Automatic item descriptions

Most often than not, when dealing with software distribution you need to provide the same description and title to similarly named files.

For example, if you have an installable package of your software you may want to give short installation instructions and a link to the thorough installation guide in its description. Most likely, it will also have a standard title, e.g. "Example Extension for Joomla!".

Traditionally, this is dealt with by copying the release items from one release to the next. However, this is the least convenient way to do it, as you have to batch copy items, edit them one by one and change the file or URL they point to. That takes time.

What's better is to have your download system somehow "know" the title and description of each download item. This is even more important with zero-click item publishing like what ARS does with its BleedingEdge-type repositories or when using release automation using Akeeba Release Maker, either standalone or as part of the build process facilitated by the common Phing script in Akeeba Build Tools.

ARS does exactly that: it can fill in the Title, Description and Environments of a new Item matching a Category and the item's filename / URL using the information set up in the Automatic Item Descriptions page.

Launch this feature by using the Automatic Item Descriptions button in ARS Control Panel. You are presented with a standard Joomla! administration table.

Editing an item presents you with an editor form, containing the following fields:

Category
An ARS category. Only Items in a Release belonging to this particular Category will be handled by this Automatic Item Description definition.

Package name pattern
Only items whose filename or URL matches this patterns will be handled by this Automatic Item Description definition.

For example, if you type in pkg_example-*.zip all items whose File or URL field matches this pattern (e.g. pkg_foobar-1.0.zip, pkg_foobar-extras-1.0.zip etc) will be assigned the Title, Description and Environments provided below if these fields are not empty when you create the Item.

Title
The title to be applied to download items matching this Automatic Item Description definition.

Environments The Environments to be applied to download items matching this Automatic Item Description definition.

Published
If you want to temporarily disable an Automatic Item Description definition, set Published to No.

Description
The description to be applied to download items matching this Automatic Item Description definition.