 Version 4.0
FirstClass Depot is pleased to announce that RWD Version 4 is now available for customers who have current Maintenance and Support contracts* ( see contact us).
RWD version 4 is a coming of age for this unique and very successful product. We've added some significant features, enhanced others. We also redesigned the look of RWD on the inside with an enhanced user interface, consistent branding and a new logo. Designed for servers running FirstClass 9 and above, RWD 4 is going to change the way you publish!
We've broken out our upgrades into three main areas:
1) Design and Layout Enhancements - New in this release:
- Improved forms - Our new form designs maintain the familiar layout of the existing RWD forms but incorporates some key functions in buttons right on the form such as spell check, close, save and close and help.
- Drop-Down Menus - Header Links bars can now contain more links because a link that is visible on the bar itself can have any number of sub-links that are only visible when a web user clicks on the drop-down icon. The links will appear as a vertical list below the parent item that is on the Header Links bar itself. The drop-down feature also supports grouping of sub-links.
- Improved Navigtion Sidebar Collapsable menus - Navigation Sidebar links that are hidden beneath a headline now open when a web user hovers their mouse over the headline. Previously, the web user had to click on the drop-down / expand icon to make the links visible.
- Slide Shows - RWD now supports two methods of showing multiple images in the Header or Banner sections of the page; the existing random display of a list of images on page refresh is still supported but we've introduced a slide show feature that displays the list of images sequentially with no page refresh required. You have control over the speed with which the slide show progresses and whether or not you want the progression of images to pause when the user hovers their mouse over a particular image. Slide shows can be run in any or all of the left and right logo area in the Header Section and the left and right banner image.
- Localization - Some of the text links and icons that have been hard coded into RWD can now be customized on a site by site basis using a new tab on the RWDe Administrator (.sitepref) form. Print, Close and Text Only are examples of text that can be changed to suit a language requirement or to adhere to a site design.
- Code Insertion - Customers often want to incorporate code that provides functionality outside that which RWD provides. In RWD 4, we've modified the templates to look for specific files that are user-configurable in which custom codes, scripts, CSS and tags can be placed. The code insertion capability lets you completely customize RWD without having to risk damage to the core templates. Code insertion can be applied both at a global (all sites on the server) level and on a site by site basis. Code Insertion can be deployed to sites exactly as the Global Control Feature that was introduced in RWD 3
- Media Plugin - RWD 4 incorporates a media player that will automatically create a set of controls on any RWD web page when you drag an MP3 or Flash Video file onto the page body. This player will stream the file to the browser so that the web user can begin to view / hear the media file, quickly, even if the file is quite large.
- Mashup Formatting - Previously, Mashup panels had borders that were the same color as the font in the title tab of the panel. This made it impossible to use a white font on a dark tab when the page background color was white (which it usually is) and still have a visible border for the panel. The mashup now has a set of controls to set the color and thickness of any borders around the panels.
2) FirstClass Objects / Other Objects on the web - New in this release:
 Blog Preview Object in Mashups
The existing RWD 3 functionality of displaying the subjects of the most recent 6 items in a conference as a list in a mashup has been preserved but a new object has been created to enhance the mashup.
The new Container Preview feature for the mashup will display the 3 most recent postings to any conference that is a member of the RWD Blog CG group. In addition to the subject line, the object will also display a preview of the content of the posting and, if present, a thumbnail image.
In order to support this feature, the blog message posting form has been upgraded to include an image thumbnail field and the blog container now shows the preview.
The web listing of blog items has also been upgraded to include the image preview for postings that contain an image: 
Graphics Gallery Slide show in Mashups
 The Graphics Gallery object is now available in a Mashup panel as a slide show. Images loaded to a graphics gallery container can be viewed either as a full graphics gallery page, or now as a panel in the mashup. The images will rotate through the gallery sequentially but if any images have links associated with them, the URL for that image will be active during the time the image is being displayed (4 seconds per image).
Graphics Gallery
 A few improvements to the Graphics Gallery have been added to this version of RWD including a more intuitive container for users. 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.
In version 3, Site Administrators could limit the size of pictures that would display in the graphics gallery to prevent web visitors to have to suffer through long load times for large images. Now in version 4, all images will show but images that are larger than the threshold set by the Site Administrator will be thumbnailed. The quality of thumbnailed images is somewhat low however the image will display.
3) Automation and Management Control - New in this release:
RWD Program look and feel
 In order to make RWD easier to use, we've completely re-dressed the application with all new icons, consistent backgrounds, and more intuitive toolbar buttons.
Our forms have been redesigned to provide more functionality, widen fields where data didn't fit and clearly indicate which form you are using. We also added some command buttons right on the forms so that common tasks can be performed more quickly (Spell Check, Close with option to Save, Save and Close and Help) Don't worry, we didn't change things so much that you won't know where you are!
Online Help Website
In addition to the documentation that is installed when RWD is installed on your system, all RWD documentation is available in one of two websites and the sites are accessible directly from the various RWD forms in FirstClass. This approach will enable you to access the very latest documentation at all times.
One website is for general users of RWD and contains the scaled-down documentation suitable for that level of publishing. Tips and tricks (called Builder Bullets) are available and will be updated as new thinking emerges and best practices are refined. Our intent is to provide short video presentations to demonstrate the key functions so that users can get up and running more quickly.
The Site Administrators, FirstClass Administrators and Advanced Builders on your system can access more in-depth documentation on the Administrator Help website as well as the RWD Admin Postings conference where we post things that Site Administrators need to know - particularly bug fixes and workarounds as they are available.
Enhanced Pickers
 Pickers were introduced in RWD 2 as means of providing pre-made content to web page builders easily.
In RWD 4, we've added some more templates with the latest thinking about how to deliver content via this remarkable method.
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 4, 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 4 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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