How to install, use and administrate a full website with XsltCMS
Abstract
- Download the minimal version of XsltCMS , and unzip it in a local folder
- Open yourwebsite/ create/ website/ config.xml and change user email and password
- Open yourwebsite/ create/ website/ template/ page.xsl, yourwebsite/ create/ website/ html_text.css, yourwebsite/site.css to change presentation (fonts, colors, etc.)
- Put everything directly on your server (with a FTP client for example)
- Log in on (http://yourwebsite/create/)
- Create pages
1. Prerequites
You need :
- A webserver, for example MS IIS or Apache Webserver, standard installation with no particular module enabled. (You'll find some free and cheap to costly and high quality web hosting providers easily)
- Some disk space on this webserver (at least 1Mo)
- PHP 5.x (tested with PHP5.0, 5.1, 5.2) on this webserver, standard installation with php_xsl enabled
You need to know :
- HTML, CSS, Javascript if you want to customize the presentation ; only HTML is needed in any case
- XML to configure the website. If you do not know anything about XML :
- XML is easy
- You will find some tutorials anywhere about XML
- XSL if you want to customize the presentation exactly as you want
- Usual website authoring and managment tools ; this can include : FTP client, HTML editor
2. Choose a version to download
XsltCMS is minimizing migration problems, so you should download in any case the last version available.
Downloadable archives are demo websites. So you can choose between some versions to download.
Minimal demo is of course the usual version to begin with.
3. How to install it
Download and unzip archive on a local folder.
Change configuration files as needed (see below).
Send it fully in any directory on your webserver.
Public part of the website is now accessible at http://yourwebsite/index.html
Private part of the website is now accessible at http://yourwebsite/create/
N.B. : XsltCMS use .htaccess file to restrict access to some files. If your server do not accept it, please make sure that the containing directories are secured one way or another.
4. Configuration
Configuring your website is done mainly by modifying some XML files.
create/static/* should not be modified
create/website/* should be modified by you (create/website/data/* should not often be modified directly, as in contains the real data)
4.1 Glossary
Website : some pages with one instance of XsltCMS
Item : a document ; can be a page, an animal, everything that has a name and some data, creating this is a common task in a CMS
Property : one data in an item
Item Type : description indicating how behave one kind of items, creating this if needed is a part of the website configuration
Property Type : subpart of an item type
XML : (meta-)language used to describe things in XsltCMS
XSL : template language used to create templates in XsltCMS, i.e. indicating how items (and their properties) are showed on some pages. XSL a XML language.
XSLT : XSL Transformation, i.e. the action of using a XSL template
Module : a part of XsltCMS dedicated to a task. There are 5 modules in the basic installation ("informations", "items", "tasks", "login" and "dynamic").
4.2 General configuration
Minimal configuration can be ok for simple websites. If not, create/website/config.xml is the main configuration file.
Changes are taken in account immediatly. Here are the elements and their meanings :
- ‹site› : the website
- backups : number of backups files automatically saved in create/website/data/
- defaultLanguage : language by default in the private part. See in create/static/languages/ to know if your language is supported
- mainDirectory : where is the public website. Can be an absolute path ( "/var/usr.../" or "c:\...\" ) or a relative path from the create/ folder ( "../" )
- resourcesDirectory : where are read and saved images and flash files from the editor. Can be an absolute url ( "http://abc/images/" ) or a relative path from the create/ folder ( "../images/" )
- ‹itemType› (in ‹site›) : a data type that you need. There can be any amout of itemType elements, one after one in this XML file, describing each type of document you will have in you website
- name : showed name of this element. Appears in the private part to choose what to create
- title : automatically created title. Appears in the private part to distinguish documents. Use [property] to use the value of some properties to generate the title
- ‹writer› (in ‹itemType›) : each writers of a item type is called after each save of an item, to generate the public site pages
- template : XSL template used
- fileName : file generated ; use [property] as above
- ‹propertyType› (in ‹itemType›) : each property of a item can contain a value
- name
- type : you can use here "string", "text" (some strings), "html" (some strings, formatted) or "date", "time", "datetime" (a string representing time)
- ‹user› (in ‹site›) : each user allowed on the private part
- email : email and login of this user (email is never automatically used by the private part)
- password
- language : superseed defaultLanguage above, used in the private part
- roles : list of roles separated with ",". See below
- ‹module› (in ‹site›) : every main module of the private part
- label : key corresponding to a text in a language file (do not change this)
- action : action corresponding (do not change this)
- roles :list of roles separated with ",". If void, module if reachable by any user. If not void, user is allowed to use this module if one of his roles (see above) are indicated here
4.3 View configuration
You have to indicate how items are showed in the website
This include :
- General customisation as in any website : change site.css and add files (images, javascript files, etc.) anywhere needed
- Text (fonts, etc.) in html_text.css : styles defined here will be used by the HTML editor of the private part (TinyMCE), it can be also used in your general customisation above
- XSL templates : see how to create templates
4.4 Behaviour configuration of the private part
You can change the behaviour of the private part, modifying XsltCMS.
See how to modify
5 Use
Here are the informations to use XsltCMS as a content producer. The following section is the only one needed by redactors and editors of your website :
5.1 Logging
Go to http://yourwebsite/create/
Enter email (or login) and password given by the website administrator.
5.2 Creating data
Creating, moving...items will be done in the "Items" module.
Click on the link "Items" at the right of the screen to reach this module.
Data are save hierarchically. That means an item (a document) can be in a document in a document in...
You can create a new item at the root : click on "New ..." at the bottom of the page.
You can create a new item inside another : click on "New ..." at the right of an item.
Enter data then click on "Save and list".
5.3 Editing an item
Click on the name of the item.
Change its data, then click on "Save and list".
If some of the data are in HTML, a special editor (TinyMCE) is open, with a lot of buttons.
These button help you to change colors, fonts...
Some special task can be done in your text also :
- Use "Table" (bottom left) button to create a table (use it to organise the general layout of your page)
- Select some text and use "link" (center) button to create some link to other pages. Use it also to upload and make available some documents (.PDF, .RTF, etc.) that users will be able to download afterward.
- Use "Image" (center right) button to upload an image to the webserver and show it
5.4 Moving items
Items are ordered, and there can be inclusion of items inside others.
You can move items from one place to another with drag&drop. Click on the item and release mouse button on another item. The item will be moved after (watch for white horizontal line), on the same level/depth.
If you move your mouse at the right of an item, the item will be moved inside (watch for white vertical line).
5.5 Hide / show items
Edit an item.
Check or not the "hidden" box, then save.5.6 Deleting items
Edit an item.
Click "Delete" on the bottom of the window.
5.7 Viewing the result
Click on the eye button anywhere to see an item that can be displayed directly (some could not be, depending of datatypes created by your administrator).
The public website has also been updated by your changes.
About this document
Document base url : http://xsltcms.org/ how_to_install_and_use.html
Version : 070930
Author : askywhale