Sunset: FTP Template and Modules Folders

[zwolfson]

What’s happening?

The templates and modules directories will no longer be in FTP.  Please use the designs directory that mirrors the folder tree of the Design Manager. All Design Manager assets (modules, templates, CSS/JS files) will be available in the designs directory. This directory mirrors your Design Manager folder tree. The designs directory already exists, we are just removing the extra directories which do not mirror the design manager

When is this happening?

This change will take place on September 16, 2019.

What action is required?

Please edit any scripts and workflows that rely on template and module folders so that they use the designs folder instead.

If you have any questions, join the conversation here.

[Adesignl]

so we wont be able to edit templates in ftp anymore?

or modules?

[zwolfson]

Hi @Adesignl ,

This change does not affect the functionality of editing templates or modules via FTP. This just eliminates folders that no longer reflect the current structure of the design manager. 

Sorry for the confusion, let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
Zack

[Jon_McLaren]

Just bringing this up because I think it's worth thinking about.

I realize the FTP changes are to improve consistency and prevent confusion. I'm sure it also improves things on HubSpot's maintenance side.

I personally actually think, keeping those folders or atleast having them in such a way a developer who understands how they worked - is actually a beneficial thing that sets HubSpot apart in a positive manner. I'm not saying this change should not be done, just saying there might be a way to get the best of both worlds.


Let me explain a bit - 
I have HubSpot portals I work on which have 25 plus modules, and sometimes they are nested deep due to prior developers working on them.

finding them manually in FTP can be tedious if done through the designs folder.

Occasionally I actually intentionally use the modules folder for this. Because it flattens the tree and shows just the modules.

Because I understand that the modules in the designs folder and the modules in the modules folder are technically the same modules, and that the FTP is actually an abstraction of HubSpot's api's I am not personally confused by it, and can reap the benefits of better efficiency.

I could see HubSpot having further folders like this honestly that could help find assets in HubSpot significantly faster.

This actually puts HubSpot in an interesting and unique competitive advantage over other systems. That said I 100% agree that most developers upon first experiencing HubSpot via FTP might be confused by the folder system if it doesn't mimic what they are used to. However, I could see having 2 addresses used to FTP in or 2 different ports or something. One of the FTP versions would be "traditional" the other would have these more advanced features. HubSpot's guides initial guides would recommend the "traditional" style, then encourage the advanced one later on once someone has a hang of things.


As kind of an example of how valuable this is.

Google Drive has a similar system.
Folders on Google drive aren't real folders, they're more like tags. Files can be put in tags, but files can also be in multiple tags. This provides really awesome flexibility that no other system currently provides, except HubSpot kind of has this going on right now.

That tagging feature while they don't advertise it(probably because the non-tech savvy have a harder time wrapping their heads around it) is a power user feature that honestly keeps people on the platform.

For example my company choose to go with Google Apps partly because of the things we were able to do with that level of flexibility.

HubSpot might be able to essentially bring that power to developers, and that's something other platforms can't do as easily because they often have a real file system based on a traditional OS.