I have the VM running... what next?

(Andrew Losik) #1

Hi all, this might seem like a stupid question... Is there a difference between Matrix (the back end I guess) and Matrix CMS (what your users would use for editing/creating content on a site)?

 

I ask because I'm currently struggling with the VM install of Matrix. I've managed to get it running (properly I think) however I sort of expected that there would be some sort of default content or something included. As it stands I'm sort of left looking at what I assume is the back end (after logging in through matrixdemo.squiz.net/_admin) and thinking ... "Ok, well, what next?".

 

So can anyone give me any pointers or help me figure out where I should go from here? Should I be able to see some sort of sample content (i.e. by navigating to matrixdemo.squiz.net) or does the VM not include any site content at all (in which case what is it for and how can I evaluate the CMS)?

 

I'm running the latest downloadable version of the VM on a Windows 7(64 bit) machine. Any advice or pretty much any direction would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy.

 

 

(Nic Hubbard) #2

No stupids questions, we are happy to answer anything.

 

Is there a difference between Matrix (the back end I guess) and Matrix CMS (what your users would use for editing/creating content on a site?

 

 Well, there are no different names. The product is just called Squiz Matrix. The _admin is the powerful Admin interface that you have seen. The Simple Edit interface is what you can access by adding /_edit to a URL. You can build your own easy or complex editing interfaces for this. Checkout the Squiz Easy Edit Suite for a really great Squiz created Simple Edit interface.

 

So can anyone give me any pointers or help me figure out where I should go from here?

 

No, it doesn't come with a demo site. You need to build your own. Here is a quick way to get started:

 

  • In the _admin Create a Site asset at the root of the asset map.
  • Configure the URL on the URLs screen.
  • Create a new Standard Page as a child of the site, then set it as the Index on the Details screen of the Site asset.

 

Next you are going to need to learn about Designs. This is the really powerful design tags that let you build things like menus, breadcrumb trails, nested content, etc etc. http://manuals.matrix.squizsuite.net/designs/chapters/steps-to-creating-a-design  

Example Design Parse File: http://manuals.matrix.squizsuite.net/designs/appendices/appendix-example-parse-file

 

  • Create a new Design asset in your Designs folder.
  • Use the Example Design Parse File and edit the parse file of your Design that you created and paste in that example code.
  • Next, go to the Settings Screen of your Site asset, and apply your newly created Design as a New design.

 

Once you do that you can Preview your homepage and you should see something.

 

Let me know how it goes.

(Andrew Losik) #3

Thanks for the quick reply Nic, I'll let you know how I go.

 

-Andy.