Feb
22
MyVars String Replacement Extension
Filed Under Extensions, Plugins | Leave a Comment
The new MyVars extension allows you to create custom search variables/tokens that will be replaced with the values you specify
when your web page is rendered in the browser. This feature can be helpful when you want to be able to easily change
bits of informatin such as phone numbers, emails, web page URLs or image paths. You set the value once, and it is displayed
anywhere in your site you choose. If the value changes, you only make the change in one place.
Nov
30
One of the most common questions we are asked is how to convert existing or stock HTML templates to work with
SkyBlueCanvas. In this article I will guide you, step-by-step, through the process of adapting
any existing skin to work with SkyBlueCanvas. This process, once you understand the fundamentals,
usually takes about an hour – sometimes even less. In fact, the skin we will use in this tutorial
took only 30 minutes.
Nov
29
When I first built SkyBlueCanvas, I was a freelance web designer and developer. For seven years I struggled to make ends meet working on small projects that were not very profitable. I knew there had to be a way for me, and the thousands of other independent web professionals, to make a living working on the limitless number of small projects out there. If you are a freelance designer or developer, you know what I mean.
Nov
27
Creating Menus in SkyBlueCanvas v1.1
Filed Under Extensions, Fragments, SkyBlueCanvas CMS | 6 Comments
When you create a new page in SkyBlueCanvas, a menu item is already created for you. In fact, there is not really a menu item to create because the system assumes, by default, that if you have created a page, there should be a menu link for. I mean, how else would anyone find your page if there is not link, right?
Nov
27
Upgrading SkyBlueCanvas is simple because all of the files that are editable are contained in a single directory: /skyblue/data/
When you upgrade to a new version of SkyBlueCanvas, you simply need to make a copy of this directory, install the new version following the instructions on the Installation page, then copy your data file back into /skyblue/data/.
Nov
26
SkyBlueCanvas v1.1 RC1 Skins Explained
Filed Under Skins and Templates, SkyBlueCanvas CMS | 8 Comments
If you have used an earlier release of SkyBlueCanvas and are now upgrading to v1.1 RC1, you have probably noticed that the skins are a bit different. Normally, I would not want to make a change with as much impact on existing users as this one, but the change was really necessary.
This article will explain the underlying concepts of the new skin format and the API hooks at your disposal. For users of older versions of SkyBlueCanvas, your existing skins will still work. There are some minor caveats to this that I will explain later on.
Nov
26
SkyBlueCanvas Fragments Explained
Filed Under Fragments, SkyBlueCanvas CMS | 13 Comments
The key buidling dynamic content into a SkyBlueCanvas site is what we call fragments. An easy way to think about fragments is as a piece of a page. The fragment code creates the HTML for a particular data type. For instance, if you have a collection of Links you want to display on your site, the Links Fragment will take care of generating the HTML. One neat thing about fragments, though, is that a single fragment can have numerous different HTML formats.
Nov
26
SkyBlueCanvas v1.1 RC1 Is Here
Filed Under SkyBlueCanvas CMS | Leave a Comment
I am happy to announce the release of SkyBlueCanvas v1.1 RC1 (Release Candidate 1). This release coincides very nicely with the 10,000th download of SkyBlueCanvas. This is a very exciting time for us because we are all very happy with the new enhancements to SkyBlueCanvas and with the traction we have gained in the Lightweight Open Source CMS niche.
Nov
25
Installing Portfolio Extension for SkyBlueCanvas v1.1 RC1
Filed Under Extensions, SkyBlueCanvas CMS | 4 Comments
It was brought to my attention today by a SkyBlueCanvas user that I neglected to include good instructions for installing the Portfolio and Galleria extensions. I apologize for the inconvenience. Here are some detailed instructions on how to install the Galleria Extension. The same instructions, with some very minor differences, also apply for the Portfolio Fragment (frag_portfolio).
Nov
17
The SkyBlueCanvas Development Team is happy to introduce our newest member – Philipp Freidl. Philipp is a student of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at UT Graz in Graz, Austria.