Recent Blog Posts

(updated) Two Column Forms (or something like that...)

(Updated Aug 2nd) We've had several requests lately to 'make forms look like they did in versions prior to v0.97.'  Meaning, place the label and input control on the same line instead of the label above the input control.  Since we're trying to move away from using tables to format the layout (the html5 way of doing things), it's not an easy fix, HOWEVER we can simulate the look using css styles.  (NOTE: we have implemented a Single column/Two Column form settings option in the next version 2.0.9 which will easily implement this feature)

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The Shape of Things to Come?

In recent conversations in the #exponent-cms irc chat on irc.freenode.net we’ve been discussing how best to maintain Exponent using the most current software technology.  Though Exponent has been based on YUI (Yahoo User Interface) for years, there are more commonly supported libraries which might be worth considering.  Some of these have familiar names in the developer community such as ‘jQuery’, ‘Twitter-Bootstrap’, and the ‘LESS’ css stylesheet compiler.  What’s more, several aspects of YUI are currently broken and unusable in Exponent (e.g., we ship v3.4.0 because newer versions such as v3.4.1, v3.5.x and the soon to be released v3.6.x break our displays).  (Rest assured, we'll maintain backwards compatibility) So here’s where Exponent MIGHT go within the next several releases.

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Theming for the iPad

I have been working this week on updating some of my Exponent sites to take advantage of the mobile theming feature now available in Exponent 2. In a nutshell, the feature allows you to define a separate index.php file that will be viewed by clients using mobile browsers. You can also use specific CSS code to adjust the appearance of your page to better suit the browsing of small screen mobile devices.

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Upgrading Templates from Smarty v2 to v3

When Exponent v2.0.2 was released at the end of October 2011 it incorporated a fairly major change under the hood that could 'break' some custom themes or mods.  The template engine (what is used to display everything) was upgraded from Smarty v2.5.x to v3.1.x.  This was a major upgrade, but the syntax basically remained the same...the issue is that 'bad' template code which worked under previous versions will likely break with this version.  However, Smarty v3 adds many enhancements including the ability to use inline computations/math.  Details on how to identify problems and fixes is at the end of this post.

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