7. Using Autostuff™
AutoStuff is one of the most powerful features of Bistro. This section of the manual provides a brief explanation (and some examples of) how AutoStuff works.
7.1 What is AutoStuff?
AutoStuff is our name for a series of code tags that we have created for use with Bistro. These tags are contained within square brackets, and each tag initiates a certain action that inserts specified content elements into your website.
The simplest way to explain AutoStuff is to think of it as a multi-use website editing and design power tool. In other words, it shortens the time it takes you to do repetitive editing and design tasks, making your worker easier and faster.
Click here for a list of available AutoStuff
Let's consider an example:
A website owner who uses Bistro web CMS adds Upcoming Events to her site at the rate of one or two new events per week. Because she knew that posting events would be a regular part of her website updates, she chose to include the Bistro Events Manager Module on her site. To make sure that site visitors can always find out about upcoming events, she includes information at various locations on her site, as follows:
- On the Home page of her site, she includes the next upcoming event with a link to the full listing.
- On the About Us page of her site, she has included an image of a mini calendar that links to the full listing of events. Any dates on the calendar that have events are hot-linked to a page with all of the events scheduled for that day.
- On her In the Community page she has added a list of (up to) 10 upcoming events, each linked to more details and the full listing.
Without AutoStuff, everytime she adds a new Event to her listing, she would have to
- add the new event listing in the main events listing page,
- check the Home page link to make sure it still reflects the next event and revise it if necessary,
- update the image on the About Us page,
- add a page for the new event date and link it back to the mini calendar image (or revise the existing page for that date if it already exists), and
- update the list of events on the In the Community page.
With AutoStuff, she only has to add the new listing.
On each of the other locations that display information about events, a different AutoStuff tag was inserted when the page was created. Each of these tags pulls in and displays certain information from the Events Manager module automatically...so...as soon as the change is made and saved in the Events Manager, it is reflected across her site where the AutoStuff tags have been placed.
Another example from a website designer's perspective would be:
A website designer creates a website design that includes the name of the website (the site owner's company name) in a variety of locations in the design layout. Months after the website launches, the client comes back and says they have recently incorporated, so the name has to be changed anywhere it appears on the site to include "Ltd."
Without AutoStuff, the designer has to
- review the site to find all locations of the website name
- modify the name in the HTML code separately for each location
With Autostuff, he only has to edit the name of the site once.
- the designer (or the website owner if he has Super Admin permissions for the site), just adds "LTD" to the name of the website in the System Setup area of Bistro and, wherever the designer inserted the
AutoStuff tag into the design theme, it is automatically updated across the site.
In fact, with AutoStuff, everything that can be defined as content on the website is added to the site by inserting a few AutoStuff tags into the theme's HTML.
For more information about designing for Bistro, review Section 6 of this manual.
Click here for a list of available AutoStuff
7.2 How Does AutoStuff Work?
When Bistro is powering a website, it automatically searches for AutoStuff tags within the files that make up the website. It does this for the base installation and for each module installed on the site. When it finds an AutoStuff tag, it removes the tag and inserts the HTML code for the content associated with that tag. And it does this instantaneously as the site and the individual pages load.
Basically, AutoStuff tags can be used to get any content (text, images, media files, etc.) from any Bistro module, on to any page on the website, automatically. Each AutoStuff tag is recognized by Bistro and replaced with the specifically defined content it represents.
When it comes to designing with Bistro certain AutoStuff tags allow the designer to modify how the content associated with the tag will appear on the site. In other words, the function of the tag is hard coded (it will always be replaced with the same defined content), but the presentation of the inserted content can be changed to suit the design.
Click here for a list of available AutoStuff
For more information about designing for Bistro, review Section 6 of this manual.
7.3 Why Use AutoStuff?
Whether you own or edit a website powered by Bistro, or you design websites powered by Bistro, there are a number of very good reasons for using AutoStuff. Here are just a few.
7.3.1 Simplify Design
For web designers who work with Bistro, Autostuff makes it possible to streamline the website creation process. It also allows them to add the full power of a data base driven site with content management capabilities to any design. Once our web design partners understand the simple elegance of creating a Bistro website theme, they never want to go back to the way they used to create a website. For more information about designing for Bistro, review Section 6 of this manual.
7.3.2 Simplify Site Updates
For website owners, AutoStuff simplifies site updates. Keeping your site current and fresh is important for search engine rankings and for maintaining an effective online presence. Placing important information at different locations on your site increases exposure and provides reinforcement in the minds of your visitors. But it can also be a challenge to update, and inconsistency does not reflect well on your organization.
One of the most valuable aspects of AutoStuff is that allows you to
- place important information at multiple locations on your site and in a variety of formats,
- ensure easy access to that information for your site visitors by putting it front and centre,
- easily make your site more relevant to search engines
- keep your site visitors more engaged;
While only updating the information at the source location!
Click here for a list of available AutoStuff
7.3.3 Reduce Broken Links
Because AutoStuff automatically pulls the most current version of the information it is associated with, it can help you avoid broken links when designing a site theme.
For example:
If you are adding a link to a page in your design theme, you can use AutoStuff for page URLs (e.g. 
) and they will automatically be replaced with the search-engine-friendly URL associated with that page....even if the page is later renamed (by you or the website owner).
On the other hand, using the customized URL in the theme, (such as.../products/cool.html), means that any links in your theme that use the orginal page name will break if someone changes the name of the page at a later date.
AutoStuff always uses the most recent URL, reducing the liklihood of broken links.
Click here for a list of available AutoStuff
7.3.4 Because it's So Cool!
Once you get used to some of the neat things you can do with AutoStuff, you'll find yourself looking for different ways to use it just because it's so cool. If you're looking for ideas, check out the list of available AutoStuff Entries and let your imagination run with it!