more intuitive template & css editors

[kermit]

textpattern has a pretty good css editor for a web-based interface. but i was thinking more along the lines of a stripped down editor that actually had, at a minimum, a tab that worked, syntax highlighting, and search & replace.

[nils73]

I apologize before I answer ... because I think that you represend what I call a power-developer. I think a CSS & template editor different from the default one should be developed as a module if there is any need for it. Most people are better off with real editors that help with structure, checking, etc. and others might be better off with css-templates they can modify.

Apart from this I think it will be quite difficult to have a syntax-highlighting, syntax-checking, etc. within a CMS ... while I know that Textpattern has a plugin for that and Nucleus as well. But there are still many bugs when it comes to filters, hacks and special coding-needs. I am not sure if all of this should be part of a default-install. But then I like the idea of making things easier for users ... which makes me think of wizards that guide users and not some kind of syntax highlighting that I have when using jedit or some kind of Firefox Extension.

Regards & Apologies again,
Nils

[kermit]

something more than a basic textarea field for editing templates and css would be of a benefit to users of all skill levels. i shouldn't need to explain the many benefits of the few features i suggested. needless to say, everyone would benefit.. and it would be another unique and useful feature to add to cmsms, while actually enhancing the "simple" part, to further set it apart from the rest.

the main frustration with a standard textarea field for editing code (and that's what these resources are, just ordinary code), is the lack of a functional tab.. well, that and a hotkey or combo for saving.

iirc, textpattern allows you the option of editing the raw css files or entering the css 'editor' that gives you visual representation of the style definitions. that's a pretty sweet setup that works with everyone's comfort level.  (their content editor is pretty slick too, i wouldn't mind seeing optional txp support)

i've not seen basic text editing features in a web-based edit box for templates or code, and feel those would make for a nice addition. picture keyboard shortcuts for common commands (a very few are already available in a textarea), perhaps a toolbar with them and more.. such as click-to-insert common code (such as tags, images, user definable blobs, doctypes, creating proper lists & tables, etc.)

code validation wouldnt work for template editing because there is non-standard code included that gets processed by the core to generate the output. perhaps a function that generated a special preview output that included a 'check referer' link would expedite code validation. but for css, the css could be temporarily saved to an accessible location & a link provided to w3's css validator for that.

[nils73]

kermit,

I must admit that some of your ideas are very good ... but while for example syntax highlighting is pretty simple, for example with GeSHi (published under GPL), a visual template editor or a simple but yet professional browser-based CSS editor is rather complex, if possible at all. The CSS editor used in Textpattern compromises well-formed CSS code and deletes CSS hacks and filters - thus breaking the layout. Have you seen other tools out there?

Regards,
Nils