What's new in Mys v1.3.4: Customizable Widget System

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In Mys v1.3.3 I have introduced a new module system that allows users to add modules to sidebar. However, this is just the very first step towards a fully customizable widget system. In Mys v1.3.4, the Widget System is close to completion. You can play with more than just modules in the sidebar alone, instead you can add modules to all widgets or even create your own widgets(such as a right-sidebar or your own customized navtabs/menu). Wanna see how it works in action? Then follow me on this blogpost and you will see how the Widget systems in action.


To begin with, we want to play with the Widget ACP to see how it is different from the Module System in Mys v1.3.3. As the screenshot below demonstrates, there is now a new ACP section called 'Widget'. You may recall from Mys v1.3.3, in which you can only view a list of Widget from ACP for Modules but cannot apply CRUD operations on them.
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This time, however, you have full control over all site widgets in your system. The five built-in Widgets are Header, Document, Menu, Sidebar and Footer, I strongly recommend not to mess up with the Header and Document though if you decide to edit or delete some of these built-in widgets. All widgets are available in the template file .tpl immediately, you can refer to them as $widget($header and $document for instance).
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Moreover, you can create your own widgets. Notice the widget called 'Statistics' in the above screenshot? You get it, it is a user-defined widget not bundled with Mysidia Adoptable's core script. It is quite easy to add a new widget to your system. Just go to the right link and enter some fields in the widget form, nothing complicated I assure. Note the controller field has three possible options for you to chooce, main => site-only widget, admincp => ACP-only widget, all => available-everywhere widget.
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With the new Widget system, the module system also receives a tiny bit of modification. You can now select more than 'sidebar' as the containing Widget for a module you create/edit, they can be placed in the footer or any custom widget you add to your site. Now I am trying to create a new module called 'Affiliates', its position will be at the bottom of site footer:
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And of course it works! What else were you expecting anyway? Now you believe me that site modules can be placed in more than just one sidebar widget?
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Adding modules to custom widgets is easy too, although it can be a bit tricky where you want to display the widgets in the template file. It wont look too pretty unless you also modify the css of your theme, but still I will give an example of how custom widgets can be displayed on your site. Below is a screenshot for the statistics widget located at the right-sidebar. It seems to have messed up the site banner's location a little bit, thats why I say play with the css if you decide to create custom widgets. You can view the source of the page to find out the div id or class of the widget.
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In Mys v1.3.4 the Customizable Widget System is almost completed and will only receive minor upgrade in future versions. Again it is aimed at giving admins more flexibility to control their site content. You do not have to use it to build a successful adoptables site, but playing with it may help you create a more unique-looking site. Wanna try getting rid of the standard dropdown menu and add a new navtabs/menu of your own? You are free to do this, although it may not be an easy task.

With the trade system and customizable widget system completed, The very last new feature of Mys v1.3.4 will be an improved adoptables level management system. It is not expected to take longer than a day, so the beta version of Mys v1.3.4 will be available very soon. I will run beta test for about 1-3 days and then announce the official release of Mys v1.3.4. It will also fix some infamous glitches from Mys v1.3.3, and will likely to be the last stable release for Mys v1.3.x as development will shift completely to Mys v1.4.0 after Mys v1.3.4 is released. Until then, please keep following my blogpost and you will find out more about what's going on with Mysidia adoptables. Have a great weekend, everyone.

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