Thread

A client has an existing private static site that is very, very straightforward, but comprises mostly pages featuring tabular data that is updated daily, sometimes more often.

The client currently uses Contribute to update the site and is delighted with the ease with which Contribute handles this aspect of the job. Raw unformatted Excel tables (which in turn originate from a huge range of sources and which vary in content, scope and categories) are simply copied and pasted into the xhtml page. The table is then selected and a style is applied and - voila - with one click the whole table is beautifully formatted. From beginning to end, each page update takes less than a minute. There is no database involved in the process, the client is simply presenting a range of varying tabular data.

Out of curiosity, I wondered how EE would handle this seemingly mundane and simple task. A quick search found this forum post.

http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/85837/

And then I lost the will to live. Will EE2 be any better?

A client has an existing private static site that is very, very straightforward, but comprises mostly pages featuring tabular data that is updated daily, sometimes more often.

The client currently uses Contribute to update the site and is delighted with the ease with which Contribute handles this aspect of the job. Raw unformatted Excel tables (which in turn originate from a huge range of sources and which vary in content, scope and categories) are simply copied and pasted into the xhtml page. The table is then selected and a style is applied and - voila - with one click the whole table is beautifully formatted. From beginning to end, each page update takes less than a minute. There is no database involved in the process, the client is simply presenting a range of varying tabular data.

Out of curiosity, I wondered how EE would handle this seemingly mundane and simple task. A quick search found this forum post.

http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/85837/

Well as ExpressionEngine is not and has never been touted as being a WYSIWYG type of CMS then this kind of thing is a lot harder to cater for. As ExpressionEngine doesn’t place any hold over the data that you place into it and similarly doesn’t place any restrictions on your designs then this flexibility (which I think is absolutely fantastic) can sometimes mean that certain things can’t be done as easily as some might think it should be. That said usually a compromise can be found.

I have however not come across something which does what you are talking about but that’s not to say that some clever developer couldn’t possibly come up with something that works in that way, I’ve seen it done before in other CMS systems that didn’t have this as a standard option however I wouldn’t expect a feature like that to make its way into ExpressionEngine any time soon because ExpressionEngine is so great at what it does in that it doesn’t tie you down to any one way of working and that’s what makes it (in my eyes) so very powerful.

And then I lost the will to live. Will EE2 be any better?

Well thanks a lot!! You try to help someone and that’s the thanks you get! 😉

Best wishes,

Mark

There’s a plugin called CSVGrab that lets you import rows into a weblog as entries and import specific columns into custom fields or categories.

Well thanks a lot!! You try to help someone and that’s the thanks you get! 😉

Don’t get me wrong, Mark, I’m not dismissive of your (or others) suggestion(s) or your willingness to proffer a workaround, it’s just that compared to the ease with which the current method works, it would appear that when it comes to tabular data, EE has feet of clay.

I know that EE is a complex beast that is capable of wondrous things, but I’m of the view that tabular data is also ‘content’ (as is Flash, video and image) and it is content that needs managing. That’s what content managers are supposed to do, isn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong, Mark, I’m not dismissive of your (or others) suggestion(s) or your willingness to proffer a workaround,

I was jus’ teasing, honest! 😉

it’s just that compared to the ease with which the current method works, it would appear that when it comes to tabular data, EE has feet of clay.

I know that EE is a complex beast that is capable of wondrous things, but I’m of the view that tabular data is also ‘content’ (as is Flash, video and image) and it is content that needs managing. That’s what content managers are supposed to do, isn’t it?

I totally know what you mean but unfortunately no CMS or application can do everything because if it could I for one would definitely high-tail it over to using that application right away 😉

I think there comes a time in all programmes where you will get something that it can’t quite do in the way that you either want or have seen in another programme. That’s just the nature of the beast unfortunately.

ExpressionEngine though is a beast in that it can do most everything and / or you can push it to do them and it does them really really well.

There will at times though be things that it can’t do quite as well as other programmes and yep that is unfortunate but I think you have to weigh up all the pros and cons of a programme and get the best you can and then kind of deal around the rest I’m afraid.

Totally hearing what you’re saying though.

Best wishes,

Mark