Figure 3-5 You can see by this example that the use of containers offers you a lot of flexibility with controlling the display of content to your users. Normally you will want your containers to match the colors and design of your site, and most skins provide these complements as part of the package. Many commercial and free versions of skins are available for DotNetNuke that you can download or purchase. Refer to the DotNetNuke web site for links to a wide variety of skins and containers. Creating skins and containers is covered extensively in Chapter 13. Modules Modules are the meat and potatoes of the DotNetNuke application. Modules are the components that allow DotNetNuke to finally serve its intended purpose of displaying relative, easy-to-update content to your visitors. The applications for these modules and how to use them to add your content is covered in Chapter 6. Hundreds of free and commercial modules are available that you can obtain to extend the functionality offered by the application. Just perform a web search for “DotNetNuke Modules” with your favorite search engine and you will be able to find a module to meet almost any need you may have for managing content. This section of the chapter provides an overview of each module and pre- pares you for the detailed information in Chapter 6, which shows you how easy it is to use the modules to present content to your users. With version 3 of DotNetNuke, all the content modules have been divided into separate projects, which allows you to pick and choose the modules you need for your installation. So, if your specific business requirement does not need an RSS module, you can remove it from your installation without any adverse effects or any modifications of the core code. This is an important enhancement from a business perspective because it allows you to easily modify the applica- tion to accommodate your unique business rules and needs. 60 Chapter 3 07_595636 ch03.qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 60 Account Login The Account Login module provides the login interface as a module. In can be useful in two scenarios: ❑ The first scenario is when you would like the login dialog to appear on the home page (without the user clicking the login link). ❑ The second scenario is to be used on a login page, which could contain additional modules. You can specify any page within your portal as the login page via the administration screens located at Admin ➪ Site Settings ➪ Advanced Setting ➪ Page Management. Announcements As its name suggests, the Announcements module is used to present a list of announcements. Each announcement includes a title, text, and a “read more” link. Optionally, the announcement can be set to expire after a specified date. Banners DotNetNuke provides a rich set of vendor management tools. One of the tools provided is the Banners module. This module is used to display the advertising banners of vendors created within the portal. Management of these vendors and creation of banners is performed in the administration area located at Admin ➪ Vendors. The module itself provides facilities to select the number of banners to display and the banner type. Contacts The Contacts module renders contact information for a group of people; some example groups are a pro- ject team, a sporting team, or personnel within your department. The module provides an edit page, which allows authorized users to edit and add contacts. Discussions The Discussions module is a threaded discussion board; it provides groups of messages threaded on a single topic. Each message includes a Read/Reply Message page, which allows authorized users to reply to existing messages or add a new message thread. Although this is not a full-fledged forum module, it offers some functionality that you can use to enable light forum activities on your site. Documents The Documents module renders a list of documents, including links to browse or download the docu- ment. The module includes an edit page, which allows authorized users to edit or add the information about a document (for example, a friendly title). 61 Portal Overview 07_595636 ch03.qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 61 Events The Events module renders a list of upcoming events, including time and location. Individual events can be set to automatically expire from the list after a particular date. The module includes an edit page, which allows authorized users to edit or add an event. FAQ The FAQ module allows an authorized user to manage a list of Frequently Asked Questions and their corresponding answers. This is a great module for reducing support calls to your customer service cen- ter because you can compile a list of the questions you receive about your business or services and pre- sent this data to your users. Feedback The Feedback module allows visitors to send messages to the administrator of the portal. With version 3 of the portal software you have the ability to customize this module to send e-mails to various individu- als within your organization depending on the message content. This was not available in previous ver- sions because all e-mails sent from the module were sent to the portal administrator. This is just one more example of how DotNetNuke allows you to assign different tasks to the correct individuals in your organization. IFrame The IFrame module is an Internet Explorer browser feature that allows you to display content from another web site within a frame on your site. Image The Image module renders an image using an HTML IMG tag. This module includes an edit page that allows an authorized user to specify the location of the image that can reside internal or external to the portal. The authorized user can also specify height and width attributes, which permits you to scale the image. Links The Links module renders a list of hyperlinks. This module includes an edit page, which allows autho- rized users to edit and add new links. Each link can be customized to launch new windows or capture information such as how many times that link has been clicked. News Feeds (RSS) The News Feed module allows you to consume syndicated news feeds in Rich Site Summary (RSS) for- mat. This module includes an edit page that allows you to specify the location of the news feed and the style sheet (XSL) used to transform the news feed. 62 Chapter 3 07_595636 ch03.qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 62 Search Input The Search Input module provides the ability to submit a search to a given search results module. Search Results The Search Results module provides the ability to display search results. Text/HTML The Text/HTML module renders a snippet of HTML or text. This module includes an edit page, which allows authorized users to edit the HTML or text snippets directly (using the configured rich text editor). User Accounts The User Accounts module allows users to register and manage their account. User Defined Table The User Defined Table module allows you to create a custom data table for managing tabular information. XML/XSL The XML/XSL module renders the result of an XML/XSL transform. This module includes an edit page, which allows authorized users to specify a location for the XML document and the XSL style sheet used for transformation. Remember, this is not a definitive list of the modules available within DotNetNuke; you have the option of installing modules provided by third parties, or to even author your own module. For complete instructions on how to use each of these modules, refer to Chapter 6, which covers the administration of the DotNetNuke base modules. Chapters 9 through 12 cover the aspects associated with authoring your own modules to solve a unique business need for your organization. Additional Modules DotNetNuke also provides some additional modules that are available in the download but not installed by default in the application: ❑ User’s Online: This module allows you to display information about the current number of visi- tors accessing your portal at any given time. ❑ Survey: This module allows you to conduct online surveys with your portal. 63 Portal Overview 07_595636 ch03.qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 63 At the time of this writing, several other modules are under development that will enhance the usability of the application even further. Several members of the DotNetNuke Core Team are developing a full- fledged forum module and a photo gallery module, which will be included in later releases of the application. User Roles DotNetNuke offers a fairly robust method for dealing with the permissions and controlling the tasks a particular user is allow to perform. It does this with a roles-based security module, where every page and module in the application is assigned roles that determine what the user is allowed to do within the context of the application. As you saw earlier in the chapter, you have the option of setting permissions at several levels within the portal. A user may be allowed access to edit certain modules, or be given access to edit the entire page as you deem necessary. These functions also apply to actual viewing of a module’s content or a specific page. Basically, all you need to do is create the necessary security roles and assign the permissions you want that role to perform to the module or page. Once you have the roles and permissions defined you can then place your users in the appropriate role, which will allow or restrict their access based on those permissions. This allows very granular control over the actions of users in your portal. Summary This chapter introduced the concepts of DotNetNuke terms and basic application functionality. The chapters that follow dive deeper into these items and introduce the details on how each DotNetNuke function can be implemented in your unique installation. As you can see from this chapter, the applica- tion offers a lot of functionality from a base installation and will allow you to quickly move your web site from conception to production. The next chapter looks at the host functions required to set up the application to host your various child and parent portals. 64 Chapter 3 07_595636 ch03.qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 64 Portal Administration Chapter 3 introduced basic concepts that define a portal in DotNetNuke. This chapter details the rich features and functions available to customize the look, feel, and function of your DotNetNuke portal and maintain it throughout its life. To make this information more practical, examples in this chapter illustrate a real-world scenario of building a site for a pee-wee soccer team called The Gators. Where applicable, you’ll not only learn how to do things, but also when and why to do them. As the administrator of a DotNetNuke portal, you now hold the keys to a powerful resource and you’ll want to know how to manage it well. In Chapter 3 you learned about the concept of hosting multiple portals on a single installation of DotNetNuke. This chapter assumes no knowledge of any portal in the installation other than the one you are currently administering. As far as the Portal Administrator is concerned, their portal exists alone in its own corner of cyberspace separate from any other. Who Is the Portal Administrator? When the Host creates your portal, a new user is created as well (see Chapter 5). This user is auto- matically associated with the portal in the Administrator security role and so becomes the default Portal Administrator. The features discussed in this chapter are available to users who belong to the Administrator security role (and SuperUsers such as the Host). There is only one Portal Administrator — you! However, you have the authority to delegate privilege to other users to perform administrative tasks. Later in this chapter you’ll learn how to give Administrator access to another user. But regardless of how many users have administrative 08_595636 ch04.qxd 5/10/05 9:59 PM Page 65 privilege, it is the user information of the one Portal Administrator that is used by DotNetNuke. For example, it is the Portal Administrator’s e-mail address that will appear as the “from” address for all e-mail sent by the portal and as the default to address for the Feedback module. Ideally, a Host will not associate the Portal Administrator user with an individual, but rather with an account. In this way, the user information can be maintained separately and changed for the specific purpose of managing the portal (like specifying an appropriate e-mail address). The Portal Administrator account can be used to create additional users with administrative privileges that are associated with real people. Where Do I Begin? Begin at the beginning and go on until you come to the end; then stop. This little piece of advice is as wise today as it was when the King of Hearts delivered it to the White Rabbit. So we’ll take a cue from Lewis Carroll and start at the beginning — logging in. Follow these steps: 1. Navigate to your web site. Our example is located at http://soccer.dotnetnuke.com, although your location will vary. 2. Click the Login link in the upper right-hand corner of the page. 3. Log in to your portal using the Portal Administrator User Name and Password assigned by your Host. Enter your User Name and Password and click Login (see Figure 4-1). Figure 4-1 If you’ve entered your User Name and Password correctly, the first thing you will notice upon logging in is that the screen looks a little bit different than it did before (see Figure 4-2). Three main differences are immediately visible. The first is the addition of the Control Panel, which spans the top of the browser window. The second is the layout of the skin panes, and the third is the addition of the Admin menu. You’ll learn more about panes and skinning in Chapter 13. For now we’ll focus on the Control Panel. 66 Chapter 4 08_595636 ch04.qxd 5/10/05 9:59 PM Page 66 Figure 4-2 The Control Panel The Control Panel is primarily a palette of shortcuts to frequently used tasks, most of which are accessi- ble from elsewhere on the Admin menu. In DotNetNuke version 3.0 it is divided into three main sections for Page Functions, Adding Modules to the current page, and Common Tasks (see Figure 4-3). Figure 4-3 In DotNetNuke version 2.1, the Control Panel had far fewer functions and a much thinner profile (see Figure 4-4). That version of the Control Panel is still an option in version 3.0 at the discretion of the Host. We’ll discuss it briefly before covering the enhanced version in more detail. Figure 4-4 67 Portal Administration 08_595636 ch04.qxd 5/10/05 9:59 PM Page 67 You’ll note that the main differences between the Classic (version 2.1) and ICONBAR (version 3.0) Control Panels are the addition of extra Page Functions, extra Module Options, and Common Tasks. These differences are pretty straightforward and will become more obvious as you move along. The remaining difference is the deprecation of the Content check box. In version 2.1, ill behavior of a poorly written module could result in a rather nasty error message that would keep a module from being displayed. In this case, it was virtually impossible for a Portal Administrator to remove the offending module. The Content check box provided a way to instruct modules not to display their content, which preempted the nasty error message and gave the Portal Administrator access to the modules settings where it could be deleted from the page. This condition no longer exists under version 3.0 and so the Content check box does not appear on the ICONBAR version of the Control Panel. It is no longer necessary. The only functions on the Control Panel that can’t be accessed through other navigation are the Site Wizard, Help, and Preview. The Site Wizard A slick addition to version 3.0, the Site Wizard is the quickest way to make the most common customiza- tions for someone new to managing their own web site. It takes you through a short conversational pro- cess, step by step, with extensive help and the ability to cancel at any time without saving changes. Standard navigational controls appear on each page of the wizard for Back, Next, Finish, Cancel (with- out saving changes), and Help. Clicking the Wizard button in the Control Panel brings you to Step 1 (see Figure 4-5). Step 1: Choose a Template for Your Site This optional step gives you the choice of applying a template to your portal. The purpose of a template is to add predefined functionality and content (pages, modules, and so on) to your site. For example, a Host might provide a variety of commonly used templates to jumpstart your club web site, family web site, small business web site, and so on. Clicking the check box for Build your site from a template (below) enables the list of available templates just below it (see Figure 4-6). You select a template from the list by clicking on it. If you do not want to apply a template to your site, simply leave the check box empty. For advanced users and developers, templates provide a very powerful mechanism for sharing predefined portal functionality. Templates can carry rich information including portal settings, security roles, pages, modules, permissions, and so on. Template creation is a function available to Host Administrators (see Chapter 5). 68 Chapter 4 08_595636 ch04.qxd 5/10/05 9:59 PM Page 68 Figure 4-5 A group of radio buttons at the bottom of the page tell the wizard how to handle any conflicts that might be encountered during application of a template. A conflict is encountered when an existing component in your site matches a component that is also specified in the template (for example, when a module’s title matches that of a module specified in the template). Table 4-1 summarizes the effects of each choice. Site templates are additive. This means that when you apply a template, it will incorporate those ele- ments specified in the template into your existing web site. A template will not remove existing pages, modules, or content except as part of resolving a conflict. Table 4-1: How to Deal with Duplicate Modules Ignore If a module of the same name and type as the one in the template already exists, the template definition is ignored. Replace If a module of the same name and type as the one in the template already exists, it is replaced by the definition in the template. Merge If a module of the same name and type as the one in the template already exists, the content is appended to the existing module content. Select the option that best suits your needs. If you are beginning with a new (or empty) portal, the Replace option would be most appropriate. Remember that you can click the Help button at any time for assistance. 69 Portal Administration 08_595636 ch04.qxd 5/10/05 9:59 PM Page 69 [...]... from version 2.x to version 3. 0 It is recommended that upgraded sites review their file and folder management policies Figure 4 -34 93 Chapter 4 Uploading Files If you click the Upload button in the File Manager, you’ll find yourself looking at the original DotNetNuke file upload page This upload control provides a lot of rich functionality and is used in many places within DotNetNuke for uploading various... Portal Administration Figure 4 -32 Figure 4 -33 The Gallery Administrator will need permission to select files from the drop-down in order to add pictures to the gallery, and will also need to be able to write to the folder to upload new photos So be sure to grant both View and Write permissions to the Gallery Maintenance role for the Photo folder Note that in Figure 4 -34 , both the Root and Photo folders... In Figure 4 -32 you can see that there are multiple folders within the portal root By default, only the Administrator role has permission to either view or write files in all of these folders So if you want your Gallery Administrator to be able to upload photos, you’ll want to grant that role appropriate permissions (see Figure 4 -33 ) These security settings are applied everywhere that the DotNetNuke. .. 91 Chapter 4 Figure 4 -31 File Manager File management is an area that is radically improved in version 3. 0 Prior to introduction of the File Manager, all files were maintained in a flat structure in the portal root directory, which could easily become unwieldy Now files can be managed in subdirectories and those directories can be protected through role-based permissions Figure 4 -32 shows the basic features... of these settings involve the use of a similar selector (see Figure 4- 13) Figure 4- 13 This selector utilizes a radio button to specify the source for populating the associated drop-down list box The Host may provide skins/containers to all Portal Administrators and/or additional selections available only to your site (see Table 4 -3) If the Host has enabled the Portal Administrator to upload skins, you’ll... Container but affects only the administrator (and host) pages If the Host has enabled Skin Upload Permissions for Portals, two additional text buttons will appear at the bottom of the Basic Settings category (Upload Skin and Upload Container) These functions are covered in detail in Chapter 13 Advanced Settings: Security Settings Portal Registration drives fundamental behavior of your site that should... field identifies the path to the directory that holds all the portal’s files The directory is specified by the Host and represents a location relative to the web site root (for example, http://www .dotnetnuke com /Portals/ 1) This is an opportune time to set defaults for what information is required for users to enter upon registration On the User Page, internal functions require that users enter a first... been preserved from earlier versions of DotNetNuke for legacy support purposes Only the PayPal(r) option is supported using the POST method to emulate PayPal’s Buy Now button functionality These settings come into play when public roles are defined with fees or when online portal signup is permitted Several eCommerce store and/or payment components are available for DotNetNuke through thirdparty providers... tokens, see Chapter 13 Banner Advertising This setting controls the behavior of the skin object token [BANNER] The None option nullifies the token, resulting in no display of banners The Site and Host options select whether banners are displayed from your portal’s Vendor List or from the Host’s Vendor List The Host option provides for leveraging a single Vendor List across all portals If your skin... Chapter 4 Default Language DotNetNuke supports localization of text, dates, and currency within the portal framework English and German languages are installed by default but additional language packs are available The default language is displayed to anonymous site visitors and Registered Users that have not selected a default language in their own membership settings Portal TimeZone DotNetNuke supports . various child and parent portals. 64 Chapter 3 07_595 636 ch 03. qxd 5/10/05 10:05 PM Page 64 Portal Administration Chapter 3 introduced basic concepts that define a portal in DotNetNuke. This chapter. Admin menu. In DotNetNuke version 3. 0 it is divided into three main sections for Page Functions, Adding Modules to the current page, and Common Tasks (see Figure 4 -3) . Figure 4 -3 In DotNetNuke version. containers is covered extensively in Chapter 13. Modules Modules are the meat and potatoes of the DotNetNuke application. Modules are the components that allow DotNetNuke to finally serve its intended