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Here's a listing of our videos and content related to advanced users of the Drupal content management system.

How To: Using the Drupal Flowplayer Module

Flash and its associated players are all the rage (actually have been for quite some time), except for with the iPad that is. Obviously, you can embed video into your Drupal site in a number of ways.

You can use an external site like YouTube or Blip.tv using the Embedded Media Field Module or you can implement video on your own site using the FLV Media Player Module in conjunction with JW Player.

I've already covered how you can use any of the possible flash players (JW Player or Flowplayer) in this video about SWFTools. So, what was next was Flowplayer and it's here that I've put together a video about using the Flowplayer API Module in conjunction with the respective, and required, Flowplayer flash player and javascript.

How To: Add focused Drupal search to your site

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When it comes to search, Drupal seems to do OK by itself. However, there are a number of supporting modules which will make your Drupal's default search even better. These include Porter-Stemmer (english only), Search 404, Search by Page, Similar By Terms and many others.

If you're seekign to help an advanced user out, then modules like Search config can help with that. But what about the user who won't dare go into the hidden area of 'Advanced Search'? This is where the power is - right?

It sure is. This is where you tell Drupal what content types and categories you want to limit the search to. This is where a user, simply looking for a job on your site, which lists information about jobs, news, blogs and other items, can focus their results.

So, why don't you stop expecting the user to figure this out, and just make it happen for them! That's what this video is all about. Using the default Drupal search box and forcing it to focus on specific content types or categories. You control what Drupal searches for and you control where it shows up!

Developer Know How: SVN Vendor Branching

SVN Vendor Branches provides Three-way merging within version control.

The premise is simple. You're using code from another source (Drupal.org or Acquia). You may make changes to the code and so will the developers of Drupal and contributed modules. You want THEIR changes and you want to keep YOURS too.

The solution is SVN Vendor Branches and the almighty svn merge command.

The trick is learning how to use/setup the vendor branch in the first place.

The following steps, and this 32 minute video, should get you going with one of the most efficient ways to manage your Drupal codebase.

Overview: Drupal CVS/SVN Setup

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Setting up a Drupal deployment, from a "where do I put the code" standpoint, is different than the setup within your actual Drupal install. It's based, quite a bit, on what you know with regards to technologies and your comfort level with them.

For example, when I first started using computers, I was Ok with using FTP. Software allowed me to connect and upload with ease. I didn't have to know the command line and frankly, knowing commands in a terminal scared me.

Flash forward a number of years and now I can't live with out it. It's just so fast. Using the command line and technologies like CVS and SVN is what allows an admin to download, update and maintain an installed codebased with much ease - but, this comes at the price of having to learn those technologies.

How To: Multisites vs. Multiple Sites

Drupal's Mutlisite feature sounds like the Holy Grail for whenever you want to run multiple Drupal sites. However, the answer to "Should I use Multisites?" is best discovered by knowing what Multisites is and how it might benefit or hinder your objectives.

In this video, I provide an overview of Multisites vs. Multiple Sites, and hopefully, the insight necessary to decide.

Quick Tip: SVN Filtering

If you manage your own Drupal servers, and have shell access, one of your most powerful tools for deployment are CVS and SVN. Using the CVS deploy module, you can get rid of that tedious Download to computer -> upload via FTP process.

Building Drupal Modules: 08 Debugging with Komodo IDE

Komodo is the PHP debugger I use on the Mac.

Building Drupal Modules: 07 Using Xdebug

There's an easy way to start the learning process of using a debugger for PHP. You don't have to know how to compile Xdebug (at least if you're on a Mac).

Building Drupal Modules: 06 Using the Devel module

The Devel module is a SUPER CRITICAL module which you need to use if you're even considering developing within Drupal.

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