Xaneon Alias Manager

Version 1.0.3a just released! Grab your copy from the Download section.

Ever wished that the URL addresses for your Mambo site were more sensible for humans and search engines alike?

Tried every existing SEF (Search Engine Friendly) hack available, but frustrated at how they "guess" the URLs, or just plain dislike replacing any of Mambo's core files?

Xaneon Alias Manager could be your answer. It is a Mambo component that allows you to fully decide how your content will be visible to search engines and websurfers by manually mapping your site structure how you see fit.

Alias Manager provides a user-friendly interface, integrated into Mambo's administrative tools, that lets you decide exactly how to best map an internal Mambo URL into a publicly available "friendly" address. It takes guesswork and the computer out of the equation and puts you in control.

(For a full description and feature list please see the Introduction.)

The component is designed for Mambo 4.5.1a running under the Apache web server. Best of all, it is freely available, no strings attached, under the GNU General Public License.

Introduction

Xaneon Alias Manager 1.0

Alias Manager is a Mambo 4.5.1 component that taps into Mambo's SEF (Search Engine Friendly) URL mechanism, extending it by allowing you to define arbitary, friendly URLs for any of Mambo's content and component items.

Now, instead of non-readable URLs such as:
http://www.mysite.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
you can have addresses of, for example:
http://www.mysite.com/welcome.html or
http://www.mysite.com/NewCars/2005/CorvetteC6.html

You only need to look around this site in order to see Alias Manager in action. For instance, the standard Mambo URL for the page you're viewing now would be http://dev.xaneon.com/content/view/19/89/

You'll probably agree the address provided by Alias Manager [http://dev.xaneon.com/products/alias/intro.html] (displayed in your browser's address bar) is significantly better; more importantly, search engines such as Google also like the improved addresses, boosting your site's ranking.

Alias Manager performs its magic without modifying any of Mambo's core files, distinguishing it from other open-source SEF extensions and "hacks", and providing an easy installation and uninstallation in the normal Mambo fashion.

It also includes a user-friendly backend interface for maintaining the URL mappings database.

Note that version 1.0, while functional and stable, should be considered merely an early preview of what the component will eventually accomplish.

Our plans call for a quick ramp-up of advanced features in the November/December 2004 timeframe; consult the Roadmap for further information, or subscribe to our mailing list to stay tuned on developments as they happen.

Rewriting Features:

• Ability to manually map arbitary, user-chosen URLs to Mambo's content and components.
• Rewrites all URLs inside content items for seamless site navigation using "pretty URLs".
• Automatic redirection when missing trailing slashes to strengthen the illusion of a real directory structure (/news gets redirected to /news/). (New in version 1.0.2)
• Module and component URLs are rewritten if the module/component supports the standard Mambo 4.5.1 SEF application programming interface.
• Unlimited number of alias URL mappings.
• Output all site URLs as either relative or absolute depending on a configuration parameter. (Mambo by default outputs all URLs as absolute only.)
• Ability to send an HTTP browser redirection instead of rewriting the URL internally in Mambo; just use absolute URLs (containing http://) instead of relative addresses in the target URL.

Administrative Features:

• Developed as a standard Mambo 4.5.1 component.
• Easy to install and uninstall using Mambo's standard component management facilities; no need to manually replace files!
• Does not require modifications to any Mambo core files.
• Easy import function allows new URL entry quickly.
• Full sample data included for a default installation of Mambo 4.5.1 to get up and running quickly.
• Easily publish/unpublish aliases with the click of a button.
• Export alias database either as a human-readable text file or an SQL table dump.
• Validation feature to check for broken target URL redirections.

Of course, if you need a component that does friendly URLs fully automatically, you should take a look at SEF Advance by Emir Sakic, a Mambo Core Developer.

Copyright © 2004 Xaneon Development.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This is a collection of frequently asked questions about Xaneon Alias Manager.

What is Alias Manager?

Alias Manager is a Mambo component that allows you to map a Mambo site's content to any arbitary URL addresses of your choosing. For further information, please see the Introduction.

Which versions of Mambo will Alias Manager work with?

The component has been designed for Mambo 4.5.1. It will not function in earlier versions such as 4.5 (1.09). Support for the upcoming 4.5.2 version of Mambo is in the works.

Which web servers and operating systems will Alias Manager work on?

Alias Manager requires the Apache web server, either version 1.3.x or 2.x, with the mod_rewrite module installed and loaded. Microsoft IIS will not work since it doesn't have the needed URL rewriting capability. As for the operating system, Alias Manager should work on both Windows and Unix servers, with Unix being the preferred platform. We do all our internal development on Linux.

What are the requirements for using Alias Manager?

For URL rewriting to work at all, you need Apache and mod_rewrite as described above. In addition, you'll need a Mambo 4.5.1 installation with SEF functionality enabled.

Do I need to replace Mambo core files in order to use Alias Manager?

Absolutely not. Alias Manager does not require changes to any Mambo core files.

Can I use Alias Manager even though I have third-party Mambo SEF products and/or hacks installed?

In general, yes. If you've installed core hacks that replaced the includes/sef.php Mambo core file, they should not affect how Alias Manager works, as it will simply take precedence over the SEF hacks. However, if you're using the commercial product "SEF Advance" or have installed any other third-party component with the internal name com_sef, you will need to uninstall that product in order to use Alias Manager.

How will Alias Manager affect the performance of my site?

That is highly dependent on your site and configuration, but any decrease in performance should be minimal in ordinary circumstances (note that if you have Alias Manager installed but deactivated, it will not affect your performance at all.)

Roadmap

Written by Arto Bendiken

This is the preliminary roadmap for Xaneon Alias Manager. It contains our major planned milestones for this product.

All information is subject to change at any time and is in no way a binding commitment to the continued evolution of this product.

Version 1.1 for Mambo 4.5.1

• Automatic import/guessing of aliases for existing Mambo sites.

Version 1.2 for Mambo 4.5.x

• Regex-based rulesets to automate alias creation.

Please consult our current To Do List on our development site to view the most up-to-date information on where Alias Manager is going, and how work is currently proceeding.

If you have any questions, please feel free to voice them on our support forum.