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Questions about NAML

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GodlyPerfection

Questions about NAML

Several of us were wondering if we will be able to create custom DB fields to store information.

Also exactly how much of the code is editable? Are we able to edit all of the code in each Macro? Obviously we can't change the binaries, but we were wondering if <head> injection using put_in_head was actually available to us as well as javascript and jquery. And will we be able to create our own custom Macros or will we be limited to modifying the ones that exist? And will we be able to finally use the child selector (">") in CSS? Also is there any chance of us getting template variables to use or any kind of server side scripting or something similar? And is there a way to backup your template as well... incase we break something experimenting? lol...

Other than those questions we also wanted to thank you for taking the time to work on this. We look forward to morphing the forum to something a little more suitable for our needs. We've got several ideas for features we will be coding in. We are looking to get pretty creative so knowing the full potential of the templates will be a strong asset for us.

PS I apologize for the crazy collection of questions after that first one... we couldn't stop adding questions. lol

ReachingPerfection.com is home to many like-minded video game designers who all started on Halo: Reach's forge editor.

Hugo <Nabble>

Re: Questions about NAML

GodlyPerfection wrote

Several of us were wondering if we will be able to create custom DB fields to store information.

We are still discussing how to achieve this. The initial idea was to have modules implemented in Java that would create and manage the fields in the database. But now I suspect we will end up with a generic table that saves key-value pairs. So you could use NAML to set and get key and values to/from that table. But as I said, this is still being discussed.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Also exactly how much of the code is editable? Are we able to edit all of the code in each Macro? Obviously we can't change the binaries, but we were wondering if <head> injection using put_in_head was actually available to us as well as javascript and jquery. And will we be able to create our own custom Macros or will we be limited to modifying the ones that exist? And will we be able to finally use the child selector (">") in CSS?

Yes to all questions. In summary, everything in NAML is editable. You will be able to create as many macros as you want. You will be able to change how the page is generated, the head and the body, the libraries, anything. You will be able to use any CSS code you want. You can take a look at the NAML documentation site, which is a forum (yes, a forum) that was transformed into a site with some NAML changes.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Also is there any chance of us getting template variables to use or any kind of server side scripting or something similar?

NAML also processes submitted information on the server side. We can check if the page was submitted with the is_submitted_form command, see this in the NAML code of the subscription page (line 18).

GodlyPerfection wrote

And is there a way to backup your template as well... incase we break something experimenting? lol...

Yes, you will be able to easily download your changes in a ZIP file. This will be available when we remove the lock and let all users change the NAML code of their apps. But your question is very important because if your app is constantly visited by a lot of people all the time, you shouldn't run the risk of breaking the NAML code and frustrating your users. So the idea we have is that serious users should have a testing app where they first make the NAML changes and then download the ZIP file and import it into their official app. Download and uploading the ZIP file is quick and easy.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Other than those questions we also wanted to thank you for taking the time to work on this. We look forward to morphing the forum to something a little more suitable for our needs. We've got several ideas for features we will be coding in. We are looking to get pretty creative so knowing the full potential of the templates will be a strong asset for us.

Thanks for the feedback. We are very excited about this feature and we will help all users with whatever they need. We will create more videos and write more documentation in the next weeks. This will help people better understand NAML and see what it is capable of.

GodlyPerfection wrote

PS I apologize for the crazy collection of questions after that first one... we couldn't stop adding questions. lol

You can post all questions you have, just don't be shy ;-)

DavidJCobb

Re: Questions about NAML

Regarding custom database fields, I'll certainly understand if they're not initially available when NAML first launches, and I'll certainly be grateful if they are.

I do have a question regarding how everything ELSE would work with custom fields should such fields be available. Would we be able to create a special GUI that allows users to alter the value of a custom field? (That is, will there be documentation for writing forms allowing users to edit data?) If so, then such fields could allow everything from admin-only easily-alterable notices, to giving users an "About Me" blurb on their profile pages.

Hugo <Nabble> wrote

Yes to all questions. In summary, everything in NAML is editable . . .

My response.

Most companies would keep something like this strictly-internal. The fact that you're releasing this is freaking awesome. Thank you. :)

Testing Perfection: a mirror of Reaching Perfection, for NAML testing

mywaytoo

Re: Questions about NAML

In reply to this post by Hugo <Nabble>

Hugo <Nabble> wrote

You can post all questions you have, just don't be shy ;-)

I hope you mean this...

Anne

Hugo <Nabble>

Re: Questions about NAML

In reply to this post by DavidJCobb

DavidJCobb wrote

Regarding custom database fields, I'll certainly understand if they're not initially available when NAML first launches, and I'll certainly be grateful if they are.

We are discussing this internally, mainly because we already see a need for this feature. Let's see what happens.

DavidJCobb wrote

I do have a question regarding how everything ELSE would work with custom fields should such fields be available. Would we be able to create a special GUI that allows users to alter the value of a custom field? (That is, will there be documentation for writing forms allowing users to edit data?) If so, then such fields could allow everything from admin-only easily-alterable notices, to giving users an "About Me" blurb on their profile pages.

Yes, owners would be able to create forms and collect any data related to users and nodes. Here are some ideas that would use these custom properties:
- We could create custom fields in the user profile page (e.g. city, country, gender, etc.);
- We could create a form to enter custom meta tags for apps and posts. This would allow the owner to optimize each app or topic page for search engines;
- We could create specific fields for nodes, like priority or assignee (our workgroup feature has these fields, but they are not generic at this point -- we would convert them into generic properties in this process);

DavidJCobb wrote

Most companies would keep something like this strictly-internal. The fact that you're releasing this is freaking awesome. Thank you. :)

You are welcome.

GodlyPerfection

Re: Questions about NAML

Hugo <Nabble> wrote

DavidJCobb wrote

Regarding custom database fields, I'll certainly understand if they're not initially available when NAML first launches, and I'll certainly be grateful if they are.

We are discussing this internally, mainly because we already see a need for this feature. Let's see what happens.

DavidJCobb wrote

I do have a question regarding how everything ELSE would work with custom fields should such fields be available. Would we be able to create a special GUI that allows users to alter the value of a custom field? (That is, will there be documentation for writing forms allowing users to edit data?) If so, then such fields could allow everything from admin-only easily-alterable notices, to giving users an "About Me" blurb on their profile pages.

Yes, owners would be able to create forms and collect any data related to users and nodes. Here are some ideas that would use these custom properties:
- We could create custom fields in the user profile page (e.g. city, country, gender, etc.);
- We could create a form to enter custom meta tags for apps and posts. This would allow the owner to optimize each app or topic page for search engines;
- We could create specific fields for nodes, like priority or assignee (our workgroup feature has these fields, but they are not generic at this point -- we would convert them into generic properties in this process);

DavidJCobb wrote

Most companies would keep something like this strictly-internal. The fact that you're releasing this is freaking awesome. Thank you. :)

You are welcome.

It is always great to hear that you guys are keeping the possibilities in mind. Custom fields could be a very powerful thing... we especially would like it for adding our XBL gamertags.

I haven't exactly thought about it quite yet or explored enough, but I'm curious as to whether or not a multi-quote feature could be added. This may require custom fields or something of the like to keep track of all posts that are targeted for multi-quoting, then when the reply link is hit the editor loads all of the selected posts in quotes into the editor automatically. There is a vBulletin plugin that does this and it is a very useful feature.

Also I just had the idea of building in an inline-reply editor rather than having to load another page. We are trying to come up with as many features to experiment with as possible so I'm just kind of throwing this down here to see what you guys think.

Another feature that a lot of members have been wanting was a private messaging system because sometimes email is just not convenient and feels a little out of the way. Under the NAML system can you think of a way that this might be achievable? As well as a notification system that doesn't require the use of storing cookies, but instead tracks what you have read server side. A notification system could be handy as well for favoriting topics and getting notified when those topics are replied to.

Another feature we are looking into is the creation of a "wall" like facebook has within a user's portfolio. From what I've seen so far I think this may be possible by creating a specific forum that would hold threads for each user that they would create by using a say "Create wall" link on their portfolio. The functionality would be very similar to vBulletin's visitor messaging system and would act as a very good substitute for a private messaging system if private messages are not possible. As of now if we need to contact anyone specifically we just start a thread with @Username as the subject in the spam folder. Having a more convenient way of messaging people would definitely be nice.

ReachingPerfection.com is home to many like-minded video game designers who all started on Halo: Reach's forge editor.

DavidJCobb

Re: Questions about NAML

GodlyPerfection wrote

I haven't exactly thought about it quite yet or explored enough, but I'm curious as to whether or not a multi-quote feature could be added. This may require custom fields or something of the like to keep track of all posts that are targeted for multi-quoting, then when the reply link is hit the editor loads all of the selected posts in quotes into the editor automatically. There is a vBulletin plugin that does this and it is a very useful feature.

Cookies and AJAX can do that without the need for custom DB fields. Cookies to store selected post IDs and the thread ID (to prevent multiquoting in one thread from affecting replying in another), and AJAX to retrieve quotes for those IDs, assuming that we'll have AJAX.

Testing Perfection: a mirror of Reaching Perfection, for NAML testing

Hugo <Nabble>

Re: Questions about NAML

In reply to this post by GodlyPerfection

GodlyPerfection wrote

It is always great to hear that you guys are keeping the possibilities in mind. Custom fields could be a very powerful thing... we especially would like it for adding our XBL gamertags.

Yes, we know this is important and we will look into this in a few days (we have to finish other top priority work first).

GodlyPerfection wrote

I haven't exactly thought about it quite yet or explored enough, but I'm curious as to whether or not a multi-quote feature could be added. This may require custom fields or something of the like to keep track of all posts that are targeted for multi-quoting, then when the reply link is hit the editor loads all of the selected posts in quotes into the editor automatically. There is a vBulletin plugin that does this and it is a very useful feature.

I am not sure, but I think this would be rarely used. As a forum user, I would prefer to keep it simple and open each post in a separate tab and collect the information I need from each tab while writing the post.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Also I just had the idea of building in an inline-reply editor rather than having to load another page. We are trying to come up with as many features to experiment with as possible so I'm just kind of throwing this down here to see what you guys think.

Yes, this would be a nice feature. The reply form could be loaded with AJAX (yes, AJAX is possible with NAML). This would require some Javascript code, but it is certainly possible.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Another feature that a lot of members have been wanting was a private messaging system because sometimes email is just not convenient and feels a little out of the way. Under the NAML system can you think of a way that this might be achievable?

You are not the first user to request this. One solution is to build a module in Java that manages the database fields and provide commands in NAML (the commands would be used to build the interface). Another solution is to create something similar to our workgroup feature, which allows topics to be assigned to users. In a workgroup, users can see what is currently assigned to them ordered by priority. Of course the interface would have to be changed in this case, but I believe it is possible.

GodlyPerfection wrote

As well as a notification system that doesn't require the use of storing cookies, but instead tracks what you have read server side. A notification system could be handy as well for favoriting topics and getting notified when those topics are replied to.

We do track visited topics on the server side and we also have favorites (stars) and email notifications (subscriptions). So I am not sure what you want to change in this case.

GodlyPerfection wrote

Another feature we are looking into is the creation of a "wall" like facebook has within a user's portfolio. From what I've seen so far I think this may be possible by creating a specific forum that would hold threads for each user that they would create by using a say "Create wall" link on their portfolio. The functionality would be very similar to vBulletin's visitor messaging system and would act as a very good substitute for a private messaging system if private messages are not possible. As of now if we need to contact anyone specifically we just start a thread with @Username as the subject in the spam folder. Having a more convenient way of messaging people would definitely be nice.

Let me see if I understand: you mean every user should have a page with posts that mention him/her (maybe with a twitter-like @username format). Is this correct? I like the idea. This would be possible because we can just read the list of nodes with a filter. I will think more about this.