We've just released Take V of Umbraco 4, beta 2 and this means that we're finally feature complete and a release candidate is just around the corner (this will be the last beta). We’ve added the final touches to TinyMCE3, implemented changes in conventions (see below), added categories to modules (was: Nitros) and fixed the last serious bugs in Canvas (was: Live Editing).
New conventions (renaming)
We’ve changed the codenames of Boost, Nitro and Live Editing (none of them was ever meant to last this long). We’ve worked together with Bjarne Tveskov (http://tveskov.com) – an experienced naming guru – to come up with names and conventions that are easy to digest while still makes it possible to “brand” some of these great new features.
The packages that have been called Nitros in this beta stage was the easiest one to name – we should just call it what it is; a “module”. Boost has been renamed to “Runway” as a metaphor for a fast way to start your project journey and Live editing is now called “Canvas” to emphasize that it’s a surface where you simply touch the items you want to change. So welcome these new words and forget about those codenames ;-)
TinyMCE / Rich text editor
The integration of TinyMCE3 is now finally done and it’s stellar. No other Web CMS features such a smooth integration of a WYSIWYG editor:
· You have 100% control over formatting. Instead of allowed styles, headers and colors, we simply have one “Choose style” dropdown. It combines headers and special styles, so the editor doesn’t need to worry about which is what and items are easily added to the dropdown by adding substyles on a stylesheet added to umbraco (simply right click a stylesheet and select create)
· You can configure size (width/height), associated stylesheets and the buttons that should appear in the Rich Text Editor (RTE). You can even choose which user types that should have access to advanced options in the link and insert image dialogs.
· Whenever you paste any dirty markup will automatically be converted into valid xhtml strict markup and only headers (h1-h6) that’s in the “Choose style…” dropdown is allowed. Any other header will be converted into a strong paragraph.
· We automatically server-side scale images inserted in the richtext editor and make sure the proportions are constrained
· You can insert and preview macros directly inside the RTE. Simply check the “Use In Editor” box when editing a macro and your editors can place them wherever they want to in the RTE.
· It’s easy to link to pages or media in umbraco by simply selecting the page or file in the “Insert link” dialog. When you do an internal link in umbraco you’ll now see the “Nice url” instead of the old “{locallink:xxxx}” syntax. Of course internal links are updated if naming changes.
· We’ve also made it possible to add any new TinyMCE plugins in the tinymce.config file and we’ve even added support for custom config options, that’s added when umbraco initialize the editor. This means that any plugin in any configuration is possible without modifying any code!
· You can create multiple instances of the RTE (right click DataTypes in the developer section and select create. Give the RTE a name and select “TinyMCE3” as the rendercontrol.
Updates to modules (was: Nitros)
We’ve added categories to modules and to make it easy when you install we’ve added an “Editors picks” category with the most exciting and relevant packages you can choose during the install. To make it easier to understand what the different modules does, we’ve prepared a demo link on each module that’ll open a modal window with a little screencast showing the functionality. These links will automatically appear as videos streamed from the central repository server.
Updates to Canvas (was: Live Editing)
Canvas is finally stable and works without any showstopper flaws in Internet Explorer and Firefox. TinyMCE works smoothly, including context menus and dropdowns in the toolbar, which previously have caused loss of focus.
Grap your copy of Umbraco 4, beta 2, take V here.