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In 1.7 it was possible to connect pages and data sources via the master xsl file. As there has been a change of concept in 2.0 these masters do no longer exist in the system.

Now I'm trying to create a site that has 20 pages (this sounds huge, but it's just the result of the need to have a multilingual URL structure). In 1.7 I just changed my master's preferences to set the fundamental data sources to all connected pages. Is there any way to simulate this workflow in 2.0?

I really like the way 2.0 uses an import statement instead of the proprietary master concept. But not being able to connect pages and data sources at one location is a setback.

This was something I had been wondering about as well. In 1.7, utilities were referenced in the database. In 2.0, utilities become another asset in the workspace without any reference within the database, so it is no longer possible to associate a datasource with a master xsl file.

Data source inheritance with masters was definitely a nice feature that saved time when working with a large number of pages that were using the same master template.

I agree this was a nice feature for some of us. But I remember that it was rather hard to understand for me when I started using Symphony. The new Symphony 2 solution -- "simply name your datasources for each page" -- is much clearer.

(Plus the new solution will not allow for "Gordion knots". I remember situations when I suddenly had to create several master templates just because I had linked certain datasources to the master template...)

Maybe it depends on the situation: I've got 20 pages that all use the same master and mostly the same data sources. So I've got the problem that adding a data source to this master is not one click but 20. Same situation when deleting data sources from the master. And when you rename data sources, you'll need to reconnect them to every page, as the updated name will not automatically be synchronized with all the pages. Kind of annoying ...

Well, I read about the renaming behaviour on the bug tracker; this may indeed be a bigger problem than the initial page building click count. I am waiting for Alistair's point of view on this. Maybe he finds a solution.

Renaming of data source and losing page association matter aside (this is a behavioural oversight, which we should look into fixing), here is the reason why we've removed the ability to associate data sources on utilities.

michael-e had explained one of the important reasons. Another reason is that one of the workflow mandates in version 2 is: Page is King.

What that means is that any developer should be able to take a look at the page (and the corresponding ?debug page) and draw up all dots to get a good mental picture of the site.

If you think visually, the page is the root of a tree structure and all associations branch from a page. This is true for:

  • URL (and non-URL) parameters
  • Events
  • Data Sources
  • Utilities (via import or include)

In a multi-developer environment, we found Symphony 1.7's workflow to be quite cumbersome. By "cumbersome" I mean drawing relationships can easily be disorienting.

So in the end we've decided to traded click-count-saving for clarity.

Allen, I see the reasons and understand your logic quite well.

Maybe there is a happy medium: What about the ability to copy data source connections via With selected ... in the pages list view? This way the page is still king but there would be a possibility for bulk edit, too.

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