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Frequently Asked Questions
#1
Hi all,

I'm searching for a basic, but admin-heavy, FAQ system. I know mikeh and mvlcek have put some effort into plugins, as seen at this thread, but I'm looking for a bit more:
  • Admin: Add/edit/delete all questions, answers and categories/subcategories similar to pages (or i18n pages)
  • Admin: Use hierarchical categories and orders for all questions using lists
  • Main FAQ page: List all questions by category in one long list with category index at top (linked using anchors)
  • Sidebar: List questions and snippit of answer based on category, with link for more (to FAQ page)

So, for example, if i run a pet store and I have a page about cats, i could simply type {% faqs_on("cats") %} or something similar. Questions would then show up in the sidebar like so:

Quote:FAQs
1. Do I own a cat?
Possibly, but only you would...
2. How much is a cat?
About $3.00 per pound...
3. Is this a question?
Is this an answer? Sure...

Clicking on any of the questions will lead them to the main FAQ page, and to the question's anchor. To develop it more, there could be the option to display a tool-tip pop-up on a sidebar component.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
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#2
benrusso Wrote:Hi all,

I'm searching for a basic, but admin-heavy, FAQ system. I know mikeh and mvlcek have put some effort into plugins, as seen at this thread, but I'm looking for a bit more:
  • Admin: Add/edit/delete all questions, answers and categories/subcategories similar to pages (or i18n pages)
  • Admin: Use hierarchical categories and orders for all questions using lists
  • Main FAQ page: List all questions by category in one long list with category index at top (linked using anchors)
  • Sidebar: List questions and snippit of answer based on category, with link for more (to FAQ page)

So, for example, if i run a pet store and I have a page about cats, i could simply type {% faqs_on("cats") %} or something similar. Questions would then show up in the sidebar like so:

Quote:FAQs
1. Do I own a cat?
Possibly, but only you would...
2. How much is a cat?
About $3.00 per pound...
3. Is this a question?
Is this an answer? Sure...

Clicking on any of the questions will lead them to the main FAQ page, and to the question's anchor. To develop it more, there could be the option to display a tool-tip pop-up on a sidebar component.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

I think most of this can be accomplished with the Items Manager.
Although it might be a little over-complicated for just faq.
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#3
Thanks mikeh.

I agree - the Items Manager is a bit complicated for what I need, but it's a start. With some tweaking, I can probably simplify it to a basic Q & A. (I'd normally leave it as is out of laziness, but I can see a client messing this up somehow...

Cheers!
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#4
benrusso Wrote:Thanks mikeh.

I agree - the Items Manager is a bit complicated for what I need, but it's a start. With some tweaking, I can probably simplify it to a basic Q & A. (I'd normally leave it as is out of laziness, but I can see a client messing this up somehow...

Cheers!

If you did end up using the items manager, let me know and I can give you a snippet of code that can be used along with the multi user plugin to block him out of the more advanced areas of the items manager.
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#5
I am starting on the FAQ plugin now. I have about 6 hours of free time today but if I cannot finish it in that time i do not have more free time for 4-5 days. So no promises Smile
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#6
Oh! Wow! Ok, well, I can wait and see what you come up with then. No rush.

If it matches what I was talking about at the start of this thread, I'll be very impressed and grateful.

Thanks!

And thanks to everyone who codes for GetSimple in their free time. It makes my job easier, and my non-profit employer impressed with the price tag.
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#7
benrusso Wrote:Oh! Wow! Ok, well, I can wait and see what you come up with then. No rush.

If it matches what I was talking about at the start of this thread, I'll be very impressed and grateful.

Thanks!

And thanks to everyone who codes for GetSimple in their free time. It makes my job easier, and my non-profit employer impressed with the price tag.
I have the entire admin portion of the plugin done.
I should have the front end functions done and the plugin ready to go in a couple hours.

Edit: version 1.0 will not have subcategories.
Please elaborate on the following:
benrusso Wrote:Sidebar: List questions and snippit of answer based on category, with link for more (to FAQ page)
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#8
In the below webpage, right after the title and before the content is the returned list of FAQ:
http://michaelhenken.com/plugin_tests/FAQ/1.0/

As you see its in lists as you requested.

Code:
<ul>
    <li>Category 1 Name
          <ul>
                <li>Test Question 1 C1
                     <ul>
                          <li>Test Answer 1 C1</li>
                     </ul>
                </li>
          </ul>
     </li>
</ul>
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#9
In the below webpage, right after the title and before the content is the returned list of FAQ:
http://michaelhenken.com/plugin_tests/FAQ/1.0/

As you see its in lists as you requested.

Code:
<ul>
    <li>Category 1 Name
          <ul>
                <li>Test Question 1 C1
                     <ul>
                          <li>Test Answer 1 C1</li>
                     </ul>
                </li>
          </ul>
     </li>
</ul>

Do you think it is neccesary to include a "settings" tab in the plugin where you would get to choose the formatting yourself?
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#10
mikeh Wrote:Please elaborate on the following:
benrusso Wrote:Sidebar: List questions and snippit of answer based on category, with link for more (to FAQ page)

See the example above where it only shows the first few words of each answer.

The idea is that I will eventually have a huge library of questions, and each grouping or category will relate to a page. As such, each relevant page would automatically (or as a component) have that group listed in its sidebar in short form - ie, with a "snippit" of each answer. All questions, regardless of where they're listed, should be linked to an anchor on the main FAQ page AND/OR a tool-tip will show up with the full answer on the current page.

That's the basics of it. I'm sure it can all be expanded into options and customization and such.

I thought having an additional "page reference" field would help out if the FAQ system was automated, but that may be a nightmare if pages start moving around and slugs start changing.
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#11
benrusso Wrote:
mikeh Wrote:Please elaborate on the following:
benrusso Wrote:Sidebar: List questions and snippit of answer based on category, with link for more (to FAQ page)

See the example above where it only shows the first few words of each answer.

The idea is that I will eventually have a huge library of questions, and each grouping or category will relate to a page. As such, each relevant page would automatically (or as a component) have that group listed in its sidebar in short form - ie, with a "snippit" of each answer. All questions, regardless of where they're listed, should be linked to an anchor on the main FAQ page AND/OR a tool-tip will show up with the full answer on the current page.

That's the basics of it. I'm sure it can all be expanded into options and customization and such.

I thought having an additional "page reference" field would help out if the FAQ system was automated, but that may be a nightmare if pages start moving around and slugs start changing.

Great ideas. This plugin will defintily be a work in progress but I should have everything but the automation done today.

In terms of automation:
On the add/edit category screen maybe there could be a dropdown box or multi select box next to the category name where you could choose which pages to automatically display the category content in?

Edit: In about 20 minutes I am going to post the plugin for your testing so you can provide me with further suggestions and details.
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#12
Here is the first draft (attached).
Please try it out and let me know if you come to any errors or it is not what you were looking for.

I would not add all your F.A.Qs for your clients with this first draft. Its possible something might go wrong that wipes the xml file clean and then you would lose them all.
Just let me know what your results are.
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#13
mikeh Wrote:Here is the first draft (attached).
Please try it out and let me know if you come to any errors or it is not what you were looking for.
To edit an already created category, just go to "Categories" in the FAQ plugin and double click on a category name. It will switch the name to an input field (kind of like mvlcek's navigation sorter).
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#14
This is almost exactly what I need. It's simple, user-friendly on the admin, and very basic in presentation. I like how everything is spit out as a list with no bells or whistles, leaving it all for CSS to pick up. I can't see any bugs in it (since it's so gloriously basic), but maybe a couple of improvements:
  • Ordering questions and categories. (Would it be hard to install a jquery drag-n-drop or some other ordering technique?)
  • Labeling/Naming each question. Automatically, maybe (ie, cat1, cat2, q1, q2)?. This could open up possibilities for tool-tips or FAQ navigation.
  • WYSIWYG editor. The code attempts something, but I haven't read through it to see what's happening. Maybe that's the one bug I found...
  • Index for the unfiltered getFAQ function (ie, the main FAQ page). This is where the label/name anchors could come in handy for each question.

See something like www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html to see where I'm headed with the index/anchors thing.

Thanks again.
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#15
benrusso Wrote:This is almost exactly what I need. It's simple, user-friendly on the admin, and very basic in presentation. I like how everything is spit out as a list with no bells or whistles, leaving it all for CSS to pick up. I can't see any bugs in it (since it's so gloriously basic), but maybe a couple of improvements:
  • Ordering questions and categories. (Would it be hard to install a jquery drag-n-drop or some other ordering technique?)
  • Labeling/Naming each question. Automatically, maybe (ie, cat1, cat2, q1, q2)?. This could open up possibilities for tool-tips or FAQ navigation.
  • WYSIWYG editor. The code attempts something, but I haven't read through it to see what's happening. Maybe that's the one bug I found...
  • Index for the unfiltered getFAQ function (ie, the main FAQ page). This is where the label/name anchors could come in handy for each question.

See something like www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html to see where I'm headed with the index/anchors thing.

Thanks again.

No problem, I am glad it is going to work for you.
* I can work on 1-2 for version 1.2.
* The new version should have the WYSIWYG editor working fine.

I uploaded this to the extend as a plugin, so you can get version 1.2 from there.
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#16
I just realized I didn't read the messages above the download. Yes, a settings page would be an added bonus, especially if there were separate settings for a main page (unfiltered getFAQ) or a sidebar component (getFAQ(category)). Thanks!
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#17
I just found one small bug. The getFAQ function will overpower any other element in its space. See example:
Code:
<!-- SIDEBAR -->

{% sidebar_component %}

<P> paragraph </P>

<P> paragraph </P>

{$ This_FAQ_Area $}

The FAQ call will supersede any other code written before it and will display itself first.
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#18
benrusso Wrote:I just found one small bug. The getFAQ function will overpower any other element in its space. See example:
Code:
<!-- SIDEBAR -->

{% sidebar_component %}

<P> paragraph </P>

<P> paragraph </P>

{$ This_FAQ_Area $}
The FAQ call will supersede any other code written before it and will display itself first.

This is fixed in version 1.1 which is in extend.
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