Form2Content, a Joomla CCK
Form2Content PRO is a Joomla Content Creation Kit. It is very easy to use yet extremely powerful. It enables you to submit articles to Joomla using a custom form with as many fields as you like and a template for the article layout. In essence the normal Joomla article content is split into a submission form and an article template. When a form is saved the content is pasted into the template and the generated HTML is inserted into the Joomla! database! Most important, the content you create is saved in the Joomla Article manager within the section/category structure. This means that Form2Content is 100% 3rd party compatible!
For each type of content you can make your own submission form, using unlimited fields and choosing from 15 field types. The content layout is defined in a template in which you can use patTemplating to add dynamic effects. Think of conditions for images to show, or hide fields which haven’t been filled out in the form. Again, most important is that users (maybe your clients) won’t require any HTML knowledge to maintain their own website. At the same time you can include complex code and plugins within your template so the layout can be as creative as you like!
Front-end access
Form2Content has front-end access of the F2C Article Manager. Only the articles of the user are shown making it an ideal component for community websites. Of course the option can be switched off in the configuration. Give your clients the ability to add news, blogs, portfolio or products to their website without having to learn the Joomla back-end structure.
Benefits
Form2Content is designed for articles (content) which is similar in layout and can thus use a template for presentation and forms for input. The benefits of truly seperating content from layout are:
- Include plugins and complex HTML without the user knowing!
- Batch edit the layout of your articles!
- Save time (and money) since website content can be easily updated!
- Dynamic (conditional) templates for your article layout!
- User friendly in a known environment!
- (limited) Front-end access to your articles
- Unlimited types of content (templates and related forms)!
- 100% 3rd Party compatible!
How it works
In simple terms Form2Content overwrites the HTML of an article. In doing so it enables the separation of the content (input through a Form) from the layout (use of template). This way the editor of an article using F2C doesn't need to worry about any HTML.
Step 1: Determine the type of articles (content type) you wish to submit and which parts of the artcle can be seen as a variable (form fields).
Step 2: Define a Content Type and add the custom form fields (variables). Many different field types are possible such as drop-down, multi-select, text box, text area, URL, Image etc.
Step 3: Design a template with your variables in it or use the standard generated template (in which case you can skip this step).
Step 4: Go to the F2C Article Manager and add a new article. The form you have made can be filled out. Determine where you want to save it in the Joomla Section/Category structure and which template you would like to use.
Step 5: Save and Publish!
Support
Please feel free to use the component on our DEMO website!
Open Source Design has a personal ticketing system which allows us to answer your questions directly and at a personal level. There is also documentation for the use and implementation of the Form2Content component.
If you are unsure about implementing Form2Content feel free to contact us to see if our component suits your requirements.
Examples
More effective than a thousand words are examples. The following Joomla websites use Form2Content for their content management and publishing.
Open Source Design: The Portfolio (Coming Soon), the Showcase.
Open Source Design DEMO Website (ENG)
Safari-planner.com (Dutch) All safari descriptions, Including the search module!
Violets VakantieWijzer (Dutch) All holiday descriptions, Including the search module!
africa-lodges.com (ENG) All lodge descriptions, news, Job opportunities and searches.
labatave.nl (Dutch) All project description, CV, news and in the media content
License
The Form2Content Component has a per domain license and costs 45€ (excl. VAT) per domain.
The source code is completely open so no Ioncube decoder is necessary. We trust the community to pay a per domain license since we have kept the price low, especially when compared to the amount of time the component can save on website devlopment. Any website builder should easily be able to charge this amount to his or her clients.
