Open Source Magnolia CMS Adds Collaboration Tools

Magnolia has updated its open source content management system to allow multiple people to edit the content at the same time. Magnolia version 4.4 also adds content translation, multi-step forms, and a page comparison feature, among other enhancements.

The translation feature allows the user to export and re-import translated text in the CSV or Excel format to speed up translations for sites maintained in multiple languages. The new form module lets Web site visitors move forward and backward in multi-page forms without losing data they've already entered. The page comparison feature lets a user view what has been changed between two versions of the same page.

The new version of Magnolia also enhances deletion capabilities. When a user marks a page for deletion, it's still kept around in case the site is simply being reorganized. Once all restructuring has been done, the deletion is finalized. A new dependency management component lets the user know about potential broken links between pages.

The application is in use at Texas State University San Marcos, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, and the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium.

A "community" version of Magnolia is available as free open source code. An enterprise edition, which includes additional features for large organizations, as well as consulting professional services and support, starts at $12,000.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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