Application Toolbar (Appbar)
This module provides a toolbar at the bottom of the window, like Facebook's Application Bar, which shows links (from a menu) on the left and AJAX-driven notifications (from system messages and/or other modules) on the right. It is meant to provide an easy way for users to see alerts or get to certain parts of the site.
The module is highly extensible, so other modules can easily provide alerts or add new regions to the Appbar. Admin can choose which alert types and regions will be shown. Drop-in styles are also supported, and the module comes with three styles by default.
Appbar integrates with Views, Activity, Menu Icons, Rules, and the core Trigger module. This combination allows recording actions for a wide variety of modules.
Note: Neither anonymous users nor users with JavaScript disabled in their browser will see the Appbar.
Status
I am currently looking for a co-maintainer, because while I'm always around, I have a number of other projects, and so I only intermittently have the time to give this module all the love it deserves. If you're interested, open an issue in the queue or contact me (directly or on IRC). I will give priority to anyone who actually helps out by posting patches in the queue first.
The functionality in this module is currently working and should be fairly stable, although there may be scaling issues. However, do not use this module on production sites without testing.
The following features may or may not be developed:
- Improve tokens on set-up form for Actions (with Triggers and Rules)
- Use templates (with tokens) for alert types, like the Activity module uses
- Extend hook_appbar_region() to hold more information about each region (name, pop-out dialog, file includes)
- Add more regions, including a Search box, a "random post" and prev/next button, a list of recent posts, Tweet/Service Links/AddToAny/AddThis/ShareThis integration, Google Translate integration, RSS integration, Print integration, and potentially chat
- Add the ability to minimize/collapse the Appbar, potentially with the ability to remember the (un)collapsed state via session or cookie
An official release will be created once enough of these features have been implemented.
Because it tends to take a long time for other modules to adopt integration with new APIs like Appbar's, I am considering various ways to increase the number of modules that can offer alerts. Technically Appbar integrates with any module that integrates with any of Activity, Rules, or Trigger, but this is a little clumsy (although it will be improved). However, other ways to make integration easier may include a separate Appbar Contrib module, or adoption of another API like that of the Activity or Messaging modules.
Note: Because this module is still under development, you should fully refresh your cache each time you upgrade to a newer version, especially if you have JS and/or CSS caching enabled in your performance settings.
