Vampire Trix

Well, here is my promised review for XOOPS 2.5.

One of things I’ve always found lacking in XOOPS, especially the last time, is AJAX. It simply is used barely, and that’s a shame. But thanks to the new build of XOOPS, 2.5, things are going to change, starting with the system module. And that’s what I’m going to review here.

As I’m typing this paragraph, I’m still installing XAMPP, but I guess the install script isn’t changed.
Okay, XAMPP is installed, starting the XOOPS installation now.
Okay, XOOPS installed, installation is the same.

First thing that I’ve noticed in the system admin, is everything looks a bit nicer in a graphical way, like you’ll see here:

XOOPS 2.5 Banner Manager

Everything looks quite a bit more modern, and it feels quite a bit more speedy!
The blocks administration in this version is impressive, it really is, and I think you’ll agree when you see this:

XOOPS 2.5 Blocks Administration

I’m really impressed! Now, you can easily drag n’ drop everything to it’s place, which is wonderful!

Together with these changes, I can already see that XOOPS works much nicer. Everything seems a lot easier and it’s quicker to find and edit than before.

The image manager wows me! Just click the add category button, and it’ll expand so you’ll get this:

XOOPS 2.5 Image Manager

The same when you upload an image on the admin: simply click “Add Image” and it’ll expand!
Since I didn’t succeed in uploading an image to my XOOPS installation, I can’t tell how it’s like to use images in this new version.

The modules adminstration is awesome, simply that and nothing less! This new version introduces a new view for the modules, a line view (which will remove the module image). It also looks a lot more modern and feels awesome to work with. And it’s very fast too!

XOOPS 2.5 Modules Administration

Upon pressing the information-button, something like this opens:

XOOPS 2.5 Module Information

That’s simply awesome, and genious. It’s a lot better than the pop-up that has been used for years now . One minor point is that there is no X to close it, and some people won’t think of ESC xD.

Edit: Francesco pointed out to me that there is an X, but it’s hidden until you hover over it. Thanks for the info

One of the things I like the most is this:

XOOPS 2.5 Preferences

It looks awesome, and it is awesome. While clicking on an icon still points to another page, it truly is awesome.

The smiley menu on itself is genious, as simple as can be!

XOOPS 2.5 Smilies

And the template-settings are fully renewed… check out this screenshot:

XOOPS 2.5 Templates

UPDATE: Thanks Mamba for the tip!

Here’s an image of how it looks when you go into a category when you’ve got an image uploaded:

XOOPS 2.5 Image Uploaded

It’s a bit out of the block, but that’ll be solved

XOOPS + AJAX… it’s something we’ve all waited a long time for, and it’s great that it’s here

Well This is about it…

I’m sorry for being so short in text, but the images speak for itself

Thank you all for linking to this article, I’ve even got links from the French and Dutch XOOPS support, thank you guys

Kevin