Learn to speak Plone at the Plone Conference
It may not be possible to learn to speak Magyar in two days, but you can learn enough Plone to make sure you get as much as possible out of the Plone Conference.
The two-day “Getting Started with Plone” training session, one of four great courses offered in the two days before the conference, is meant to give you a good foundation on installing Plone and making use of its best features and add ons.
If you’re new to Plone, or if you’re wondering if you know the right ways to get it running and configured for different situations, this is the right course for you. If you’re sure you know the basics, then consider Joel Burton’s theming course, Nate Aune’s deployment course, or Chris Calloway’s primer on Python.
I (Steve McMahon) will be the “Getting Started” instructor. Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time working on making Plone easy to install. We’ll cover that first, making sure you get a good working install of Plone and understand the fundamental installation choices like standalone/ZEO and development/production.
Next, we’ll move into configuration management, looking at how the buildout configuration system can be used to control your Python, Zope, and Plone installation. You’ll learn to control the most important settings in a Plone installation, and how to install add-on products.
From there, we’ll jump to Plone itself, and go through the configuration of mail servers, security, navigation and workflow. We’ll cover some simple and effective ways to use content rules for common requirements.
We’ll talk about Plone’s great library of add ons, and the best ways to pick and test them. You’ll hear an introduction to the most solid, reliable, and useful Plone add-ons, including the use of PloneFormGen.
Finally, we’ll run through the jargon and names that you’ll be hearing during the conference. So, when you hear someone mention how optilude’s getting dexterity to work with deco under deliverance, you'll know it’s Plone — not Magyar — they’re speaking.

