Using an iPhone for Admin tasks in the Concrete CMS
I often do Admin tasks in the Concrete CMS.
I tested whether I can use my iPhone to do Admin tasks in the Concrete CMS. Here is what I learned.
CONTENTS
TEST DEVICE
iPhone 12 Pro Max
The Pro Max is the flagship device of the iPhone lineup. It should represent the maximum of what an iPhone is capable of.
This is my primary smartphone.
The operating system and all apps were updated to current.
MY THREE TESTS
I selected three tasks that represent work I often do as an Admin in the Concrete CMS:
TEST 1
Go to a front-end page. Use the [+] button in the toolbar to drag in a new block. Drag it to a location that is not at the top of the page.
TEST 2
Go to a front-end page. Move an existing block.
TEST 3
Go to the sitemap. Move a page.
I selected those three tasks because I was almost certain they would be difficult for an iPhone.
That’s because I’ve tried doing those tasks on iPad. Many times. Through the years, my iPads almost always failed at all three tasks.
Yet maybe once or twice a year, an iPad somehow succeeded at those tasks for maybe a day. But then it immediately fell back into abject failure.
I was never been able to find an explanation for that dilemma:
- Constant Failure
- Occasional Short-Lived Inexplicable Success
CHROME
TEST 1: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Use the [+] button in the toolbar to drag in a new Block.
Step 3. Drag the new Block to a location that is not at the top of the page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the desktop site, the [+] button did not even appear.
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the mobile site, the [+] button did not even appear.
Failure 3. Changing the text size had no impact.
TEST 2: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Move an existing block.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the desktop site, it could not drag the Block.
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the mobile site, it could not drag the Block.
Failure 3. Changing the text size had no impact.
TEST 3: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to the sitemap.
Step 2. Move a page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. When set to Mobile Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 2. When set to Desktop Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 3. When using a mouse, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 4. When using a finger, it was unable to drag any page icon.
FIREFOX
TEST 1: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Use the [+] button in the toolbar to drag in a new Block.
Step 3. Drag the new Block to a location that is not at the top of the page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the desktop site, the [+] button did not even appear
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the mobile site, the [+] button did not even appear
Failure 3. Changing the text size had no impact
Failure 4. Images were not displayed
TEST 2: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Move an existing block.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the desktop site, it could not drag the Block
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the mobile site, it could not drag the Block
Failure 3. Changing the text size had no impact
Failure 4. The browser exhibited serious CSS Stacking problems
TEST 3: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to the sitemap.
Step 2. Move a page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. When set to Mobile Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 2. When set to Desktop Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 3. When using a mouse, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 4. When using a finger, it was unable to drag any page icon.
SAFARI
TEST 1: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Use the [+] button in the toolbar to drag in a new Block.
Step 3. Drag the new Block to a location that is not at the top of the page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the mobile site, it could not drag the Block.
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the desktop site, it could drag the block. However, only to the very top of the page.
Failure 3. The top of the page is almost always the wrong location.
Failure 4. After the block was dropped into place at the top of the page, there was no way to relocate it.
TEST 2: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to a front-end page.
Step 2. Move an existing block.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. If the browser was set for the desktop site, it could not drag the Block
Failure 2. If the browser was set for the mobile site, it could not drag the Block
Failure 3. Changing the text size had no impact
TEST 3: FAIL
THE TEST
Step 1. In the Concrete CMS, go to the sitemap.
Step 2. Move a page.
FINDINGS
Failure 1. When set to Mobile Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 2. When set to Desktop Site, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 3. When using a mouse, it was unable to drag any page icon.
Failure 4. When using a finger, it was unable to drag any page icon.
UPDATE
The Safari browser offers more than a hundred “experimental” settings. I wondered if they offered a way to make the browser able to pass my three tests.
As of this writing, there are 154 experimental features. They are documented at GitHub.
You can activate, or deactivate, any of them. On your iPhone, go to Settings » Safari » Advanced » Experimental.
I studied the documentation for all 154. If any particular feature looked promising, I activated it then ran all three tests. Then I deactivated the feature.
That effort took two hours.
When I was done, I had found zero answers.
Wow! Apple does NOT want people to use an iPhone for such tasks!
How ironic that the cheapest Android smartphone I could find, using any browser I test, is easily able to do those tasks.
NOTES
1. Concerning the iPhone, the operating system and all apps were update to current.
2. Concerning the Concrete CMS, it was version 8.5.2.
Originally published on July 30, 2022
Last updated on December 18, 2024
TOPICS: Apple, Browsers, CMS, Concrete,