07-06-2021, 10:17 PM
In the immediate/short to medium term, we could (using the existing CMS) do as Steve suggests and place snapshots on their own pages with links from the article (with or without an opening excerpt included in the article itself).
Also possibly in the immediate/short term we might do something like the table of contents (generated via hand coding of HTML, I assume) such as exists in the Corona article. This would not so much hide the Snapshots as let a reader jump over them and might work best in longer articles. In short articles, it probably wouldn't be helpful.
On a more general/related note - If the TOC coding is relatively straightforward to do by hand (asking Steve and anyone else who might know how to do this) it might be something we want to do more of as our articles get longer and if it would be as easy to just hand code this kind of thing as asking Trond to create some kind of CMS tool for it.
In the longer term (whatever that might mean)? - I like the expanding/collapsing content option, either as something Trond might work into the CMS/EG functionality or as something the Editors hand code if it is simple enough (meaning that an English major - aka yours truly - can do it
). Again, if this is something that is easily hand coded within the EG (I assume we would need to test that) and doesn't cause anything to blow up, it might be something we look at just doing as part of the Editor function rather than having Trond code up a way to do it 'automagically' via the CMS. Could potentially happen faster and is one less thing for him to spend his time on rather than more complex stuff that only he can do.
OTOH - if expanding/collapsing or TOC functions are something that will only work (or work properly, or work without hair pulling levels of effort) if Trond codes it into the CMS (aka codes it so it plays nicely with everything else) that is something I'm sure he can either do or suggest an alternative for that will get the same basic job done in the end.
In my experience Trond will point out problems with doing things in a particular way that I was not aware of and/or suggest alternative approaches that get the job done, often with better results than my ideas or ideas that have been kicked around more generally. This is his area of expertise and background after all.
As far as the LOE for Trond about coding any particular option - I have honestly given up on trying to predict that. In working with Trond on the site redesign, I've learned that things I would think require massive LOE he either shrugs off as trivially easy or embraces as a fun challenge while things I would think would be simple he will either point out a number of problems or risks with or will explain that making it happen that way would basically require a multi-person team of full time programmers on retainer for multiple months (aka way too much time and money for us) and then suggest more workable alternatives.
Basically, I've found it simpler to just explain what we'd like with the understanding that Trond will give it thumbs up/down based on his best judgement rather than trying to second guess.
My 2c worth,
Todd
Also possibly in the immediate/short term we might do something like the table of contents (generated via hand coding of HTML, I assume) such as exists in the Corona article. This would not so much hide the Snapshots as let a reader jump over them and might work best in longer articles. In short articles, it probably wouldn't be helpful.
On a more general/related note - If the TOC coding is relatively straightforward to do by hand (asking Steve and anyone else who might know how to do this) it might be something we want to do more of as our articles get longer and if it would be as easy to just hand code this kind of thing as asking Trond to create some kind of CMS tool for it.
In the longer term (whatever that might mean)? - I like the expanding/collapsing content option, either as something Trond might work into the CMS/EG functionality or as something the Editors hand code if it is simple enough (meaning that an English major - aka yours truly - can do it
). Again, if this is something that is easily hand coded within the EG (I assume we would need to test that) and doesn't cause anything to blow up, it might be something we look at just doing as part of the Editor function rather than having Trond code up a way to do it 'automagically' via the CMS. Could potentially happen faster and is one less thing for him to spend his time on rather than more complex stuff that only he can do.OTOH - if expanding/collapsing or TOC functions are something that will only work (or work properly, or work without hair pulling levels of effort) if Trond codes it into the CMS (aka codes it so it plays nicely with everything else) that is something I'm sure he can either do or suggest an alternative for that will get the same basic job done in the end.
In my experience Trond will point out problems with doing things in a particular way that I was not aware of and/or suggest alternative approaches that get the job done, often with better results than my ideas or ideas that have been kicked around more generally. This is his area of expertise and background after all.
As far as the LOE for Trond about coding any particular option - I have honestly given up on trying to predict that. In working with Trond on the site redesign, I've learned that things I would think require massive LOE he either shrugs off as trivially easy or embraces as a fun challenge while things I would think would be simple he will either point out a number of problems or risks with or will explain that making it happen that way would basically require a multi-person team of full time programmers on retainer for multiple months (aka way too much time and money for us) and then suggest more workable alternatives.
Basically, I've found it simpler to just explain what we'd like with the understanding that Trond will give it thumbs up/down based on his best judgement rather than trying to second guess.
My 2c worth,
Todd