Hello Again Everybody,

As I mentioned last week, I've been working on some big new features for Conversant. Specifically, some wizards that should make it very easy to share "look and feel," and features, between different Conversant sites.

The first wizard, called Pattern Maker, creates an XML file (called a pattern) based on your site. You tell it which items to put in, it spits out a file called "pattern.xml". It can include anything from a single template to an entire site configuration with pages, folders, templates, stylesheets, javascripts, and resources.

The second wizard, just released this evening, is called Pattern Installer. It's the opposite of the first wizard. You provide it a pattern.xml file created by you or someone else, and choose which items to install. It warns you of 'conflicts' between items in the pattern and items already in your site, and lets you choose how to deal with them. Then, it reconfigures your site based on what you've selected from the pattern file.

There's still more to come, but these are the biggest and most important parts.

Please note that it's still all in beta. We really need everybody to test (and play with) these features. Let us know what works, what's broken, what's missing, and what you love or hate about it.

If you find a problem, please PLEASE PLEASE report it (here)! Include all the information you think might be pertinent. If you found the problem while trying to install a pattern, please include the pattern file as an attachment (enclosure) to your bug report.

Did I mention that we need feedback on this system? We do. Please test it and let us know what you think and what you find.

Thanks!

Seth