Anything between MODx and Joomla?

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[GinerBosk]

Dear friends,

I've been using Joomla since it was Mambo, but I think it has some handicaps, as pointed in some other threads in this forum.

Now, I was considering using MODx, but I'm afraid I don't want to program or dive into the code any time I want to do something.

So, my questions are the following:

1) Is it true that, with MODx, you have to program in order to get nice websites?

2) Do you know any other open source CMS "between" Joomla and MODx, I mean, similar to both?

About my first question, I could specify a little bit more which kind of website I am thinking of:

• Multilanguage content (handle 3 languages)
• Blogs/news structure (Joomla-like)
• Lists of items I want to show and manage (for example: my favorite books; subjects that I teach; my papers (articles published in science journals); my published books; etc.). I mean, I want my website to handle what now they call "forms".
• Bookmarks
• Contact/feedback form
• Image gallery
• Maybe, forum
• A layout as nice as possible (I know this is possible, and with Ajax! —it's very nice)

Thank you in advance for your answers!!!

[MotSmart]

have a closer look at modxcms.com home page!

MODx... empowers developers and advanced users to give as much control as desired to whomever they desire for day-to-day website content maintenance chores...

MODx is the alternative to hacking blogging tools and other tools to death, extended learning curves, and changing your workflow to fit software that just doesn't quite "get it".

i think thats clear enough? but if you like to compare systems, better to have a look on www.opensourcecms.com

[Paintbox]

I would say the only thing between MODx and Joomla is Drupal. I have tested about a dozen CMSes  the last few months and Drupal is the only package I really would consider an alternative. Joomla needs to sort themselves out first.

MODx does not require coding to get up and running. In fact, MODx is the most designer friendly CMS and is the reason I chose it. I have only been using ModX for a about a month and a half so some replies are best guess, wait for the meastros to reply to that

- Don't know about languages, haven't looked into that
- Blogs are pretty easy using a Ditto tag
- I think that is possible with tags and so on (taxonomy)
- Should be easy with eForm (contact form)
- Haven't worked with it, but that is handled with MaxiGallery (gallery)
- SMF forums are catered for (again no experience with this)
- About lay-out..really easy, you can simply use your assets/yoursite directory and throw in all your AJAXy goodness and whatnot.

Thats the beauty of ModX, you just start easy and work your way-up to more elaborate sites. Check out the sample site that comes with the install.

My 2c

[ChuckTrukk]

You will need to learn how to use the tags in MODx and how to install plugins and snippets. It is not as point-and-click as Joomla. More of a cut-and-paste.

- Multilanguage content (handle 3 languages)
There are multiple ways to do this via plugins. I just created a simple one last week that uses Template Variables

- Blogs/news structure (Joomla-like)
You will need to learn how to use Ditto. Go through the wiki tutorial and you should be on your way

- Lists of items I want to show and manage (for example: my favorite books; subjects that I teach; my papers (articles published in science journals); my published books; etc.). I mean, I want my website to handle what now they call "forms".
You could use Ditto for posting your favorites. For forms, you can use eForm.

- Bookmarks
Create web links (similar to articles) and use Ditto

- Contact/feedback form
eForm

- Image gallery
Maxigallery is a robust image gallery you can use

- Maybe, forum
There is a bridge made for SMF. Someone is working on another forum bridge. You could also create articles, use Ditto, and use Jot for comments (as a poor man's forum)

- A layout as nice as possible (I know this is possible, and with Ajax! —it's very nice)
The power of MODx is you can use a few tools (Ditto, eForm, Jot) to create a very unique and customized design. You can even use a template from www.oswd.org, templatemonster.com (i suggest only the CSS templates). You would switch the hard-coded HTML text with modx codes (similar to what would happen if you bought a joomla template)


MODx tags
{{chunk}} - similar to a side module in joomla, but can be used anywhere on your site

[*modxStuff*] - you would place this in your template, for example- [*title*], [*date*], [*content*], [*template_variables*]

[*template_variables*] - these are additional fields in a document. Example, on the books you write you can create additional inputs for author, isbn, amazon links.

[+snippets+] - these will do all the hard work for you. The wiki is the best place to learn these.


MODx might be too much for you. I would recommend installing it and going through the wiki tutorials to see if you can piece it together. If you don't know basic HTML/CSS, you would want to learn it, pass on MODx right now, or pay someone to setup the HTML/CSS for you.

The wiki is the best place to start. Then the MODx documentation I believe.

[capricorn116]

I'm a former Joomla user too (for about a year).  After I lost my site, I gave MODx a try.  The biggest difference between the two, for me, is with Joomla, you install and use.  There's a few configuration options, but what you install is it.  With MODx, you install and then configure to fit your needs.

For example, I was using AkoStaff with Joomla.  In order to change AkoStaff, I had to recode the php files.  I wasn't a coder until that project.  With MODx, I rebuilt the functions of AkoStaff by entering in parameters and changing configuration options for two tools.  It was much easier than recoding the php files.

Just some thoughts... eForm is nice, but not as nice as Joomla's Phil-a-form.

Maxigallery is fantastic.  I forget which one I was using with Joomla, but the Joomla gallery always crashed my browser.  Maxigallery uploads, resizes, thumbnails and leaves the uploaded files with human readable names.

Templates in MODx are wonderfully easy.  I translated all my Joomla templates into MODx templates with a minimum of hassle.  The only thing I liked better in Joomla was the ability to add php elseif statements right in the template.  The Joomla base template has examples.  For instance, if a sidebar had empty content, the sidebar disappears.  MODx may do that, but I haven't found the method yet.

Give MODx a try.  After the learning curve, you won't be disappointed.
 

[GinerBosk]

Thank you very much for your comments (please, keep on sending new ones!).

That's simply true —I have to give a try to MODx.

The only thing about my needs I think I was not able to explain well is managing lists of things. I'll try to explain it better now:

Suppose you have a list of items —for example, my favorite movies. For each movie, you have registered its name, the year it was released, the language, the country, the main actor/actress, and so on. It is what you would call a table, in MS Access or similar (and it is usually called "form", in a Web 2.0 context, but it is in fact a table, a set of rows (items) and columns (fields, characteristics)).

Well, suppose now that you want to "publish" that list, so that people can search through it, can sort it by name, by date, select an item and view all its details... (that's usually called "application", in Web 2.0 slang).

How can I do it with MODx?

Thank you for your new replies.

[Soshite]

That kinda sounds like PPP might solve your problem, at least partially (look in the In-Development forum).

[aour]

Hi

You can use Template Variable.

Sorry, if I give you a french exemple website :

Product description
In this web page you can read a lot of informations  (block Info produit)
Style, color; matter, dimensions, weight, price...

When Helio finishes tvexplorer you will be able to make research on these criteria :

http://www.deco-in.com/recherche-avancee

With Ditto, you can order your list by name, by date, select an item and view all its details...

[ChuckTrukk]

Giner,

There are 2 ways to create your form.

The first is ppp and eForm. But I think this may be too programmer oriented. You can try it out though and see if it fits the bill. (I dont have the link on hand).

The second way I think would be the best. All MODx documents have the mandatory fields: Title, Menu Link, Content.
Additionally, you can create additional fields for your documents. These are Template Variables (basically extra fields or form fields). Using the JotForm example, you would create 7 new Template Variables.

- Inputs Template Variables: First_Name, Last_Name, E_mail, Address, City
- Select Template Variables: State, Country

The power of this is you do not need to learn multiple applications or ways to create new information. No components or modules. Everything is just a document. And everything can use Ditto (instead of multiple components).

Let's say you created 4 pages using the Template Variables above. You would want to create a page to then list all of the information (usually this is a parent*).

On the parent, you would call Ditto for the 4 pages. Then you would create your template chunk to display your 'application'/information in whichever way you would like. Below is to examples.

Example 1: Table with the above TV's

Code:

<tr>
   <td>[+First_Name+]</td>
    <td>[+Last_Name+]</td>
    <td>[+E_mail+]</td>
    <td>[+Address+]</td>
    <td>[+City+]</td>
    <td>[+State+]</td>
    <td>[+Country+]</td>
</tr>

Example 2: CSS Layout with the above TV's (you can style the application however you want)

Code:

<h1>[+First_Name+] [+Last_Name+]</h1>
<p>[+First_Name+] lives at [+Address+]. The full contact information is below:</p>
<blockquote>
     [+Address+]<br/>
     [+City+], [+State+] [+Country+]<br/>
     Email Address: [+E_mail+]
</blockquote>

So in this way, you can create fields for your books, movies, etc. You can create unique templates for each form and application.

Chuck

*Another great thing of MODx is unlimited hierarchy of document parent-child-grandchild-etc.

[GinerBosk]

@ Chuck

Thank you very much. That's a good example of how to work with MODx. I like it!

[Dimmy]

The only thing I liked better in Joomla was the ability to add php elseif statements right in the template.  The Joomla base template has examples.  For instance, if a sidebar had empty content, the sidebar disappears.  MODx may do that, but I haven't found the method yet.

This is what phx can be your help I use it a lot.
like [*sidebar:len:gt=`0`:show*]
if tv sidebar has more than 0 charackters then show the content else do not.
lots of other cool tricks.

Dimmy

[GinerBosk]

I appreciate so much all the advices you are giving me.

You have pointed out some key "tools", like Ditto, eForm, Maxigallery, etc. Moreover, in each answer you speak about other interesting features (PHx, PPP, etc.). And also, you are teaching me about "how to" do things in MODx. That's good. Thanks!!

I begin to realize that there are lots of interesting "components", "modules", "plugins" and so on...

So, let me ask all of you a more general question.

If I want to start with MODx, and I do not want to get lost, I think I should:

• Think about my site (which things I need, what do I want, etc.)
• Read the basic documentation at http://modxcms.com/documentation.html
• Look for the components I need at the official repository, here: http://modxcms.com/resources.html
• ...

But... There are lots and lots of modules, plugins...!

What can I do in order not no get lost? I mean, I am afraid that I can start building my site with one module or plugin, and then I realize that [there is any forum thread or any other resource in which someone tells that] there is a better module for that task, or that there is an easier way to get to what I am trying to do. That's what happened to me with Joomla sometimes.

Do you recommend me the wiki, as a general guide?

So, my question could be formulated as follows:

Which "beginners' path" or "road map" do you recommend me, in order not to get lost?

—If you think I should start a new post/thread in another section, let me know.

[miniwark]

Look for the components

The very necessary "core" components are already included in MODx just download and try.
This include -if y remember well eForms, Jot, Ditto, DocMan, Quickedit Ajaxsearch and some few others.
Try first with this one and dowlond the "missing" features for you later.

PS: Your can see a sort of themathic sorting (using tag clouds) here :
http://modxcms.com/repository-tag-cloud.html
maybe a more classic hierarchic sorting "a la dmoz" is missing

[davidm]

2) Do you know any other open source CMS "between" Joomla and MODx, I mean, similar to both?

I am late to the party, and you certainly can do everything you need to with MODx, no sweat !

But if I have to answer the CMS between Joomla and MODx question, I'd sure say : Jaws

Young project, not that many module and probably you won't be able to do what you need with it, but it's the closest thing to an hybrid between Joomla and MODx :

• "block" logic akin to every portal app out there, like Joomla
• mvc based lightweight framework, not same as MODx but the goal is more similar to MODx than Joomla
• easy tag based templating like MODx, though less powerful (no micro-templates e.g no granular control over the extension's output)

[gspark]

- Don't know about languages, haven't looked into that
- Blogs are pretty easy using a Ditto tag

WRONG!!, blogs are not so simple with Modx, in fact unless you know how to code you won't be able to set it up like a standard blog, you'll come close but not all of it unless you can code it, remember most everything in Modx is manual code labor, as is most CMS software created by developers for developers. if you want anything done you have to code it by hand and pray the snippets and plugins have clear instructions )

the one thing i didn't like with joomla besides being bloated is the url's look like crap option=com=component eek