Bitrix Site Manager 4.0 features review

Advertising

The Advertising module aims at managing and selling the advertising places on one or more sites build with a single copy of the product. The module allows to place advertising of any type, take full control of its shows, make contracts with advertisers, plan media activity, show advertising to the target audience according to the advertising campaign, limit banner clicks and other.

The Advertising module gives an opportunity to:

• define advertising areas in the site design;
• create an unlimited number of advertising types used to manage advertising areas;
• manage advertising of any type: image banners, html banners, flash banners, pop-ups and other;
• edit HTML banners using the embedded HTML editor;
• manage the external advertisement rotators to show third-party banners on your site;
• create an unlimited number of advertising banners;
• place an unlimited number of banners in a single advertising area; regulate the probability of shows of different banners in a single area;
• set the following banner settings:
  • placing and timing of banner shows (limitations):
    • weight (priority);
    • maximum number of visitors to view the banner;
    • maximum number of shows of a banner to one visitor;
    • maximum number of banner shows;
    • need in clicks registration;
    • maximum number of banner clicks;
    • time range of banner shows (the starting and ending dates);
    • time and week days of shows within the specified range of dates;
    • maximum number of shows of a banner to one visitor (banner shows and the visitor uniqueness is the system wide parameter counted for all sites); if you set a limit of 4 shows to a banner, shows will be applied to all sites;
  • targeting :
    • sites to show a banner;
    • site visitors (banner can be shown to new visitors; to returned visitors or to all visitors);
    • sections and pages that will only display a banner;
    • sections and pages that will not display a banner;
    • keywords (on both pages and information blocks) that would predefine the banner shows;
    • display banner to visitors from certain countries only;
    • advertising campaigns (show banners to visitors under certain campaigns);
  • media :
    • image;
    • tooltip;
    • link URL; the template #EVENT_GID# can be used in the link, this template is a subject for replacement with the visitor identifier (used in the Statistics module);
    • URL target window: same window the link was clicked in (_self), immediate parent of the document the link is in (_blank), own frameset (_parent), full body of the window (_ top);
    • HTML banner; use of visual HTML editor to change the code; the following five random numbers can be used in the banner code for compatibility with external advertisement systems: #RANDOM1#, #RANDOM2#, #RANDOM3#, #RANDOM4#, #RANDOM5#;
  • method of clicks registration in the Statistics module (event1, event2, event3 are the parameters identifying an event type); banner code can use the following fields: #BANNER_NAME#, #BANNER_ID#, #CONTRACT_ID#, #TYPE_SID#;
  • administrator's comments;
  • banner status:
    • consideration status: «Approved», «On approval», «Rejected»;
    • status comments;
    • option to notify banner owners on the status change;
• modify permissions to access the Advertising module according to roles: administrator, banner manager, advertising manager, demo access ;
• create an unlimited number of advertising contracts for advertisers;
• specify the following parameters of a contract:
  • restrict banner shows :
    • sites under the advertiser's control;
    • types of banners allowed for an advertiser;
    • maximum number of visitors allowed to view the contract banners;
    • maximum number of shows of the contract banners;
    • maximum number of clicks on the contract banners;
    • sections and pages to show a banner (banner will be shown on the specified pages and sections only);
    • sections and pages to not show a banner;
    • keywords (in pages and information blocks), in the presence of which the contract banners are allowed to show;
    • show banners to visitors from specified countries only;
    • show banners to visitors under certain advertising campaigns only;
    • show banners to new site visitors; returned visitors; all visitors;
    • shows restricted to time and days of week within the specified range of days;
  • assign permissions to access the contract among advertisers and employees:
    • define user groups allowed to view the contract statistics;
    • define user groups allowed to manage the contract banners;
    • define user groups allowed to edit other users' access permissions;
  • leave administrative comments;
• analyse daily information on the dynamics of contracts and banners using graphs : visitors, shows, clicks, CTR;
• give advertisers access to reports on contracts and banners.

Helpdesk

The module is intended to organize the technical support service (hereinafter referred to as the techsupport) to give the site users a better consultancy by means of using the web-based interface and by e-mail. Visitors can ask their questions, get and evaluate replies and continue the discussion if necessary. The site administration can control the support service in the real time, appoint and define persons in charge, quality and efficiency of their work and other.

By appealing to the support service, a user can:

• send a support request to the techsupport using the web interface, e-mail or by phone;
• attach an image to the message (e.g. screenshot with the problem depicture);
• choose the trouble ticket category;
• assign a level of urgency to a ticket;
• receive confirmations via the e-mail;
• receive replies via the e-mail;
• evaluate replies;
• continue discussion;
• close a trouble ticket.

The module allows to:

• receive support requests via the web interface, e-mail, forum, phone or other sources;
• classify requests by categories;
• assign a responsible person in charge to each category:
  • when creating a new ticket, the responsible can be assigned automatically depending on category, urgency level;
  • if no responsible can be assigned , the default responsible person can be assigned if the preference Default person in charge is set;
  • after the ticked have been added to the database, the responsible person receives an e-mail notification;
  • if the responsible person cannot be assigned , the notice is sent to all users with permission Techsupport administrator;
  • upon change of the ticket by the responsible, the author of the ticket is notified via the e-mail;
  • upon change of the ticket by the author, the responsible and/or techsupport administrators of the ticket are notified via the e-mail;
  • if a new responsible person is assigned to a ticket, the new responsible and the author of the ticket are notified via the e-mail.
• add the required ticket states (e.g. New, Open, Resolved etc);
• customize the reply ranks , that a ticket creator can apply (e.g.: Satisfied, Incomplete etc.);
• customize the urgency levels (e.g. high, normal, low etc.);
• set parameters of the additional information sources (e.g. e-mail, phone, forum etc.);
• receive support requests using the Mail module;
• mark the e-mail messages as spam , thereby teaching the Mail module to filter spam more effectively and delete messages;
• perform the following actions to tickets:
  • close;
  • open (open tickets allow the creation of new tickets);
  • withdraw the spam mark (unmarks the suspicious messages);
  • mark a ticket as spam suspicious;
  • mark a ticket as spam (unambiguously identifies spam messages);
  • mark a ticket as spam and delete it (unambiguously identifies spam messages and deletes it);
  • delete a ticket.
• exchange hidden messages between techsupport team members in the context of a ticket so as not to unveil the service internals to the ticket author. If the flag Hide message from author is set the message is created as hidden; what is more, the author is not notified about all current actions while the involved techsupport members receive notifications. The hidden mode can be set as the default mode;
• permit the following actions when editing a ticket:
  • quote – a link allowing to insert quotes;
  • original – a link to the original e-mail address in the Mail module (only if a message had been received via the Mail module);
  • edit – link allowing to edit messages; available to administrators only;
  • delete – link allowing to delete messages; available to administrators only.
• select an answer template from the drop-down list ; available to administrators or responsibles only;
• leave comments visible to users of the techsupport group only;
• register new tickets in the Statistics module;
• limit the size of uploaded images for users outside the techsupport group;
• display information on users who viewed the ticket for a certain period;
• assign permissions to access the Techsupport module:
  • deny – access to menu and files denied, user cannot create tickets;
  • techsupport client – user can access the Tickets menu; user can create and edit own tickets and messages;
  • techsupport member – user can access all menus and module pages; user can edit only his or her own tickets;
  • demo – user can view all tickets and messages;
  • techsupport administrator – user can edit the techsupport knowledge base, tickets and messages..
    All permissions are inheritable.
• the site administrators and the persons in charge can modify the following fields:
  • category;
  • person in charge;
  • ticket status;
  • close ticket;
  • comment.
• the ticket author can modify the following fields:
  • urgency level;
  • field for additional message or reply to the techsupport;
  • resolution evaluation.
• the site and techsupport administrators can modify the ticket and messages directly:
  • Source / From – source and author of the ticket; if a techsupport member owns a Read permission for the Main module, a user for this field can be selected in a helper window (button "..."). User information is provided automatically upon correct input in the user ID field. By default, all operations are performed on behalf of the ticket author. The default source is "web";
  • message ordinal – number of message that affects the message position in discussion;
  • image – fields for image replacement or deletion;
  • body – message itself.
• receive reports on the techsupport work displaying the number of new, closed and open tickets:
  • by responsible person;
  • by urgency level;
  • by current state;
  • by category;
  • by source;
  • by resolution estimates.
• build graphs of the techsupport load which display the number of tickets and messages in the techsupport system on the daily basis. These graphs reflect the service load on the specific date and can be used for technical support management;
• build charts of the problem solution length; a pie chart depicts the average days required to resolve the problem ;
• build charts of the number of messages required to resolve the problem; a diagram displays the percentage of messages in closed tickets;
• work with tickets-and-load graphs on the per-site basis;
• bind ticket source, questions and answers, estimates, status, urgency levels categories to multiple sites.

 Mail 

The module is intended for jobs that involve receiving mail messages via the POP3 protocol, performing actions within the software core, site or server according to the scheduled tasks. The standard package includes a rule for processing mail messages sent via the e-mail to the technical support service. To protect the system against spam, a special algorithm is evolved based on the Bayes principles.

The module allows:

• create and support an unlimited number of e-mail accounts in the system;
• receive messages with an option to delete or leave messages on the server;
• check for new messages at the specified time interval;
• set the limit for number of messages received from server during a single connection session (residuary messages will be received in the course of the next connection);
• centralize store all mail messages relevant to the site;
• process messages (view messages and attachments; apply rules etc.);
• create and apply rules to the incoming messages in both automated and manual modes;
• set the rule parameters;
• utilize the self-training spam filtering system;
• keep the Mail module log and store information on all events concerned with the module functioning and the message receipt (incoming and outcoming requests and replies; application of rules and actions). 

Forums

The module provides for creating the required number of forums which can be used to maintain communities, discuss articles, generate site audience or other purposes.

Using the Forum module, the administrator can:

• create an unlimited number of forums;
• classify forums by subject (forum groups);
• assign the access permissions of visitors and administrators according to user groups; available permissions in ascending order: deny; read; reply; new thread; moderate; modify; full access;
• create moderated and post-moderated forums;
• set the following forum parameters:
  • replace new line with <br> (for HTML);
  • allow links (<a href=...>);
  • allow tags B, U, I (<b> <u> <i>);
  • allow images(<img src=...>);
  • allow lists (<ul><li>);
  • allow quotes(<quote>);
  • allow codes (<code>);
  • allow fonts (<font color=...>);
  • allow HTML;
  • allow smileys;
  • allow file uploads; options: none; images; files with certain extensions; any files;
  • ask unregistered users for the e-mail address;
  • set sort mode : sort by date of the last message, subject, number of replies, starting date, author;
  • sort in both ascending and descending orders ;
  • select sites that will avail of a forum and set the message path template;
  • set an event type that will be used for registering new messages in the Statistics module;
• customize user rank names: guest, partner, trusted, expert, novice etc;
• customize scoring system to depend on the number of user messages; variable scores depending on the user activity;
• forum users rating system allowing forum users to award others depending on their rank; number of the awarded scores can be set by the administrator;
• automatically give ranks upon getting a certain number of scores by a user;
• customize icons and smileys for use in forum messages;
• choose between two forum designs;
• customize the forum design using module functions and classes while maintaining compatibility with software updates;
• create private communities allowing authorized users only without permission to edit profiles already approved by the administrator;
• add forum management buttons to the site toolbar for quicker access;
• forum moderators can subscribe to the desired messages only;
• use API's to integrate the forum into the custom business logics of the site;
• integrate forums with information blocks for the discussion of articles, news, products etc.

Moderators can:

• move threads between forums;
• close and open forum threads; this allows corporations to give the official reply and close the unwanted thread while leaving it read-only;
• pin threads on top of a subject;
• delete threads;
• hide / unhide messages;
• edit messages;
• delete messages;
• send messages to the technical support;
• obtain the detailed information on a visitor: IP address, track visitor's paths using the Statistics module and deny user's access both by the profile and IP address;.

Forum users can:

• create new threads;
• post messages and reply to messages;
• subscribe to all new forum messages;
• subscribe to all new thread messages;
• subscribe to all new messages;
• subscribe to new threads;
• format message text (apply colour, font, bold, italics; add hyperlinks, images, lists etc.) depending on the forum administrator's settings;
• create signature to automatically add to each new message;
• edit their messages (authorized users unless message has no replies);
• upload files with messages (types of allowed files are defined by the administrator);
• edit their profiles;
• select avatars (small image shown with messages);
• subscribe to forum or thread messages to receive copies of messages while not taking part in discussions;
• view online users;
• send private messages to users via the e-mail;
• view the users' today birthday list.

Web Forms

The Web Forms module provides for creating and publishing web forms (surveys, request and comment forms etc.) along with the processing, storing and classifying of the obtained information.

With this module, you can:

• create an unlimited number of web forms of different types , e.g. surveys, registration forms, comment forms, request forms etc.;
• obtain, process and store the web form results;
• export the obtained data in the Excel format;
• create an unlimited number of questions and possible answers in forms;
• set the required option for a question;
• create questions in HTML and text format;
• use various field types for answers:
  • text – single line text;
  • textarea – multiline text;
  • multiselect – list of options with multiple selection;
  • dropdown – list of options with single selection;
  • radio – set of radio buttons (single selection);
  • checkbox - set of check buttons (multiple selection);
  • image – image field;
  • date – input of date with embedded calendar.
• select components in the visual editor for :
  • display of a form;
  • display of the result;
  • printing of the result;
  • result modification;
  • sending the result via the e-mail (with automated generation of templates).
• customize the form appearance through the use of the module API's;
• customize additional fields for storing post-save defined data ;
• assign a set of statuses to each form which allows for applying the workflow functions to each result (e.g. New, Publishes, Draft etc.);
• assign a default status to all new results;
• select the status change handler (file handler is called upon the status change);
• send the form results via the e-mail (mail templates can be created automatically);
• assign user access permissions to forms and form results:
  • deny – form and its results are inaccessible;
  • form fill – a user can only fill and save a form;
  • modify private result in respect to its status – a user can work with only his or her own results according to permissions assigned to the result;
  • modify private result in respect to its status – a user can work with all results according to permissions assigned to the result;
  • view form settings – a user can view the form parameters;
  • full access – implies all the above permissions and allows to edit the form settings.
• use answers in the filter of results table ; define field types for filter when working with results:
  • single text field;
  • range of numbers;
  • range of dates;
  • single selection drop-down list.
• use the module API's to customize the results display in the public section (results in the administrative section are displayed using the system kernel) ;
• use the Statistics module to analyse the form fill dynamics and obtain other information on users who fill in forms; the Statistics module is capable of registering the form fill and save events (this allows to track daily filling dynamics and build graphs);
• use the e-Store module to sell products and services by filling in forms and dispatch of the data to the e-Store module;
• assign access permissions to the administrative section of the module :
  • deny – any access to the menu and files of the administrative section is closed;
  • allow – access to the menu and files of the administrative section is allowed; any single form can regulate access permissions to its data;
  • full access – implies access to the menu and files of the administrative section as well as permission to create new forms; any single form still can regulate access permissions to its data.

Currency

The Currencies module manages currencies and exchange rates. This module is required for the Commercial Catalog, e-Store and Statistics modules.

The module allows to:

• maintain an unlimited number of currencies;
• set currency rates;
• define a currency face value for the exchange rate;
• set the default exchange rate to be used for conversion;
• define the currency display format;
• automatically define currency for a language interface (each site has its own unified pricing currency); shipping costs, discounts and other values are always shown in the unified pricing currency independently of the currency that had been used to add a product (e.g. European site will always show prices in euro for all products in respect to the current exchange rate);
• use the latest possible rate to convert values (e.g. the system uses the today's rate for calculations if the today's rate exist or the latest possible rate otherwise);
• set the separator symbol for integer and fractional parts of values for each currency;
• define the number of digits in the fractional part of value for each currency;
• maintain the list of exchange rates for all dates (exchange rates journal can be used in the future for the orders review for the given period of time).

Newsletter

The Newsletter module is intended for creating mailing lists. The module implements common subscription scheme familiar to most users.
The module allows to:

• create and display an unlimited number of subscription categories, e.g.: company news, partner news etc.;
• select one of the following subscription models:
  • subscription with a user imperative registration;
  • unauthorized anonymous subscription (users are identified by the e-mail address only);
  • allow users to choose between the two above variants;
• permit users to select the message format : html or text;
• send confirmation message to a subscriber (classic implementation that asks a user to click a link to confirm his subscription address is correct and he or she confirms subscription);
• keep and manage the subscriber unlimited database;
• allow clients to unsubscribe or edit the subscription preferences on the site;
• copy subscription issues;
• prepare subscription messages in both HTML and plain text format ; HTML messages allow using the visual HTML editor;
• encode 8-bit headers ;
• send messages to subscribers directly from the site;
• keep track of the message opening events (using the Statistics module);
• select recipient categories by the subscriber database, site user groups, subscription format, address wildcard; select additional recipients;
• send messages individually to each subscriber (the field To contains the subscriber's address);
• stepwise dispatch procedure to deliver messages to a large amount of subscribers;
• view the message dispatch status;
• keep messages history with full lists of recipients for each message;
• send images in HTML messages as attachments for compatibility with newer browsers;
• import subscribers from file or list; a recipient can be simultaneously subscribed to certain categories, enrolled in the system as a user with binding to specific groups or subscribed anonymously; a subscription confirmation message can be sent in the format of any of the sites;
• option to customize messages for individual users;
• assign the module access permissions to the staff.

Polls and Surveys

The Polls and Surveys module is designed to conduct online polls, voting and surveys. The module can be used to collect information on the site audience, potential clients, carrying out marketing researches for advertising campaigns etc.

The module enables to:

• create poll groups ; a poll group can have only one active poll (defined by the polling interval), e.g. you can create a series of polls for a whole year and publish them at once, the polls within the series will be conducted one by one;
• share a poll group among multiple sites;
• assign different access permissions to polls within a group to different user groups;
• set the starting and ending dates of a poll;
• select the poll display template;
• select the poll results display template;
• send notifications via the e-mail for each voting;
• register events in the Statistics module at the voting time;
• keep track of the visitor uniqueness; the following methods to define the visitor uniqueness are employed:
  • no limits – uniqueness is not watched; each visitor can vote multiple times;
  • single session – a visitor cannot vote again in this poll within the same session (i.e. until he or she restarts the browser or the session expires);
  • single session or unique cookie – each visitor is assigned a special ID written to cookie; this option rejects consecutive voting either within the same session or with the same cookie;
  • single session or unique cookie or unique IP – this option rejects consecutive voting within the same session or with the same cookie or with the same IP; please note that a dial-up connection is usually assigned a new IP each session;
• create an unlimited number of questions in a poll;
• provide an unlimited number of answers to a question;
• select different display templates for each question;
• use different input field types for answers:

• radio – set of radio buttons (single selection);
• checkbox - set of check buttons (multiple selection);
• drop-down – control with the drop-down list (single selection); all elements with this field type are collected in a single list;
• multiselect – control with the drop-down list (multiple selection); all elements with this field type are collected in a single list;
• text – single line text;
• textarea – multiple lines text.

• define the answer field physical width (different applications for different fields):
  • radio – unavailable;
  • checkbox – unavailable;
  • dropdown – unavailable;
  • multiselect – unavailable;
  • text – attribute size of the tag <input type=”text”>;
  • textarea – attribute cols of the tag <textarea>;
• define the answer field physical height (different applications for different fields):
  • radio – unavailable;
  • checkbox – unavailable;
  • dropdown – unavailable;
  • multiselect – attribute size of the tag <select multiple>;
  • text – unavailable;
  • textarea – attribute rows of the tag <textarea>;
• use additional tag attributes : style, class; e.g. style="width:100%";
• set the chart pie colour (for the poll result display);
• write the poll description and questions in the HTML or text format ;
• upload images from a local machine for use in the poll and question descriptions in the following formats: bmp, jpg, jpeg, jpe, gif, png;
• enable or disable a question when processing results (when building a chart);
• view the voting results; set the valid flag of a single voting (invalid votings are not considered when building a graph);
• view information on visitors who take part in polls :
  • date of the first and last voting of a visitor;
  • authorized visitor ID at the moment of voting;
  • name of a visitor;
  • visitor ID in the statistics module;
  • IP address of a visitor at the moment of the last voting;
  • number of a visitor votings.
• assign access permissions to the module :
  • deny – any access to the menu and administrative files is closed;
  • read – a user can access the menu; read-only access to the administrative files;
  • write – full access.

Search

The Search module performs the indexing and search of the information on the site.

The module is able to:

• search all the indexed information and the separate sections;
• use the query language to write search queries; brackets supported;
• use logical operators for complex queries;
• automatically index all site documents published through the web interface as static HTML pages or with either Information Blocks or Forum modules;
• search and display results according to the user access permissions;
• use inclusion and exclusion masks to customize site indexing:
  • files matching at least one of the inclusion masks become indexed;
  • files not matching any of the inclusion masks are not indexed;
  • files matching at least one of the ex clusion masks are not indexed;
• re-index the site in manual mode ; this is required if the site pages or database had been modified using non-standard means, e.g. after uploads via the FTP protocol;
• set the manual re-indexing parameters:
  • re-index only changed files – this re-indexes only documents with data other than that in the database;
  • max size of the re-indexed file – limits the size of a document allowed to re-index; this can be important if the site contains large files of the hosting resources are limited;
  • stepwise indexing – enables single-step indexing; this can be useful if a limit is set for the time of a script execution. If the indexing script cannot complete within the allowed time, it will re-index the site gradually.

Localization

The Localization module aims to internationalisation of the software and can be used to translate the administrative interface and messages into many languages.

The module allows to:

• translate all messages into different languages (table headers, links, buttons etc.); all language messages are stores in special files; each message has its own identifier; the product ships with a full set of the English messages;
• define the correct charset for each language (additional settings); the language file editing page displays all messages that has the same charset as the current page (current charset is the property of the current site; you can change the site by selecting the appropriate language of the administrative section);
• use templates in messages; original messages contain templates like "#ID#", "#COUNT#". These templates must be preserved when translated because they are replaced with a specific value;
• use all HTML tags in messages;
• assign access permissions for the module:
  • deny – access denied;
  • read – read-only access;
  • write – read and write access.

The translation interface is extremely simple in handling. Files are displayed as the catalog. To translate the message, simply open it and type a new text in the provided fields.

Translation module traits:

• catalogs containing language files mirror the files and folders structure;
• each file and folder has their own statistics with number of both translated and not translated messages;

you can choose to view all messages or not translated only.

Compression

The Compression module compresses pages before they are transmitted to a client to speed up output for the end users. The module makes the size of transferred pages several times less which significantly increases the speed of work both for visitors and site administrators.

The module:

• decreases the size of the transferred HTML data by 4 to 20 times;
• works absolutely seamlessly and does not require any additional software to install on the client side (most web browsers starting from version 4 support HTTP compression);
• can determine whether a client supports data compression with probability of 100%;
• substantially speeds up site browsing on the client side , for both visitors and administrators due to decrease in the data size and changes in load dynamics (images start to load only after the compressed HTML is transferred and displayed to a visitor);
• compatible with any hosting service and uses only standard PHP modules;
• puts a minimally possible load on the server processor;
• eliminates all errors in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher.

You can download and use the Bitrix Site Manager trial version free of charge for 30 days.

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