Acqal Experts Blog About TYPO3 and Other Hot Topics

Getting Help with TYPO3 – Powermail 101

By: Virgil Huston

One of the great things about TYPO3 is that the core is relatively clean, yet the potential feature options are limitless due to extensions. One of the best extensions available is Powermail. It can handle a simple contact form to a multi-page monster form. From a TYPO3 agency perspective, it is easy to install, implement and speeds up the forms creation process. From a client/user perspective, it is easy to learn and use. For us, training clients on how to set up forms becomes a breeze.This is a quick tutorial on using Powermail to set up a form, along with the most common settings. Full...

Create Today's Date with TypoScript

By: Michael Cannon

The following TypoScript provides a fairly simple end result, today's date.

The code should be placed in your TypoScript template Setup section and called via lib.date as needed within your TemplaVoila Data Structure XML or TypoScript Template.

As a bonus, here's two TypoScript examples.

The first code sample is the typical today's date from TypoScript that's been passed around for quite a few years. The second TypoScript comes from deeper reading the TypoScript Reference documentation to write "simpler" code.

# "old" today's date TypoScriptlib.date = TEXTlib.date { ...

新年快樂！Happy Chinese New Year!

By: Michael Cannon

There's a moment when you wonder what you should be doing despite everything being planned out already. If I'm wondering what to do, then I know I've gotten too deep into whatever I'm working on and have lost site of the big picture. Soo... it's time to take a moment to step back and see the big picture again.

Those moments of wondering what's next have been arising the past week for me on a business and personal front. For business, it's been SEO marketing, TYPO3 support, TYPO3 training, TYPO3 website migrations and work agreements.

Outside of work, Peichi and I have decided to move to a...

Training in the Internet Age

By: Virgil Huston

Hint: It Rocks!

If you follow my Twitter feed or Facebook updates, you know I spent quite a bit of time this week prepping to conduct an all day TYPO3 administrator and user class. Actually, one class for the admins in the morning and another for writers/editors in the afternoon.Normally, I do remote training using screen sharing tools and the telephone, be it land line, VOIP, or Skype with one to three people, often one on one. Full classes are not as frequent. For screen sharing, we use gatherplace.net as our tool of choice. As for phones, Skype is great for calling overseas and is free as...

Taiwan's food is the best!

By: Michael Cannon

There's a time for work, a time for family, and a time for play. Right now, I'm thinking along the lines of what I like to eat when I'm hungry. Many of my Asian friends, family and I, Taiwanese or not, generally all agree upon one very common food point of view.

Taiwan's food is the best!

I've lived, studied, traveled and worked through more than 12 countries in the past 14 years. Though I love Korean prepared meat, Russian borsch, Italian noodles and gelato, French baggette, Frostop root beer, Skippy Super Crunchy peanut butter and many others; it's only here in Taiwan that I can...

Spending money is better than saving it on ECM and CMS

By: Virgil Huston

Open source vs proprietary Part 4

Getting Help With TYPO3

By: Michael Cannon

There's a rumor that TYPO3 has a steep learning curve. As with most rumors, there's a grain of truth in it.

Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs - the big three

By: Virgil Huston

This was a really busy week with a number of client projects moving into high gear and wrapping up a couple of others.So, I didn't get around to writing the next installment of my open source series. I will get to that, I promise. But, this week, I need to relax on a Friday evening, sip a gin and tonic, and write about lighter things.I have been playing around with Facebook and Twitter in a big way this week. I've been on Facebook a while, but have only started to use Twitter this week.Obviously, I have a big interest in using social networking applications like these to further business...

Keeping Busy in 2009

By: Michael Cannon

Wow! This holiday season has indeed been quite busy. In the past couple of weeks we've been releasing several projects and starting up a few more. Here's a quick recap.

Alamance-nc.com - Redesign and TYPO3 ImplementationAlamanceLibraries.org - Redesign and TYPO3 ImplementationManhattanReview.com - TYPO3 ImplementationManhattanReview.com Welcome - TYPO3 ImplementationNewWindEnergy.com/Blog - TYPO3 Blog ImplementationRevereAcademy.com - TYPO3 and Shopping Cart ImplementationStonebriar.org - TYPO3 Form Implementation

On the forefront of Acqal for 2009, we'll be launching a 3-month marketing...

Cost and Support for ECM Software

By: Virgil Huston

Open Source vs Proprietary - Part 3Read Part 1Read Part 2 Last week, I defined some of the terms that make up the confusing world of enterprise content management (ECM) systems (ECMS), content management systems (CMS), web content management systems (WCMS), and web site management systems (WMS). Pick your poison, it really doesn't matter what you call it.The question is essentially twofold in the most simplistic terms:1. Will the software do what I need and be able to scale with my company as needs change and/or increase?2. Is it cost effective? There are a lot of factors contributing to this...