Spry in Joomla

[riceman]

Does anyone know if it is possible to use Adobe's Spry framework in an Article...without using a module? So basically hard coding it into the page...or template? This would of course require the .js files that spry uses, and the correct path to them, but i am wondering if it is possible. I am thinking of using the collapsible panel.

Maybe its easier to develop my own custom module, but I don't have a lot of experience with this...I have only created a simple image hold module.

Thanx

[jackie7]

Hi - I'm wondering if you ever got an answer to this because I'm trying to do the same thing: bring a site into Joomla but also have the spry tabs if possible...
thanks

[esatterwhite]

Spry is just adobe's implementations of AJAX.

I would imagine all you would need to do is set it up in dream weaver

Move the .js files over into your joomla site & Change the paths & implement it into the pages you want to use it.

and then move the HTML into whatever article / custom HTML module you want to display it in...

Shouldn't be too difficult.

Let me know if the works

[topwebs]

I have tried a Spry accordion in a Joomla article and it worked fine. You need to add the Spry css to your template.css or separately load it in your template. The javascript load can be included within your article if you use an editor that does not strip javascript like JCE or turn off all editors.

[esatterwhite]

it may also be of interest that a lot...well none of elements will display right if javascript is turned off for some reason. Some people just don't like to use it.

The default widgets insert <spry> </spry> tags which don't really exist. So it would be wise to move all of that stuff to seperate files so the page doesn't break if the javascript is turned off. There is a pretty good tut on the subject on the adobe website.

[tolakvoa]

Does any one have the tutorial for this. Can you guy help?
Thanks allot

[JustM]

Hello everyone
This is my first post so please forgife me if I do something wrong.

I have a small question. I added the spry css data to the template css this part works great
But I'm not shure what to do with the .js file where do I put that information? I mean in what file?

All I know this doesnt work.
<script src="http://{path to document}/SpryTabbedPanels.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

Thanks in advanced,
Marco

[corrado444]

I have used Spry in a couple of my Joomla sites and it worked OK.
The way I did it was to first insert it in a plain HTML page and then, after making sure it worked, I transferred the JS code to the index.php template page. I also created a couple of conditionals in the template so that the spry only loads on certain pages and not others where it's not needed.

All in all it was a pretty good implementation, but I found it limiting for what it gave me and for how complex it was to make it work properly. I did it mostly because I am writing a book on Joomla and Dreamweaver integration and I have been exploring more ways to integrate Dreamweaver in my work flow. (I also tried the asset panel, history, etc. to see how they would help. Silly Adobe deactivates those panels right when you need them and for no reason I can see)

My suggestion to all that are trying to use Spry is to use either JQuery or Mootools based effects. There are some available that work as well or better than Spry, integrate better, have a wider user base and while they are commercial, they are somewhat inexpensive.
Off the top of my head I don't remember who was offering them, but I know they are there because I bought a few.

Don't let the "commercial" tag scare you off. If you compare how long it takes you to make Spry work, how inflexible it is in a dynamic environment (most of what Dreamweaver does is geared toward static or semi static sites) and how difficult (or impossible) to reuse the code in the same site, paying $30 for software that works is a small price.

Check out the JED

Goood luck

[JustM]

Thank you for your awnser corrado444 I really apreaciate it
Reason I am using spry i cause I need to make a gallery but every gallery (img) doesn't support external pictures they all asume you got unlimeted space on your server. What i need is imageshack and a way to intergrate a gallery in my site that allows you to click on the tumbmail and go to the fullscreen version on imageshack this way i can divert bandwith without paying loads of money for bandwith. spry allows me to make a simple gallery and it all loads in one page once you click on page two it loads indipendent of page one but you dont need to reload. I'm not really scared of paying for applications cause i do like to support developers i'm just against paypal and credit cards ( having a slite overspending problem when i have those things hehe )
But I will try your suggestion it never hurts to try

Btw. if annyone hears of an app that does what i just discribed please PM me it would make my life much easyer hehehe I'm even willing to pay for it

Hehehe i only got one question sinds im kinda a noob in php do i need to use special js tags in my page? could you point me to some nnice tutorials. I prommis everything i learn will eventually go back to the community in the form of plugins. it might take a while but im the kinda guy who is willing to spend ages behind dreamweaver and other editors to make his plugin flawless.

Once again thank you I really apriciate your awnser and it didt help

[corrado444]

Hi M. I have not tried this myself, so I cannot guarantee it will work but I am pretty sure it will. It also depends on how many images you need to process per "gallery", but if you were willing to hand code them in Spry you are probably going to be happy with what I am about to suggest.

But before I go into it, I have to wonder what hosting you are using that you are reduced to hosting your pictures offsite for fear of either disk space or bandwidth.
There are plenty of hosts with *almost* unlimited disk and bandwidth for less than $10 a month. Go to my site: http://www.conticreative.com/Hosting/tigersitescom.html and check these guys out. (and yes, if you click on the link and buy hosting from them I make a couple $$. Copy and paste their url if you don't want me to profit from my suggestion
Also, whatever you do I strongly suggest you get a Cpanel based host as it makes things a lot simpler. If you are afraid of moving your site to another host, don't. It's a very simple process, especially if you already have Cpanel.

That said, you should look into the JCE editor (google: jce Joomla content editor). For a mere $20 a year you can download the premium plugins, including the Advanced image manager that lets you build photo galleries in your articles. Instead of uploading the pictures to your server, simply place the absolute URL in the "popup" tab and in the "Picture" tab (or keep the thumb version locally and link the popup externally) and it should work. I see no reason why it wouldn't.
Give all the pictures the same "group" name and JCE will create a lightbox based gallery of the pictures right into your articles.

Check it out and let me know. When I have time I'll give it a try with my Picasa account.

[Koldsnapz]

"Hello everyone
This is my first post so please forgife me if I do something wrong.

I have a small question. I added the spry css data to the template css this part works great
But I'm not shure what to do with the .js file where do I put that information? I mean in what file?

All I know this doesnt work.
<script src="http://{path to document}/SpryTabbedPanels.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

Thanks in advanced,
Marco"


Did this get resolved? I am stuck at this point as well. The CSS worked fine but I can't seem to link the JS properly. Where does it go? Can I put the whole file somewhere or do I have to pull the code and paste it into something?

Please Help!

-T

[corrado444]

First of all, as I mentioned before, Spry is not ideal for Dreamweaver. At least not the way I did and I did not go too much further into it when I realized it wasn't as flexible as equivalent add-ons.

Since then I have not had time to explore the issue in detail and I probably forgot a great deal.

That said, if I recall I first created a static HTML page where I made the spry work.
Once I had that going for me, and I knew the Spry itself was working fine, I proceeded to relink the whole thing.

I placed the JS files in a folder called "spry" inside the template folder.
CSS files went into the CSS folder
Then I used search and replace to find every link to the JS and CSS and I moved those to the index.php file in the template.

To link those, I basically copied the JS files links that the menu was using in my template. Usually that means a php variable with the absolute path and/or one with the path + the template path (name).

What I found at the time is that each Spry build only works with its own JS files and it needs to call a JS file both from the <head> and from right before </body></html> the body closing tags.

Again, my memory is fuzzy, but I remember that if I wanted to place more than one instance of the same spry on different pages I could not reuse the same spry but I had to create a new one.

I'll tell you what. If you guys go an subscribe to my new Screencast, one of the features I am trying to establish is a "Dear Abby" style interaction with my viewers. Just email
joomlaquestions AT conticreative.com. But first do subscribe to the Screencast. I am working hard at it and I want it to become a great free resource for the community.

The screencast name is 10 minute Joomla! Tips and it's available on [youtube], vimeo, blip.tv and on Itunes and Feedburner.

Here are the links:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/10MinutesJoomlaTips
http://10minutejoomlatips.blip.tv/
http://vimeo.com/channels/10minutejoomlatips
http://www.[youtube].com/user/10minutejoomla
Direct Itunes subscription:[url]itpc://10minutejoomlatips.blip.tv/rss/itunes[/url]

But I'd appreciate it if anyone could subscribe to the Itunes version as well. The Itunes version is lower quality (until I figure out how to provide both the HD and the Ipod style version in the Itunes store).

The best are feedburner, Vimeo, Blip.tv or directly on my own website at:
http://www.conticreative.com/10-Minute-Joomla-Tips/

If I get more than one single request on the topic, I am going to see if I can screencast it. If I can't, meaning that the topic is too long to squeeze into 10 minutes, what I usually do I publish it on my blog in installments (so that I maintain the 10 minute limit on my screencast) but the flip side is that I keep the production value pretty raw: no fancy editing, no music intro, etc.

Still, I should be able to make the Spry work and maybe even find a better way to integrate it than what I did previously. I kind of doubt it because of the way Spry needs to work is just not a great fit for Joomla or any dynamic web site. Adobe is definitely in the dark ages as far as optimizing Dreamweaver for dynamic web site integration. But I did try it on DW CS3 not CS4. I know some things have changed and maybe now it works better (but I doubt it).

By the way, I am writing a book on Joomla integration with Dreamweaver. When it comes out is going to be really useful to a lot of people and I am hoping to have it ready inside of the next 3 months. I am going to have a sign up list on my web site and I am going to give sneak previews to those that sign up for the alert list (give me a couple of days to get to that).

Sorry for the shameless plug to my screencast and the upcoming book. But the screencast is free and a lot of work. I'd like to be able to have many subscribers so that I feel more motivated and I think I am doing a pretty good service. You'll be the judge.

[b_engh789]

Okay, I am no good at this coding game, but I'm trying to figure this out. I can not figure out how to get the correct path to the js file. The CSS code is fine and appears correct. But I can not link the js.

I put the js script file in the template folder and I'm trying to figure out the path.

Can anybody show me an example of a path that works so I can see where I'm going wrong?

Thanks!!!