Hello. Sorry if I'm spamming the board lately! I have another newbie question and haven't found the answer elsewhere.
What is the procedure for sharing source files with other developers to edit? Is it as simple as passing the directory on to them or is it a more complicated process (grunt could be an issue)?
are you using a version control system like SVN or GIT?
Hi Matt. I don't believe so. I know I had to use Git to get the framework installed, but beyond that I don't know.
I have to admit I don't totally understand how all the pieces work here. How might my team use Git to move files back and forth?
That's a very big question you're asking there, Arend! More than I can really deal with in this post...It's something you need to read up on separately.
I will say two things though - firstly I really cannot imagine working without a version control system, although I did used to do so many years ago. Now it seems as crazy a riding a motorbike with no helmet or armour...whilst drunk.
I would also say that Git is not necessarily the version control system to choose, SVN (Subversion) is certainly easier to learn. There's a good response on stackoverflow to the question "Why is Git better than Subversion?" that, despite being written a few years ago, is still spot-on (ignore the other responses though they are very out of date).
I was really asking more so that I could answer your question with an understanding of how you work.
Anyway, in terms of sharing the files, you could just share the src folder plus the various files that sit alongside it (adapt.json, config.js, Gruntfile.js etc.) you could share the build folder as well but since that's entirely generated from the src you don't need to
I wouldn't try sharing the node_modules folder, you'll find it's really hard to move around (or zip up). If you pass the source files to someone else they can run npm install to generate their own copy of node_modules.
I installed the framework using this procedure. I'm just modifying the example file (with the Vanilla theme) that was provided when I downloaded the framework. I have to suspect I'm not alone in finding Adapt to have a steep learning curve. A lot of us designers have only a basic understanding of code (though my goal is to get more comfortable), so a lot of this stuff is a challenge to understand.
Is there a simple way to explain how working with a version control system works, and how that might differ from what I'm currently doing? And what are the advantages of a version control system?
So if I just shared my src folder along with the files you mentioned, the other developers on my team would just download the framework and then replace their files with mine? As far as compiling the project, would they have any problem there, and would I have any problems when they sent the files back to me?
Thanks!
Is there a simple way to explain how working with a version control system works, and how that might differ from what I'm currently doing?
This is a good article to read: An introduction to version control.
And what are the advantages of a version control system?
The above article should have answered much of that question too, but worth reading this very succinct answer on stackoverflow as well.
You certainly can share your files with the other developers on your team and they should have no problems compiling provided they are set up correctly. They won't have to download the framework itself - you already have that and will be sending your modified copy of it to them - they'll just need to install the prerequisites then, once they have your copy, run npm_install to create the 'node_modules' folder.
You should not have any problems when they send the files back to you, assuming only one of them is working on it at a time and thus always has the most up-to-date version (a version control system would avoid this problem).
BTW from the kind of questions you're asking on these forums it sounds like you're managing the learning curve pretty nicely...
Thanks Matt! I've been developing with Storyline (and Captivate to a lesser extent) for a while now, but I've seen the writing on the wall this year with mobile and I don't feel like either of the above products have an ideal solution. I'm also of the opinion that slide-based learning is going to go the way of the dodo.
It's also just a good thing to know more code.
Why are you using the framework and not the authoring tool (to get to know adapt) if coding experience is limited?
we have the same situation in our team and we decided to use the builder only. A more experienced developer can do stuff like developing a theme and maybe add some plug-ins to the authoring tool.
To share the files we only need to logon to the same webserver and use the authoring tool from there. It would still be usefull to use some sort of version control or block files or pages being used, but that is not yet available in the authoring tool.
Hi,
That was the only training I saw on YouTube. I did not see anything on the authoring tools. And to be honest, I would really like to know what I am doing wrong.
Thanks
Hey Sander,
Can you help me out in sharing the code with my team. I'm unable to share my course with my team. So can you tell me the procedure to share the course in adapt builder, and after sharing how can my team preview the course?
With the latest node upgrade we can export the code but how can we import the code??
and what does shared courses mean in adapt builder??
Hi Juhi,
To action Sander's advice, you need to have the authoring tool installed on a server, or otherwise have a local installation available to other computers on your network. You'll probably need to speak to your IT team about this.
The export feature released in v0.1.5 is intended to enable teams to work both in the authoring tool and standalone in the framework, using the grunt build process. This is not a method by which to transport courses between different installations of the authoring tool (although we are working on that feature as a priority, see our dedicated gitter chat room for more). The way we use this 'developer's export' is to allow our theme developers to work on the styling outside of the tool, while our course designers create the content using the tool. The theme devs can then upload their theme back into the tool when done.
The shared courses area in the tool (see the button in the dashboard screen) allows you to view courses created by other users of the tool (as we haven't integrated any user management into the tool, I'm assuming you're using one user, and so this won't be useful to you).