The chapter I have reviewed is Chapter 5: Authentication and Authorization. You can click the previous link to view the chapter in its entirety along with some more information about the author (Antano Solar John) and book.

So now it needs tested and bug-reports filed. Here is the link to the download: MODx Download

In addition to the changes made in the previous beta, I have made the following additions:

• Fixed TV inherit issue & added tv placeholder usage to wrapper templates - modx link
• Added debug console ala Ditto
• Added ability to show secure docs even if user not logged in &ignoreSecurity - modx link
• Added level placeholder [+wf.level+]
• Added iterator placeholder [+wf.iterator+]

So click the 'Read More...' link to grab the download or head on over to the MODx forums to get more info.

So here is a list of things I have changed so far:

• &hereClass assigned to weblink if an internal link - modx link
• &lastClass is assigned correctly when only one menu item - Julian Warren
• odd & even classes - modx link
• MySql 5.0.51 sorting bug fix (should work fine with multi doc groups due to distinct) - modx link
• new templates firstRowTpl, lastRowTpl - modx link
• Add alias placeholder- Kristian Rasmussen
• PHx support - its finally here, this needs major testing. The wrapper placholders cannot use Phx due to errors I was having with the nesting. All other tags should work.

A big thanks to dflock for his additions, the others listed above and anyone else I forgot.

I plan to keep up-to-date on my posting and to get back to those darned MODx snippets that I created so long ago. First up will be Wayfinder. I am planning to jump through the MODx forums and get all of the updates I can incorporated into a new version.

I am also planning a few posts on how I created different parts of my site with MODx. Especially the twitter feed and some of the yet to be added content.

So I hope you like the new digs.

The new layout is really cool and should better promote the CMF.

an additional bonus from the site is that I found out about this cool project: Minify. I am going to get this up and running on my site soon.

Nothing major in these updates just some cleanup and minor documentation updates. Look for additional information as I start to look at new things to work on for each of my snippets. Most of my time will probably be spent working with the upcoming version of MODx, but I will find time for these snippets as well.

Due to the number of changes in the code I would appreciate it if all features could be tested before taking this release final. Thanks in advance for any help.

• Document retrival now uses one query instead of multiple queries for incresed speed.
• New parameter &displayStart - displays the document specified as the startId as a header to the menu (only works with startId not equal to 0)
• New template &startItemTpl - Used to format the output of the startId Doc if &displayStart is used. Defaults to <h2>[+linktext+]</h2>
• New parameter &includeDocs - comma delimited list of documents to be included in output. The startId is still required this just acts as a filter.
• New paramter &excludeDocs - comma delimited list of documents to be excluded from the output. The startId is still required this just acts as a filter.
• Rewrote some other stuff to make it work better and hopefully a little faster.
• Still to come: Enhanced Debugging.

The MooTools javascript framework was a breeze to learn, and really provides some great functionality. I think I will look at some more of the functionality to come up with some cool stuff for Wayfinder also. If you want to check out the framework go here: www.mootools.net.

Until quickedit gets converted to MooTools (which is happening right now), you will probably get some errors if you try to run your search while logged into the manager. So if you are using the prototype or scriptaculous libraries (maybe others too), you may experience some conflicts with the updated code.

Here is a list of things that have changed in this version.

• Conversion to MooTools with enhanced functionality for the live search.
• Addition of language file support.
• Addition of template support for increased customization of the output.
• Tweaked search code for better results.
• Search Highlight Plugin enhanced for better results highlighting.

So go and get it!

So here is what you can expect to find in the development area.

• Feature lists
• Installation instructions
• Parameter lists
• Example uses
• Download Area
• Tutorials (coming soon)

So take a look and feel free to leave any feedback to make it better. Development

Before diving in and writing my own solution I checked out the MODx repository and found a plugin created by Adam aka ONO that did exactly what I was looking for. The plugin takes the path from a template variable, so all the user ever sees is the name of the file they are downloading. Using this allows for increased security as the path is never disclosed and the plugin stops a hacker from moving up the path. So I spent some time going through the code and making sure it implemented all of the features already included with the FileDownload snippet. I added in the ability for the plugin to count downloads and use multiple folders. I then had to make a few tweaks to the FileDownload snippet to take into account the new way of processing downloads.

The FileDownload snippet will still function by itself. If using a plugin to pass the downloads is not necessary, the snippet will just display the link to the file and not use any download processor. I reccommend using the plugin though as it allows for many added features and security. The download counting only works if the plugin is used as well. So, follow the instuctions below to get up and running with the new FileDownload snippet/plugin.

Changes From Version 2.0

• Refactored to use Adam Strzeleckis (OnO) FileDownload plugin for more secure downloads. Get the plugin here: http://modxcms.com/FileDownloadPlugin-1191.html
• If the plugin is used the getFolder parameter is set by the template variable FileDownloadFolder and not the snippet call.
• No longer uses the download.php file as it created vulnerabilities in the MODx installation. Delete this file from your install.
• Snippet functions without download counting if you do not want to use the plugin.
• New parameter (&dateFormat) to format the date of the output. Use PHP's date formatting, to customize it.

For a project I am currently working on I have been able to take advantage of the new core and it is really great. It really gives you a lot of power for developing custom web apps. I don't wan't to spoil it all for you though and will let Jason fill in the details as he sees fit.

So go read the article: http://modxcms.com/transforming-modx-oo-mvc-orm.html

Due to some new features in version MODx version 0.9.5 I included a version check that fails with the recently released version 0.9.2.2. The fix that I have currently applied is a temporary fix that will be in place until the MODx core is changed to allow for easier version/feature checking. Look for another update to this when the next version of MODx is released (post 0.9.5). All of the files have been updated on my site and in the MODx Resource Repository.

Support

The best place to get support for using Wayfinder is by posting on the MODx forums. There is a dedicated board for Wayfinder, access it here.

New Features

• Updated database query so sorting works correctly for MySql 4.1.12 users
• Added parameters for determining sortBy and sortOrder
• Added placeholders for introtext and description
• Added ability to show count of docs in a folder with new placeholder
• Removed some code from snippet into class for easier maintenance
• Added limit parameter to allow for result limiting
• Added random option to sortBy parameter

Changes From Version 1.7

• Completly rewritten with 'OOP' goodness.
• Ability to specify multiple folders for display in one snippet call.
• Expanded template support, now with templates for folders and files.
• Ability to store download counts in databse or file.
• Parameters to add custom classes to the templates (including extension class).
• Extra placeholders available for more output options.
• Image - Extension associations now stored in a chunk so you can set different images per snippet call.
• Ability to use the download script without download counting.
• The file size can be passed to the download script to display download progress.
• And many other changes...

I upgraded all of my menus to use the latest version of my Wayfinder snippet and upgraded the user comments to use the new Jot snippet. I must say I am very impressed with the Jot snippet, it was easy to implement and has a lot of great features.

If you want to try out the latest beta of MODx 0.9.5 you can get it here, there has been a lot of hard work put into this version and will hopefully be a final release soon.

Oh yeah, I decided to update my page layout to use a fluid layout instead of a static one, hope you like!

This is a beta version and needs throughly tested before being added to the next release of Modx.

Please report any errors or omissions in the Modx forums here: Modx Forums

You may be asking why the name DittoCal, well you have to use the Ditto snippet to setup the data for your calendar. Get the latest version of Ditto here.

You must use Ditto version 1.0.2 or higher for this calendar to function correctly.

Update: 17-JUL-06 - Added code to remove next link if next month is past the most recent post. If day is clicked on calendar the calendar will remain on that month when the new page is loaded. A new class will be assigned to the day that was selected as well. Added placeholder output support and debug output.

I plan on writing up some information on how we did certain parts of the repository when I have time. Here is a link to the repository and a list of some of the features we included.

Link: The Modx Repository

Here are some of the features of the new repository:

• SMF Integration - Everything is tied to your smf login, and you need one to add anything
• Resource Rating - A star rating system allows users to rate your code
• Version control - You can add multiple versions of your code while maintaining an archive of previous releases
• Download Counting - The downloads are counted so we can monitor which items are the most popular
• Image attachments - If you have a logo or screen shot you can attach it to the resource, lightbox viewing included!
• Resource Listing - View all resources at the same time or filter them by just about any data item
• Full Tagging Support - Free tagging support for each resource
• Core Team Audited Resources - Easily find the items the core team is developing
• BBCode Support - Freedom to style your resources how you want, just use the provided codes
• Forum Linking - When you add a new resource a forum post is automatically created for comments and support.

There are still some things I need to fix, including the portfolio. I just couldn't wait to get this new look up and running.

07-17-06 Fixed code that determines which file type image to use with each file.

04-30-06 The files have been updated to allow for directory browsing. This allows the user to go into subfolders of the folder specified in the snippet call. I have also cleaned up some of the code.

03-22-06 I have added the ability for single file listing. The updated files can be downloaded here. There is a new parameter for this - &getFile=``

03-18-06 There was an error in the file download.php, it was causing the downloads to fail. It should work correctly now and can be downloaded on the right.

Let me get these items out of the way before I get into using the snippet.

• This code is based off of the FlexSearchForm snippet created by jaredc.
• The javascript code is based off of the example by Steve Smith of orderedlist.com.
• The loading images I have included are from mentalized.net.
• The search highlighting plugin is modified from Susan Ottwell's (http://www.sottwell.com) original code.
• Thanks goes to eastbind and the Japanese Modx forum for utf-8 encoding additions.
• Thanks to Ryan Thrash (http://www.vertexworks.com) for the assistance in creating some of the new features.

Note: For this code to work you must include a call to the prototype and the script.aculo.us javascript libraries in your template. This is done automatically with the addJscript parameter unless you set it to 0.

If you would like to see this snippet in action use the search box on the right.  You can disable javascript as well to see how the search will still work without it.

Updated: 05/18/2006 - I have added the code from Thomas (Shadock) to the main snippet to allow for live searching (i.e. results as you type). There is a new parameter that goes along with this. If you add the parameter &ajaxSearchType=`1` you will turn on the live search. I have also updated the scriptaculous effects to run in succession so the effects look better.

Updated: 04/29/2006 - The code from Eastbind and the japanese community has been integrated for utf-8 encoding. The code has been modified to work with Marcs tag cloud snippet. The plugin Search_Highlight has been included to carry the search highlighting to the linked page (modified from sottwells code). The inital text is removed when a search is started. The javascript is added to the page automatically through the api (this will not work correctly unless you upgraded your Modx version to 0.9.2.1). This can also be removed through a parameter.

Updated: 04/03/2006 - To make the search even better, I have added the search highlighting code form Marc (MadeMyDay). The updated code can be found in the downloads. You need to update all of the files excluding the images for this to work correctly.

Updated: 03/20/2006 - After receiving some feedback I have modified the snippet a little. There is now a button that appears to close the search box after a search. Also I have made the snippet output the parameters set in the snippet to a bit of javascript so that I can use them in the ajax call. So you do not have to update the file ajaxSearch.php for your search settings. A thank you goes out to sottwell for these great ideas.