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Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

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    Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

    Has anyone implemented a 3rd party web template in their Alpha design? Is this difficult to pull off?
    I'm thinking of something like what you might find online like this ... https://wrapbootstrap.com/themes/pag...les/order.desc

    Are there any videos on how to do this?
    I vaguely recall Alpha promoting Xara some time back but I haven't seen anything about that lately, so I assume that's no longer being promoted.

    Stephen
    Alpha Anywhere v12.4.6.5.2 Build 8867-5691 IIS v10.0 on Windows Server 2019 Std in Hyper-V

    #2
    Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

    Hi Stephen

    We do this a lot. Your major problem is harmony. If you start with a third party template it has a lot of style and little or no functionality. You can use Alpha for the functionality but then each component requires adjustments to the CSS to "harmonise" with the template CSS.

    If you just want static Html pages they are no problem, if you are familiar with A5_mergeDataIntoTemplate then you can get values from a database and position them on the page. Here is a small example where we did everything from scratch. The layout uses Bootstrap as do the templates you linked to, the style is our own based upon what we could edit in Alpha. This is styled in V11 and we had to draw jpg for new icons. It is a lot of work.

    http://smg.datadrivensystems.co.uk/c...I_admin_cp.a5w

    A video to help navigate the pages

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OmCMq78ykQ

    Michael

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

      Michael,

      Wow, that's amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience with templates. Looks like I have a lot to learning to make something like that.

      Stephen
      Alpha Anywhere v12.4.6.5.2 Build 8867-5691 IIS v10.0 on Windows Server 2019 Std in Hyper-V

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

        Are you using the a5_mergeDataIntoTemplate function for the site you demonstrated or did you create a new style in Alpha that you hacked to look like that?

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

          It uses custom components a lot. There may be some a5_merge. We changed the CSS to look more like a modern bootstrap template.

          As we built it in version 11 we were forced to create new jpgs that look like icons used in Bootstrap.

          The responsive nature comes from putting custom components into a bootstrap styled A5W page.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

            Stephen

            one of the drawbacks of alpha, in my opinion of course, is that they follow what desktop did with the data on the web side too. to clarify they create Model, View and Control and then send the whole thing over the internet to the browser ( just like forms and browses on the desktop side ). create a grid or dialog and view the source in the browser, it is mind boggling. the web side, again in my opinion, works better if they are separated and alphaserver send in the controller and the bowser recreates the model and view then it will be better faster. like all the responsive web sites the code logic and css are separate. if you want to keep the alpha grid or dialog for example then you will lose all your hair. I can show a picture of me before I started and then now.

            but a5w page is just like any other html page, the code segment is interpreted by the alphserver and sent as html code to the browser.
            so how can we exploit the situation. breakaway from alphafive grids dialogs panel etc., etc.,
            create any page from your template and where you need the data from alpha or any backend do what you do normally
            create a connection display a grid ( aka table in the framework) display a dialog ( aka form). do this inside <%a5 %> code block and alpha server will convert it to html and send it back to the framework

            is this hard work, compared to working with alpha components and framework this is easy.
            I have demonstrated with ratchet framework and jquery framework before on the board, you can find them. one advantage of jquery is it behaves same in desktop and on phones and tablets.

            you can also get data from alphaserver using $http get and insert via $http post if you like using jsonp for ease of operation, json with cross domain permit in the header.

            just to stimulate your interest.
            thanks for reading

            gandhi

            version 11 3381 - 4096
            mysql backend
            http://www.alphawebprogramming.blogspot.com
            [email protected]
            Skype:[email protected]
            1 914 924 5171

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

              I use wrapBootstrap a lot. I try to pick very simple, but interesting and responsive themes. Simple... because there's less stuff to delete. It's usually the menuing flow and the look of header and body that I like. Once I pick the theme I then, very carefully, delete the code and html that I don't need and rename the html page to a5w. Then you need to

              You need an understanding of what to insert into a theme page in order to render a UX or Grid. Using one of your UX components, have Alpha create an a5w page for that component. You'll see there are 3 main sections wrapped in <%a5 tags. Note where each of these sections are placed with reference to <head> and <body> tags. There's also a <link> tag for the style.

              For each section, carefully copy that section from your working a5w page and paste it into your theme page.

              It's a bit of trial and error at the beginning... but quite straight forward.

              If you want your component style to match the wrapBootstrap style, then you have a lot of work to do. I never bother with that. That's a whole other world.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                Nice but it is not mobile-responsive. And because it is inside a tabbedUI, how are you going to apply and administer SEO?
                Steve Wood
                See my profile on IADN

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                  Originally posted by GGandhi View Post
                  if you want to keep the alpha grid or dialog for example then you will lose all your hair. I can show a picture of me before I started and then now.
                  Gandhi, I just had to chuckle at that statement. It's exactly what I was thinking might happen.
                  Alpha Anywhere v12.4.6.5.2 Build 8867-5691 IIS v10.0 on Windows Server 2019 Std in Hyper-V

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                    Originally posted by Davidk View Post
                    I use wrapBootstrap a lot. I try to pick very simple, but interesting and responsive themes. Simple... because there's less stuff to delete. It's usually the menuing flow and the look of header and body that I like. Once I pick the theme I then, very carefully, delete the code and html that I don't need and rename the html page to a5w. Then you need to

                    You need an understanding of what to insert into a theme page in order to render a UX or Grid. Using one of your UX components, have Alpha create an a5w page for that component. You'll see there are 3 main sections wrapped in <%a5 tags. Note where each of these sections are placed with reference to <head> and <body> tags. There's also a <link> tag for the style.

                    For each section, carefully copy that section from your working a5w page and paste it into your theme page.

                    It's a bit of trial and error at the beginning... but quite straight forward.

                    If you want your component style to match the wrapBootstrap style, then you have a lot of work to do. I never bother with that. That's a whole other world.
                    David, I'm familiar the the <%a5 tags on the a5w pages and their various html sections. I'll play around with it a bit and see how far I can get.

                    Thanks for the feedback.
                    Alpha Anywhere v12.4.6.5.2 Build 8867-5691 IIS v10.0 on Windows Server 2019 Std in Hyper-V

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                      Originally posted by Steve Wood View Post
                      Nice but it is not mobile-responsive. And because it is inside a tabbedUI, how are you going to apply and administer SEO?
                      Hi Steve

                      The Tabbed UI is just our control. We don't need it to be responsive. If you look at the contact pages they are responsive. This example was just used to show you can easily choose a theme from bootstrap and style templates. The tabbed UI is the back office to the contact page. If you view any of the contact pages you find them responsive, we put in breaks for tablet and mobile. All of Bootswatch CSS is available to give a different look and feel to the templates.

                      Michael

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                        The SEO is handled by using a5_mergeIntoTemplate in the head section of the contact forms A5W page.

                        SEO.png

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                          Stephen
                          I recently did several projects using Xara with mobile responsive templates.... went very smooth. My approach is straightforward
                          1) build the pages in Xara and I put a text line as a place keeper indicating where a grid will go
                          2) export the website to the Alpha project folder
                          3) rename the .htm pages to .a5w
                          4) for each page, replace the .htm href tags to .a5w
                          5) add the <a5w> tags to the pages that use grids - I keep a notes document with all the specifics for placement, size, etc
                          6) publish the project

                          Xara IMO is a great product and I'm on the newest release that came out about 1-2 months ago

                          one of the sites is www.erielighthouse.net where you can view normal desktop web browser display or a mobile display. One neat thing about the mobile display is it will look at your screen size and whether or not you are holding it upright or sideways. If it's a mobile device with a large screen, it will display the normal website instead of the mobile pages which I really like
                          Last edited by ids-dave; 07-06-2015, 04:00 PM.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Using Pre-Defined Web Templates

                            David, that's very helpful, thanks for responding.
                            Alpha Anywhere v12.4.6.5.2 Build 8867-5691 IIS v10.0 on Windows Server 2019 Std in Hyper-V

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