The Element Browser
The Element Browser is a new powerful approach to record selection. Formerly the clipboard was needed when you wanted to "insert a page" or image - in other words; Relations between records and relations to files in records was done through the copy/paste concept of the clipboard.
While the clipboard is still quite powerful (for a number of reasons), it clearly looses to the Element Browser when it comes to creating relations. Basically the Element Browser makes it very easy to create relations between pages, records and files. Let's look at this example:
This is from the testsite. The page "Back to Startpage" is a shortcut to the page "Startpage". When the page "Back to Startpage" was created, we needed to define a relation to the page "Startpage" in order to indicate the shortcut target page. In the old days of TYPO3.2 we had to either go back to the page tree, copy the page "Startpage" to the clipboard, go back, insert the relation. Alternatively a little foresight could have eliminated this by selecting the "Startpage" before we began the creation of the new page. But the buttom line always was that it didn't flow naturally - the proces was kind of inversed.
With the new Element Browser in TYPO3 3.0 this is how it works:
Simply click the Element Browser icon
... and a new window pops up. In this window you browse for the page and select it when found:
Alternatively you can search the page tree a number of levels for the record you're looking for:
Anyways the concept fits perfectly the purpose: When you are ready to insert the page, you browse for it and insert it. Very natural.
Browsing for image
The exact same principle is used when you are inserting images or files in records:
As you see inserting images or files are just as straight forward. The Element Browser gives access to the file mounts from the File>List module. This enables you to select directly from your archive of files on the server, possibly uploaded by FTP. Of course you can upload files directly here through the browser.
Adding many files or records
When selecting elements by the Element Browser you can either click the title in which case the element is selected and the Element Browser is closed. You can also click the plus-icon in which case the element is added to the element list:
The Element Browser in the RTE
The Element Browser is also implemented with the Rich Text Editor. As you see below the image selector is basically the same as before.
And setting links to files or folders in fileadmin/rteimg/ are an equally straight forward process:
In particular linking to pages is very powerful in the RTE. Again the Element Browser provides the page tree for browsing:
But there is more than meets the eye! Say you want to not only link to another page but to the anchor point of a certain content element on that page! Easy - just click the little right-arrow and the list of content elements appear...:
Does the Element Browser outsmart the clipboard?
The Element Browser is a vital component in the new TYPO3.3 structure. Because the clipboard depends on the original Classic Backend and the whole JavaScript engine that keeps it going we needed another concept as a complete substitute for the clipboard due to the new form display concept in TYPO3.3. The Element Browser provides that in full.
However the clipboard is still a brilliant way to select records and files from multiple positions in the system, edit or delete them or create relations for that sake. And finally the clipboard cannot be rivaled when it comes to copying and moving records and files! This is not - and cannot be - accomplished by the Element Browser. And the Alternative Backend still lacks this (as of this writing). But we will find a solution...
No inspiration for a bible-verse today, so I'll let you go without...
- kasper
