Archived WDG CMS Release Notes

October, 2010

Updated Editor

We are pleased to announce that we have updated our integrated content editor to a new version.  Most of the changes are under the hood, such as improved loading performance, so you will not have to re-learn how to use anything.  However, you can now take advantage of the built-in spell checking in all browsers, as well as access to Firefox's own spell checking functionality.  There are other subtle improvements throughout, including better formatted and color-coded source view, and improved property setting dialogs.  We welcome your feedback.

New Editor Link Dialog

One new editor feature we are especially excited about is the new Link creation dialog.  While similar to the old dialog, where you can enter any URL to link to, the new dialog lets you select other pages already in your site directly!  Depending on your site's features, you can also link to other content, such as image gallery pages.  This should be a great time saving feature and help keep all your internal links formatted properly.

August, 2010

New Menu in Site Administration Tools

The main menu, at the top of the Site Administration Tools screen, has been slightly re-arranged and a new menu bar has been added. A "What's New" link now links to this page.  If  the "What's New" link is red, a new version of this page is available since the last time you visited it. 

For System Administrators, we have added a link to view the Web site traffic analysis report for your site.  Previously, this required logging into a separate site, but is now available right from your Site Administration Tools screen, in the new menu area at the top right.

URL Shortening and Redirection - new feature!

We have added a powerful new feature which allows you to set up custom URL redirections for your site.  URL redirection means that when a visitor tries to load a particular URL on your site, they will automatically be taken to a different location which you specify.  The most common use for this is "URL shortening," whereby you can publish a URL which is easy to remember and/or type (such as on a business card, in print advertising, and so on).  For example, you may want to publish a URL which would take visitors directly to a particular page on your site, say a product.  You could set up a redirection so that when a visitor types in "yoursite.com/widget" they will be taken directly to your product page, which normally has a longer URL (e.g. "www.yoursite.com/index.cfm/page/products/widget.htm"). 

If you are moving from an old site, URL redirection can be very useful to ensure your old links will still work on your new site.  There are also times when links can get published incorrectly for some reason, and are difficult or imposisble to change, and this is a good way to handle those situations.  Other uses include offsite click tracking and URL aliases.

URL Shortening/Redirection setup is now available for all our CMS customers under the Site Content main menu item in your Site Administration Tools screen.  For more information, please read the instructions available on the setup pages.

Built-in URL Shortening

If someone types in a URL to a page that is not currently on your site, the system will try to match that URL to an existing page or URL Redirection before showing the visitor a "Page Not Found" error message.  For example, if you have a page on your site with the following URL: "www.yoursite.com/index.cfm/page/about.htm", this page will be shown automatically if a visitor requests any of the following URLs: "www.yoursite.com/about", "www.yoursite.com/about.htm", or "www.yoursite.com/about.html".

July, 2010

Events Module - Event Date and Time Change

The method of specifying the start and end dates of an event has changed.  Previously you would enter the starting date and a duration, in days, and an optional starting time.  There are now 2 distinct fields for specifying the exact starting and ending date and time of an event.  The time specification is still optional, for both start and end dates.  If the event is only one day (or part of a day) long, then the starting and ending dates should be the same, with only the times being different (if specified).  All the events currently in the system have been converted to use the new format, which provides a more precise method of specifying an event's schedule.

Event Registration Module Enchancements

The WDG CMS has always had an optional Events module to help publicize your organization's events or meetings and even collect basic registration information.  Now we have added a number of new features to the registration system to make it much more flexible and powerful.  Some of the new features include:

  • Custom registration form data fields specific to your needs, selectable per event.
  • Paid registrations, with live payment processing and a full-featured order-processing system.
  • Discounted and complimentary registrations.
  • All registration data can be updated from administrative site, including issuing refunds for cancelled registrations.
  • Registration information can be exported to an Excel or database file.
  • Badge printing and on-site registration and check-in options available.

Please contact us if you are interested in adding event listings or event registrations to your site.

June, 2010

New Image and Video Gallery Feature

Easily create photo slideshows and gallery pages, set up a searchable image directory, auto-generate image thumbnails, and much more.  Our new Media Gallery module enables simple management and presentation of digital images and videos on your site.  Various presentation templates are available, and, as always, we can customize anything to suit your needs.  For an example of the new Media Gallery in action, check out our Portfolio (but remember, this is just one way to present the images?you may prefer some other layour for your site). Please contact us to add the new gallery feature to your site.