Inserting/updating tables

[yjs]

I'm having another bash at using WD Designer MX Premium. (I've always loved Xara products for graphics, have usually ended up using other products for actual publishing.)

I have several clients who all need very simple sites with editable paragraphs and tables.

So - I set up the pages, with minimal data on the pages/tables and I give the client SIMPLE instructions to edit the data himself.

The latest version of WD resizes the page automatically as the content increases, which is a big step forward. (In the past I would have to tell the client that if he added a line to the table, he would need to resize the paper etc. We soon gave up on that one.)

Looking through the documentation and forums, I'm uncertain about the best way to do this.

It's vital that data can be viewed correctly in reasonably current versions of all browsers.

Thanks
Yaffa

[Drwyd]

Hi Yaffa

Would I be right in assuming that both you and your client are using Xara WD ?

If this is the case then version control will be you biggest problem. uploading the latest edited .web file to the server after making changes will help but what happens if you are both working on the same version of a file at the same time ?

Ideally a CMS would be the way to go but WD is not the best tool for the job for that kind of site.

[yjs]

Thanks for the reply.

I'll be putting the site online. Ideally the client will have an easy way to update both the text and the content of simple tables.

Sure, for complex tables, a CMS would be best. But in many cases, clients simply want a few chunks of material to be presented in a slightly more structured way than plain text paragraphs.

For example, a teacher wants to give details of his course, his constantly changing reception hours, the materials that people should bring to the next class and a list of who has and hasn't paid for a trip.

It would be nice if this could all be done within Xara (I would simply give the client basic instructions of what to do). Or am I better embedding within Xara... or (as I'm doing now) using a different publishing programme and using Xara only for the graphics?

Thanks
Yaffa

Hi Yaffa

Would I be right in assuming that both you and your client are using Xara WD ?

If this is the case then version control will be you biggest problem. uploading the latest edited .web file to the server after making changes will help but what happens if you are both working on the same version of a file at the same time ?

Ideally a CMS would be the way to go but WD is not the best tool for the job for that kind of site.

[Drwyd]

In that scenario I would go for embedding (using iframes) Google Docs or Xara WD pages within a WD designed site.

The client can have is own copy of WD and page templates supplied by you and will be able to upload and edit independently.

[yjs]

Thanks, my concern is how this would work in practice.

Say the client has a text panel/speech bubble which includes the following text (with the actual office hours as a table).
OFFICE HOURS
My office hours are:
Monday 2-3 p.m. Room 101 No whiteboard
Tuesday 3-4 p.m. Room 202 whiteboard

Now he wants to add to the text a couple of lines to say that his office hours will be changing for this week only... and in the table he wants to add two lines with new times for Thursday and Friday.

NB: This type of scenario is very very common. Many clients really appreciate Xara's professional appearance and the liquid text etc. But beyond this they do not need sites with bells and whistles. They simply want to display basic information and to make minor content changes themselves.

If I do use an iframe, wouldn't the client have to edit in two different systems (once to alter the text and once for the table)? And would the text box and Xara page resize correctly and display correctly in all browsers?

Thanks again
Yaffa

In that scenario I would go for embedding (using iframes) Google Docs or Xara WD pages within a WD designed site.

The client can have is own copy of WD and page templates supplied by you and will be able to upload and edit independently.

[Drwyd]

In the above example your client would only have to edit the .web file containing the cmsframe1 page and upload it. The page would then be displayed in the page containing the iframe. This gets around the problem of two people working on the same file.

Xara WD does not have html tables but they can be created with a little fiddling. Embedding a Google Doc spreadsheet may be an uglier but simpler method if tables are essential.

[yjs]

Thanks - a pity that Xara has no easily usable tables within the programme itself.

Indeed, most clients are using Google docs and sites - but as I mentioned I'm also worried about browser compatibility issues of using iframes on mobile devices - and the complexity.

I will probably give it a trial with one or two clients, but will mostly stick with other publishing programmes, using Xara for some wonderful graphics.

Thanks again
Yaffa

In the above example your client would only have to edit the .web file containing the cmsframe1 page and upload it. The page would then be displayed in the page containing the iframe. This gets around the problem of two people working on the same file.

Xara WD does not have html tables but they can be created with a little fiddling. Embedding a Google Doc spreadsheet may be an uglier but simpler method if tables are essential.

[Drwyd]

For compatibility on mobile devices you will definitely need a CMS and ideally hand coded HTML.

[yjs]

Well, for simple sites with few bells and whistles, I've found that Xara does reasonably well on most mobile browser. That's why it's frustrating that there isn't a simple way to display text info in table form within the programme itself.

Yaffa

For compatibility on mobile devices you will definitely need a CMS and ideally hand coded HTML.