Thread

Does EE have the ability to manage data graphics like the one on this blog easily?

http://www.tickerville.com/

Hi Saxi,

I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to. Tickerville.com is an EE powered site I believe but EE doesn’t generate those graphics for them. Mostly like those are just embedded movie links or regular image files, but I don’t know for sure what they are doing behind-the-scenes. 

I honestly don’t know what you mean by “manage data graphics”. If you can elaborate on that more I can provide a better answer.

Hi Saxi,

I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to. Tickerville.com is an EE powered site I believe but EE doesn’t generate those graphics for them. Mostly like those are just embedded movie links or regular image files, but I don’t know for sure what they are doing behind-the-scenes. 

I honestly don’t know what you mean by “manage data graphics”. If you can elaborate on that more I can provide a better answer.

Basically I would like the date images created for new blog posts automatically without having to make them per post, see example:

Date Image

Hi Saxi,

When you’ve been in this business as long as I have its easy to overcomplicate things! That’s exactly what I did when reading your post.

You can certainly replicate what Tickerville is doing with “date images” but it has very little to do with EE. Tickerville’s “date images” aren’t really images but finely coded combo of HTML, CSS, and a background image. Once its setup you don’t have to worry about it but its not a feature of EE its just a great design by whoever put that site together.

Yes, the credit to Tickerville goes to Sam Wilson of Story Pixel.  I assisted with some of that site and we simply used the Date Variables that are native to Expression Engine.

Simply design a background for the date and place it as a background of an HTML ‘container’ with CSS.  Inside of your HTML ‘container,’ put EE’s month and day variable and style it accordingly with your CSS.  Once it’s setup, EE does handle the automatic generation of the necessary elements.

What about a site like this, it is definitely not using CSS to do them.
I assume they are making it for every post specifically?

EDITED (Added Link) http://www.gocm.org/events

What site are you referring to?  ...“this” as in EE’s forums?

EE’s Date Variables are automated when you make an entry.  EE handles the data, CSS is used for the presentation and HTML is used for structure.  Make sense?

Yes, I do understand how that works, I understand how Tickerville does it, but the one that gocm.org uses is not using CSS at all.

There are multiple ways to dynamically generate graphics on the fly with photoshop.  I’m sure you can even automate getting those images posted on your website, but I doubt it’s what they are doing or even a desirable process to uncover.  I don’t know of a server solution although there might be one.  Having said that, I’d guess they are doing it manually.  Personally, I prefer the EE/CSS/HTML solution.

Hi Saxi,

Again, image generation is not a feature of EE. EE can supply the appropriate posting date (or whatever date might be needed) dynamically to the solution you choose to generate a fancy “date image”. There are javascript solutions, HTML+CSS solutions, php solutions, etc… basically EE will supply data, not design.