It’s always kind of difficult to tell what modules will become popular when you create them. For the most part, I really don’t care because usually the modules I release to you and the rest of the DotNetNuke community are those that I built specifically for server a need I had anyway. However, Content Slider module was meant to fulfill a need. There was a gap in the Forge. As a result, this module has had over 3,500 downloads in about 6 months. THANK YOU for enjoying this module so much!
Well, no one can ignore that kind of interest, so I spent quite a bit of time working on a new release this week. I was able to close all of the reported bugs and suggestions, and I even added a couple of my own. The highlights are below.
- Feature: One-Click Enabling of Pager Setting
- Feature: Cache Sliders for Performance
- Feature: Configurable Cache Setting
- Enhancement: Transitions can be Selected
- Bug: Secure Folder Images not Viewable
- Bug: Sliders Disappear on Postback
- Bug: Remote Images Cause Errors
- Bug: Deleted Images Case Errors
These updates have helped to solidify this module to be higher performing, easier to use, and more stable than it ever has before. In my opinion, its simplicity makes it competitive to most of the commercial options you have today.
Pager Setting
This is probably the most exciting update to this module. Prior to this release, implementing the pager setting was quite difficult to do and required some general technical understanding of how the module and the jQuery cycle plugin worked. This was obviously not a good thing for any module.
As a background, the “pager” I am speaking of is simply the navigation element that can go with a banner slider. See the example below.
Now, you can enable that functionality within a click! All you have to do is make it look pretty, or at least make it look like it belongs in your site. A little bit of CSS magic is all you need.
Caching Enhancements
While tracking down some other bugs and issues, I stumbled across the need to cache a bit more for performance and stability. If you’re not familiar with the term “cache,” it is simply a technical term used to describe the ability to save program information into memory for quicker retrieval. Done right, caching can make even the most sluggish applications look speedy-quick.
This release not only explicitly caches the slider information above and beyond what the module will do, but it also allows you to custom define the amount of time that your cache will remain relevant. However, it is also smart enough to override the cache when you add new sliders and save the settings.
Before moving on, I do want to give a little blog love to Bruce Chapman of iFinity – the maker of the favorite URL provider for many of us. During my testing for this feature, I stumbled upon his free Cache Master module. This module is incredibly useful for any developer that is performing explicit caching in DotNetNuke.
Selectable Transitions
The last update I want to specifically dive into is the ability for end-users to now be able to select their own transition. This was a huge usability snafu by myself. Until this release, you had to know the exact words to use for the transitions you wanted. This is a lot easier said than done for nearly all users. You don’t have to worry about that anymore… Now, simply select an available transition, and save your settings to see how it looks! Easy as pie.
That’s about it. I hope you enjoy the Content Slider Module for DotNetNuke. It’s certainly an honor to maintain this module for you all.
Download the Content Slider Module now!