asp:review
emagiC CMS.Net v4.0
Create Powerful Web Sites
By Anand Narayanaswamy
Content Management System (CMS) applications are becomingvery popular within the developer community. One reason for this trend is thelack of time we developers have to create a Web site from scratch. Moreover, adeveloper can easily deploy a Web site in a few minutes without any majoreffort by simply following the instructions in a manual. emagiC CMS.Net is onesuch product ? it enables a developer to create a powerful Web site in a shortperiod of time by taking advantage of its powerful features. The product isentirely developed using ASP.NET 2.0 and can be managed with either SQL Server2005 or SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.
When I reviewed emagiC CMS.Net v1.3 last year (http://www.aspnetpro.com/productreviews/2006/05/asp200605an_p/asp200605an_p.asp),it had very little functionality. But in the newly released version (v4.0), thevendor has extended the feature set by including many advanced functionalities.Primarily, the vendor has put more emphasis on security-related aspects.
To get started, download a free license from http://www.emagiccms.com/Products/emagiC+CMS.Net/Download/page.aspx/39.You?ll be required to enter certain information and the vendor will e-mail thedownload location and license keys. I received the relevant information withinminutes of submitting the form. Be aware that the free license is valid for onecommunity, one domain, 50 pages, and one administrator. However, the freelicense comes with all the standard modules (WYSIWYG editor, breadcrumb, documentgallery, dynamic menu, image editor, and more).
For a change, I deployed the product to a remote Webserver rather than testing it locally (as I did when I reviewed v1.3). AlthoughI had suggested that the vendor simplify the installation process when I reviewedthe previous version, I had to follow the same set of steps to install this newversion ? which includes uploading the relevant files to the root directory,restoration of the database, modification of the trust level to full, and thecreation of relevant host headers. I also started ASP.NET State Server usingInternet Information Services (IIS), as it is required for the product tofunction properly. Additionally, you must create a separate domain pointer toaccess the administration interface of the product.
I advise customers to work closely with their hostingprovider to configure the previously mentioned permissions if they don?t haveaccess to the remote server. Once these steps are completed, you can log in tothe administration interface using the default username and password. Thevendor has organized the various elements on the administration page verynicely (see Figure 1). Even though you?ve installed the product successfullyyou still must create a domain and enter the required license key supplied bythe vendor from the management section of the administration interface toaccess the home page of your site.
Figure 1: A view of the administrationinterface.
A nice feature to note regarding the product is that,because it recognizes each site as a separate community, you need to set up theproduct only once on a remote server to manage all your Web sites. You don?t haveto upload the files and specify the permissions again for each domain. I?m surethis will reduce the work of developers and Webmasters.
One of the core features of v4.0 is the implementation of theMicrosoft Office 2003 connector (see Figure 2). This functionality enables youto view and edit documents stored in the document library, directly from withinOffice 2003 ? without any need to log in to the administration interface. You simplyneed to open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint and connect to the document library ofthe product. It is available as a free module and the installation procedurecan be launched from the administration interface.
Figure 2: The Office 2003 connectorin action.
Although many developers currently use Office 2003, thevendor should?ve also provided the connector for Office 2007. Hopefully it willbe included in the next version of the product. Version 4.0 of the product alsoincludes an integrated image editor, with which you can optimize your imageseasily (see Figure 3). I was amazed to see several built-in filters such ascolors, brightness, contrast, blur, sharpen, flip, and rotate, which enables youto modify an image.
Figure 3: Explore the image editor.
With the help of v4.0, you can upload all your documentsand images in bulk using FTP ? without any need to upload them one by one usingthe administration interface. Simply upload your files to the server andsynchronize using the bulk import feature included with the product. You canexplore all the features included with the product at http://www.emagiccms.com/Products/emagiC+CMS.Net/page.aspx/9.
The vendor also upgraded the WYSIWYG editor to FreeTextBoxv3.1.6, which is an added bonus to the product. The vendor providescomprehensive documentation in HTML and CHM help format. The technical manualcan be referenced during installation, but the user manual contains the requisiteinformation regarding every feature of the product, with concise explanationsand screenshots (it?s also available in PDF format). The vendor also providesexcellent support through e-mail and maintains an online discussion forum at http://forum.emagiccms.com.
Version 4.0 also includes several new modules that providesupport for Multimedia, Active Directory, and Search connector powered bydtSearch (http://www.dtSearch.com). Theproduct also ships with an optional SharePoint connector module that enablesyou to display in your Web site content from Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server2003. You can even customize the information you want to be displayed on yourpages and extend the site by tweaking the Application Programming Interface(API) of the product, which now includes more than 200 classes and 3,000objects.
An interesting feature of v4.0 is that it includes newauthentication features based on the electronic IDentity Card (eID); two logonmodules for that purpose have been integrated with the CMS. With the help ofthe first module, which is based on the middleware software of the BelgianGovernment, you will be able to log in to the extranet or into theadministration interface using your Belgian eID card. The second module,referred to as logonPkSuite, is based on eID technology from Intesi Group (http://www.intesigroup.com). Althoughthis technology is currently only available for Belgian and Italian eID cards,the vendor is planning to expand it to other countries in the near future (oncethese countries have implemented the electronic identity card technology). Theproduct also provides support for Load Balancing, which is useful for those whowish to deploy the product in Web Farms.
Using the Language Matrix tool you can also link pages inone language to corresponding pages in other languages (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: The Language Matrix toolin action.
The vendor has implemented single sign-on functionality,which enables visitors to log in using their relevant NT account. This featureis only useful if you use the product in an Intranet or extranet environment.This version also has the ability to deliver newsletters from within theadministration interface.
A Web site based on emagiC CMS.Net can be used by anyperson without having any technical knowledge. But to implement and administerit, users require a basic understanding of the ASP.NET technology. The productwill scale new heights if the vendor implements AJAXfunctionality in the next version of the product.
Anand Narayanaswamy,a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), works as an independentconsultant and runs NetAns Technologies (http://www.netans.com),which provides Web hosting services based in Trivandrum, India. Anand also worksas a technical editor lead for http://ASPAlliance.com.He runs http://www.Learnxpress.com, http://Dotnetalbum.com, and http://Csharpfaq.com. Anand is the author of CommunityServer Quickly (Packt Publishing). You can explore more information about thebook at http://www.communityserverbook.com.Find out more about him at http://www.visualanand.netor e-mail him at mailto:netans@gmail.com.
Rating: ????
Web Site: http://www.emagiccms.com
Price: Plansstart at approximately US$2,000