You could add the code within VSD using the HTML tool. there is no reason why it would not work. I found it easier and faster from a formatting standpoint to add it to the HTML files later.

Hiya Dave,

I think the biggest thing here though was that the original question was if you could still edit the site in VSD once you've inserted the CushyCMS and done changes with it. Doing it via HTML is pretty much a given, you can always edit that way, but with VSD is an entirely different creature all together

If you directly change any HTML code that VSD generates , the very next time you do something in VSD the resulting generated HTML code will over-write your changes and they will be gone. You could copy and paste the altered code into the placeholder every time, but only the VSD user will have access to that, not any client using the CMS, and it will have to be done by hand and re-saved every time from within VSD.

The only way, really, to bring in outside code that is going to be modified elsewhere is to have your VSD page call that data via something like an iframe in an HTML placeholder.

I have tested doing it in VSD entirely without HTML editing and it can be done with a combination of using the HTML tool, using the proper Cushy CMS code in the right places, and working around a few things.

When I have a moment within the next few weeks I will do a video tutorial.

The address fro the test page is at the following link:

http://cushytest.webege.com/test2/index.html

Once again, to mess with it, use the following link and info:

http://www.cushycms.com

Use the following to enter the administration area for client editing:

Email: cushyedit@mailinator.com
Password: 1234567890

The page you want to make changes to is called: VSDtestzzzz

The key is using the Dynamic website instructions included in the Cushy instructions captured in the following image for convenience sake...

http://cushytest.webege.com/cushydynamic.jpg

The basics steps are:

- create your main page that you wish to have the CMS updating text on
- add the first bit of dynamic code that references the source page with the HTML tool as shown in the image above
- create the source page in VSD as well in the same project (or a separate one if you want to keep them apart for easier updating later if you prefer to upload through VSD directly)
- add your text and format it the way you want it to look using the regular text tool on the source page
- preview the source page in your browser and copy the source code for the text between the DIV tags.
- create an HTML area in the source page using the HTML tool and paste the code you just copied into it
- go back to the source code and copy the style code for that text
- paste the style code into the HTML area in the main page above the reference page code (so that the text formats properly to size, color, etc.)
- upload the pages to your FTP site
- add the source page to your Cushy CMS backend
- make changes as desired

NOTES:

- once you have uploaded the pages, you no longer have to re-upload the source pages, just the main pages. Uploading the source pages will wipe out your Cushy CMS backend updates. You either have to upload your main pages manually via FTP program, or do the main site and the source pages in separate projects in VSD. That way you can update either the source pages or the main pages individually as required. Given that VSD can run multiple instances of itself, this is pretty easy to do.

- someone with better coding skill may have a fix to this, but I have to add the page background color info into the source pages in order to see it at all on the main pages. I have no idea why this is other than perhaps that adding the style code or the source gathering code in the main pages messes up the background info. There may be further reaching effects to this than I have personally tested so far.

- Previewing your page has to be done by going to the site address and not using the PREVIEW option in the Cushy CMS backend (that preview will only take you to the source page, which is of no importance in that regard since it only contains the text info that the main page draws from, and none of the formatting)

- this description is by no means meant to be the end-all, be-all tutorial on the subject. It is here to give the more adventurous amongst you a jump start prior to me doing a video tut.

- an interesting note is that the text seems to auto-wrap to the width of the main page's HTML area, as drawn using the HTML tool.

- I didn't do images, but the assumption would be that they can be added in a similar fashion. I intend to explore that further as well...

This all may seem a bit convoluted by description, but in practice it holds a certain logic and isn't as hard as it may seem to some.

just to help further...

Your main code would be added and would look like the following:

<? include("SOURCE_PAGE_THAT_YOU_NAME.html"); ?>

An example of a source page name would be maintext.html, or textm.html, or text01.html - you get the idea...

The overall code that you would have pasted into an HTML container on the main page would be similar to:

<style type="text/css">
.textstyle0 {font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:18pt;text-decoration:none;color:#800080;}
</style>

<? include("SOURCE_PAGE_THAT_YOU_NAME.html"); ?>


The source page would have something similar to the following:

<div class="Object37"><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td valign="top" align="left"><div class="text-align:left;margin-left:0px;text-indent:0px;"><span class="textstyle0"><span class="cushycms">This is the text i am looking for<br>
</span></span></div></td></tr></table></div>
</div>

The bold text is the cushy code surrounding your sample text (this will be changed in your Cushy CMS backend updates later) and the SPAN code opener and closer.

That is it for the code. You would add HTML containers for each text element and they would refer to individual source pages - that's right - a separate page for each text element you wish to control.

Anyone with a better coding background will certainly have improvements and fixes, but this gets the ball rolling.

My overall suggestion to Coffeecup might be to work in some kind of Cushy CMS tool rather than doing all this, if only because it opens up some pretty cool new possibilities for VSD.

Maybe on the next version?

It just occurred to me that the reference code might be able to draw from a regular text file.

Testing now...

Experiment failed...

Just so we're clear...the answer to your question is - yes.

Coincidentally, I have to do this exact same thing for a client myself tonight. Good thing I took the time to figure it out last night.

With the cushy site do you think security might be a problem? I believe you have to trust them with your host username and password?

It looks like a great little system but I have seen the issue of security raised in some reviews.

What do others think?

It's quite true that you do have to rely on the Cushy CMS site to log in, and access the backend editing tools.

If someone were targeting the site that you had included Cushy CMS code on, figured out your username and password, or had some method of getting into the Cushy CMS backend system generally and wanted to mess up your site, then I am sure it could be done.

Hackers are nothing if not resourceful...

All that being said, if hackers wanted to get at your site - then you will likely get hacked whether you are using Cushy CMS or not.

I have had it happen, and all I can say is make sure you have a clean backup of your site(s), because your hosting company will have no trouble shutting down your service if they need to.

I had to have my host completely wipe out my account files and had to upload clean files myself before my host would allow my sites to be accessed again.

This may be a solution worth looking at just found our about this http://editwrxpro.com/. I have also had requests to build a site, but the owner wants to edit content.

Please share your thoughts if you have a chance to test it.

Kirk