We take a first look at Drupal 7 based of the the alpha version.
We take a first look at Drupal 7 based of the the alpha version.
Installation
You will notice the new install screen. Which is different than what we saw in Drupal 6. We have two options the standard and the minimal install.
Assuming that you have choose the standard install and the file systems are installed correctly with the right permissions, you are then greeted with a screen to set up your database. The name of the database for your Drupal must already exist on your server, before you can proceed with the installation.
After Drupal has loaded the necessary files onto your server you are then be prompted to enter your site information that will also include setting up the admin username and password. As you can see in the image below, the installer serves us a reminder that we should now remove the write permissions for security measures.
Front End
After you have successfully completed your installation you will be directed to your new sites, front page. For the most part the site looks like Drupal 6 except at the top we now have a new admin bar.
Dashboard
By clicking on dashboard we a presented with our administrative dashboard that is easily customizable to your liking. The new feature in Drupal 7 out of the box, compared to Drupal 6 is how the administrative task are displayed, noticeably when you click though the top admin bar. This brings a more lightbox-like element to administrative tasks. By customizing the dashboard we can set the layout of our site, by dragging and dropping the selected content.
Whats Different In Drupal 7?
Blocks
One new noticeable feature is the vertical tabs found in Structure > Blocks > Configure under Visibility settings. This feature was a contributed module for Drupal 6. What the vertical tab does is helps reduce the amount of scrolling done by the administrator. There is also a new region setting where you can place a certain block in different themes which was a feature that was not found on Drupal 6.
Appearance
Drupal users are quite familiar with the Garland. However, a new theme has been added, which is the “Seven” theme which, by its description is, “a simple one-column, tableless, fluid width administration theme.” As well as “Stark” which is a “theme that demonstrates Drupal's default HTML markup and CSS styles.” If you have used Drupal before, you would also notice that Drupal 7 has less themes out-of-box (as of the alpha release).
Modules
The core modules have been updated a bit, the dashboard module helps organize tasks and track information. Image handling is now built in, which has seen the bulk of complaints with Drupal users in terms of file and image management.
A new feature in the modules section is the permissions link. Now site Admins, have the luxury of setting permission without having to navigate to the administrative front page only, then click on the permissions link, and then set the user permissions . By clicking on the permissions link you are then directed to the site permissions where you can can add and deny permissions as you please. You will also notice that there is an Administrator user group where you will be able to set permissions for any user who happens to be an administrator.
Update Manager
The update manager is new to Drupal 7. What the update manager does is install module updates without the need to be update without having to navigate to the main drupal.org site.
CCK
The ability to add fields to certain content types is now a core feature for Drupal 7. If you have had any experience with Drupal 6, you may have realized how important the module CCK is to Drupal. The developers agree and have placed CCK in core, the process for implementing new fields remains the same.
Overall
Based of the Drupal 7 Alpha release, the developers have made it more user friendly with a sleeker look. The one thing that is still missing from Drupal 7, right now, is a WYSIWYG editor out-of-the-box.
If you have a test server and are interested in trying out Drupal 7 for yourself you can download the alpha release here. Please note, that this is an Alpha release, which means a lot of bugs are still being fixed and is not recommended for production sites. Lyemium will keep you up to date on the status of Drupal 7 before it becomes stable and available for public use.
