Introducing Widgetkit

May

We are proud to finally announce the first release of Widgetkit our next generation tool set. Widgetkit is the successor of the famous YOOtools we first introduced in January 2008. Back then the YOOtools were only built to work with Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 1.0 (for those who remember the old times) and until today enriched countless websites. As time flies by so fast in the web, our tools aged and were due for a major update. So we started working on a new version of our tools back in August 2010, right after we finished our work on the Warp 5.5 theme framework.

When we started we basically had two choices, the easy one would be to take each YOOtool and update it's code to work with our default JavaScript library jQuery and keep everything else. Each tool would still require you to use Joomla articles to fill their content. This seems like a reasonable approach, but we thought if we have the opportunity to re-design the tools what can we do differently now to make them even better. We also wanted to achieve compatibility with Joomla 1.6 and to make them available for WordPress. Giving all this a lot of thought, we came up with great ideas which are now implemented in Widgetkit. With Widgetkit we created a whole new concept to make the tools easier to use, install, update and extend.

Widgetkit basically acts as a platform for all our widgets. It installs as a single component in Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 1.6 or as a plugin in Wordpress 3.x. The Widgetkit dashboard presents you an overview of all widgets. You can create, edit or delete all widgets and their content in one place. And after you have created the content for your first widget you can either use a shortcode or a module to display your widget anywhere on your website. In fact you can do both because once have you created a widget you are able to display it multiple times and reuse it on different parts of your website.

Our first Widgetkit BETA offers you four commonly used widgets which are Slideshow, Lightbox, Spotlight and Twitter. All widgets are written from scratch using HTML5 markup, CSS3 features and JavaScripts based on jQuery. Here is a quick overview of all the widgets features:

Slideshow

The Widgetkit Slideshow is the most interesting widget of the Widgetkit BETA release. It takes full advantage of the very user-friendly Widgetkit administration user interface. You can easily create and manage slideshows and their different slides. It comes with 15 eye-catching transition effects which are all based on hardware accelerated CSS3 animations with a JavaScript fallback for all Internet Explorers. This makes the slideshow run smoothly on iPads, iPhones and Android phones. As icing on the cake the slideshow can be browsed using swipe gesture on mobile phones.

Lightbox

The Widgetkit Lightbox is our new and shiny lightbox. It is originally based on the great Fancybox for jQuery. We did some optimization, removed IE6 support and used CSS3 and HTML5. It also comes with support for YouTube and Vimeo videos as well as SWF movies. It replaces our old lightbox so there is no need to use the YOOeffects plugin anymore.

Spotlight

We also added the Spotlight effect to Widgetkit which you all know from our Warp5.5 themes. That's the reason why we removed it from Warp6. The new Spotlight effect, is also enhanced and is a lot easier to use than the previous version.

Twitter

The Widgetkit Twitter widget replaces our old YOOtweet module. It is completely rewritten and the caching is optimized. The tweets will show up even if Twitter is not available.

What's next?

Since this is the first BETA version of Widgetkit, we will give it some time to collect all appearing issues and bugs and release a second BETA in the next weeks. But of course we are already working on new widgets which will be added to Widgetkit. Following widgets are currently planned: Accordion, Maps, Gallery, Tooltips and of course more Slideshow styles. So enjoy Widgetkit and take it for a test drive!

By Steffan | 27 May, 2011 | Posted in Widgetkit

Comments (115)

Morgan

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Amazing, will check it out right now!

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One Deko

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Nice work !! Thx

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weble

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OMG!!! This is AWESOME!!!

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ivo.haarmann

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sounds great, but what will happen to the old yootools and is there a migration path from old yootools to the new widgetkit? I wonder how that can be done. Nevertheless I think starting from scratch and make it HTML5 and CSS3 based was the right decision.

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alessio.menotti

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I am impressed for real. Gonna try it out rightnow and report any issues

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matt.bord

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That's what I'm talking about...!

GO...YOO Team....and GO Widgetkit...

GREAT NEWS...

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molillelund

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Sound great! Could you show it in action?

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Jens

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bririlliant. Very interesting approach. i'm impressed.

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peter.russell.64

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Tried out the slideshow and works a treat. I guess my only issue is that it would be nice to have access to the editor in the slideshow content area, maybe that's to come later. But a quick piece of HTML and presto the image was there. Can I assume that the spotlight function will work within the slideshow, if it does it will be very nice.
I like the way you have put it together, a component which allows you to set it up, then either a module to display the output or classes to activate. Nice work with a nice interface, although a few tooltips for some of the more obscure fields would have been nice.
Thanks Yootheme

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virghomedia

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As always, great job guys! Its nice to see that you are very active in the development! have planned a demo and documentation section in the short, or in the meantime should download and test locally?!? Thanks

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guido.volkmann

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Very good, for the first step ;-)

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matt.bord

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Already testing on my page....great work!

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bojan.trosic

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Fantastic job guys.
Do you plan to integrate Widgetkit with Zoo?

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- sascha
  
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  Yes, we are working on it :-)
  
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  - Karim
    
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    Have you guys been able to integrate widgetkit with zoo yet?
    
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bigfrontdoor

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Is it just Lightbox, slideshows and spotlight that are included in the beta ? I don't see twitter anywhere (1.5 install)

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- Danny
  
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  just check module manager
  
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  - bigfrontdoor
    
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    Thanks guys !
    
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- matt.bord
  
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  For Twitter go to modules....it's right there....
  
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james.hink

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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

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anders.k.jonsson

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nice!

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hugo.a.perez

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Nice, I'll try right away

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ed ventura

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where do we download it?

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magicspon

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is there a demo/download available anywhere?

sounds very promising

good stuff yoo

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- Danny
  
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  member area -> downloads
  
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  - robiv8
    
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    you see what we do not see? where?
    
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- virghomedia
  
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  i hope to see some online demo soon!
  
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- sascha
  
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  Take a look at the http://www.yootheme.com/demo/joomla/2011/quantum/ new Quantum theme...
  
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iluvtofu

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Great! Finally! Will these tools be made available as a part of Zoo for 1.6 since they are missing Zoo tools?

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- sascha
  
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  Yes, ZOO and Widgetkit will work together soon...
  
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ryan.jones

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I have been messing around with this for the last hour and I have to say that I am very impressed!
Keep the additional widgets coming!

I am really looking forward to this months template release now and hope that YOOtheme can blow us all away!!

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joon.lee

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

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tqddn_hmzh

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waitingggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

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phil

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There has ben a lot of promise about the tools for ZOO 1.6 as at the moment there are modules for zoo 1.5 but not for 1.6

Will this toolkit replace the zoo 1.5 tools and be usable for zoo 1.6? I dont see any mention of Zoo in the blog!

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- sascha
  
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  Yes, Widgetkit will work with ZOO together soon...
  
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carlos.l.zetula

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thanks a lot!

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Big Sun Photography

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Please include a 'help' tab with all of this. I'm not clear at all on how to actually use these widgets.

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jennifer.adamowsky

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is there a live demo anywhere?

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TuQ

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I love you! ;)

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houston

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Thanks god, Sasha! We delayed all projects for this release. Greetings!

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hugo.sousa

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My congratulations on the excellent work they have developed, so that we can all make the web look good (:

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hugo.a.perez

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Any Documentation?

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- matt.bord
  
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  Read the documentation above!
  
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  - bartcelona
    
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    Matej are you calling the blog post documentation ?
    I was hoping to find out how to get the "navigation" on the image as has been done so nicely on the demo http://www.yootheme.com/demo/themes/joomla/2011/quantum/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=71
    
    looks great and hope to read more in more detailed documnettation as to how it can be utilized styled etc
    
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Erik

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THANK YOU. Please please PLEASE do the YooCarousel next! That's the most powerful and useful tool ever in my opinion. And I desperately need it for a new Wordpress site about to launch :)

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- Jona
  
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  I'm pretty sure the functionality of Carousel has been wrapped up into the Slideshow widget.
  
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  - bartcelona
    
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    sure looks like that....
    
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GreenHostIt.com

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Nice!

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Carlos

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WOOOW Amazing !!

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doogledesign

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Zoo Integration would be A MUST or make sure to preserve the Zoo Tools that are currently there. Being able to include a ZOO item in the tools is MUST MUST MUST.

Great work so far. Love the work so far.

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phuongha

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This is incredible. I cannot wait for the other widgets. Awesome work!

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thomas.schlander

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Excellent!!! I love the slideshow. It is perfect!

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sammer

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Does it support (RTL) Right-To-Left Languages ?
And does it support RTL from the beginning ?

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- sascha
  
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  Yes, it has full RTL support
  
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valentin.dedu

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I like that.

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Brian

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This is going to make the annual renewal less painful (though not quite offsetting the sinking of the dollar). Well done!

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ronny.steinmetz

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Well this is huge... And awesome...
Really looking forward to the upcoming widgets...
Missing a little the good old "Reflect"Effect... ;)

Cheers,
Good job everybody!!!

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Paul

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Fantastic news! you guys have great timing, specially for the gallery. Will test it out and give you my feedback.

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Nico

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Wicked!!!!

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tenekes

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thanx a lot !!!! ;-)

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nike1me

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i geuss the june tempalte will have a live demo. I would say great work but id like to see them in action. Thx for the big effort.

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TeknoArtes

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very good news!!!
Thank you.

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fabio.cuzzi

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THANKS!!!! Will be waiting for the rest of the tools.

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Benjamin

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Good news! Slideshow works great, but where can i find the element.style min-height:?

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- sascha
  
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  Just update to the latest theme version and you problem will be solved...
  
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robert.coemans

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Already testing slideshow on my page and it works good but this widget can have some more functionality like more effects, include HTML editor, allow overlay text, control where to place the overlay text etc. Looking forward to see the future functionality of Widgetkit like ajax login form etc.

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- sascha
  
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  We added an HTML editor and text overlays to the latest BETA version :-)
  
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gaetano.bucci.66

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Finally...yes!!!!! ;)

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Maico

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Great! Can't wait to see the other tools. Smooth slideshow. suggestion: it would be nice to be able to select a whole map of images at once.

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kRemtronicz

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Hoping to see the BETA version finished soon! ;O)

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jennie

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Awesome! As others have mentioned, I hope to see more options with the slideshow, like description text overlays that can be placed in different areas over the image. The use of thumbnails as navigation controls is another option. More styles will definitely make this the best slideshow ever, assuming you can have text overlays with links.

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- sascha
  
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  We added text overlays for the Slideshow to the latest BETA version :-)
  
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SandbergPDX

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How do I download Widgetkit?

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- robbert.mastebroek
  
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  Just login at the Member Area, and go to Downloads.
  
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donnie.l.rollins

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Yootheme Development staff please strongly consider in your web 2.0 slideshows to include a "loader" option in the widget kit that you can turn on or off. We get many customer complaints about the lack of loaders on the yootheme carousel on clients websites. We get the same complaints with the Zoo Content Slideshow. We often have to select less desirable slide shows because they have loaders.

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Crozy

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Yoo guys rock. Love it!

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Thofr

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it's a pitty that the spotlight effect doesn't work on a mobile device.

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- sascha
  
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  Touch devices have no hover state... You don't have a mouse cursor ;-)
  
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David Soden

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Very good release and core architect. I have not tested but am a bit concerned about HTML5 and browser compatability at the current moment but I would not change this. I think by 2012 this Widgetkit will be as or more amazing then the current tools are now for 1.5. Very pleased and confidence is restored for 1.6.

Thank you Yoo Team! and congradulations...

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seunweb.com

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this is good news to all web admins and J & W users in general. A complete suite of widgets on the go.

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Christian

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Tada! Another great Job done by the Yootheme-Team. It's georgius!

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yofee

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that's great!
But will it be working on Joomla 1.7+?

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bojan.popic

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Aahhh... timing is JUST PERFECT! Thank you!

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Ben

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On the slideshow widget it says it supports html text, does this allow you to control the text size, style, color, background and location on the slide?

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robert.redam

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Nice...

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neejoh

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Does this mean the current tools will not be ported to Joomla 1.6, but our only option is getting on the Widgetkit bandwagon?

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indyfx

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With Slideshow set to 'auto' the user can click the button to advance to the next slide. When finished, I'd suggest that the Slideshow should revert to 'auto' rather than remaining on the clicked slide.

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- jennie
  
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  I totally agree! And I would also like to see a way to link a slideshow image to an article or custom URL. There should be a nice UI for picking an existing article or entering in a custom URL link. Oh, and text caption Titles and article Descriptions would be awesome.
  
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  - Sabature
    
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    I think this is already there.
    
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benjamin.jackson

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How do we get Widgetkit?

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Mo Didley

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Really great but one thing would make it even greater: Please allow image uploading for the Slideshow as this would make it very userfriendly! Thanks a lot!

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- Sabature
  
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  If they did that we would have to link the slides using .txt files in the slideshow folder. I think this way is better because we can link the files...we can also use HTML slices and have different boxes within an HTML slide link seperately...You can even add videos to the HTML slides you do. I quite like this.
  
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cfpmadrid

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Great.

It´s just install and run.

Perfect I´m waiting for the rest

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clank

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where do I download it? I want to test it on a site I have in development. Thank you.

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jose

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perhaps a stupid question... where can I download it?

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gracie

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Can you please provide an update on when the final tool set will be released. Seems like the tools were announced a few months back, but there are only a few available. Also, I think only beta 3 has been released, but seems like many features are still missing, especially in the slideshow. Hope more tools and updates will be released soon. Thanks for the great work.

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preston

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yootheme just keeps gettings better and better, thanks to all of you who develop these nifty tools!

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I<3Yoo

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When can we expect further updates for this?

The BETA is awesome, i am looking forward to a stable release and more widgets!

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Bryce

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Before I buy, is it possible to use the lightbox within the slideshow? As in, slide 1 is visible, click it and open a video in lightbox. Slide 2 rolls in, click it to pop up an outside webpage lightbox. And so on...
Thank you!

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Tuhin Rahman

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Good Job. I like it

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John Venturs

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This works with any template for example "Template Studio for WP"?
Thanks for all

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zrocweb

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Perhaps in the next release of the widgetkits, you could make them available in modules too, not just content. If you try to load a widget in a module with the shortcode, it does not work.... unless I'm missing something

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steve babbitt

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Ok guys, looks like a dream come true. Everything the Yootools had in a much easier package EXCEPT for tabs in the slideshow...

Is it in the plans?

Thanks,

Steve Babbitt

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hugues81

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Great component! would be nice to see zoo and k2 integration...

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Rishah

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WidgetKit is Freakin' Sweet...but how do you do module overrides???

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Wesley

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Is it possible to enable the lightbox to handle PDF files?

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cifra78 WEB DiZaJN

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Nice work !!!! Very nice, good job!

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Richitron

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The best modules for joomla, only from yootheme !

In a wish list I wonder. . .

1.- The media player can maybe have a playlist for multimple videos !? ( this can be great i think )
2.- A module for create advanced forms !?
3.- A module for facebook !?
4.- A Shoutbox module for the site !? ( this can be great i think )
5.- YOOcarousel !??

Yoo rules !! Great job like always !! The best for the community yoo !!

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mfragk

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excellent work!!

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rudi.van.der.duim

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I like to know how to use the widgetkit

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anna.robinson

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Perfect - even more perfect - and then there is Widgetkit :-)

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pablo

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Great stuff! The best :) THX YOOtheme™

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tipshare

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Can i use widgetket media player for zoo. Thank you.

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david.raila

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I have an older site that uses youcarousel, which slideshows content
pages from a category. Is this possible using the widget slideshow?
I have not seen this option, and I really don't want to go through changing
all of the old content, but perhaps I'll have to.
Thanks

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- sascha
  
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  The old YOOcarousel is not supported anymore. You have to use Widgetkit instead. You can also load Joomla articles like in the old YOOcarousel. So you only have to pick a style which fits your needs :-)
  
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