Content Pattern Plugin: A Simple CCK

Abivia's Content Pattern plugin (ACP) is a simple template system that lets you achieve results similar to content construction kits. ACP lets you define variables that get applied to a "content pattern". It is a simple plugin that uses existing content tables and needs no core hacks.

ACP is available for free download.

ACP Stability and Releases

ACP is currently in active development. The ACP core is stable; we have been using it on production web sites since mid 2009, but public release has been held back because there was no adequate documentation. Now that it is more widely available we have been adding minor features and fixing bugs, which results in more frequent releases.

A Quick Introduction

ACP is intended to make it simpler to maintain a Joomla site. It's designed to address two common problems:

1. Articles have specialized formatting requirements that get corrupted by Javascript editors.
2. Multiple articles that are created by copying an original template, creating duplicated content.

The first problem makes it nearly impossible for a site developer to hand over content management to an end user. One careless edit and the article fails to display correctly. This is both frustrating for the user and it defeats the purpose of using a content management system.

The second problem makes it more difficult to maintain a site. Everything is fine as long as the template doesn't change, but if it does, there are multiple copies that need to be updated manually.

ACP Documentation and Support

There is now a free user manual for ACP. The manual covers almost all of ACP's features and provides a number of examples. Feedback and support for ACP is available in this forum.