---+!! Comment Plugin
This plugin allows users to quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle.
_( Discussion in TWiki:Plugins/CommentPluginDev )_
%TOC%
---+ Features
Inserts an edit box into the page that allows users to type in and save comments. Comments can be made
* in different formats (as defined by a template),
* in both forward and reverse chronological order,
* signed or unsigned, dated or undated (as defined by a template),
* in other topics, or other positions within the current topic.
---+ Syntax Rules
Write the command =%COMMENT{= _attributes_ =}%= anywhere in a TWiki topic. %COMMENT% is also legal.
#StandardAttrs
The following attributes are [[#MoreAttrs][recognised]]
| *Name* | *Description* |
| =type= | (Required) This is the name of the template to use for this comment. Comment templates are defined in a TWiki template - see [[#TemPlates][Customisation]], below. If this attribute is not defined, the type is whatever is defined by COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE, either in this topic or in your WebPreferences. By default this is 'below'. |
| =target= | Name of the topic to add the comment to. Defaults to the current topic. |
| =location= | Regular expression specifying the comment location in the target topic. Read _carefully_ below! |
| =mode= | For compatability with older versions only, synonymous with =type= |
| =nonotify= | Set to "on" to disable change notification for target topics |
---++ Positioning the comment
=%COMMENT= supports several ways to specify _where_ a comment should be inserted in the target topic. This is referred to as the _location_ of the comment.
---+++ Location relative to %COMMENT
tag
The default _location_ is the =%COMMENT= tag itself. For example:
%URLPARAM%
s.
Only the input fields of the form need be defined. The plugin automatically generates the >form<
and >:/form<
tags. *Note* that you must define a "submit" button if you want the form to work!
#MoreAttrs
If an attribute is given to the =%COMMENT= tag that is not one of the [[#StandardAttrs][standard attributes]], then that attribute is taken as the name of a parameter to be expanded in the =PROMPT= template. Expressions in the template of the form %
param|
default%
(e.g. %rows|3%
, %button|Push me%
) are expanded to the values given in the %COMMENT
. For example, if the =PROMPT= template 'example' contains:
<textarea rows=%rows|3% cols="%cols|50%" value="%tval|Rubbish%">and the %COMMENT tag is:
%COMMENT{type="example" rows="5" cols="20"}%then the template will be expanded as
<textarea rows=5 cols="20" value="Rubbish">As well as support for all the usual TWiki variables in templates, the following special variables are supported in the =PROMPT= definition: | *Variable* | *Description* | | =%MESSAGE%= | A helpful generated message, either a lock message or a reminder to refresh. | | =%DISABLED%= | Set to 'disabled' when you cannot comment (see [[#HandlingPageLock][Important Note regarding Locks]], below). | ---++ The =OUTPUT= template The =OUTPUT= template defines the format for the text that actually gets embedded into the topic. All the usual TWiki variables are available in the =PROMPT= definition, but note that they get expanded _when the comment is inserted in the text_, so time, date and username will refer to the time and date when the comment was made and the user who made it. There are also four position tags that are used to indicate where the comment should be placed, relative to the =location= defined in the =%COMMENT= tag: | =%POS:TOP%= | If present, comments will be inserted *at the top of the topic* i.e. before any other text | | =%POS:BOTTOM%= | If present, comments will be inserted *at the end of the topic* i.e. after all existing text | | =%POS:BEFORE%= | If present, comments will be inserted immediately before the =%COMMENT%= tag | | =%POS:AFTER%= | If present, comments will be inserted immediately after the =%COMMENT%= tag | Note that these position tags are obviously mutually exclusive. If you define more than one, the result is undefined. If none is present, the default is taken from the plugin setting =DEFAULT_TYPE= #HandlingPageLock ---+ Important Note regarding Locks The plugin checks if the page is locked for edit. When a locked page is displayed in 'view' mode, comment input is automatically disabled. Note that if the page was read long time ago, it's possible that page was locked by another user *after* it was read, and the lock is still outstanding. In this case, comments cannot be saved, and you will be redirected to a "topic is locked" page. You then have two options: * *Cancel* - throw away your comment and return to viewing the page. * *Back* - *WARNING* some browsers might requery the page and *lose* your comments - so test how your browser behaves before using the Back button. To help avoid edit conflict, a reminder to refresh the page before entering comments is the default text for a =%COMMENT=. When the target page is known to be locked, the =PROMPT= form is automatically disabled. ---+ Settings * Description: * Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Allows users to quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle. * templates; includes user templates from TWiki.CommentsTmpl * Set TEMPLATES = comments * default template type (if not present, defaults to "below") * Set DEFAULT_TYPE = above ---+ Plugin Installation Instructions * Make sure you have the TWiki:Plugins/SharedCode module installed. Among other things, TWiki:Plugins/SharedCode includes a compatibility module that enables plugins to use new TWiki features with earlier TWiki releases. If you don't already have it, install it now. * Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below) * Unzip ==%TOPIC%.zip== in your twiki installation directory. Content: | *File:* | *Description:* | | ==data/TWiki/CommentPlugin.txt== | Plugin doc page (this page) | | ==data/TWiki/CommentsTmpl.txt== | Example user templates | | ==templates/comments.tmpl== | Master comment templates | | ==lib/TWiki/Plugins/CommentPlugin.pm== | Plugin Perl module | | ==lib/TWiki/Plugins/CommentPlugin/Comment.pm== | Plugin Perl module | | ==lib/TWiki/Plugins/CommentPlugin/Templates.pm== | Plugin Perl module | | ==lib/TWiki/Plugins/CommentPlugin/test.zip== | Tests | | ==lib/TWiki/Plugins/CommentPlugin/build.pl== | Build file | * The Plugin depends on the =viewauth= script to authenticate the user. As described in %TWIKIWEB%.TWikiAccessControl, copy the =view= script to =viewauth= (or better, create a symbolic link) and add =viewauth= to the list of authenticated scripts in the =.htaccess= file. If installed correctly, you should see a =%COMMENT= edit box below here. %COMMENT{type="top" target="Sandbox.Comments"}% ---+ Plugin Info | Plugin Author: | v1.0 TWiki:Main/DavidWeller v2.0 TWiki:Main/PeterMasiar v3.0 TWiki:Main/CrawfordCurrie | | Plugin Version: | 3.0 | | Change History: | 3.003 11 Apr 2004: Minor line termination problem fixed, and "security" hyphen on standard comment removed and replaced with a bulleted list. | | | 3.002 6 April 2004: Applied patches (thanks Peter Thoeny) for multiple comment adding, BOTTOM and TOP inside meta-data, and moved example to Sandbox. | | | 3.001 13 March 2004: Modified to use viewauth save technique (safer), add nonotify parameter, move templates fully into topics, with a hook for site-specifics, support %COMMENT%, internationalisation fixes | | | 3.000 18 Feb 2004: TWiki:Main/CrawfordCurrie rewrote for standard templates and other user requests. Recognition to Patrice Fournier and Sam Abrams for terrific testing and patch support. | | | 7 Feb 2004: TWiki:Main/CrawfordCurrie rewrote this page and CommentTemplates in an effort to make the plugin more user friendly. Added {TIME} variable. Also updated CVS. | | | 23 Sep 2003 TWiki:Main/PeterMasiar: 80% rewrite/refactor, adding templates | | | 15 July 2003: TWiki:Main/PeterMasiar added "reminder" parameter and feature to pass comments to oopslockedcomments.tmpl template to copy-paste later | | | 5 March 2002 Bug fixes, TWiki:Main/JonLambert created oopslockedcomments.tmpl template | | | 24 Feb 2002 added a few more user requests, made "English" text configurable | | | 4 Dec 2001: 1.01 release, changed name to CommentPlugin, added $button var, changed textarea WRAP setting to "soft" | | | 30 Nov 2001: Initial version | | Dependencies: | | | Perl Version: | 5.0 | | Plugin Home: | TWiki:Plugins/%TOPIC% | | Feedback: | TWiki:Plugins/%TOPIC%Dev | __Related Topics:__ %TWIKIWEB%.TWikiPreferences, %TWIKIWEB%.TWikiPlugins -- TWiki:Main/DavidWeller - 05 Mar 2002