#3 Why are blocks being deactivated on my site? Why is my copy site acting strangely?
If you copy an entire site in order to split apart some of its content, make sure you investigate the cache folder and remove any remnant of the previous site cache. There may be a folder for the previous site.
Otherwise, for a little period of time, you’ll be getting some strange behavior that makes it seem like the old site is still hanging around on the new install.
Even if that description didn’t make sense, if you are having strange theme behaviors that flushing the cache, rebuilding permissions and/or a restart don’t seemed to have fixed… check out the cache folder on your server.
Additionally, if you a splitting a site into two, and intend to use both sites on the same machine, and in the same database instance(ie, two databases on the same machine), make sure you check that the copy site isn’t pointing to any shared folder on the server, ie your cache folder. If somehow, both sites are using the same cache folder, changes on one site may affect the other site.
You are better off changing your site into a multi-site instance, for Drupal 7, because that should mitigate most of these problems. Multi-sites use different cache/files directories unless explicitly sharing modules/themes/frameworks out of the sites/all folder.
I’ve been working on this post for almost a year, I don’t want to bother with more screenshots or examples. v3 should be on its way shortly. I’m posting this now so I can compare my v2 thoughts vs v3. I did purchase a lifetime membership, so I haven’t given up on thegrid, fwiw.
To make my art-portfolio grid site present mostly the way I want, I’ve pretty much resorted to just importing Instagram posts.
The Backend User Interface is… clunky.It does look more polished than the beta version, and has some pretty animated menus, but it’s also less clear on how you and the AI work together to make a page.
!) The new site dashboard wastes a whole screen of real estate.
2) Post ordering does not place the latest post at the top, and while you can drag and drop items to move them around, I can see this easily becoming onerous with 3 dozen or so images or posts. You can actually zoom out the thumbnail views for easier drag and dropping, but there is no only text version to help you.
A little investigation has shown that the AI does not read the content or title of your posts, and no way to force thegrid to sort items on either the backend, or exposed as a feature for the front end. No way except to drag and drop the articles back in order.
Posts with images in them do tend to stay in the same order as listed.
Search
There is no search option for either the front or backend.
Navigation
There are more navigation varieties this time around, so that’s nice, but rarely surprising.
Some of the options are ones I would never use, so I have to keep hitting redesign until I get one that’s ok.
Typography
Typography is strange, sometimes fonts are larger when placed next to similar designed smaller fonts. This example is using 2 links to two separate pages (same thing, shown differently, beside itself)
Additionally, every page load/reload seems to suffer from a CSS Flash of Unstyled content, which means the text/page jumps around a bit until it figures out what font style/sizes should be.
Redesign Process
This whole process irks me. We’re asked a series of questions everytime we ask for a redesign.
The Layout: Do you like it?
(where 1-3 means redesign, and 4 and 5 mean…)
The color: Do you like it?
Choosing 1-2 here will prompt you to choose another color palette
Typography:
Molly.AI is supposed to be able to identify what parts of an image are important. Faces, skylines, or text text should not have text overtop of them, similar rules apply to cropping. This seems to be hit or miss. We used to have a quick key to check to see what part of the image the AI thought was the focus.
I’d be ok if you could at least click on the text overlay and see the original, or uncropped version.
Yes, you do have options to turn off the cropping, overlays and color manipulation. I want to see theGrid do things with the design that I wouldn’t have thought of, colors, layouts, navigation.
I’ve made a wishlist of things I want Molly.AI to be able to do, and put it on my Ghost In The Well grid site, but I’m going to copy it here as well (the flexible updating wishlist will stay on that site.
But, as of now here it is:
Regarding Function
Have a media manager, so I don’t need to upload the same image more than once. (confirmed for V3)
Iterate designs much faster, allow me to give input.(coming in v3?)
Auto pull in feeds of my other sites or social networks. (Instagram/twitter – perhaps into my drafts mode so I can curate later?)
Give Molly some initial direction in the purpose of my site. (maybe in v3)
Or, enter content and have Molly intuit, summarize and categorize what I may want the direction to be. (this feature may become the clustering idea and may be in v3)
Really surprise me
Design some crazy bad things
Design some crazy good things
Allow for tagging of posts
Have option to attach the user profile/sig to appropriate article.
Date and Time stamps available to be included on the posts.
Add Accessibility warnings for color/font choices.
Ability to pin certain articles or objects to the top of the homepage
Choice of different sizes for headers images/videos (both in app and on site) Currently wasting space ‘above the fold’
Ability to merge posts together
Usability:
Add settings/preferences for the admin experience. IE color theme/font sizes, animations on or off.
Add Revision history. Date/time/last edited by which user information.
Paging through About Face is the closest you can get to actually holding my sketchbook in your hands.
As you turn each page you’ll see both the front and the back of the portrait, where the ink and markers have bled through the paper.
Please enjoy the 43 portraits I’ve included in About Face, each one inspired by unique beautiful people who have volunteered their own photos as kindly muses via the Sktchy.com iOS app.
Every purchase is an entry to win the new full size linocut I’m working on this month! I’ll be posting progress pictures all month as I carve and start printing.
Each purchase I ship out will also get a tiny echo of the full size print (see picture in this post). You may recognize this raven from my Wisdom of Trees print, he’s graciously decided to help me reward your kindness and patronage.
Each mini print will numbered and will feature a thumbprint pomegranate.
These minis won’t be available for purchase, they are a special thank you for everyone who helps me reach my goal this month in my quest to be debt free!
Want to be part of this amazing milestone in my life?
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it out to Gallery Night 2017 this month, and especially those who came by to visit me and my portraits. They’ll remain up at 100state until September.
I spent most of my time talking with people, meeting up with friends, checking out all the amazing art and flirting with the band. That means I got very few pictures of the event myself, but was actually engaged in experiencing it.
If you want to see more pictures of the event there are a few on Carlos’s Instagram and also a few videos of art in the space during gallery night. Official event photos available soon.
Thanks again to 100arts for allowing me to be part of this years Gallery Night, and again to everyone who came by to say hello and see my art!
If you’re looking for a great co-working space in Madison you can join 100state and request the teal meeting room where my portraits are hanging. I hope you enjoy hanging out with them as much as I did while making them.
Please, feel free to send me pics of you taking selfies with my art in the background. 😀 Who knows, perhaps I’ll be inspired to make a little portrait from your picture, and we’ll have a little portrait-ception going on. 😀
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it out to Gallery Night 2017 this month, and especially those who came by to visit me and my portraits. They’ll remain up at 
