This is a simple django application for embedding a lightweight feedback mechanism into you websites. It’s intended primarily as an aid for user acceptance testing, much like Google Feedback. The backend leverages Django’s admin module to provide its functionality.
Via the admin interface on the server you set up a ‘Project’. Once done this will provide you with a single custom javascript file which you can embed into your website. Once embedded, the javascript will create a small feedback form on the bottom right of the page. When the user elects to provide feedback they can select any elements on the page which will become highlighted (to indicate the problem areas). After the feedback is submitted, the server generates an image of the page (with highlighted elements) and records the url, user agent and time of submission. Site administrators can then easily view the issues as they come in. You can view the generated image or the html of the problem page.
The web tool allows the user to highlight different elements on the page (by adding a specific class to those elements). This DOM is then sent to the server where PhantomJS is used to generate a static image of the page and the admin interface lets you view the full page contents.
- Install the Django framework
- Download and extract PhantomJS
- Checkout this repository.
- Edit
settings.py:
- Setup your database as necessary
- Edit the
PHANTOMJS_EXECUTABLEpath
- Initialise the database (don’t forget to setup an administrator)
python manage.py syncdb - Run the server
python manage.py runserver 8000
Duat can also be installed alongside other django apps.
- Download and extract PhantomJS
- Edit
settings.py:
- Add
PHANTOMJS_EXECUTABLE=<path_to_phantomjs_binary> - Include duat in your
INSTALLED_APPSlist
- Edit your
urls.pyand include duat
url(r'^feedback/', include('duat.urls')),
- Run syncdb.
Once you have the server running, you will first need to set up a site administrator, then create your first project to receive feedback.
- Visit the admin page (e.g. http://localhost:8000/admin) and log in using the admin details you just provided.
First create a project administrator (this is the person who can log into the back end to view submissions and receive notifications).
- Click the ‘Add’ button next to the Users section.
- Enter a username and password and click ‘Save and continue editing’.
- On the next screen make sure you check the box next to the Staff status option.
- Provide an email address to receive notifications of new feedback submissions.
- In the User Permissions box, select
'duat | feedback | Can change feedback'and'duat | feedback | Readonly Feedback'and click the corresponding arrow to add these to the box on the right. - Save this page.
Now create a Project
- Use the ‘Home’ link to go back to the home screen and click ‘Add’ next to the Projects section.
- Provide a name for your project and select the project administrator you’ve just created. If you wish to send notifications to this administrator click the ‘Notify admin’ checkbox.
- After clicking the Save button you will have set up your first project.
You can then use the javascript link provided on the project screen to embed a <script> tag onto your site. If duat is being used from within your application, you can reference this script with the following:
<script src="{% url 'duat-feedback' project_name='bos2' %}"></script>
The project administrator can log into the admin site and will be able to view the Feedback entries submitted for their corresponding project.
Inspiration for this system originally came from feedback.js but I found the canvas tainting in chrome to be a blocker for our requirements so I decided to implement a simpler system.
Tested with Django 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 & 1.8