Simply robust WCM

PaperThin has announced a significant upgrade to its mid-market Web content management solution. Especially noteworthy in CommonSpot 5.0 is its inherent ease of use.

PaperThin further highlights the following new features in CommonSpot 5.0:

• RSS, Atom and Podcasting feeds—Business users can now deliver content to any news reader, Web browser or e-mail program in one step as an RSS, Atom or Podcast feed without writing any code. Users can also easily create live bookmarks on a page, so visitors can subscribe to feeds of interest through CommonSpot’s Feed Index Element. The listing is automatically generated, displayed and updated based on filtered metadata criteria. A point-and-click interface and more than a dozen pre-defined options provide the ability to easily control the feed index layout, as well as the ability to link instantly to popular RSS readers such as Google, Windows Live and MyYahoo.
• New XML capabilities—Version 5.0 is completely customizable and configurable, giving developers and site administrators the flexibility needed to define ease of use for their organization. Significant enhancements in XML rendering and XSL style sheets make it simple to manage the formatting and display of content.
• Custom application development framework—This capability makes it easier to develop applications and move them into production or share them with the CommonSpot community. Deploying applications built within the framework allows organizations to take advantage of best practices and best-of-breed, add-on applications without having to write code. In Version 5.0, PaperThin has made available four open source applications—Blog, Wiki, RSS Reader and multiview Events Calendar.
• Improved authoring interface—Users can take advantage of intuitive, in-context editing; quick access to toolbars, menus and other common functions; and simple rollover and Windows-style menus for maximum ease of use. Layout tools allow users to easily manipulate the look and feel of content, and the most commonly used tools are right up front so tasks can be completed in fewer clicks. New features such as consolidated icons, content outlining and keyboard shortcuts are also available. Administrators, technical managers, developers and Webmasters can customize the interface to define the user experience for maximum ease of use.
• Improved WYSIWYG rich text editor—This browser-based feature includes enhanced editing features, wide browser and platform compatibility, improved standards-based support and easy-to-use Microsoft Word-like toolbars. It also provides an array of other features including: support for standards-based format tags, text find and replace, HTML clean functions, property inspector panels, contextual menus and style definitions.
• Browser-based image editing—New functionality allows users to easily edit and manage digital assets, such as images, photos and other graphics directly within the system. More than 20 popular image manipulation functions are available, including image crop, re-size, rotate, blur, compress, zoom, adjust contrast and brightness, flip vertically and horizontally, etc.
• Import/export module—Administrators can develop and extend CommonSpot applications and modules such as custom content objects, custom field types, metadata forms and field masks. Further, says PaperThin, administrators can share applications between sites and carry over custom-developed code and applications. The import/export feature also enables developers to post applications and modules to the developer’s tag gallery, making it simple to share popular applications with others in the CommonSpot community.