Page Sections Plus

CMS Made Simple module. Version 1.6.8. It adds a {content_module} block for repeatable two-column sections.

Install

1. Copy this folder to modules/PageSectionsPlus.
2. In the admin, open Extensions → Modules and install Page Sections Plus.
3. Add this tag to a page template:

{content_module module="PageSectionsPlus" block="sections" label="Page Sections"}

Upgrade

1. Copy the new files over modules/PageSectionsPlus.
2. Open Extensions → Modules and click Upgrade beside Page Sections Plus.
3. Clear tmp/cache and tmp/templates_c.

Upgrading from 1.0.0 registers the frontend template in Design Manager. A customised 1.0 module template is copied across when the Design Manager copy is still the factory default.

Editor

• Drag the handle to reorder sections.
• Each side has its own Bootstrap background.
• WYSIWYG uses the CMSMS editor for normal formatted text.
• Gallery (GMS) appears only when Gallery Made Simple is installed and available. Editors can select a saved gallery without entering a module tag; pictures and layout are managed in GMS. Without GMS, text and image sections keep working. Previously saved gallery selections are retained and resume when GMS is restored.
• Image offers Upload image, Use image link +, and the native CMSMS File Picker. Imported URLs are copied onto the hosting, and the preview appears in the box.
• Image position is left, centre, or right.
• Each picture in each section has its own Tilt picture checkbox. Untick it for a straight picture. New pictures and existing pictures without a saved choice default to ticked. Explicitly unticked choices remain unticked after saving, reordering or swapping sides.
• Custom frontend templates can use $col.tilt (or $item.left.tilt / $item.right.tilt), which is '1' for tilted and '0' for straight. The Bootstrap template honours it. Custom templates can use this value to choose their own image styling.

Permissions

Version 1.5.0 adds separate Backend Group Permissions for deleting sections, reordering and swapping, File Picker, image-link import, content type, and backgrounds. Restricted controls are hidden, but editors can still change text and alt text and upload images using the upload button or pencil icon.

Page Sections Plus: view help controls the help text under Extensions → Modules → Help and the Page Sections Plus screen under Extensions. Leave it unchecked to hide that help. The Admin group receives it on install and upgrade. After changing the permission, log out and back in.

External image requests

Use image link does not use a fixed third-party service. It sends an HTTP(S) GET request from the hosting server to the exact public image URL entered by the editor, transmitting the normal request headers and server IP address. The selected website supplies its own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy; review those on that website before importing its image. No request is made until an editor chooses to import a URL.

• Purpose: copy the editor-selected public image onto the CMSMS hosting.
• Data sent: a GET request, normal HTTP headers, and the hosting server's IP address.
• Terms of Service URL: no fixed URL; it is the terms URL published by the editor-selected image host.
• Privacy Policy URL: no fixed URL; it is the privacy URL published by the editor-selected image host.

Frontend

• Both sides filled: two columns.
• Only text on one side: that text spans the full width.
• Only an image on one side: the image sits left, centre, or right.

Two Design Manager templates are installed:

• PageSectionsPlus Basic is the default. It contains minimal Smarty output without a frontend data dump or layout framework.
• PageSectionsPlus Bootstrap is the complete frontend layout, focused on websites using Bootstrap 5.3.

Select the Bootstrap template with:

{content_module module="PageSectionsPlus" block="sections" template="PageSectionsPlus Bootstrap"}

Edit either template under Layout → Design Manager → Templates.

Help for the module is in doc/module_help.inc. It is shown under Extensions → Modules → Help only for groups that have Page Sections Plus: view help.

Public distribution (1.6.6)

The module and examples use general-purpose names, with no site content or images included. Syntax checks passed locally; installation in a running CMSMS site remains to be verified. The Basic template supplies unstyled content output. Use the Bootstrap template for a complete layout.

Forge preparation (1.6.7)

Removed the factory Basic template’s developer inspection output. Upgrades refresh only the unchanged previous factory Basic template; customised templates remain intact. Added licence headers and the project banner.

Credits and acknowledgements

See CREDITS.md for the projects, contributors, services, documentation and artwork that support this module. Existing licence notices are preserved.

Optional GMS galleries

GMS is optional, not an installation dependency. Version 1.6.8 hides gallery controls when GMS is unavailable and omits unavailable gallery columns from frontend output while retaining their saved IDs. A remaining text or picture column uses the full-width layout.

The upgrade refreshes only the unchanged factory Bootstrap template. Customised Design Manager templates are preserved. If your custom template calls {GMS ...}, replace that call with the core tag inside the availability guard, for example:

{if $gms_available}{cms_module module='GMS' gallery=$item.left.gallery show_buttons='0'}{/if}

The core cms_module tag allows the template to compile when the optional GMS short tag is absent.