 Version 3.0
FirstClass Depot is pleased to announce that RWD Version 3 is now available for customers who have current Maintenance and Support contracts* ( see contact us).
RWD version 3 is our most aggressive release yet. Designed for FirstClass 9 and above, RWD 3 is packed with new features and new management structures.
We've broken out our upgrades into three main areas:
1) Design and Layout Enhancements - New in this release:
- Improved form handling - field control and layout enhancements to make using the RWD forms easier
- New controls to govern the behavior of the scrolling message feature - scroll speed, scroll direction, loop and bounce can be set
- Addition of support for FLASH in the main Banner image (see top right banner of this web page)
- Support for left and right images in the Header Links Bar - this allows you to set the height of the bar as well as display images across sections
- Header Links Bar can now have custom character(s) or an image to separate links (instead of the default | character)
- Collapsible (rollup) Menus in the Navigation Sidebar - All links can be visible or just Headlines until a user clicks on them at which time they roll down
- Navigation Sidebar width can now be set specifically without having to use a graphic in a row of the content area
- Information Sidebar width can now be set specifically without having to use a graphic in one of the content areas
- Any document or page or Calendar event in the website can be printed right from the web (including this page). The RWD print function removes the web wrapper from content in your site and scales everything to fit a printed page.
- Page background colors can be set centrally for all pages to maintain a consistent graphical appearance. This new feature also allows for a graphical framing effect on pages
2) FirstClass Objects / Other Objects on the web - New in this release:
 Embedded Objects
The Navigation Sidebar can now contain embedded FirstClass conferences and folders. They appear as a static or vertically scrolling listing of the subject line of each item in the container. Static lists are limited to 6 items with an icon which users can click to see the whole contents of the container if desired. When a web user hovers their mouse over any item, a preview of the document or message pops up in it's own window and the user can click to open the entire document in the RWD Message Blog view.
Calendars can be embedded right in the Navigation Sidebar as well. There are two different views of a calendar available. A month view displays a traditional monthly calendar in the Sidebar and days with events in them are in bold. When a mouse cursor hovers over a particular day, all of the events for that day pop up into a small window on the web - clicking on any event will open the calendar to that particular event.
Alternatively, a 'Today's Events' view of a calendar can be embedded into the Navigation Sidebar. This view shows only those events scheduled for the current day in a list view, although a web user can move backwards and forward through days.
Flash and other web content can be embedded into the Navigation Sidebar using a special tag that creates an iFrame. This feature can be used to conduct web surveys, embed local weather, video, etc.
Mashups
 RWD now offers the capability of displaying content from a variety of sources all in one web page. Using AJAX technology, the mashup can feature any combination of:
- pages from inside the existing site
- pages from outside sites
- Conference or Folder listings (scrolling or static)
- Calendars (Monthly or 'Today's Events')
- Images
- iFrames containing, well, pretty much anything (Flash, YouTube, Video, Audio, other Websites....etc)
All objects rendered in a mashup except iFrames are done so without the use of frames!
A mashup is an excellent method for schools to display a wide variety of content from sources that traditionally compete for space on the front page of the organization; Schools can feature administrative content, news, calendars, and content from various sources such as the athletics department, band, the Superintendent, Principal, etc. all in one place.
Graphics Gallery
 A much improved Graphics Gallery has been added to this version of RWD. Correctly sized images can be uploaded to a folder and instantly rendered on the web with a variety of controls to govern the original display size and captions etc.
Site Administrators can limit the size of pictures that will display in the graphics gallery to prevent web visitors to have to suffer through long load times for large images.
The Graphics Gallery is available as an object in a picker and can be deployed to a site very easily.
3) Automation and Management Control - New in this release:
Global Site Control
As of version 3 of RWD, a new functionality has been introduced to allow the organization to have a common, global influence on all sites from a single interface. The Global Site control form can broadcast an organizational branding element (banner images) to the top of every website in the system at the same time.
Previously in RWD, each Site Administrator was responsible for the both their own site's branding and layout, and that of the global organization. In the new system, each site has control of their own elements but no control over the global elements which are now managed by a central 'super' administrator.
In addition to the global banner, a scrolling message can be added to all pages across all sites in the entire system. This can be used as an emergency warning system or for any other kind of district-wide notification.
The Global Site Control feature can be set up as a single form for all sites, or multiple forms for groups of sites.
Enhanced Pickers
 Pickers were introduced in RWD 2 as means of providing pre-made content to web page builders easily.
In RWD 3, we've added some objects to the existing pickers and created a new picker for the exclusive use of RWDe Site Administrators.
Using the pickers, website builders can add pre-templated pages (with pre-made tables, etc in them), they can add folders, blog conferences, podcasts, graphics galleries, calendars and pre-templated mini-websites. In addition to what comes with RWD, customers can add their own content to the picker system to deploy a virtually limitless set of objects to the user base.
Enhanced Administrative Automation
When FirstClass upgrades take place, a set of steps must be taken by the FirstClass Administrator to restore the relationship between RWD and FirstClass Internet Services. In previous versions of RWD, these steps had to be performed manually. In RWD 3, the restoration of function is as quick as a click of a button - both to standard sites and sites where Internet Services is clustered.
Deployment of Global Control functionality also has been set up as a one-click operation.
Enterprise Site Management
In large sites with many school sites in them (and, by extension very large numbers of teacher sites), the deployment and administration of teacher sites can be rather complicated. Teachers are hired, transferred, retired, etc. and keeping track of the directory of these teacher's sites requires a fairly constant level of attention. FirstClass Depot has developed a platform for managing these situation using FirstClass Application Services (FCAS). Enterprise Site Management for RWD is an open ended application that requires customization for each customer but, once in place, can dramatically reduce administrative requirements within the system.
Data Connectivity
An ongoing focus of FirstClass Depot is the ability to integrate both FirstClass content and organizational back-end data on the web. Parent Portals, Corporate Portals and private websites are becoming more and more important as RWD develops. FirstClass Depot has developed several of these types of applications and some of the development in RWD 3 lends itself to a better user experience in these types of applications. Individual consultation is required to provide more information in this area*
Contact Us
*Please contact us to book a demonstration of RWD or to discuss the upgrade process. Because there are a number of different implementations of RWD around the world, this upgrade must be done in partnership with our support group at FirstClass Depot. After this version is installed, we expect future upgrades to the product to be self-serve capable.
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