Nick
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Did you notice the new page layouts, and the new slider menu?
We can now have something like:
Header
Menu
Slider - which can be page width
Content
Footer.
I feel little bit better now. Now, this is a welcomed new feature, but coming at Templateer's expense (losing Templateer), and other template customizations is just not enough. It's just a beta release, and I'm hoping for once they will listen to what our needs are...
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Nick
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BTW, we have created enough noise and complains in other topics, let's use this one just for the positives, if it's possible...
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Nick
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That said, when in this layout, the slideshow stops working in responsive mode... that much for staying positive.
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Nick
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Another good thing: It seems that the code is MUCH cleaner now than before. The plugin theme check - http://wordpress.org/plugins/theme-check/ , throws much less warning flags, which I think could be easily fixed. I have not tried it yet. Once it passes the "smell test" we could stand better chances of getting our themes accepted by the various depositories.
Now bare in mind that passing the theme check will not guarantee the theme's acceptance. It will simply pass the algorithm check, an actual human will then further evaluate the theme for acceptance. To be fair, all the previous checks were done with Templateer themes, and we know those are not perfect either. Nevertheless, comapared to the premium themes from Elegant Themes, there are much less errors with the Art. 4.2 themes. Another good news..., and some of them are easy to fix, like a license file is missing, or the plugin even tells you how to fix the problem. If the recommendations will break things or not is a whole different story. We will see...
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Nick
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And a little wish list.
The new slideshows are great as described above, screen width, customized links to each slide, same with the logo. These features are great for site building for you or for your customers.
However, it is impossible for theme distribution. We should have a way to control the slides, their urls, the logo and it's url, from the backsite. Specially the slideshows, and also have a way to turn them off on a page basis, just like we can do with the Page Title, the Header, and the Sidebars - and in a micro level, each individual widget. One baby step at a time I guess...
These are more critical to me than being online for export. I can deal with the export dilemma, as long as your server is up and running.
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PurpleEdge
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I can't understand why anyone would embed a slideshow using Artisteer?
If the new layout option works as I think you described it? - can't you just create a widget location on the page where a dynamic slideshow plugin can be placed, and then add a slideshow widget, of choice, in that location from within WP?
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Zandebar
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Quote PurpleEdge:
I can't understand why anyone would embed a slideshow using Artisteer?
@PurpleEdge
with you there!
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Nick
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No, there is no widget location for this new slideshow layout. You can't even add a new position to it. It's sort of weird - it's sort of part of the header, and yet, it is sort of not part of the header. In fact, strangely enough, for the theme I'm testing, it is part of the header, because the slideshow code is in the header.php. Now through the backside, if I remove the header for a certain page, the header goes, the menu goes, but the slideshow stays. I want the opposite to happen,. The slideshow to disappear but the regular header and menu to stay. I will probably have to make a video so you would understand the whole thing. I'm sue some power users know what I'm talking about...
I was able to replace the new full page Artisteer slideshow with a third party plugin slideshow - Meta Slider to be specific. I had to hack the header.php file to do that - it was child's play really. Now surprise surprise, the slideshow works just like it does in any premium theme. It adjusts to any screen resolution like magic, they have fixed the CSS part of it 100%. Remember the slideshows in 4.1 had all sorts of css problems with the responsive layouts.
Now finally, you have to use a third party slideshow as oppose to the one supplied by Artisteer, so you can:
- Edit the images from within WP (plugin)
- Edit the links to the images from within WP (plugin)
- Optimize the images
- And not have to endure the Artisteer's slideshow problem in the responsive views.
Things are looking up! Well, slightly... and the only reason I'm sharing all this is not to anger further the people who are upset with 4.2 (remember I repeatedly yelled and screamed almost non stop the whole day about 4.2), but if there is a chance they are reading the posts, for them to learn what the main concerns are, and may be fix them with the next version, I'm guessing by 2069. Contacting support to report bugs and issues gave me ulcers when 4.0 was coming out, so if they want my output, this is it.
To be continued tomorrow...
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Nick
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@Zandebar: Simply put, because not everybody knows how to code. Because it is convenient, and very easy, even though there are consequences, like needing Artisteer to edit the slides. You could hack the code for that, but if you are going to dive into the code, you might as well replace the whole bloody thing.
Don't get me wrong guys, when it comes to the slideshows, there are some distinct improvements over 4.1. They just are not enough for my needs (theme distribution), so they need to be replaced. If I were building a site for me or a client, and was not a coder, then this would be an easy way to go.
Now I'm done for the day, really... REALLY !!! I hate this love/hate relationship with Artisteer. That's why I have a wife for God's sake!
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John
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Quote :The good about Artisteer 4.2
Lol... I see tumbleweed
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Alexander
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we have license for artisteer, 4/3/2013 201971 but after upgrade when exporting joomla template comming message "Unable to export project
Reason: unknown product.
Error code: 302
"
Wats up ?
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Webcombinatie
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Same here, already sent a contact message. You should think this must be tested a lot... before put it online (and yes, I know it is beta) But what do I do with a beta version if I not can test it on a website???
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LGL
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same here... unable to export!!!!!
after restarting the pc even unable to open my file...
sad..now everything has to be done again.
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xdbmw
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Quote LGL:
after restarting the pc even unable to open my file...
Try this:
- close Artisteer
- delete content of
C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Artisteer\Artisteer4\StartupCache
- do not delete the directory only it's content
- restart Artisteer and try to open your project again
If your project is not corrupted you should open it again.
Good luck. :)
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xdbmw
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Quote Alexander:
...but after upgrade when exporting joomla template comming message "Unable to export project
Reason: unknown product.
Error code: 302
"...
Wait and retry later maybe their server(s) are already down.
I know this would be really annoying, but you should try.
Good luck for you too.
I already heard that some guys could not even activate their product, so maybe it has indeed to do with their server(s).
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Pekka M
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Quote xdbmw:
Quote Alexander:
...but after upgrade when exporting joomla template comming message "Unable to export project
Reason: unknown product.
Error code: 302
"...
Wait and retry later maybe their server(s) are already down.
I know this would be really annoying, but you should try.
Good luck for you too.
I already heard that some guys could not even activate their product, so maybe it has indeed to do with their server(s).
Yes, it is their server. I send an error message to them and they said it was their server fault..
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Nick
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Ok, back to the positives !!!
- I already talked about the new slider menu, and the new layouts...
- Another great new feature is the ability to add textures or images to your pages (sheet). Just because you can add an image, it does not mean you should. A large image can slow down your site. Instead use a texture.
- The best easter egg that I found so far is the ability to decide where (which resolution) will any of the header controls be shown. Right mouse click on a header control (Headline, Slogan, Search, facebook, etc...), choose visibility from the pop up menu, and choose the visibility for that specific control. THIS IS HUGE !!!
I did prepare a 2 minute video for you all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzE_llbYo40&feature=youtu.be
In the video you will see a theme with a nice texture, the Slogan will be displayed only in desktop mode, and the search box in all resolutions except in portrait phone.
Also note that very, and I mean very easily I was able to replace the Artisteer slideshow with an external one, so the slider will work in all resolutions, and I can edit the images and the links, along their captions. Total slider control from the backsite. Can't ask for more.
Actually I can: It would be great if from the backsite, we could also decide when a Widget will be displayed, desktop, tablet, phone. Templateer 4.1 has that feature for the widgets, but we all know the story with templateer and Artisteer 4.2 - don't get me started again, I'm trying to stay positive here!
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Unglood
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Sexy job when you click on the various "Responsive View" options in the top right corner of Artisteer. Very Sexy.
http://testing.northcoastcomputers.com/cdn/responsive.jpg
Good Job.
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Unglood
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Quote Nick:
Thanks for the Video Nick. Good to know about these li'l things that help.
Did i miss some detail in your prior posts or, could you please explain a bit more about 'How To' replace the Art SS with an External one. Is it just a matter of going into the header file somewhere?
Thx.
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Unglood
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Is this div <div class="art-pageslider"> the only one that needs be kept for an external Slider replacement? Thx...
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Raymee
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Thanks Nick
Good to see someone positive about 4.2
I haven't tried uploading to a CMS yet but have exported and given the underlying background about where Artisteer is coming from - I am not too despondent about 4.2. The bugs in the content editor seem to have disappeared and we can access the <head></head> area, being able to see the responsive design easily in the app is good and are the responsive controls.
Export seemed to work ok and was fast enough
Could I also ask for a little more info re replacing the Artisteer slider.
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PurpleEdge
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Add me to the list for more details about the slider please Nick.
I think I'd be happier with a widget area below the header and above the content area. Once again, it's easy enough to create one after export, but then there is no going back to Artisteer to make new alterations without having to redo it.
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Unglood
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Maybe I'm the only person in the world using IE10 on Win7 and Win8 but, shocking I know, only the first image displays in the Art. Slider show when viewing with IE10. Shocking!
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Nick
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OK guys, I'm back. Replacing the Artisteer slider with an external one (Meta slider, Wowslider, etc...)
The code that needs to be replaced is in the header.php. Edit that file and replace the entire div section that controls the Artisteer slideshow. The Div class name is "art-pageslider"
- In the theme from the video, the div starts on line 33. There will be some nested divs, so make sure you delete the correct chunk of code. Use Notepad++ to easily identify the div sections.
In my case the entire chunk of code was:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
<div class="art-pageslider">
<div class="art-shapes">
</div>
<div class="art-slider art-slidecontainerpageslider" data-width="1000" data-height="300">
<div class="art-slider-inner">
<div class="art-slide-item art-slidepageslider0">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="art-slidenavigator art-slidenavigatorpageslider" data-left="1" data-top="1">
<a href="#" class="art-slidenavigatoritem"></a>
</div>
</div>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice that the my Artisteer slider had only one slide. In your cases you might have more than one, so the code that you need to delete will be more. Just make sure you delete the correct div.
Now, replace the code you deleted with the php code that the external slider plugin provides. In my case I was using the excellent Meta Slider, and the code was <?php echo do_shortcode("[metaslider id=1796]"); ?>
Another thing that is good news is that unlike header where there is a container div for the height, with this type of the slider, there is no such container. You have to configure the width of the slider to match the width of the page, but you can configure from your external slider the height to anything you want. In my case from the video, the height was 300px, but I can configure it to 200px, or 500px, without any consequences. It is going to work like charm. This is not the case if you place the Artisteer slider inside the header, or even with static images in the header. In those cases, both the width and height are fixed. We have absolute freedom with the width here.
I hope I was clear enough. Good luck guys... Without any questions, 4.2 (even it it's beta form) is the best version so far. Unfortunately losing Templateer, does not serve my purposes. If we can get a new Templateer somehow, this is going to rock.
I will post any other useful new things (if any), and I'm noticing that some of the things don't work very well. I need to do some further testing and verify any bugs, and start a new post about the bugs.
I want to keep this post for the positives..., unfortunately the only one so far vs 1 gazillion complains (probably
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Nick
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... (probably most started by me) !!! 
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Abland
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Hi, Nick,
I think the positives are with the target market:
Quote Artisteer:With Artisteer YOU immediately become a Web design expert, editing and slicing graphics, coding XHTML and CSS, and creating Web Design Templates, Joomla templates, Drupal themes, Wordpress themes, DotNetNuke skins, and Blogger templates all in minutes, without Photoshop or Dreamweaver, and no technical skills.
"and no technical skills". And so I consider:
Quote Microsoft:FrontPage 2003 provides an enhanced design environment, new layout and design tools, templates, and improved themes — all created to help you realize your Web site vision without any knowledge of HTML.
With the SDK a mystery, and content development that's locked on publish, it's not really geared as a developer's tool anymore.
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Unglood
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Quote :In the meantime, has ANYONE heard from Bud yet?
I emailed Bud about updated documentation about 3 or 4 days ago. I've heard nothing. Yet.
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ddye
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Dammit, I bought Artisteer and Templateer so I wouldn't HAVE TO CODE!
I am REALLY good at designing and using software. I am NOT a coder. This started getting weird when Artisteer 4.2 came out. Yeah, people said it was better, but with Templateer I had to track down problems that didn't exist before, and code around them.
Man, just when I found a really good tool that worked, and made me lots of money.
Screw the "positives", I am REALLY pissed.
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ddye
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Sorry, I meant that thishis started getting weird when Artisteer 4.1 came out,not 4.2.
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speedyp
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Quote Unglood:
Quote :In the meantime, has ANYONE heard from Bud yet?
I emailed Bud about updated documentation about 3 or 4 days ago. I've heard nothing. Yet.
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