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Precision Computing Arts / Fastwebdev Blog
Precision Computing Arts / Fastwebdev Blog

Welcome to the Precision Computing Arts / Fastwebdev blog. We use this blog to post interesting news about our Sitebuilder web hosting and content management system (CMS). As with other blogging systems, blog articles from our system are indexed in Google and other search engines within a week or two.

(Customers can set up and maintain similar blogs on any Sitebuilder websites that we host.)

Monday, September 23 2013

Sitebuilder (Cool Tools) System Update 4.7 is FULLY DEPLOYED!SiteBuilder System 4.7

The 4.7 update includes user interface adjustments for enhanced tablet support (site editing), new mobile website features, image gallery/display enhancements, and miscellaneous updates. 

SYSTEM UPDATE 4.7 PREVIEW IMAGES: http://updates.bizsiteservice.com/rel47/

...more

Posted by: Precision Computing Arts, Inc. AT 01:37 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Thursday, March 07 2013

Site Builder System Update: 4.40

5/21/13: Site Builder (CoolTools) update 4.6 is fully deployed. » Read more.

3/7/13: Site Builder (CoolTools) update 4.6 is available now. This was a BIG update with tons of wonderful new features, emphasizing general usability, graphics, and e-commerce. It includes the following updates and system enhancements. 

Feature Overview

  • User interface adjustments
  • Section slider component
  • Updated text editor
  • IE 10 multi file upload
  • Image tools
  • Footer columns
  • Simplified design options
  • Site style configuration
  • Font styles
  • Font families/selection
  • Color
  • Advanced page background settings
  • Advanced css
  • Page editor
  • In page image tools
  • Component alignment changes
  • Misc updates
  • Ecommerce Updates
  • Product edit page updates
  • Product images
  • Product detail tabs
  • Dynamic pricing page updates
  • Product options
  • Product skus/advanced options
  • Inventory tracking for options
  • Inventory import/export
  • Shipping weight for options
  • Change product image based on selected options
  • Color swatch option type
  • Copy options
  • Quantity based pricing setup
  • Shipping integration

Site Builder System Update Version NumberTo find out your current Site Builder version number, log into your web hosting account and look at the right-hand side of the page for the "System Update" graphic, which shows the update number and installation date, along with a summary of the most recent features (the sample at right illustrates System Update 4.6).

More details are below.

User interface adjustments

Several minor user interface adjustments have been added. These include hover/rollover effects and counts added to the main editor icons. Ex. The admin home page now displays the number of outstanding orders, number of users/customers as well as your default mailing list size.

Section slider component

With the section slider component, you can setup content sections using the page editor. A section menu is displayed on the left side. When a menu button is clicked, the content section associated with the menu button slides into view. Using the page editor you can add any component type into the sections. The section slider works like the tabbed content and accordion components.

Updated text editor

The text editor has been updated. The updated includes many miscellaneous enhancements as well as a new style. The text editor is also more optimized for tablets.

The new format option makes it easier to style your text. Click anywhere in a paragraph and set the paragraph/line style (heading 1, heading 2, heading 3, normal). You do not need to highlight text and select a style.

IE 10 multi file upload

Support has been added for multiple file upload on Internet Explorer 10.

Image tools

The image tools have been updated to provide quicker access to resize functions. Standard image sizes have been setup to help adjust images and keep image sizes consistent throughout your website.

The system automatically detects when uploaded images are too large and gives you the option to adjust the size.

Footer columns

With the new footer columns feature you can setup multiple columns in your site footer area. Create up to 5 columns. Easily add text, images, links and social networking icons. To enable the feature, view your website, click settings and then set the number of footer columns.

Simplified design options

The new design page now displays the most commonly used options. There is a link on the left side of the page for more advanced settings.

Site style configuration

The new site styles area provides an quick preview of how all of your site styles look together. Click on a area of the page to select new style options (font, buttons, links, groupboxes, page titles and more).

Font styles

New title/default font combinations have been added. Go to the design area and click the text/styles option.

Font families/selection

Many new fonts have been added to the system. The new font browser makes it easier to view font previews and make font selections. The new default title option makes it easier to create a consistent look throughout your site. You can set the logo builder, menu, groupboxes and titles to use the same setting. When you update your title style to use a new font, all the other areas are set to use the same options.

Color

The new color area includes preset color schemes to choose from and updated color selection/color scheme generator options.

Advanced page background settings

With the advanced page background settings you can choose customize the positioning and alignment of your main site background image. Choose to have a fixed (non scrollable background) or set the background image to always cover the full screen size.

Advanced css

If you are familiar with web design and style sheets (CSS) it is now even easier to make custom adjustments to your website. To access the custom CSS area, go to the main design page, click the advanced button and then click the advanced css link.

Page editor

Move components in and out of groupboxes, column groups and tabs. To move a component into or out of a page section, edit your page. Click the green box to the right of the component edit bar and then click the "move to" drop down menu. Select where you would like to move the component.

In page image tools

When you move your mouse over an image while editing a page, you can click the image tools icon to open the image tools window. Resize and rotate images.

Component alignment changes

The component alignment option has been moved. To align components, click the small green down arrow box above the component. Then click the alignment option.

Misc updates

  • Links list component allows you to use the default menu or submenu style

Ecommerce Updates

This update includes many enhancements in the ecommerce area. These enhancement are designed to make it easier to manage products, provide more ecommerce display options and allow better integration with other systems.

Product edit page updates

The main product edit page has been reworked to be more streamlined. The description, short description and text description are now displayed in tabs. This helps make the page shorter and easier to read. For many cases the short and text descriptions are not needed or used. These fields no longer take up extra space on the page.

The edit product list in the store manager now displays your small product image making it easier to manage your products/see your product entries.

Product images

It is now easier to manage your product images. Set the default sizes for the overview and detail images. Your uploaded images will be sized to match your settings. If you want to adjust the image size, just change the settings and the images will automatically be updated to match your settings.

Product detail tabs

If you have a lot of information about a product you can now display the additional information in tabs that are displayed at the bottom of the product detail page. Create up to 5 custom tabs with additional information about your product.

Dynamic pricing page updates

The pricing page will now update the product price to reflect the price for the currently selected set of options and addons.

Product options

The product option features has been reworked to provide for more flexibility. All of the same option types are available, but it is now easier to edit and organize your options. Use drag/reorder to organize your options list and option values.

Product skus/advanced options

The new advanced options area gives you more control of your option settings and display. When you add an advanced option, more management features will be available for the product. These advanced features enable you to set the image, manage inventory, configure the weight, and modify the price for a set of options.

Inventory tracking for options

With option based inventory tracking, you can track multiple inventory levels for the same product. Ex if you sell tshirts that come in red, blue and green as well as three sizes SM, M, LG - It is now easier to track the inventory for each combination of options.

  • red - SM
  • red - M
  • red - LG
  • blue - SM
  • ...

Inventory import/export

Use the new inventory data options to import and export product inventory levels. This feature also works with SKU based product options.

Shipping weight for options

If you have products with options that change the weight of the product, you can use the advanced setting to set the shipping weight for a set of options.

Change product image based on selected options

The product image on the detail page can now be configured to change based on the selected set of options. Many customers like to see what the product looks like after their option changes have been made. Ex. If you sell tshirts, you can now set the product image to change to the red tshirt when customers select the red tshirt option. Advanced options must be enabled to use this feature.

After setting a SKUID for each option set, go to the more images area, upload your images and set the SKUID that is associated with each image.

Color swatch option type

The color swatch option type lets users click a color box to choose the color that they want instead of selecting the color from a drop down menu.

Copy options

Setting up product options is now even easier with the copy option feature. When editing a product, choose the copy option menu and select a product to copy options from an existing product.

Quantity based pricing setup

It is now easier to setup quantity based pricing by using the quantity pricing entry screen. To set,up quantity based pricing, click the quantity table icon next to the pricing field. Enter the quantity amount and the unit price for that quantity.

Shipping integration

You can now configure your website to integrate with ShipWorks and ShipStation for enhanced shipping management.

Posted by: Elizabeth Olson AT 05:56 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, May 07 2012
New Cool Tools update : Sitebuilder 4.30A new "Cool Tools" (site builder system) update is available now, and we encourage you to give it a try. The 4.30 release is a minor system update that contains a few new features, adjustments and bug fixes.

Miscellaneous Updates
  • Content rotator based on the day of the week (use Design/Layout Components > Content Rotator; see example)
  • Updated admin pages
  • Updated file upload user interface
  • New layouts/design options
  • Date formatting for blog comments
  • Image resize - the source image is saved for a period of time after upload so the size can be adjusted more easily
  • Content slider - easier navigation between slides when editing  (see Design/Layout Components > Content Slider; see example)
  • Mobile settings for redirecting directly to mobile site (see Site Editor > Settings > Mobile Website)
Ecommerce Updates
  • New shopping cart buttons (see Design > Text & Styles > Shopping Cart)
  • Pinterest support (see Site Editor > Settings > Social Networking)
  • Australian tax display updates (see Store Manager > Advanced Settings > Shipping)
  • Reward editing add/modify/delete (see Store Manager > Advanced Settings > Shopping Rewards)
  • FedEx Web Service Freight (see Store Manager > Advanced Settings > Shipping)
  • Shipping add on pricing options - a flat charge added to the shipping, most useful if you are using an automated shipping calculator such as built-in UPS calculator (see Store Manager > Setup Store > Shipping > Handling Fees (under Additional Settings) > Additional Handling Charges) 
  • PayFuse Gateway, NAB Transact (see Store Manager > Setup Store > Payment/Gateway)
Questions? Please contact us if you need help.
Posted by: Elizabeth Olson AT 12:01 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Thursday, August 18 2011

New Features - System Update 4.18bSystem Update: 4.19 - [8/20/2011]
System Update 4.19 is available to all Precision Computing Arts/Fastwebdev web hosting clients, and it's chock full of useful and fun features, which are summarized below. If you have any questions or would like us to help you implement these features, please don't hesitate to contact us!

 


 


User accounts
The user accounts pages have been updated to make accounts easier to navigate and manage.

 

Tabs have been added at the top of the user accounts page that let you easily switch between the user groups and user accounts view. Navigation has been enhanced to make it easier to switch between user groups.

The user accounts details page now opens in a popup window for quick access. The selected user group checkboxes have been updated to make them easier to work with. A new link has been added to the user account detail page that lets you send a quick email to the user.

Mailing list
The site mailing list pages have been reworked to make the mailing list easier to use.

  • Updated mailing list user interface.
  • New email templates added (30+ new templates).
  • New email templates automatically include social networking links in the template.
  • Updated mailing list template user interface. You can now preview a template before selecting it.

New option to set the email "from" display name as well as a tracking code for the email. The tracking code is automatically added to links in your email. This allows you to track the effectiveness of your newsletters.

Form builder
New options at the top of the form builder make it easier to enable the contact DB and mailing list features on the form. The form builder user interface has been updated. There were a lot of options on the page which can make the form builder a bit confusing to configure. Some options have been moved into settings tabs.

Social networking
The social networking sharing icons now include the Google +1 button and LinkedIn buttons. You also now have the option to hide/display both the social widget buttons or the social icons. A new option to send a Tweet from with in the admin has been added to the marketing area. The blog manager has a direct link to send a tweet about a blog post.

Edit tabs [preview/experimental]
This update includes an experimental new site builder header. We have added an option to try out a new set of tabs at the top of the site builder to get feedback. The new set of tabs provides quick access to the new marketing/reports area as well as direct access to core ecommerce functions for store accounts. It will be easy for customers to switch between the existing tabs and the new tabs. To try this feature, select Admin > Editor Settings > Edit Tabs Style [Optmized]

Website edit header tabs

  • admin
  • view site
  • edit site
  • design
  • marketing/reports
  • help

Ecommerce edit header tabs

  • admin
  • website
  • store setup
  • products
  • orders
  • customers
  • marketing/reports
  • help

Marketing/Reports
The new marketing/reports sections provides easy access to the most important markting features that are integrated with the site builder as well as quick access to statistics, search engine submission and site guides. The core marketing features, blog, mailing list, social networking settings and twitter are all included.

Misc updates

  • The view/edit tab drop down menu now includes links to the settings pages.
  • Message board no longer requires capcha when you are logged in.
  • Displayable user name for message board when user accounts/login required to post messages.
  • Updated mobile/browser detection for stats and mobile pages.
  • The drop down tab menu for edit site now includes direct links to all of the settings pages.
  • Calendar uses timezone offset.
  • Site page search now includes blog posts and HTML pages.

Media library page
Use the new media library page to create a sortable media list with embedded media player. Upload your audio/video files. The media library automatically creates a RSS feed/pod cast for the uploaded media.

Text editor
The text editor 2.0 now allows you to easily setup H1, H2, H3 tags via the style drop down. Simply select your text and click the style drop down to apply one of the header styles.

Blog

  • The blog user interface has been updated.
  • New option to save a blog post as a draft.
  • Added support for integrating Facebook comment system (enable from blog settings page).
  • Blog manager now has direct links to easily send a tweet with link for new blog posts.

Basic traffic stats

  • Basic traffic stats are now maintained for up to 3 years (this will only include stats collected after the update is installed)
  • New option to reset all your traffic stats
  • New option to reset your traffic stats referrers/search engines/keywords
  • Stats have been updated to be tracked in the site owner's local time based on their time zone setting
  • NOTE: Stats before this update will not reflect the correct timezone

Ecommerce

  • Ecommerce reports are now displayed in the user's time zone (only applies to new orders completed after this update)
  • For products that ship in their own box, you can now set the package dimensions
  • New gateway (Moneris for US merchants)

Tell us what you think!
We are always looking to improve the quality of our services and your feedback is appreciated. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let us know.

Posted by: Elizabeth Olson AT 06:12 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Wednesday, May 04 2011

New FeaturesSystem Update: 4.18 - [3/28/2011]  

The most recent System Update 4.18 is available to all Precision Computing Arts/Fastwebdev web hosting clients, and it's chock full of useful and fun features, which are summarized below. If you have any questions or would like us to help you implement these features, please don't hesitate to contact us!


CONTENT SLIDER
Use the content slider to set up animated content sections with your own background images and text. Visitors can use arrows or page icons to navigate between slider content sections.

Edit any page, click the add button and choose the content slider from the design/layout component section.

GOOGLE FONTS DIRECTORY - CUSTOMIZE YOUR SITE WITH NEW FONTS
Most newer web browsers now support the ability to download fonts, giving you more control over how your site text looks. Google has setup a font directory to easily allow you to use new fonts on your website.

In the text & styles area, you can now choose from a selection of many different font styles from the Google font directory. To choose your additional fonts, click the font drop down and click the more fonts link.

Use caution when selecting additional fonts. Adding more fonts to your site can cause your site to load slower, so be sure to only select fonts that you are using on your site.

SIDEBAR CONFIGURATION
The sidebar configuration window provides easier access to sidebar minimum width and other options. An icon has been added to the top sidebar to open up the sidebar settings window. You can set the minimum sidebar width as well as enable/disable sidebars while editing the page.

DESIGN LIBRARY
More color layout options have been added to the design library. To view more options, go to the design library, find a design and click the color icon to preview the design in many different color schemes.

ECOMMERCE

  • Sidebar links mode - expandable tree format
  • Sidebar links mode - display categories as section titles
  • Option for full path navigation (breadcrumb links on top of all product pages)
  • Easier to move products/categories in and out of the hidden products area
  • Customize all labels/text for shopping cart and checkout pages
  • Configure gift certificate expiration
  • Customize css/style for the product sub category and links display

MULTIPLE FILE UPLOAD (DRAG DROP) FOR CHROME AND FIREFOX
When using Firefox or Google Chrome, you can multi-select and upload files. This is useful for setting up photo galleries or uploading files via the file manager. The upload form also includes a drop box. You can select files form your computer and drag them to the drop box to automatically upload them to your website.

PREVIEW : LAYOUT BUILDER (ADVANCED FEATURE)
Get more control over your design with new layout builder designs. Customize the backgrounds, margins and padding for different areas of your layout (quickbar, logo, banner, menu bar, content areas, sidebars, footer). This is an advanced feature that requires good knowledge of web design/css.

PREVIEW : WEB DEVELOPER TOOLS (ADVANCED FEATURE)
Use the web developer tools to customize your website. This is an advanced feature that requires good knowledge of web design/css and web programming. 

  • Install custom template templates
  • Create custom layouts for products
  • Upload your own menu buttons
  • Customize your menu styles, photo gallery styles and more.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
We are always looking to improve the quality of our services and your feedback is appreciated. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let us know.

Posted by: Elizabeth Olson AT 10:39 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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