http://www.miragelab.com/ MirageLab en-us http://www.miragelab.com/images/logo.jpg http://www.miragelab.com/ admin@miragelab.com http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=24 Are you using a Xanthia theme? While the basic installation, insertion of pntitle.php (note little "t") in the directory of the modules, insertion of pnTitle.php (note capital "T") in the includes directory, and header modification are the same, calling the title hack function will be done differently. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=23 The latest release of labPanels has been implemented on both Ivory Tower and MirageLab. The organizational GUI used to manipulate homepages is made full use of throughout both sites. The dynamic use of any available block can be seen on my homepage, the MirageLab Modules page, and the labPanels Homepage. Featured capabilities: * Set up unlimited "homepages" comprised of available blocks (active and inactive) * Organizational GUI displays each block in context with available options. * Move blocks left/right and up/down through standard sequencing arrows. * Align blocks in the same row to enhance content width * Align blocks in the same column to extend content * Rows line up independent of each other to stack content * Change individual block displays by switching to a different block position (l, r, c, etc.). * Set a different theme for each homepage * Edit block options via a direct link * Set optional preview text to display in homepage menus * Set optional boilerplate content to display above blocks * Organize sets of homepages using labCategories Manual: here Download: here (free to premium subscribers, $39.95 to purchase) Forum: here FAQ: here http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=22 In a recent review of the progress that Content Management Systems (CMS) are making with regards to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it seems that dynamic content is beginning to get proper attention. Most CMS platforms still neglect to address the growing concern for search engine (SE) friendly URLs and unique Meta Tags. A few, including PostNuke, now offer webmasters a way to move up in the all-important SE rankings. In addition to pointing out the benefits of Mod_rewrite and htaccess, Kevin Kantola makes reference to MirageLab's own SEO article for those looking for assistance in making their own PostNuke sites SE friendly. Read more: Content Management Systems Eyeball SEO's by Kevin Kantola on WebProNews.com. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=21 labIPNtrigger is THE answer to integrated Instant Payment Notification (IPN) for PostNuke. IPN is what ecurrency services like PayPal use to confirm online purchases instantly. Standard PayPal transactions, sent from existing modules like PayPalCart, provide a URL for PayPal to return visitors to who cancel their purchase, and a URL to return them to after a completed purchase. Currently unused by PayPalCart (and others) is a third URL, the return_url, is used by PayPal to send secure transaction confirmations to. It can also send specific transaction information, like shopping cart contents, subscription details, order total, taxes, fees, etc. labIPNtrigger functions as the receiver for this IPN information. By adding the labIPNtrigger URL to PayPalCart as the PayPal return_url (link for details), your customer order information can be collected and used on your website. Read more or go directly to the labIPNtrigger homepage! http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20 The ability to use "search-engine-friendly" URLs is something that many CMS platforms fail to accomodate. The out-of-the-box installation of PostNuke does not offer this feature. There are a few themes available that incorporate ShortURLs, each with it's own handler function. No centralized ShortURLs manager exists to syncronize URL translation across themes, although existing themes may be easily adapted for ShortURL usage. After a long and arduous search for the reason ShortURLs were not operating on my homepage (labPanels, currently). The URLs were translated into phtml links correctly on other pages, such as Downloads, or the forum (phpBB_14, currently). The URLs were NOT, however, translating in any API compliant modules (later versions of Semantics, OpenRealty, labPanels, and pretty much every client module I've developed in the last two years). The culprit turns out to reside in the site root index.php file. The code relies on pnHTML to render pages, although it did not do it in the last few core releases. With all the discussion about alternate rendering mechanisms, this is an oddity. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=19 You want search engines to see your pages as unique. If every page of your PostNuke site has the same page title, meta keywords, and meta description, many search engines will consider it all the same page and only include one instance. While content may be king, good search engine optimization will be necessary to keep the king on the throne. Maybe you've tried the pnTitle hack. If not, you should. I'm going to give you a reason to. This hack changes the site root header.php file so that the page title is dynamically based on individual pntitle.php files located in module directories. If a file is present, it typically returns a title based on the content category or section, although some just display a general module title, and others will build the title based on individual items viewed. Anyone navigating the site will be aided by the feedback they get in the form of the customized site title. Search engines will like it even better. When Technivore released pnMeta, site owners were given an alternative to the distributed file structure of the pnTitle hack. Now, sites can have not just dynamically generated page titles, but also dynamic meta keywords and description. However, the customization only drills down to the module level, leaving behind some of the power of pnTitle. Until now, these were the choices. Sites could have one or the other. We know you want it all, because we did to. That's why we wrote a revised header.php file to combine the dynamic nature of both the pnTitle hack and pnMeta. Simply install pnMeta using the standard module installation (regenerate/initialize/activate). Then, upload all of the pnTitle hack files except header.php. Finally, upload our revised header.php file, and start customizing your meta data for each installed module via pnMeta. If the revised header.php file does not retrieve a title from pnTitle, it will use the one returned by pnMeta. As other pntitle files become available for additional modules, simply upload them; the revised header.php file does the rest. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=18 After looking long and hard for a "Contact Management" module, and finding only a long series of components designed to handle publishing your contact information or the contact information for your company or site, you are almost ready to give up and rely on Outlook or whatever contact list manager your webmail offers. You need a contact manager that manages your contacts. You need it to discriminate between private and business contacts. You need it to provide for not just email addresses, but also phone numbers, websites, and a host of other information that you need to be able to decide on later. It needs to be open ended. It needs help you network. You need a 6 degrees rolodex, a Friendster that doesn't require the other person to be a member. You need labDossier. Homepage: here Manual: here Demo: here (uid: demo, pwd: demo) Module Library Entry: here Download: here (requires registration and subscription) FAQ: here http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17 labDocument is a document creation, collaboration, and management tool. Verbiage intended for use as static printed material can be built online by multiple users simultaneously. Each document contains one or more chapters/sections. Each of these contains one or more pieces of block content that can be reordered using the labDocument GUI. This module is meant to perform as a stripped down version of Content Express, with no innate word processing GUI, no internal image support, and no hyper-dynamic menu generator. labDocument does, however, offer the unique capability to re-order chapter verbiage without having to edit text, thus allowing simultaneous collaboration between users even within the same chapter, if need be. labDocument was written to facilitate creation of legal forms and contracts based on roughly categorized components of verbiage. Next phase plans include more printable page options that support site specific CSS, and company letterhead creation. Download: here (registration and subscription req'd) http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16 The latest release of labPanels is now available in the paid subscriber downloads. Many fixes have been implemented, and the organizer GUI has been tweaked to increase intuitive usage. labPanels provides the combined benefits of multiple homepages (like multi-sites) and freeform block arrangement. Manual and Info: here Download: here (registration and subscription req'd) Forum: here FAQ: here http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=15 If you use PayPal to accept online payments, you have a PayPal business account. Most of these accounts are only accessed by a single user, but a growing number of businesses have multiple users who will either need or want access to the company PayPal account. To address this need, PayPal has set up "Multi-User Access". You can limit the level of access each user on your account has and create as many as 200 additional users. While that may sound impressive (and we're sure PayPal thinks so), it seems every single "login" for the account must use the same password... ...and the same security questions with the same answers. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=14 I started using the labWebLinks block a few days ago and have added a few improvements for better flexibility in different Nuke implementations. Block functionality additions by HST: Date: 02.21.2004 Specifics: 1. Added Alphabetical Sort order for links by link title. 2. Added 'show subcategory' functionality that displays subcategory as a link to the whole subcategory -- great if you are pulling from a sub-category with more links than you wish to display in the block! 3. Added 'show link description' selection to hide or display the link's description in the block. 4. Added 'show link counter' selection to hide or display the link's click-through numbers. Download it HERE http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=13 Leading the project management segment of Open Source development, xTasks delivers rapid project brainstorming capabilities to the enterprising small business online. MirageLab aims to deliver an online solution to replace Microsoft Project. Changes in this edition include: * All date fields now option the labCategories implementation of jscalendar * Tasks can option a task type using labCategories for arbitrary usage * Child date changes extend parent date range values in cascades. * Gantt charts and Hardcopy pages now run without the old root files, relying entirely on the pnAPI. * Gantt charts now option to display inline with the task workarea. * Current settings panel for changing task columns and gantt display options. ( http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=12 Recently, attempted use of the PostNuke Dynamic User Data feature lead development on a rewrite for the highly acclaimed Blockomatic API block creator widget. The new version has been written to eliminate the need for pnDembelTK, a module used by the original creator, Dmitry Beransky, to house custom functions he was developing with. Instead, standardized API block code has been adhered to for maximum forward compatibility. Grab a copy of the new version here. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11 A few sweet new features have been implemented in this release of labCategories, all targetted at other PostNuke developers! A new API compatable user function for other modules to access will use Mihai Bazon's jscalendar DHTML Calendar for date form fields. Previously, pnESP utilized an earlier version of this handy tool, but the implementation was limited to the pnESP module. labCategories enables use of the DHTML calendar by any module using a standard API call. Loadable category lists have also been added. This feature allows the admin to load a data file containing a pre-defined category list of unlimited hierarchical depth. The data file available with the download is for US States, to provide an example for other developers to use. labCategories Guide: here Download: here Support Forum: here http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=10 The next release round for labAccounting is upon us. This is a commercial release, based on PayPal subscription after traditional registration. What's New: * Create sub-accounts * Dynamic account types using labCategories * Dynamic transaction types using labCategories * Account auditing views * View "My Accounts" * Dynamic views for active, closed, or all accounts * Options from account list view include adding both credit and debit transactions, editing the account, or (confirmation protected) delete the account. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9 Almost every business is involved with making (and paying) money. The budget software that is available is typically expensive and suffering from feature bloat to the detriment of the learning curve. To meet the need for a budget and accounting module, MirageLab introduces labAccounting. Features: * Track multiple financial accounts * Keep track of business expenses * Maintain an online copy of your business financial data * Mirror your business account in your site * Configurable starting account and transaction numbers * Track vendor and merchant accounts download labAccounting in xTasks screencap http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=8 The original Block-o-matic, released by PostDembel, allowed the creation of blocks that pulled their content from API compliant modules via the user GUI functions. Generally speaking, this allows webmasters to create blocks containing a module's main, view, or display GUI. The only drawback would seem to be that non API compliant modules ("modules.php?op=modload...") could not be used by the block. This pretty much rules out most standard content modules (including Downloads, FAQ, and Web Links!). Of course, it also means that there is no longer a real need for new blocks to be created when using API compliant modules for content. One block does it all. Well, almost... All is well and good until the need arises for an admin GUI function to be placed in a block. The block released by PostDembel only allows access to user functions. So we hacked in a user/admin toggle. The remixed version is now available on MirageLab.com at: download http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7 When this module was originally conceived, many other similar applications were considered for ideas. There was no desire to reinvent the wheel, but nothing available appeared to have more than a piece of the puzzle. It was decided that project management was comprised, primarily, of task management. All of the other elements portrayed by various project management software were available in the PostNuke CMS already. The only remaining piece, a task manager, is what has evolved into xTasks. Download: here Features: * Organize and manage unlimited projects online * Dynamic Gantt Chart creation for selected project segments * Prioritize project components * Set up dynamic "While you were out" pages for employees. * Manage task-based ToDo lists * Private integration of personal and business tasks * Superior task overview detail * Multiple project managers based on task ownership * Create a "trouble ticket" bucket to receive client task submissions * Organize and manage project requirements * Create a "workgroup" bucket to receive unassigned tasks for the office * Print task list to use on-the-go, organized by location/destination * Assign tasks to other in your group to be returned on completion. Don't get tied down to PostWrap'ing an application with 90% of the same functionality as the core. Keep it modular. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6 How many blocks are available to you? There might be as many as 10 or even 20 on your main page alone, but how many do you have? If you've subscribed to portalZINE, you might indeed have a few hundred. labPanels gives you something to do with them all, finally. Features: Create channel pages or sub-sites (Panels) out of unused blocks Rapid layout of blocks in each panel Specify a theme for each Panel Choose a directory to select panel icons from works with labCategories for organization listings ordered by labCategory sequence (Celko) Uses your existing blocks, active or inactive Can display any content you have a block for Can display any user GUI function from an API compliant module with blockomatic Think of it like pnBoxes on steroids. ;) download demo 1 demo 2 http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=5 The Web Links block you've been waiting for! Features: * Allow multiple copies to run at once * Select which category or subcategory to pull links from * Filter by link ratings * Filter by hit popularity * Randomly selected links option * Most recent / latest links * WARNING: security is not yet hacked in, do not use on your private link lists download demo ("Top CMS Resources" block) http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4 The Categories API RFC-0004 contains the most recent version of the community's ongoing search for a universal replacement to Topics and Categories. A functional module was created by nuncanada and distributed, but nothing seems to have come of that endeavor outside of the Xaraya group. The work that went into that project has been resurrected and remastered for distribution. Features: Uses Celko to maintain both inheritance and order Rapid implementation into existing modules New category form elements Share category lists between modules Organize multiple related content areas Manage lists of Cities, States, and Countries Manage a list of Departments and Job Titles Feed your custom list back to integrated modules download http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3 For years, webmasters have wondered what the most relevant visitor statistics are and what to use to capture them. Today, we will take a look at several modules that run on the PostNuke CMS platform. Each is used for gathering some vector of visitor traffic statistics. We will examine what each provides and include comparisons to popular third-party traffic statistics services. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2 In a recent article on PSBusDev.com, Susan Lynn explores CMS's with a business manager's perspective. Numerous in-depth sources from around the web are cited. Aspects of having a Content Management System that are covered include the traditionally exorbitant cost that is involved, as well as the difference between legacy "Brochure" sites (which characterize "dot com" business) and dynamic CMS's. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=26 As more and more developers are brought on board with the new pnAPI standards, it becomes increasingly necessary to provide a resource for them to use as a guide to how their code should be written. While the Module Design Guide (MDG) is an excellent place to start, not everyone learns the same way, and non-specific concrete examples are hard to find. However, there is hope! For the past few releases of PostNuke (71x), a module has been included that is often overlooked due to the confusion inherent in it's name. The Template module is NOT directly related to the templating system. http://www.miragelab.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1 Aspiring developers as well as code veterans must periodically struggle through the initial process of envisioning what they intend to accomplish. Initial project conception is the first (and most crucial) step in the development cycle. It can make or break an idea before it ever leaves the ground. But everything must first start with an idea. Contrary to popular belief, all of the good ideas are NOT already done twice over...