admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

Skubidu · 2006-08-22 18:49:23

Since my very first web project with Textpattern the order of the textareas for the body and the excerpt confused me. I usually use the excerpt as the first introductive paragraph of an article. The body itself does not repeat the content of the excerpt. It’s a usage very similar to newspapers, where the first paragraph is used as abstract of the article. In article lists, I usualy just use the excerpt and link to the full article with excerpt and body text.

By now the order of textareas in the admin interface looks like this:

[title]
[body]
[excerpt]

The way I use bodies and excerpts the following order would fit more:

[title]
[excerpt]
[body]

Would it be possible to create an admin preference to customize the order of these textareas? Something like:

Show body before excerpt?   [x] yes  [ ] no

steventer · 2006-08-22 19:04:31

This is one of the things I find most irritating about TXP in my day-to-day use. It just makes sense to start with a title, enter the excerpt and then move on to the body of the article.

vittorio · 2007-09-17 17:40:25

Has anybody found a solution to this issue? I would really appreciate it. A hack too could be useful…
Thanks

ruud · 2007-09-17 17:52:07

Either edit the textpattern.css stylesheet to reposition the textareas (not sure exactly how, but I think it’s possible) or write a admin side plugin that uses javascript to swap the textareas or (but this is not recommended) hack /textpattern/include/txp_article.php and swap it there.

colak · 2007-09-17 18:05:36

I find that the title>body>excerpt order is more logical as, semantically thinking, without the body there can be no excerpt.

iblastoff · 2007-09-18 01:18:13

BACK UP YOUR OLD TXP_ARTICLE.PHP! this is for textpattern 4.0.5

hacked txp_article.php

shuffles around the Write area like so:

[title]
[excerpt]
[body]

played around and did it with css but it messes up the tab indexes since they’re hardcoded in. so heres a hacked txp_article.php that shuffles around the Write area and preserves the tab indexing (had to add some inline styles in order to push down the text/preview/html tabs)

Last edited by iblastoff (2007-09-18 01:24:10)

vittorio · 2007-11-03 15:21:14

iblastoff wrote:

BACK UP YOUR OLD TXP_ARTICLE.PHP! this is for textpattern 4.0.5

hacked txp_article.php

shuffles around the Write area like so:

[title]
[excerpt]
[body]

played around and did it with css but it messes up the tab indexes since they’re hardcoded in. so heres a hacked txp_article.php that shuffles around the Write area and preserves the tab indexing (had to add some inline styles in order to push down the text/preview/html tabs)

Thank you iblastoff,
I am currently using your hacked txp_article.php on my site, and I must say i prefer it. Good job!

@Colak:
Yes, the classical order is more logical, semantically speaking. But, i find more useful this inverted order, as normally excerpts contain something that has to be read before the body (even though it’s been written after), like the first paragraph/s of the article, an intro, etc. This way, it’s easier to read/edit the whole post in the admin, as the first part (excerpt) comes before the second (body).

Last edited by vittorio (2007-11-03 15:31:16)

Sono Juventino · 2007-12-25 23:53:08

I agree with you, vittorio. Thank you very much, iblastoff. Nice plugin.

And btw. Il Bianconeri per sempre.

Last edited by Sono Juventino (2007-12-25 23:53:44)

iblastoff · 2007-12-26 02:28:25

that wasn’t a plugin but just a simple hack to a core file. a plugin would be preferred (so core files wouldn’t have to be altered) but i can’t be arsed to write one for this :P

Sono Juventino · 2007-12-26 03:05:29

Ofc not. If something works, why fix it? ;)

Sono Juventino · 2008-03-16 18:03:42

Does this still work on 4.0.6?

vittorio · 2008-03-17 01:19:34

Sono Juventino wrote:

Does this still work on 4.0.6?

yes it does. but backup the original files, just in case… ;)

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#1 2006-08-22 18:49:23

admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#2 2006-08-22 19:04:31

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#3 2007-09-17 17:40:25

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#4 2007-09-17 17:52:07

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#5 2007-09-17 18:05:36

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#6 2007-09-18 01:18:13

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#7 2007-11-03 15:21:14

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#8 2007-12-25 23:53:08

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#9 2007-12-26 02:28:25

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#10 2007-12-26 03:05:29

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#11 2008-03-16 18:03:42

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

#12 2008-03-17 01:19:34

Re: admin interface: changeable order of body and excerpt textareas?

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