phpList 6.x Integration Features
| Project: | phplist Integration Module |
| Version: | 6.x-1.x-dev |
| Component: | User interface |
| Category: | feature request |
| Priority: | normal |
| Assigned: | Jeremy Toaster |
| Status: | active |
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Ok,
After getting it up and running, these are things I was hoping to see from it, but aren't there, but that I think would be very handy to have.
#1. Having the block be able to been shown for all users roles selected that contains a check box list with Newsletter titles next to them. This way, current users can see that a Newsletter exists without having to go into their Profile and Edit it to discover that. I think most users won't find that area of their Profile to Edit and therefor won't ever sign up.
#2. A more in depth and beefy Admin section, which would include synchronization (much like the phpBB module and Gallery2 module) of users, the ability to create new newsletters, add remove users and write / create and send the newsletters from within Drupal. This could probably be done by somehow sending the created newsletter and passing it TO phpList and having it handle the actual sending and distribution. It would just make it easier to be able to type and create the newsletter right in Drupal.
This could probably be done in conjunction with CCK/Views. Creating a Content Type of "Newsletter" then, once you choose to create New Content and select "Newsletter" the "post" button would trigger the event to be sent through phpList.
#2.5. With the syncing of users, you would be able to manage your subscribers list easier, by seeing who all has registered on the site and who hasn't, this could mimic the "User Management" system somewhat, in Drupal, by listing all the Users registered in the Drupal site, and all the email addresses in the phpList database, giving you the ability to manually/automatically sync existing users to old phpList emails or selectively check and uncheck box certain users.
I think #1 would be pretty easy to implement, #2 though, might be more easily done by calling phpList in as an iFrame unit, much like phpBB3 is done. Just so at least you wouldn't have to browse to another folder on the server to set up a Newsletter.
But, Admin would DEFINITELY have to be synced in order for this to take place.
Ok I think that's all I was thinking of :)
I'm not a master PHPer, but I can definitely fudge my way through files and testing.
Let me know if I can help dissect any files for you and contribute in any manner.
jeremy
#1
Hey just got the latest update!
Working very nicely!
I do have some suggestions though, if I may.
After having the phpList Block going, it occurred to me that the "My Subscriptions" TEXT link you have put in the Block, maybe it would be better put as a Navigation Menu Item? So it could be included under the "My Account" menu? So users would have
# My Account
* My Account
* My Blog
* My Points
* My Subscriptions
* Log Out
Something like that? Or maybe make that an choice option?
Also, in the block, would it be possible to have the available subscription lists in a list with check boxes next to them? and a SIGN UP button or something below them?
Maybe have TWO different Blocks would be the solution?
Anyway,
Just my thoughts so far! Keep up the good work!
ps. I tried to create my own menu navigation item link for My Subscriptions, using the ADD ITEM, but I don't know what the URL would be that would go to the users OWN Account settings? I tried putting a * variable in the link, but that didn't work....any ideas?
#2
Hi Jeremy,
There is a menu item in the D5 module which didn't work in D6 - does now, and I have just updated the D6-DEV version to include the changes. It will take logged- and non-logged-in users direct to the relevant tab of My Account. Hopefully that will give you something to be going on with in the wait for a more in-depth solution.
As far as your ideas go, I confess I am somewhat loathe to go too far down the road of linking phpList more tightly with Drupal. My vision is to have "loosely-coupled' systems, where changes can easily be made to either whilst minimising any impact on either. Thus I would argue that phpList should continue to be used for the things it does best - all the mailshot creation, sending and scheduling, management of bounces, lists etc. etc.
The features I do see as being eminently useful in the phpList module are:
- Feature to restrict which Drupal user roles can acces which lists
- Potential to synchronise node_profile attributes with phpList attributes (got a potential sponsor for this)
- More advanced block provision for logged-in users (much as you described earlier in this thread)
Hope that sounds like a reasonable game plan in the short term at least.
Regards,
- Paul
#3
Hey Paul,
I completely understand your reasons, and I do agree as well.
Thanks for the work on this.
There is something I would like to try though, and this may be in conjunction with other modules.
I run a record label and am trying to build our new site in Drupal, this module being a component in it.
What I would like to try to have happen is, instead of having to go to phpList standalone and create an email blast, which includes latest releases, updates and lists of upcoming tours by our bands...
I would like to have an automated task set up, that say, every month, it gathers all the upcoming "calender event" content posts and other specified content and shoots it to the phpList and mails that out.
Now there might be a way that I have phpList grab and RSS feed from my site and send that out? But I have yet to mess with RSS feeding from the site yet.
Or there might be some other way with another module that gathers up all the latest posts and can compile them, from which I can choose what to send out.
This is why I thought being able to create the content for a phpList email blast from WITHIN Drupal would be good, but still have phpList handle the sending and scheduling, management of bounces etc, like you stated. But again, maybe it could be compiled and created in Drupal, then "fed" to phpList somehow?
What do you think?
jeremy
#4
Hmm, I quite like the sound of this one - it could maybe linked into Views as the source of the information to send. That would extend its scope to any other type of node within Drupal. If you want to make a start on it then feel free - I have too much on at the moment to be able to start another project, but I'll help and advise where I can.
Regards,
- Paul
#5
I would love to see something like this - basically a way to send the contents of a node to phplist to wrap in a HTML email template and send out as a newsletter.
It would also be great to be able to automatically generate digests of for example all nodes with a certain taxonomy term that have been created in the last week, and send that out as a weekly newsletter, with teasers and links to the web site... i guess some fancy footwork with views would be able to create a node that looks like this?
I know there are custom modules that try to get this kind of stuff done, eg simplenews, subscriptions etc, but their handling of multipart emails is not great. I'm used to using phplist with all it's excellent bounce handling etc as well.
I originally thought I might be able to figure out a way to get digest emails like that using phplist's RSS feature, but it's not quite there yet.
Anyway, I would love to see some kind of implementation of this in this module. This would allow phplist to do what it's great at - sending well formed emails, handling click tracking, bounces etc, while content managers could work totally within Drupal.