Display Plugin Name on Widget in Layout Editor

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 11, 2017 2:04 PM EDT

    Description: I guess the title is the complete description

    Once a widget is copied from the Available Blocks Section into the Layout, there's no way of knowing which Plugin it belongs to.

    After selecting a Widget in Layout Editor, display the name of the associated Plugin (or Blocks Heading Section) this widget is from (Dev name would be handy as well). There are many times I have to search through dozens of widgets to determine where this particular widget is from (which often requires copying numerous blocks to the Layout in order to compare what the widget looks like (i.e. settings) to see which one the initial Widget actually is).

    Thoughts?

    (note original github ->https://github.com/SocialEngine/phpv4-feature-requests/issues/128)

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    July 11, 2017 2:08 PM EDT

    Thanks for posting. This is a good idea. For future requests, please read our stickied post for posting feature requests.Thank you!

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 11, 2017 2:59 PM EDT

    Short and descriptive example feature request title  Display Plugin Name on Widget in Layout Editor


    A summary of the feature request.  Once a widget is copied from the Available Blocks Section into the Layout, there's no way of knowing which Plugin it belongs to.

    After selecting a Widget in Layout Editor, display the name of the associated Plugin (or Blocks Heading Section) this widget is from (Dev name would be handy as well). There are many times I have to search through dozens of widgets to determine where this particular widget is from (which often requires copying numerous blocks to the Layout in order to compare what the widget looks like (i.e. settings) to see which one the initial Widget actually is).


    Details of settings, steps to use or see this feature, benefits.  N/A.  This is to display existing information (i.e. no ADMIN or User intervention/steps required)

    Add screenshots when possible. 

     

     

    Any other information you want to share that is relevant to the feature being requested. This might include the lines of code that you have identified as needing improvements and potential solutions (and your opinions on their merits).  Requiring consistency from 3rd-Party Devs would be helpful here, as their Name and Plugin name could be included in the Widget.  This makes it easy to locate in the 'Available Blocks' section.  Plus it lets ADMIN quickly know which Plugin it's from.

    • 629 posts
    July 14, 2017 7:41 PM EDT
    gs said:

    Description: I guess the title is the complete description

    Once a widget is copied from the Available Blocks Section into the Layout, there's no way of knowing which Plugin it belongs to.

    After selecting a Widget in Layout Editor, display the name of the associated Plugin (or Blocks Heading Section) this widget is from (Dev name would be handy as well). There are many times I have to search through dozens of widgets to determine where this particular widget is from (which often requires copying numerous blocks to the Layout in order to compare what the widget looks like (i.e. settings) to see which one the initial Widget actually is).

    Thoughts?

    (note original github ->https://github.com/SocialEngine/phpv4-feature-requests/issues/128)

     

    Hi GS. If widgets were updated to require an admin only title, you could achieve this functionality. Just like the recently updated HTML box works.

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 14, 2017 8:21 PM EDT

    ==>"If widgets were updated to require an admin only title, you could achieve this functionality. Just like the recently updated HTML box works."

    True, but I would prefer somethg automatic.  the info already exists - it just has 2b displayed when editing the widget.  Plus this wld (shd?) guarantee the correct info was displayed rather than risking rekeying somethg incorrectly.

    Yes, the HTML/title is handy.

    • 629 posts
    July 14, 2017 8:28 PM EDT
    gs said:

    ==>"If widgets were updated to require an admin only title, you could achieve this functionality. Just like the recently updated HTML box works."

    True, but I would prefer somethg automatic.  the info already exists - it just has 2b displayed when editing the widget.  Plus this wld (shd?) guarantee the correct info was displayed rather than risking rekeying somethg incorrectly.

    Yes, the HTML/title is handy.

     

    I understand. I would like this also. So in this case, perhaps creating a new settings page called global layout editor settings may be what you are looking for. There you could append plugin widget titles as enabled or disabled. You could also automatically have the title be updated for admin only content when adding or updating html boxes to pages.

    • 66 posts
    July 16, 2017 6:01 AM EDT

    Seems unnecessary to me at the current time. Unless you are changing widgets on a page layout often for some reason then I do not see this as a must need feature. It is a nice cosmetic idea, and module developers could just add the module name to the widget title as I have seen done in the past. You can also change the widget title yourself but naturally after each upgrade, you would loose that modification.

    • 629 posts
    July 16, 2017 4:50 PM EDT
    Casey said:

    Seems unnecessary to me at the current time. Unless you are changing widgets on a page layout often for some reason then I do not see this as a must need feature. It is a nice cosmetic idea, and module developers could just add the module name to the widget title as I have seen done in the past. You can also change the widget title yourself but naturally after each upgrade, you would loose that modification.

     

    I'm not sure if you'd actually lose the modification. But yeah some module developers do this. Not all do. But I think if you have a lot of similar modules to begin with, then you just should keep track of what ones you have where. Unless you have created pages upon pages of duplicate content.

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 16, 2017 5:35 PM EDT
    Casey said:

    Seems unnecessary to me at the current time. Unless you are changing widgets on a page layout often for some reason then I do not see this as a must need feature. It is a nice cosmetic idea, and module developers could just add the module name to the widget title as I have seen done in the past. You can also change the widget title yourself but naturally after each upgrade, you would loose that modification.

     

    Good suggestion - adding the Module/Plugin name to the widget/block title.  The problem I've seen with this is that then there's no room for the Plugin name too for many I have.  This is why I thought to display it after selection.  I'm open to ideas to make this easier to work with. 

    I guess it depends on the Plugins one has.  There are times I'm using the browser's find function to then copy dozens (yes, dozens) of widgets over until I figure out which one is the one I want.  There seems to be little consistency with what devs name things, probably because there's no enforced requirements by SE.  Something as simple as the new alpha-sort of Plugins doesn't work properly because some devs can't even be consistent in something as simple as this (i.e. I have one dev with 3 of their plugins out of sort because of their inconsistency of naming conventions). 

    I have over 100 Plugins installed and believe me - it's been a time-waster in locating things in layout editor.  Even the pages listed 'editing' dropdown in layout editor are often not grouped together (ex. a plugin may spread their pages into 4-5 sections and use different names - again, no consistency is required/enforced).  If all one has is the standard SE modules plus a few plugins I guess it's no big deal - not much to go through, so having to browse through things that are a mess is maybe no big deal.  But the mess is a larger hassle as the number of plugins & pages increases. 

    • 629 posts
    July 16, 2017 5:41 PM EDT
    gs said:
    Casey said:

    Seems unnecessary to me at the current time. Unless you are changing widgets on a page layout often for some reason then I do not see this as a must need feature. It is a nice cosmetic idea, and module developers could just add the module name to the widget title as I have seen done in the past. You can also change the widget title yourself but naturally after each upgrade, you would loose that modification.

     

    Good suggestion - adding the Module/Plugin name to the widget/block title.  The problem I've seen with this is that then there's no room for the Plugin name too for many I have.  This is why I thought to display it after selection.  I'm open to ideas to make this easier to work with. 

    I guess it depends on the Plugins one has.  There are times I'm using the browser's find function to then copy dozens (yes, dozens) of widgets over until I figure out which one is the one I want.  There seems to be little consistency with what devs name things, probably because there's no enforced requirements by SE.  Something as simple as the new alpha-sort of Plugins doesn't work properly because some devs can't even be consistent in something as simple as this (i.e. I have one dev with 3 of their plugins out of sort because of their inconsistency of naming conventions). 

    I have over 100 Plugins installed and believe me - it's been a time-waster in locating things in layout editor.  Even the pages listed 'editing' dropdown in layout editor are often not grouped together (ex. a plugin may spread their pages into 4-5 sections and use different names - again, no consistency is required/enforced).  If all one has is the standard SE modules plus a few plugins I guess it's no big deal - not much to go through, so having to browse through things that are a mess is maybe no big deal.  But the mess is a larger hassle as the number of plugins & pages increases. 

     

    That's why I think plugins should be simplified. Have one plugin per developer. Then you choose what instance of it actually does in the settings by clicking on edit, once you have it where you want it. Whatever you set as it's title, is what it should appear as on the screen. Having a separate admin title is a little odd, but overly complex in my opinion.

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 16, 2017 5:45 PM EDT

    ==>"then you just should keep track of what ones you have where. Unless you have created pages upon pages of duplicate content."

    You hit the nail on the head - keeping track of what's where.  The point is this should be easily accomplished in the tool we have (Layout Editor) not in an external form somewhere.  When viewing pages in LE, everything I need (well, as much as possible) should be right in front of me.  I shouldn't have to go searching for notes or copying dozens of widgets to figure which is which.  That's a pain and a waste of time.  Some people keep their tools/toolbox/workbench organized so they can easily scan and see what's where.  Others dump it into bins and then have to go through everything to find what they're looking for.  Another option is to keep a separate list of what's in which tool bins.  I prefer the first option - keep in neat and all info I need right in front of me.  Neat, clean, easy to use.  And when someone else looks for a tool (or edits pages in LE) it's very easy to do the job. 

    As far as pages upon pages of duplicate content: I won't say 'duplicate' but I'll say similar.  Something I will be trying soon is a new plugin that allows placing blocks/widgets inside containers with ML settings.

    SE has to start realizing that there are many different needs for it and focus on more required consistency from 3rd-Party Devs (ex. although the Plugins are now alpha sorted, some devs precede their plugin name with the initials/acronym for their firm, others don't - so since this is not requested by SE or enforced, it's a do-whatever-you-want situation.  Each combination of #plugins/#members/niche/etc. creates different needs and complexities.  I feel that SE should start addressing the bigger picture and not think 'small' like it seems they so often do (i.e. this works until you have a lot of users; this works until you have a lot of plugins; this isn't needed unless/until ....). 


    This post was edited by gs at October 5, 2017 5:05 PM EDT
    • 629 posts
    July 16, 2017 6:09 PM EDT
    gs said:

    ==>"then you just should keep track of what ones you have where. Unless you have created pages upon pages of duplicate content."

    You hit the nail on the head - keeping track of what's where.  The point is this should be easily accomplished in the tool we have (Layout Editor) not in an external form somewhere.  When viewing pages in LE, everything I need (well, as much as possible) should be right in front of me.  I shouldn't have to go searching for notes or coping dozens of widgets to figure which is which.  That's a pain and a waste of time.  Some people keep their tools/toolbox/workbench organized so they can easily scan and see what's where.  Others dump it into bins and then have to go through everything to find what they're looking for.  Another option is to keep a separate list of what's in which tool bins.  I prefer the first option - keep in neat and all info I need right in front of me.  Neat, clean, easy to use.  And when someone else looks for a tool (or edits pages in LE) it's very easy to do the job. 

    As far as pages upon pages of duplicate content: I won't say 'duplicate' but I'll say similar.  Something I will be trying soon is a new plugin that allows placing blocks/widgets inside containers with ML settings.

    SE has to start realizing that there are many different needs for it and focus on more required consistency from 3rd-Party Devs (ex. although the Plugins are now alpha sorted, some devs precede their plugin name with the initials/acronym for their firm, others don't - so since this is not requested by SE or enforced, it's a do-whatever-you-want situation.  Each combination of #plugins/#members/niche/etc. creates different needs and complexities.  I feel that SE should start addressing the bigger picture and not think 'small' like it seems they so often do (i.e. this works until you have a lot of users; this works until you have a lot of plugins; this isn't needed unless/until ....). 

     

    You do realize this is sort of a rarity type of situation, right?

    Most site builders out there, don't have the capabilities social engine does purely as a cms. Having said this, what makes social engine unique, is the ability for plugins to fill in the gap social engine core cannot provide. Some cms products out there do this better than others, particularly where the abundance of plugins are concerned. Yet the title of the plugin should reflect what the name of the plugin is called. If not the title, then perhaps a tool tip.

    • 66 posts
    July 17, 2017 9:22 AM EDT

    What about just using a internal tracking spreadsheet to track what widgets you placed on what pages? To be honest, this never seemed like a big issue rather more of an annoyance, I do understand where you guys are coming from with the layout manager. I think it goes beyond issues with the titles of widgets.

    • 629 posts
    July 17, 2017 11:57 AM EDT
    Casey said:

    What about just using a internal tracking spreadsheet to track what widgets you placed on what pages? To be honest, this never seemed like a big issue rather more of an annoyance, I do understand where you guys are coming from with the layout manager. I think it goes beyond issues with the titles of widgets.

     

    Too many plugin developers offer the exact same thing!

    Advanced this, advanced that. Is the main issue here. Nobody says how it is different from the other. I've consistently found social engine add ons to provide the most in advanced services as opposed to other developers offering the same. Not that this is a bad thing, but why not let one developer developer this best?

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    July 18, 2017 9:34 AM EDT
    Casey said:

    What about just using a internal tracking spreadsheet to track what widgets you placed on what pages? To be honest, this never seemed like a big issue rather more of an annoyance, I do understand where you guys are coming from with the layout manager. I think it goes beyond issues with the titles of widgets.


    What I'm getting at is why use another tool when one could use the tool they are already using right in front of them? This reminds me of the days back in the 80s with Lotus 123. Before Cell Comments functionality existed, one would typically keep a separate file (spreadsheet or 'word processing') which described the cells. But decades ago the Cell Comments functionality was added. Here I am simply asking that some existing useful/helpful info get displayed (using a tooltip or after selecting for edit).
    • 629 posts
    July 23, 2017 2:25 AM EDT
    gs said:
    Casey said:

    What about just using a internal tracking spreadsheet to track what widgets you placed on what pages? To be honest, this never seemed like a big issue rather more of an annoyance, I do understand where you guys are coming from with the layout manager. I think it goes beyond issues with the titles of widgets.


    What I'm getting at is why use another tool when one could use the tool they are already using right in front of them? This reminds me of the days back in the 80s with Lotus 123. Before Cell Comments functionality existed, one would typically keep a separate file (spreadsheet or 'word processing') which described the cells. But decades ago the Cell Comments functionality was added. Here I am simply asking that some existing useful/helpful info get displayed (using a tooltip or after selecting for edit).

     

    I think that is very cool. I would accept this no problem!