Installing XMod Starter Packages

New to Version 4.7

When you're first starting out with XMod, it's sometimes a little difficult to get started. To help you hit the ground running, XMod 4.7 and later comes with a set of starter packages.  Starter packages are collections of data-entry forms and templates that form a complete solution for some common task. They provide a nice quick foundation on which you can build. You can install these packages as many times as you'd like. Each time, a new set of forms and templates will be created - so you don't have to worry about overwriting any other forms and templates you've been working on. However, since the forms and templates will be given the same name each time, the first thing you should do after installing a package is change the names of the forms and templates.

Starter Packages:

• Articles: Most sites have a need to display news and happenings related to their site or organization. They may also report on news and events from other sites. An article can be almost anything you'd like. It could be news, events, or even a make-shift blog or journal entry. An article system, therefore, is a must-have for most sites. This package contains the data-entry form for submitting an article, a list view template for displaying a "headlines" view, and a detail view template for displaying the full article.
   
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): With any site, you tend to get a lot of the same questions from site visitors. The FAQ package enables you to gather those questions and their associated answers together into one place. This package includes the data-entry form for entering the question and answer. It also includes a list view template that makes use of XMod's toggle tag so that the site visitor can click a link to show and hide the answer to a given question. This is done on the client - i.e. there is no page refresh. A detail view template is also provided though it is not linked to the list view.
   
• Custom Feedback Form: This is a basic "Contact Us" type of form that allows your site visitors to give you feedback, ask questions, etc. There is space in the form for the user to enter his or her name, email address, a subject line, and their feedback. The form makes use of XMod Constants to pre-fill the form with the user's name and email address if they're logged-in. The package comes with a list view and detail view template. The form can be modified to include an <email> tag if you want to receive email notifications.
   

Installing A Starter Package

1. Login as a Host or Admin.
2. From an XMod module (not an XMod FormView module), select Administration from the Actions Menu.
3. On the General tab, locate the Starter Packages section and select the package you wish to install.
   
4. Click the Install Package button. This will new forms and templates based on what is contained in the package. It wil not overwrite any forms or templates you already have created.
5. Click the Save Changes or Cancel button to finish.

At this stage, it's a good idea to give the newly added forms and templates another, more unique name. This is handled via the Manage Forms and Manage Templates pages (both accessible from the actions menu).

Changing the Form Name(s):

1. Go to the Manage Forms page (from the actions menu)
2. Select the Edit Form radio button, select the newly created form, and click the Edit Form button.
3. The Form Editor screen is now visible with the form's definition. Click the Settings link to bring up the Form Settings and Permissions page.
4. In the Form Name field, enter the new name for your form.
5. Click the Save Settings link to return to the Form Editor panel.
6. Click the Save Form button to save your changes. Repeat this process for any other forms from the starter package. When you're finished, click the Done button to exit the Manage Forms screen.

Changing the Template Name(s):

1. Go to the Manage Templates page (from the actions menu of an XMod module).
2. Select the template you wish to edit and click the Edit Template link.
3. On the resulting page, click the General tab if it isn't already selected.
4. In the Template Name field, enter your new name for the template.
5. Click the Save Template button.
6. Repeat this process for all the templates you wish to re-name. When you're finished, click the Done button to exit the Manage Templates page.

Using the Starter Package:

All that's left to do is configuring an XMod module to use the new starter package:

1. Add an XMod module to a page that will host the newly created starter package.
2. Click the Configure XMod Module action menu item.
3. On the Required Settings tab, select the starter package's form in the Data-Entry Form field, the package's detail template in the Detail View Template field, and the package's list view template in the List View Template field.
4. Click the Save Changes button to complete the configuration
5. Your module is now set to use the starter package.

Where to Go from Here:

Starter packages are, by their nature, basic. Their intent is to give you the basic building blocks for a particular solution. XMod allows you to style and configure these solutions to meet your needs. Next, you might want to adjust the styling of the templates. You can also add HTML to your templates. From there you may want to add fields to the forms, change their styles or even convert the basic forms to custom layout forms and include your own HTML.