Hi all I have read an updated version of the NEW package actions in V4 of Umbraco.

Read the PDF here - http://umbraco.us/media/1534/packageactions.pdf

Here are some of my suggestions that I would like to see:

1. Creating NEW dataTypes
   Eg: Create a dropdown list dataType with pre-populated values
   
   
2. Append NEW dataTypes to existing documentTypes
   
   
3. Set default values for the new dataTypes to the documentTypes
   
   
4. Create an entry in the XML file to register a XSLT Extension
   

Does anyone else have any suggestions for package actions to make your life easier?

Warren

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Warren Buckley an Umbraco MVP 08-09 & level 1 certified developer

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Ruben for media would it be add new mediaTypes in the Settings section and files into the media section?

As files can kinda be added to the media section manually in the package.xml but they don't show up in the media content tree though :|

Warren

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Warren Buckley an Umbraco MVP 08-09 & level 1 certified developer

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Adding items to config files + datatypes are a great ideas which should be added. Keep 'em coming - for nothing then for 4.1

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Jeeeez, did I really start this :-)
Founder of the Umbraco project

Umbraco 4 is feature closed, so anything that's too complex won't make it for 4. On the other hand, one don't really want to have multiple package formats so I think we'll stretch this one so 4.0 will support as much as possible. No rules without exceptions.

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Jeeeez, did I really start this :-)
Founder of the Umbraco project

I agree, these would be very helpful features for v4 packages. I've needed these abilities and have had to write custom installers, which I'm not very good at and are not as transparent to the end users. I think that if more can be in the package.xml file without needing custom installers then it would be easier for people to make packages for umbraco, which would encourage people to make more packages.

Some of these features might be done with package actions, but perhaps some would be built-in to the package.xml format itself without needing an 'action'. Not sure if that would make things easier or not from a dev perspective, but it might.

Thinking out loud to keep the conversation and ideas flowing...

Suppose the package.xml format enforced an order to the items being created. DataTypes would be first to be created (if any were noted in the package.xml file). Then DocTypes, then Media (put in the media tree, optionally), then Macros, then Templates, then Content and any other files. Or some other logical sequence that allows one thing to be built before the next thing tries to make a reference to it (datatypes before doctypes, for instance).

The xml for a datatype based on a built-in type might be something like:


It might even be possible to handle custom datatypes?:

I'm not sure about the <Params> bit, but maybe that would be useful for some?

Once data types are created, it could then be easy to add them to the doc types, as usual:

The only difference is that the <Type> is a string rather than a GUID.

That's enough for one post on this.

My point is two-fold... to encourage a fully robust package format that minimizes the need for custom installers, and to open the idea that perhaps the package.xml format itself might handle some of the work rather than adding more 'actions', if that makes it easier to develop and more likely to get into v4, even at this late date.

cheers,
doug.

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MVP 2007-2009 - Percipient Studios - Percipient Blog

I'm not a core dev either, so maybe my idea isn't a good one for some reason. I just wanted to give another idea of how this might be done, in case it were easier to do it one way than the other.

Looking forward to having full package capability in v4!!

cheers,
doug.

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MVP 2007-2009 - Percipient Studios - Percipient Blog

Thanks for the update and glad to see this has been picked up by the core team to look at.

Warren :)

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Warren Buckley an Umbraco MVP 08-09 & level 1 certified developer

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It's integrated in v4, so should be somewhere in the v4 sourcecode

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Umbraco tips and tricks: http://www.nibble.be - umbraco mvp 08/09 - certified level 1 & 2 professional

Hiya,
Tim/Niels do i need to submit this as a feature request on codeplex for someone from the core team to look at it and pick the work up?

Warren

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Warren Buckley an Umbraco MVP 08-09 & level 1 certified developer

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Just to make things clear in my mind, are Per's PDF list of Package Actions the definitive list of commands that are available in v4.0? Or have any other actions been added since the PDF was written and v4 was released.

I'm in the process of creating some new design template packages that sit over the Runway document types/macros. What I'd like to do is edit the Allowed Templates section of an existing Document Type, to add in my new templates but I don't know how to do this from a Package.