Just purchased contour and I have a few questions....
This is my first post on Umbraco so please be gentle ;)
I have been casually using Umbraco for a few months now and want to harness the power of Umbraco Contour to fulfil the following requirements;
Allow the creation of forms that result in the user being able to download a brochure/file I really want to have the resources uploaded and then linked to a more generic contour form. This is becuase the registration process "should" be identical for all resources except for the resource name/ID which will be used to dictate the resource to be downloaded.
To ensure that only once that user has completed the form can they get the file. I don't want them cutting and pasting the final resource download URL and therefor dissmeniting the valuable resource without requiring others to register. A session variable would be ideal here. I've also thought there must be a way to look up the "approved" users in the entries - however, please remember I am trying to avoid having to create one form for each resource download and I don't want to query entries across the board becuase there may be an adjacent form (a comments system for example).
Now, I honestly have tried to read all the documentation and forums on this great product but am getting completely stuck witha lack of examples or description on how "what I think" the key element function.
The major problems I have are:
Broken export entries (simple) When I click export users (using firefox 3.6) the resultant file is 0 bytes. I have the full license in place and only the most basic forms used in the test. I have also ensure that I am using only very simple character sets in the test form submission data.
I assume that there is probably a simple fix out there that I am probably missing (my appologies if I am being a bit dumb).
How to track a specific value on a generic form (complex) This is where I really get stuck. Utilising the vanilla .net framework I would buzz through this however I really want to use the amazing power of the Umbraco framework. I have read about pre-values and think this may be the key - I just don't understand how to implement them. Furthermore I am not really sure this would solve the challenge of only registering users having access to the specific resource for which the form was completed. I've also thought about the whole hidden form field (via CSS) however this would require a separate form for each resource.
Is this somethign that Contour simply cannot cater ffor without getting down and dirty with .Net or am I missng something very fundamental?
One last note: If there is anyone out there that would be interested in undertaking this work paid - I'd be happy to hear costs :)
1) That could be done by setting up a custom workflow (that redirects to what you want after the form has been submitted)
2) Could also be handled in the workflow / page where you are redirected to
For the broken export, could you give some details on the form / form fields you have settup, currently there is a known issue that the export will fail if a fieldname starts with a number (will be fixed in the next maintenance release).
And for your final question, could you give some mere details what you would like to accomplish?
Custom workflow in order to facilitate secure downloads. I had actually thought about this and implemented it as you describe, however the resulting page that allows a resource are not gate-kept. By Gate-keeping I mean that the page should not be accessible to users who have not completed the related registration page. Is this possible with custom workflow? If so, I am assuming that you may recommend that I use the "Post as xml" functionality to post the the resource download page that checks a session variable (or similar) to ensure the user has completed the form. My problem is that I can't find much documentation or examples on how this "post as xml" functionality works - can you please help in this respect?
With respect to your specific question regarding implementation timeline. I am after a suitable solution A.S.A.P. Like most I am sure that I will be left to juggle deliverables, deliverable time and cost. I hope at this point you can see what I'm after and my hope is that this can be solved by ellabourating on the documentaion for the controls or giving some examples. I am sure this will help other users and the support of Umbraco. If however, this is something custom that I need to pay an expert for - I am willing to do so :-)
Broken entries export with Contour To keep this really simple I performed the following steps:
Installed Contour (no errors encountered - it all installed perfectly)
Recycled App pool and restarted IIS (just incase)
Visited new "Contour" admin section
Create new form with name "test" and template "contact form"
Clicked "save" icon (absolutely no changes made to form at all)
Added a new cms page named "test form page" and subsequently added "test" contour form - save and publish.
Test form - which collects all data perfectly.
Click export entries
Resultant file is 0 bytes in size
Not sure if this helps, but I am using Firefox v3.6 with all plugins disabled. I have also disabled all antivirus utilities (just temporarily of course).
Should I be escalating my enquiry on the "0 byte export" in another fashion?
Even without my more in-depth form integration it would be great if I could export the data too. Please let me know if you requre any additional information from me to help resolve this issue.
My appologies if I am posting in the wrong location.
I have undertaken the following actions to try to fix the export problem
Updated my umbraco instance from 4.0.2.1 to 4.3 (all went smoothly everything still works prefectly
Updated the Contour version from 1.7 to 1.9 (interestingly, I installed v1.7 through the umbraco admin - odd that it didn't pick up the latest v1.9 by default)
After ths updagrades of both Umbraco and the Contour package I restarted everything IISRESET, all internet browsers. I also went onto confirm the export error on multiple workstations and with both IEv8 and FFv3.6.
All of thiswas to no avail and the export still exports with 0 bytes of data. On the bright side I have a completely upgraded system with all of the latest version numbers but, in all honestly, I am a little unhappy now as I don't know where to turn with support for a package I purchased specifically for the export functionality.
Okay - still no reply... but now I have a confirmed and repeatable bug.
The 0 byte Contour Entries Export problem is related to configuring Umbraco in extensionless mode (directoryUrls) - where the .aspx extension is hidden.
When I enable this "feature", via the web.config, everything else seems to work with the exception of the Contour entries export. If I disable this feature I can instantly export entries as per all of the guides and the video.
Now, I havn't had a chance to see exactly why this is the case but I have confirmed this on existing and fresh installs of Umbraco 4.3 on three separate locations - so I'm pretty confident the problem lies in an interop problem between Umbraco, Contour and the Extentionless mode.
Tim >> Can you please confirm this and let me know when you might have a fix, or maintainence release, for this?
Sorry for the lack of response on this one, we are looking into and we will provide a fix for it asap. If you want an email when we have a concrete solution, please email me at pph at umbraco dot org and I'll notify you directly
As I thought I may have posted this issue in the wrong location - I pasted the 0 byte specific part into the bugs section. I hope this is okay and not considered spamming.
The summary of my long winded step-by-step email is that I too am now having difficulty recreating the problem. I will keep my eye on this and come back to you with more detailed information either way.
Just purchased contour and I have a few questions....
This is my first post on Umbraco so please be gentle ;)
I have been casually using Umbraco for a few months now and want to harness the power of Umbraco Contour to fulfil the following requirements;
I really want to have the resources uploaded and then linked to a more generic contour form. This is becuase the registration process "should" be identical for all resources except for the resource name/ID which will be used to dictate the resource to be downloaded.
I don't want them cutting and pasting the final resource download URL and therefor dissmeniting the valuable resource without requiring others to register. A session variable would be ideal here. I've also thought there must be a way to look up the "approved" users in the entries - however, please remember I am trying to avoid having to create one form for each resource download and I don't want to query entries across the board becuase there may be an adjacent form (a comments system for example).
Now, I honestly have tried to read all the documentation and forums on this great product but am getting completely stuck witha lack of examples or description on how "what I think" the key element function.
The major problems I have are:
When I click export users (using firefox 3.6) the resultant file is 0 bytes. I have the full license in place and only the most basic forms used in the test. I have also ensure that I am using only very simple character sets in the test form submission data.
I assume that there is probably a simple fix out there that I am probably missing (my appologies if I am being a bit dumb).
This is where I really get stuck. Utilising the vanilla .net framework I would buzz through this however I really want to use the amazing power of the Umbraco framework. I have read about pre-values and think this may be the key - I just don't understand how to implement them. Furthermore I am not really sure this would solve the challenge of only registering users having access to the specific resource for which the form was completed. I've also thought about the whole hidden form field (via CSS) however this would require a separate form for each resource.
Is this somethign that Contour simply cannot cater ffor without getting down and dirty with .Net or am I missng something very fundamental?
One last note: If there is anyone out there that would be interested in undertaking this work paid - I'd be happy to hear costs :)
Kindest regards + thanks in advance,
David :)
Comment author was deleted
Hi David,
1) That could be done by setting up a custom workflow (that redirects to what you want after the form has been submitted)
2) Could also be handled in the workflow / page where you are redirected to
For the broken export, could you give some details on the form / form fields you have settup, currently there is a known issue that the export will fail if a fieldname starts with a number (will be fixed in the next maintenance release).
And for your final question, could you give some mere details what you would like to accomplish?
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Custom workflow in order to facilitate secure downloads.
I had actually thought about this and implemented it as you describe, however the resulting page that allows a resource are not gate-kept. By Gate-keeping I mean that the page should not be accessible to users who have not completed the related registration page. Is this possible with custom workflow? If so, I am assuming that you may recommend that I use the "Post as xml" functionality to post the the resource download page that checks a session variable (or similar) to ensure the user has completed the form. My problem is that I can't find much documentation or examples on how this "post as xml" functionality works - can you please help in this respect?
With respect to your specific question regarding implementation timeline. I am after a suitable solution A.S.A.P. Like most I am sure that I will be left to juggle deliverables, deliverable time and cost. I hope at this point you can see what I'm after and my hope is that this can be solved by ellabourating on the documentaion for the controls or giving some examples. I am sure this will help other users and the support of Umbraco. If however, this is something custom that I need to pay an expert for - I am willing to do so :-)
Broken entries export with Contour
To keep this really simple I performed the following steps:
Not sure if this helps, but I am using Firefox v3.6 with all plugins disabled. I have also disabled all antivirus utilities (just temporarily of course).
Many thanks in advance,
David :)
Hi Tim,
Should I be escalating my enquiry on the "0 byte export" in another fashion?
Even without my more in-depth form integration it would be great if I could export the data too.
Please let me know if you requre any additional information from me to help resolve this issue.
My appologies if I am posting in the wrong location.
Kind regards,
David
Just to update you all on this thread >>
I have undertaken the following actions to try to fix the export problem
After ths updagrades of both Umbraco and the Contour package I restarted everything IISRESET, all internet browsers. I also went onto confirm the export error on multiple workstations and with both IEv8 and FFv3.6.
All of thiswas to no avail and the export still exports with 0 bytes of data. On the bright side I have a completely upgraded system with all of the latest version numbers but, in all honestly, I am a little unhappy now as I don't know where to turn with support for a package I purchased specifically for the export functionality.
Please help Tim :)
Okay - still no reply... but now I have a confirmed and repeatable bug.
The 0 byte Contour Entries Export problem is related to configuring Umbraco in extensionless mode (directoryUrls) - where the .aspx extension is hidden.
When I enable this "feature", via the web.config, everything else seems to work with the exception of the Contour entries export. If I disable this feature I can instantly export entries as per all of the guides and the video.
Now, I havn't had a chance to see exactly why this is the case but I have confirmed this on existing and fresh installs of Umbraco 4.3 on three separate locations - so I'm pretty confident the problem lies in an interop problem between Umbraco, Contour and the Extentionless mode.
Tim >> Can you please confirm this and let me know when you might have a fix, or maintainence release, for this?
Many thanks in advance,
David :)
Hi David
Sorry for the lack of response on this one, we are looking into and we will provide a fix for it asap. If you want an email when we have a concrete solution, please email me at pph at umbraco dot org and I'll notify you directly
/Per
Awesome - thanks for coming back to me
As I thought I may have posted this issue in the wrong location - I pasted the 0 byte specific part into the bugs section.
I hope this is okay and not considered spamming.
Kind regards,
David
Also, could you check the email I sent to you, got some additional questions in regard to your setup :)
Checked and replied to your email -
The summary of my long winded step-by-step email is that I too am now having difficulty recreating the problem. I will keep my eye on this and come back to you with more detailed information either way.
Thank you again for your support and time :)
Many thanks,
David
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