it
another shot. Building sites with such a popular cms would be nice on my
resume.

As for writing actions, the world is safe for now. I tried something
recently that I thought simple, but my third brain lobe just said “uh-uh –
you can just forget that, buddy! We are NOT going down that road again.”

Damn brain…


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 10:48 AM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Out of curiosity I did a quick test to see if MODX could be integrated
into FW and if so, how easily. Well, I was pleasantly surprised: it’s
ridiculously easy. Shockingly so. But here’s the disclaimer: I only did a
very rudimentary test and while it Just Works™ MODX has a lot of features
so there may be more advanced aspects that require extra effort. Or not. I
can’t say since I do have time to fully test it with FW. But in any case
this is very good news for those that are looking for a full-featured CMS
but are put off by some of the non-designer-friendly options out there.
This could possibly mean it’s a good candidate for an action dev to write
some MODX actions. If anyone out there has time and wants to fully test the
compatibility I encourage you to do so.

Pretty cool.

Todd
http://xiiro.com


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Here’s an interesting comparison review between Wordpress and MODX written by a guy who wrote a book on Wordpress.

Well, for someone like you who doesn’t mind dealing with front-end code you could probably just use Coda to tweak whatever MODX template code you need to. It’s crazy easy. As I said I was surprised at how quickly I was able to tie MODX into FW but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because there may be unforeseen issues. But do check out MODX, if nothing else I would be interested in your thoughts.

Todd

On Jun 14, 2012, at 11:38 AM, Ernie Simpson wrote:

I just may bite on that, Todd.

Not that I have time either – but the Wordpress thing with my site has been
disastrous… my portfolio is THE most important thing I have now as nobody
is interested in physical interviews these days without checking you out
electronically first.

While Freeway Pro is fine for getting stuff up, I don’t want to regenerate
a whole site-worth of code every time I add or edit content, so CMS’s
become very attractive for limiting the effort to just what is needed. The
problem with a lot of the light-weight CMS’s (imo, obviously) is they are
not very well-supported. I remember that little cms from Solucjia or
whatever that some of tried used years ago – I ended up rewriting so much
of the PHP code that I grew a third lobe in my brain (which, predictably,
now sits on the couch all day drinking beer and watching tv). Wordpress has
millions of developers, and many more sources of support – and as soon as
my hosting service works out their issues with it, I would like to give it
another shot. Building sites with such a popular cms would be nice on my
resume.

As for writing actions, the world is safe for now. I tried something
recently that I thought simple, but my third brain lobe just said “uh-uh –
you can just forget that, buddy! We are NOT going down that road again.”

Damn brain…


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 10:48 AM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Out of curiosity I did a quick test to see if MODX could be integrated
into FW and if so, how easily. Well, I was pleasantly surprised: it’s
ridiculously easy. Shockingly so. But here’s the disclaimer: I only did a
very rudimentary test and while it Just Works™ MODX has a lot of features
so there may be more advanced aspects that require extra effort. Or not. I
can’t say since I do have time to fully test it with FW. But in any case
this is very good news for those that are looking for a full-featured CMS
but are put off by some of the non-designer-friendly options out there.
This could possibly mean it’s a good candidate for an action dev to write
some MODX actions. If anyone out there has time and wants to fully test the
compatibility I encourage you to do so.

Pretty cool.

Todd
http://xiiro.com


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Here’s an interesting comparison review between Wordpress and MODX written by a guy who wrote a book on Wordpress.

Sorry, http://tipsfor.us/?p=2694

Todd


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The first big fail for MODX is the installation. After testing for server
requirements, manually uploading the install to my server, it tests and
approves my SQL server, but cannot create the database.

Checking database: MODX could not create your database. Please manually
create your database and then try again.

This brings me to the second big fail – documentation. Clearly, some
programmer envisioned this scenario as is evidenced by the failure message.
Yet this scenario is not covered in the documentation (at least I can’t
find it). Creating a database is not a problem for me, but there is no
instruction as to how to name it or how to proceed assuming I somehow
blunder into making the database it wants.

Do you know of better install documentation?


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 12:48 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Here’s an interesting comparison review between Wordpress and MODX
written by a guy who wrote a book on Wordpress.

Sorry, http://tipsfor.us/?p=2694

Todd


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It can’t create the db or the tables? Because before I installed it I had an empty modx db ready to go and it connected to it just fine, populated it with 27 tables and, bingo!

I will have to look at the docs because I’m not familiar with this error.

Todd

On Jun 14, 2012, at 3:11 PM, Ernie Simpson wrote:

The first big fail for MODX is the installation. After testing for server
requirements, manually uploading the install to my server, it tests and
approves my SQL server, but cannot create the database.

Checking database: MODX could not create your database. Please manually
create your database and then try again.

This brings me to the second big fail – documentation. Clearly, some
programmer envisioned this scenario as is evidenced by the failure message.
Yet this scenario is not covered in the documentation (at least I can’t
find it). Creating a database is not a problem for me, but there is no
instruction as to how to name it or how to proceed assuming I somehow
blunder into making the database it wants.

Do you know of better install documentation?


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 12:48 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Here’s an interesting comparison review between Wordpress and MODX
written by a guy who wrote a book on Wordpress.

Sorry, http://tipsfor.us/?p=2694

Todd


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Hi Ernie,
I found these screencasts earlier when I took a brief look at the CMS;
http://modxvideotutorials.com/

This one caught my eye and should offer much of what you are after;
http://modxvideotutorials.com/install-modx-revolution-on-mamp
The database bit starts at roughly 4 mins 30 seconds.

I’d agree that the installation looks less than streamlined.
Regards,
Tim.

FreewayActions.com - Freeware and commercial Actions for Freeway Express & Pro - http://www.freewayactions.com
FreewayStyle.com - Free Freeway templates and parts to download, use and explore - http://www.freewaystyle.com


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before I installed it I had an empty modx db ready to go

I did the same and just put the necessary in the setup section.

So empty DB created first before ModX setup.

D


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Maybe one of the following:

Does your account permit more than one db?
Does the user you used in the config have privileges to create a db?

Just thoughts…

On Jun 14, 2012, at 10:22 PM, Todd wrote:

It can’t create the db or the tables? Because before I installed it I had an empty modx db ready to go and it connected to it just fine, populated it with 27 tables and, bingo!

I will have to look at the docs because I’m not familiar with this error.

Todd

On Jun 14, 2012, at 3:11 PM, Ernie Simpson wrote:

The first big fail for MODX is the installation. After testing for server
requirements, manually uploading the install to my server, it tests and
approves my SQL server, but cannot create the database.

Checking database: MODX could not create your database. Please manually
create your database and then try again.

This brings me to the second big fail – documentation. Clearly, some
programmer envisioned this scenario as is evidenced by the failure message.
Yet this scenario is not covered in the documentation (at least I can’t
find it). Creating a database is not a problem for me, but there is no
instruction as to how to name it or how to proceed assuming I somehow
blunder into making the database it wants.

Do you know of better install documentation?


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 12:48 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Here’s an interesting comparison review between Wordpress and MODX
written by a guy who wrote a book on Wordpress.

Sorry, http://tipsfor.us/?p=2694

Todd


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I would bet you money this is it. I have had shared hosting accounts where the only place you could create a database was some completely unrelated part of cPanel, while you could edit databases using phpMyAdmin.

Walter

On Jun 14, 2012, at 4:31 PM, Mike B wrote:

Does the user you used in the config have privileges to create a db?


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Thanks for showing modx never knew about this

I work in ee and this looks better

Any pros or cons about modx

Stu
Creative | artwork | event branding
07766546787

On 14 Jun 2012, at 21:32, Walter Lee Davis email@hidden wrote:

I would bet you money this is it. I have had shared hosting accounts where the only place you could create a database was some completely unrelated part of cPanel, while you could edit databases using phpMyAdmin.

Walter

On Jun 14, 2012, at 4:31 PM, Mike B wrote:

Does the user you used in the config have privileges to create a db?


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Thanks for showing modx never knew about this I work in ee and this looks better

Any pros or cons about modx

The pros are it’s really easy to work with as a designer. I haven’t come across any issues with the template engine. Design however you like, toss in some content tags and go. There’s a lot on offer but it’s refreshing easy to design around. The Manager can be a bit confusing at first but I picked it up quick. If you develop with EE you should feel pretty confident with MODX.

Cons: Still a couple releases away from a built-in update mechanism. Current process is easy but a bit “techy”. Manager (cp) can be a bit sluggish. Not exactly snappy responsiveness.

Pro and Con: It’s built for customization which can be a good or bad. If you like having control over every aspect of the framework then you’re in the right place. But it’s not point-n-click simple like WP.

I’m amazed at how designer-friendly it is.

Todd


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No, I have unlimited db privileges - it’s a webhosting account where I
control almost everything.

I finally figured it out - my mysql databases use a prefix – and all the
fields apparently require it.

I’ve entered the admin info, and get a page with a lot of green checks and
“OK’s”, three lines like this:

Checking if directory exists: Failed!

with the message:

Please review the pre-installation test results below, correct the
problems as directed, and then click Test again.

So to be fair, previous problem was clearly I didn’t understand my mysql
setup (though WP never cared). So, I’ll plod along, debugging the install
as I go.


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 4:32 PM, Walter Lee Davis email@hiddenwrote:

I would bet you money this is it. I have had shared hosting accounts where
the only place you could create a database was some completely unrelated
part of cPanel, while you could edit databases using phpMyAdmin.


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So to be fair, previous problem was clearly I didn’t understand my mysql
setup (though WP never cared).

Well, MODX does have several specific server-level requirements compared to WP. Different beasts, for sure.

Todd


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Okay, got it going now. Apparently nothing a complete vanilla reinstall
couldn’t fix.

Now to get up to speed. Or in my case, forward. :slight_smile:


Ernie Simpson

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 6:04 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

So to be fair, previous problem was clearly I didn’t understand my mysql
setup (though WP never cared).

Well, MODX does have several specific server-level requirements compared
to WP. Different beasts, for sure.


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Okay, got it going now. Apparently nothing a complete vanilla reinstall
couldn’t fix.

You weren’t working on the install all this time, were you? If so, that’s determination.

Todd


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Not the whole time… I spent a little time on this:
http://cssway.thebigerns.com/workbench/html5_links/


Ernie Simpson

On Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 12:18 AM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Okay, got it going now. Apparently nothing a complete vanilla reinstall
couldn’t fix.

You weren’t working on the install all this time, were you? If so, that’s
determination.

Todd


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Okay, got it going now.

Seeing as how I’ve been yammering about MODX the past couple days I should mention - for those of you that installed it recently - that a new patch was released today and since the auto-update mechanism is still not available be sure to read the updating instructions carefully. Do not just copy the new files from the Finder to your current install because it will break it. I learned that the hard way.

Todd


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Thanks Todd

As someone who has only looked at it very quickly it is still a bit of a mystery to me.

Can you - as a FW user - outline how you would work with ModX and FW created pages. I am interested in the workflow and whether or not you can easily add ModX components to your FW page.

D


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