Better workflow for core teasers

subscribing. we might want to do some research on this to see how other platforms (e.g. WordPress, Joomla!) handle this.

Subscribing too. The teaser is one of the most important, if not the most important asset of a content management system. There's a community aspect to many CMS, but mainly, these systems manage... content. The way that Drupal works, a page becomes the FULL content of ONE article (on page q=node/x). On every other page, you will see USUALLY the nodes in their teaser view. And in my opinion we should have minimal control over what that teaser will be.

There are two main weaknesses about the teaser in Drupal core. And the HTLM comment <!--break--> is not one of them.

1. It seems like such a limitation to have a teaser be defined in core as "the beginning MARKUP up to markup character x".

   There should be IN CORE a way to make a teaser be what it really is, semantically-speaking : something that will grab your interest and make you want to read the FULL thing. It can be a summary, it can be the beginning sentences WITHOUT the picture that finds itself in the markup. It can be the beginning with the first image that finds itself in the markup but in a thumbnail format. So there should be, at minimum, the possibility for an added textarea for the teaser.

   This added field could be turned on and off. And all the presentation of this part of the node form could be customized in the administrator control panel. Misty's detailed recommendation is simple enough yet complete and flexible and I totally support it.

2. ALSO, I think that it's about time that a readmore link INLINE with the teaser becomes an optional admininstrator setting as well.

   Just like we can set in the administrator control panel the length used to chop off a content to make a teaser automatically, we should in my opinion add the option to add a read more LINK, inline with the teaser, when the teaser differs from the content. It is not obvious at all that there is something more to read, from a "read more" link that finds itself separate from the text. It is a very significant improvement in usabiliy to know right off from reading text and coming to the end of it, that there is more to read.

   I am aware that much can be done in the node template, but placing a link INLINE with the teaser is not easy because it requires to modify the teaser.

   There is a contributed module that does that, and does it poorly in my opinion (at best it can). It is functional but bloated (to no fault of the module's maintainer). It uses all of this code to add a simple link inline, a functionality that requires ONE LINE of code change in core (minus the admin settings), and I will come to this next :

   From ed_readmore.module (only an excerpt!) :

   /**
    *
    * Fix "read more" flag
    * From the most excellent angry donuts site: http://www.angrydonuts.com/the_nuisance_of_the_read_more_fl
    * From author: Note that I'm using a lot of arguments to l() -- I'm telling it to provide an 'absolute' 
    * path, because these teasers often go out to RSS, and providing an absolute path is much, much safer.
    */ 
   function ed_readmore_nodeapi(&$node, $op, $teaser, $page) {
     if ($op == 'view') {
       if (variable_get('ed_readmore_readmore_tweak', ED_READMORE_READMORE_TWEAK_DEFAULT) && $teaser && $node->readmore) {
         // deal with broken strrpos on php4
         if (_ed_readmore_is_php4()) {
           $find_last = '_ed_readmore_strrpos_string';
         }
         else {
           $find_last = 'strrpos';
         }
         $readmore_url = l(variable_get('ed_readmore_text', t(ED_READMORE_TEXT_DEFAULT)), "node/$node->nid", NULL, NULL, NULL, TRUE, TRUE);
         $node->readmore = false;
         //
         // since we are blowing away some of the implicit info ($node->readmore) let's remember that this was a teaser
         $node->is_teaser = TRUE;
         if (variable_get('ed_readmore_readmore_inline', ED_READMORE_READMORE_INLINE_DEFAULT)) {
           $read_more = "<span class='read-more'>" . $readmore_url . "</span>";
           // int strrpos ( string haystack, string needle [, int offset] )
           // substr_replace ( mixed string, string replacement, int start [, int length] )
           $marker_to_insert_at = '</p>';
           $final_p_pos = $find_last($node->teaser, $marker_to_insert_at); // php4 gotcha - will search only for first char of marker!  (supports only single char search)
           if (!($final_p_pos ===FALSE)) {
             $node->teaser = substr_replace($node->teaser, $read_more, $final_p_pos, 0); // account for length of </p> string
           } else {
             $node->teaser .= $read_more; // not found, so just append it
           }
         }
         else { // just add it at the bottom of the teaser, please.
           $node->teaser .= "<div class='read-more'>" . $readmore_url . "</div>";
         }
       }
     }
   
   }
   
   ###################################################
   #
   # DESCRIPTION:
   # This function returns the last occurance of a string,
   # rather than the last occurance of a single character like
   # strrpos does. It also supports an offset from where to
   # start the searching in the haystack string.
   #
   # ARGS:
   # $haystack (required) -- the string to search upon
   # $needle (required) -- the string you are looking for
   # $offset (optional) -- the offset to start from
   #
   # RETURN VALS:
   # returns integer on success
   # returns false on failure to find the string at all
   #
   # lifted from http://us3.php.net/manual/en/function.strrpos.php#67559
   #
   ###################################################
   
   function _ed_readmore_strrpos_string($haystack, $needle, $offset = 0) {
     if(trim($haystack) != "" && trim($needle) != "" && $offset <= strlen($haystack)) {
       $last_pos = $offset;
       $found = false;
       while(($curr_pos = strpos($haystack, $needle, $last_pos)) !== false) {
         $found = true;
         $last_pos = $curr_pos + 1;
       }
       if($found) {
         return $last_pos - 1;
       }
       else {
         return false;
       }
     }
     else {
       return false;
     }
   }
   

   Wereas all that is required in core is ONE line changed in node.module in the function node_prepare() :

   function node_prepare($node, $teaser = FALSE) {
     $node->readmore = (strlen($node->teaser) < strlen($node->body));
     if ($teaser == FALSE) {
       $node->body = check_markup($node->body, $node->format, FALSE);
     }
     else {
       // Code modification BEGINNING
     if ($node->readmore) {
       $node->teaser .= '&nbsp;' .  
             l(t('Read&nbsp;more&nbsp;&rarr;'), 
             "node/$node->nid", 
             array('class' => 'read-more', 'title' => t('Read the rest of this posting'))
             ); 
      } 
      // END OF MODIFICATION
       $node->teaser = check_markup($node->teaser, $node->format, FALSE);
     }
     return $node;
   }
   

   On the next line (next to the modification), the existing call to check_markup takes care of adding the ending </p> or </div> (or whatever) to make the HTML of the teaser correct and valid, if such tag is necessary.

Caroline
A coder's guide to file download in Drupal
Who am I | Where are we
11 heavens

Misty, excellent title for this feature request : workflow.

I have a WordPress blog at wordpress.com.

The Excerpt is not the same as the Teaser, in WordPress :

An excerpt is a condensed description of your blog post and refers to the summary entered in the Excerpt field of the Write Post SubPanel (see Advanced Editing). The excerpt is used to describe your post in RSS feeds and is typically used in displaying search results. The excerpt is sometimes used in displaying the Archives and Category views of your posts. The Template Tag the_excerpt() can be used to access the contents of this field.

An excerpt should not be confused with the teaser which refers to the first few sentences or paragraphs of a post. When typing a long post you can insert the <!--more--> Quicktag after a few sentences to act as a cut-off point. When the post is displayed, the teaser, followed by a hyperlink (such as Read the rest of this entry...), are displayed. Your visitor can then click on that link to see the full version of your post. The Template Tag the_content() can be used to display the teaser.

It's a little unfair to Drupal to compare Wordpress and Drupal because Wordpress comes in core with its own stable WYSIWYG editor. Hence you can include the <!--more--> 'quicktag' by putting your cursor at your breakpoint and clicking on a cute little icon. OR, alternatively, you can edit your content in the HTML window, accessible through a tab, where you can write down your comment just like we do in Drupal.

The differences between Drupal and WordPress in the HTML view is that Drupal uses <!--break-->, while Wordpress uses <!--more--> and Wordpress creates a readmore link at the place where we have defined our break. (See my request for an inline readmore link, like it's done in Wordpress, for Drupal, above).

By default, we have a readmore link like that in WordPress when the teaser is displayed :

After he said all that he had to say, I told him that he should get moving or I'd be on him like a limpet. He looked at me with shock on his face and said more...

'Split post with More tag (Alt-t)' is the title of the cute little icon in the WYSIWYG window in WordPress.
It adds a line INSIDE the WYSIWYG window between the teaser and the rest of the content. It does not split the window into 2 windows (FYI, I am not saying that this is the best solution).

Underneath... there is a collapsible field for the optional Excerpt.

End of Wordpress review for me.

To me WP approach is not at all suitable.

For me neither. It limits what the teaser can be, considerably.

The community at Wordpress probably realized that limitation and tried to fix it with the Excerpt. The Excerpt is a relatively new widget at wordpress.com. I don't know how long it's been made available in the version of wordpress one can download from wordpress.org. But I know it's relatively new at Wordpress dot COM.

The Teaser and the Excerpt should be one and the same thing.

The readmore link is a fine thing, though, that should become an option in Drupal core (it is a default in Wordpress). I mean by this that : it should become a checkable option on the teaser configuration page in the Administration Panel.

if ($node->readmore && !empty(variable_get('read_more_link', '')) {
    $node->teaser .= ' ' . 
          l(variable_get('read_more_link', ''),
          "node/$node->nid",
          array('class' => 'read-more', 'title' => t('Read the rest of this posting'))
          );
   } 

Subscribing. While I understand the urgency and great need for this, please refrain from double posting. Lets stop posting on http://drupal.org/node/133702 and concentrate on this thread.

Since this is talking about a new concept, we need to prototype it from a usability stand point. Anyone wants to generate some screenshots so everybody is 100% clear on what this issue is about?

It's Webchick who asked misty to open this new issue (http://drupal.org/node/107061) if he 'felt strongly about it'.

Webchick says :

@misty, I could see that being a useful contributed module like "SuperTeaser" or something... but our goal in core is actually to provide *fewer* configuration options, and instead satisfy the "90% case" -- meaning that 90% of sites out there are going to want functionality like X, and if they want anything over and above that, they should turn to a contributed module. [...]

What I'd say is that if you feel strongly that such configuration should be included, you should go to http://drupal.org/node/add/project-issue/drupal and create another feature request for it... maybe something like "add more robust teaser configuration options," and include your synopsis as well as any other evidence you can cite (how other CMSes are handling this, etc.) to support your idea.

However, this issue isn't about changing the way teasers work [...] So let's break your idea into a separate feature request, and discuss it over there, and leave this one just to the new interface.

That's the context.

Now I think that Webchick has given us a strong clue here : it's not in the Drupal deciders' agenda to add options to the teaser ('our goal in core is actually to provide *fewer* configuration options').

I was willing to give some time to this most likely lost cause. I provided the information that Webchick requested.

Now unless core developers pay attention to this thread, my friendly recommendation to all of you is not to waste too much energy and time on this.

@Chill35, don't be so negative. Although this is considered a feature request, its not too long before its tagged as a usability bug.

@misty3, great I look forward to those screenshots. Hopefully they'll capture the attention of all concerned.

I think that what we have here is good, Misty.

Fields that are irrelevant to a selected option could be disabled (it's hard to show like that on a screenshot).

Also, if we want an inline read more link, I think it's swell to do it that way. In core, the text would be translatable, i.e. would use the t() function. Hence, one could change the text for that inline link.

My 'read more link inline with teaser' hack in core wasn't very good, because it didn't produce a URL. It's important to produce a URL, i.e. a link that starts with http://mySite.com/, because teasers are displayed in feeds.

Here's my new hack :

In modules/node/node.module, find the node_prepare() definition.

function node_prepare($node, $teaser = FALSE) {
  // First we'll overwrite the existing node teaser and body with
  // the filtered copies! Then, we'll stick those into the content
  // array and set the read more flag if appropriate.
  $node->readmore = (strlen($node->teaser) < strlen($node->body));

  if ($teaser == FALSE) {
    $node->body = check_markup($node->body, $node->format, FALSE);
  }
  else {
    /* Beginning of hack -- modified by Caroline */
    if($node->readmore) {
      $node->teaser .= '&nbsp;'. l(t('Read&nbsp;more&nbsp;&rarr;'),  'node/' . $node->nid, array('class' => 'thereIsMoreToRead', 'title' => 'Read the rest of this posting.'), NULL, NULL, TRUE, TRUE);
    }
    /* End of hack */
    $node->teaser = check_markup($node->teaser, $node->format, FALSE);
  }

  $node->content['body'] = array(
    '#value' => $teaser ? $node->teaser : $node->body,
    '#weight' => 0,
  );

  return $node;
}

Notes (for drupal hackers) :

1. The read more link is a URL that points to the alias as in http://website.com/my-article-about-my-trip

2. Replace the class and title attributes with what you want. The title attribute Read the rest of this posting. is what's used in English by default for the read more link that's with the other $links.

3. Replace the displayed text with your own text. (By the way, the following entity, → is an arrow : →). Use 'FALSE' as last argument for the l(), as I have done above, so that entities are displayed. Otherwise, you'll get something like Read more → instead of Read more →.

4. Don't forget that you'll also have a read more link with your other links, that links to your full post. You can get rid of that other link of course, and there are many ways to do that. (But you don't have to.)

Caroline
11 heavens

misty3, thanks for wipping the screenshot (#13). Some of the proposals here are rather radical and from experience, it'll definately stop it from going to core. I don't see why we can't extend and compliment the existing Drupal workflows. I'll wip up my own screenshots if this post is not clear enough unless misty3 decides to update hers.

Here's my feedback on the screenshot:
1) Default options: This needs to go into the Admin > Content > Content Type: Workflows fieldset and defined as a checkbox for enabling/disabling teasers on a content type basis.

2) If teaser textarea is enabled: This is cruft and not necessary. But this will be irrelevant if CCK hits core.

3) Collapse teaser textarea: same as 2.

4) Thumbnail picture enabled with teaser: same as 2 and maybe should stay as a contrib module.

5) Read more link inline with teaser: yes this is needed, but it's template specific. My gut feeling is this should live in the Global theme settings page.

6) If teaser textarea is empty: Steven's committed patch already takes care of this now. Alternatively if CCK hits core, one can specify a minimum word count therefore making teasers compulsory. Then again, if we're specifying all this by content type then why would we reach such condition?

7) How many words..: Same as 6. However, we already have an option in Admin > Content > Post Settings to specify a global teaser size. IMO, this should be broken down into per content type there.

8) Show teaser on specific pages: Same as 1. If we have teasers per content types then why the need to do url targetting? For any other complex needs, views.module is your friend.

So all in all, there's not a single page to handle all teaser functionality, it's spread out and each part lives in its corresponding zone where it belong.

Feedback welcome.

Subscribing.

What's the current status of this feature request? Since it didn't make it into D6, my guess is that no one actually picked this up, technically, that is...

Subscribing and also curious about current status.

(Right now I'm debugging the interaction of excerpt and ed_readmore modules on D5.x)

I think we could provide a bit of configuration in core - at least 1. no split 2. teaser splitter jQuery widget like now 3. hard split (maybe with the summary checkbox) - I currently do 3. with a cck field on one site because getting people to write a two sentence summary was impossible otherwise.

This is likely to be something that comes up if the 'body' field becomes implemented via field.module as well - or at least, if it is, then we'd want to make sure that an implementation could handle some of these different use cases.

subscribing

subscribing

Subscribing

sub

It looks like this feature request died somewhere around 2008. I'm not sure why it's categorized as a bug report.

And the result was a text with summary widget body field, so I'm not sure why this is still open :)