Building Websites with OpenCms

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Chapter 1: Overview of Microsoft Content Management Server
  • Why Content Management?
  • The Solution�Content Management Servers
  • The Components of MCMS
  • MCMS is a Content Server
    • How MCMS Renders Content
    • How to Locate the MCMS ISAPI Filters
    • Security Service
  • MCMS Is a Content Repository
  • MCMS Integrates with Visual Studio .NET
    • .NET Framework
    • Integration with other Microsoft Server Products
    • Publishing API
  • MCMS Is a Web Authoring Tool
    • Web Author
    • Authoring Connector
    • What Authors can do with MCMS Web Authoring Tools
  • MCMS is a Website Manager
    • MCMS Enables Deployment of Content Across Systems
    • What Microsoft Content Management Server Is Not
  • MCMS Objects
    • Channels
    • Postings
    • Resource Galleries
    • Resources
    • Template Galleries
    • Templates
    • Roles and Rights Groups
    • Users
  • Summary

• Chapter 2: Installing MCMS 2002 for the Developer
  • Pre-Installation Checklist for the Developer
    • Ensuring that the Computer Meets the Minimum Hardware Requirements
    • Running Windows Update
    • Configuring Internet Information Services (IIS)
    • Ensuring that Internet Explorer is Version 6.0 or Above
    • Installing Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003
    • Installing Microsoft SQL Server 2000
    • Deciding on an MCMS System Account
    • Creating the MCMS Database in SQL Server 2000
    • Creating the MCMS Web and Server Configuration Application Entry Points (Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 only)
    • Installing Internet Explorer Web Controls
    • Installing the Visual J# Redistributable
    • Setting the Maximum Size for Uploaded Resources and Site Deployment (Windows Server 2003 only)
    • Ensuring that the Account Running the ASP.NET Process has Impersonation Privileges
    • Considerations for Windows XP with Service Pack 2
  • Installing Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 with SP1a
  • Installing from the Released To Manufacturing version of MCMS
    • Applying SP1a on the RTM version of MCMS
  • What has been Installed on My Computer?
    • New Additions to the Start Menu
    • Additional Items in the File System
    • New Service Available
    • New Keys in the System Registry
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Summary

• Chapter 3: The Database Configuration Application
  • The DCA Links MCMS Server to the Database
  • The DCA Toggles between Databases
  • Running the DCA for the First Time
    • Final Steps
  • Connecting to an Existing MCMS Database
  • DCA�Behind the Scenes
    • New Virtual Directories in Internet Service Manager
    • Additional Database Tables
    • Additional Stored Procedures
    • Background Processing
    • Additional Keys in the Registry
    • Addition to the Start Menu
  • Summary

• Chapter 4: The Server Configuration Application
  • Starting the SCA
  • Launching SCA from a Remote Machine
  • About the MCMS Host, Version, and Database
    • MCMS Host
    • MCMS Version
    • MCMS Database
  • General Settings
    • URL Format
    • Map Channel Names to Host Header Names
  • Cache Settings
    • Configuring Cache Settings
  • Web Settings
  • Access Settings
    • Modifying the List of Domains
    • Security Settings
    • MCMS System Account
  • License Settings
  • Summary

• Chapter 5: Setting Up a Website from Scratch
  • Laying the Foundations
  • Designing and Building the Channel Structure
    • Channel Naming Guidelines
    • It's All for Display
    • The Channel Structure
  • Designing and Building the Template and Resource Gallery Structure
    • Designing the Gallery Structure for Authors
    • Building Template Galleries with Site Manager
    • Building Resource Galleries with Site Manager
    • Creating the TropicalGreen Project in Visual Studio .NET
    • What the MCMS Project Creation Wizard Does
    • Setting the Authentication Mode
    • Setting up a Multi-Developer Environment
  • Summary

• Chapter 6: Creating Templates and Postings
  • Something About Templates
    • MCMS Template Files
    • Template Gallery Items
  • Before We Begin
  • Creating the Plant Template File
  • Editing the Template File
    • Adding the Default Console
  • Creating a Template Gallery Item
    • Viewing the MCMS Template Explorer
    • Creating the Plant Template Gallery Item
    • Linking the Template Gallery Item to the ASPX Template
    • Saving the Template Gallery Item
    • Checking In the Template Gallery Item
  • Creating the First Posting
    • Opening the Built-In Channel Rendering Script
    • Creating a New Page
  • The Difference between a Template File and a Regular ASP.NET Web Form
  • Summary

• Chapter 7: Working with Placeholders
  • Using Placeholders
    • Placeholder Controls
    • Placeholder Definitions
    • Placeholder Objects
  • Before We Begin
  • Drafting the Prototype
  • HtmlPlaceholder
    • Adding an HtmlPlaceholderDefinition
    • Properties of the HtmlPlaceholderDefinition
    • HtmlPlaceholderControls
    • Adding an HtmlPlaceholderControl
    • Linking the Placeholder Control to the Placeholder Definition
    • Properties of an HtmlPlaceholderControl
  • AttachmentPlaceholder
    • Adding an AttachmentPlaceholderDefinition to the Template
    • AttachmentPlaceholderDefinition Properties
    • SingleAttachmentPlaceholderControl
    • Adding a SingleAttachmentPlaceholderControl
  • ImagePlaceholders
    • Adding an ImagePlaceholderDefinition to the Template
    • ImagePlaceholderDefinition Properties
    • SingleImagePlaceholderControl
    • Adding a SingleImagePlaceholderControl
    • SingleImagePlaceholderControl Properties
  • The Completed Page
  • Linking a Stylesheet to the Template File
  • Summary

• Chapter 8: Debugging Template Files
  • Before We Begin
  • Enable Debugging on the TropicalGreen Project
  • Debugging the Template File: The Wrong Way
    • Attempting to Test the Plant.aspx Template File: The Wrong Way
  • Debugging the Template File: The Correct Way
    • Debugging with a Debug Start Page
  • Debugging by Starting from a URL
    • Debugging by Attaching the Debugger to the ASP.NET Worker Process
  • Solving the Problem
  • Removing Breakpoints
  • Summary

• Chapter 9: Default Postings and Channel Rendering Scripts
  • Default Postings
    • Using Site Manager to Assign the Default Posting Name
    • When There Are No Postings in the Channel with the Default Posting's Name
    • When More Than One Posting Has the Default Posting's Name
    • Coding the Summary Page
  • Channel Rendering Scripts
    • Creating a Channel Rendering Script
    • Testing the Channel Rendering Script
    • When a Channel Rendering Script Meets a Default Posting
    • Channel Rendering Scripts are used to 'Frame' a Page
  • Navigation URL
  • Wrapping up the Summary Page
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Summary

• Chapter 10: Understanding the MCMS Publishing Workflow
  • The Eight User Roles in MCMS
  • Rights Groups Organize Users
  • Rights Groups are Assigned to Containers
  • The Complete Publishing Workflow when a Posting is Created
  • Before We Begin
    • Creating Local Accounts for TropicalGreen Users
    • Setting up the Environment for Testing
  • Creating Rights Groups
  • Assigning Users to Rights Groups
  • Assigning Rights Groups to Containers
    • Method 1: The Properties Dialog of the Selected Container
    • Method 2: The Groups Rights Tab
  • An Authors-Only Workflow
    • Log in as Author1
    • Edit the Hibiscus Posting as Author1
    • Authors Can Only Edit Postings They Own
    • Submitting a Posting
  • An Author-Editor Workflow
    • Assign Editors to the PlantCatalog Channel
    • Author Submits a Posting to the Editor
    • What Editors See in the Web Author Console
    • Editor Declines Posting
    • Editor Approves Posting
    • Editor Edits Posting
    • Editor Submits Posting
    • Editors Do Not Get Triggered When Authors Change the Properties of a Posting
  • An Author-Editor-Moderator Workflow
    • Moderators Approve Changes to Posting Properties, not Content
    • Assign Moderators to the PlantCatalog Channel
    • Author Submits a Posting
    • Editor Approves a Posting
    • What Moderators See in the Web Author Console
    • Moderator Declines Posting
    • Moderator Approves Posting
    • Moderator Submits Posting
  • Deleting Postings
  • One Last Thing
  • Summary

• Chapter 11: Authoring with Microsoft Content Management Server
  • How Users Edit Postings
  • The Default Web Author Console
    • Investigating the Web Author Console
  • Editing the Hibiscus Posting
    • Start Editing
    • Adding HTML Content
    • Adding Pictures
    • Adding Attachments
  • Publishing the Changed Posting
  • Creating a New Plant Posting
  • Managing Workflow
    • Using the Production Manager
    • Using the Approval Assistant
  • Revisions
    • Using the Revision History
    • Viewing Revisions by Date
    • Clearing the Revision History
  • Managing Resources
    • Adding Resources to the Resource Gallery
    • Using Shared Resources in Postings
    • Replacing Resources
    • Deleting Resources
  • Summary

• Chapter 12: The Publishing Application Programming Interface
  • Setting Up the Work Area
  • The Namespaces
  • Accessing Objects
    • Getting a Reference to the Current CmsHttpContext
    • Getting the Root Channel
    • Getting the Values of Object Properties
    • Moving Down the Hierarchy
    • Moving Up the Hierarchy
    • Using GetByRelativePath() to Access other Objects
    • Getting the Current Channel or Posting
  • Using the Searches Class to Reference Any Object
    • Searches.GetByPath()
    • Searches.GetByGuid()
    • Searches.GetByUrl()
  • Accessing Placeholder Content
    • The AttachmentPlaceholder
    • The HtmlPlaceholder
    • The ImagePlaceholder
    • Detecting when Placeholders are Empty
  • Summary

• Chapter 13: Building Navigation Controls
  • Common Navigation Controls
    • Web User Controls Promote Design Consistency
    • A Simple Menu�Creating the Top Menu Web User Control
    • Changing the Display Name of the TropicalGreen Channel
    • Using Channel Custom Properties to Differentiate Between Top and Right Menu Items
    • Filtering the Top Menu
  • Menus with JavaScript�Creating the Right Menu Web User Control
    • The First-Level Menu Items
    • The Second-Level Menu Items
    • Working with External URLs
  • A BreadCrumb Control
  • Generating the Entire Site Map�A TreeView Control
    • Adding the First Node
    • Building the Rest of the Tree Recursively
    • Creating the SiteMap Page
  • Summary

• Chapter 14: Customizing Placeholder Controls
  • Before We Begin
    • Creating the TropicalGreenControlLib Project
    • Adding References to the TropicalGreenControlLib Project
  • Deriving from the BasePlaceholderControl Class
    • About the BasePlaceholderControl Class
    • Building a Single-Line TextBox Placeholder Control
    • Populating a Custom Control with Default Content
  • Deriving from the MCMS Placeholder Controls
    • Building the AlignedImagePlaceholderControl
    • Adding the AlignedImagePlaceholderControl to the Plant Template File
    • Wrapping up the AlignedImagePlaceholderControl
  • Using PresentationTemplates
    • Building a Presentation Template for Flash Content
  • Creating Custom Placeholder Controls for the XmlPlaceholder
    • Properties of the Xml Placeholder Definition
    • Building a CheckBoxListPlaceholderControl
  • Summary

• Chapter 15: Building Custom Placeholder Definitions and Placeholders
  • Why Build Custom Placeholder Definitions?
  • Before We Begin
    • Adding the Required References to the Project
    • Setting the Version of the Project
  • The HtmlStrippingPlaceholderDefinition / HtmlStrippingPlaceholder Pair
    • The HtmlStrippingPlaceholderDefinition
    • The HtmlStrippingPlaceholder
  • Making the Placeholder Definition Available to Template Designers
    • Registering the Placeholder Definition Assembly in the GAC
    • Adding the HtmlStrippingPlaceholderDefinition to the Publishing.config File
  • Adding the HtmlStrippingPlaceholderDefinition to the Template
  • The HtmlStrippingPlaceholderControl Class
  • Trying it Out
  • Summary

• Chapter 16: Extending the Workflow
  • Before We Begin
    • MCMS Publishing Events
  • Registering Event Handlers
  • Monitoring Workflow Events
    • Sequence of Events Raised when Creating a New Page
    • Sequence of Events Raised when a Page is Saved
    • Sequence of Events Raised when a Page is Submitted, Approved, or Declined
    • Sequence of Events Raised when a Page is Copied
    • Sequence of Events Raised when a Page is Deleted
    • Sequence of Events Raised when a Page is Moved
    • Sequence of Events Raised when Updating Page Property/Custom Property Values
    • Sequence of Events Raised when Updating Channel Properties
  • E-mail Notification
    • The Notification Class
    • The Approved Event Handler
    • The Declined Event Handler
  • Canceling an Operation
    • Preventing Authors from Saving Pages with Identical Names
    • Avoiding Recursive Loops
    • Preventing Deletes
  • Generic Event Handlers
  • Summary

• Chapter 17: Publishing with Authoring Connector
  • Before We Begin
  • Installing Authoring Connector
  • Columns
  • Building the Column Template
    • Creating the Template Object
    • Creating the Template File
  • The OfficeHtmlPlaceholder and OfficeAttachmentPlaceholder Definitions
  • Publishing from Microsoft Word
  • Updating the Page
  • Replacing Any Page
  • Submitting Selected Text
  • Maintaining a Consistent Look and Feel
    • Reducing the Spacing between Line Breaks
  • Changing the Server Name
    • Changing the Server Name for Hundreds of Documents
  • Creating Publishing Tasks
    • Modifying the Location of PublishingTasks.xml and PublishingTasks.xsd
  • Summary

• Chapter 18: Implementing Forms Authentication
  • About Forms Authentication
    • How It Works
  • Configuring IIS to Allow Anonymous Access
  • Configure Settings in the Web.config File
  • Creating the Login Page
  • Logging on to the Site
  • The CmsFormsAuthentication Class
    • What's in the Cookie
  • When Users Do Not Have Rights to View the Requested Page
  • When the Cookie is Deleted or No Longer Valid
  • Welcoming Guests to the Site
    • Determining or Creating the MCMS Guest Account
    • Turning on Guest Access in the SCA
    • Assign the Guest Account Subscriber Rights
  • Visiting the Site as a Guest
  • Creating a Login/Logout Button for Authors
  • Creating a Login Channel for Authors
  • Summary

• Chapter 19: Customizing the Web Author Console
  • Before We Begin
  • The Different Faces of the Web Author Console
  • The Console in the Seven Modes of the Web Author Context
    • Using the PAPI to Determine the Current Web Author Context Mode
  • Building Blocks of the Web Author Console
  • Changing the Look and Feel of the Default Console
    • Changing Colors
    • Changing Fonts
    • Changing Text on Action Controls
    • Changing Action Controls from Hyperlinks to Buttons
    • Removing Controls from the List
  • Adding Custom Action Controls to the Console
    • Inheriting from a BaseAction Class
    • Inheriting from a BasePostbackAction Class
    • Releasing the Ownership of a Posting
    • Inheriting from the BaseNewWindowAction Class
  • Modifying Existing Actions
    • Declining with Reason
    • Identifying the Person Who First Edited a Posting
  • Summary

• Chapter 20: Creating Connected Templates and Pages
  • About Connected Templates and Postings
    • Connected Templates
    • Connected Postings
  • Before We Begin
  • Creating Connected Templates
    • The First Template
    • The Connected Template
  • Creating Connected Postings
    • Creating the Original Posting
    • Creating the Connected Posting
  • Going to a Connected Page
  • Connected Postings Share Workflow Processes
    • Submission or Approval of a Posting Submits or Approves all Connected Postings
    • Connected Postings Follow the Workflow of the Posting that has been Submitted/Approved
  • Alternatives to Connected Postings
    • Creating Printer-Friendly Pages with Template Switching
  • Summary

• Chapter 21: Aggregating Content
  • Create the Channel Rendering Script
    • Adding the Summary of Sections
    • Recent Content
  • Alternative Functionality
  • Summary

• Chapter 22: Enhancing Performance with Caching
  • How MCMS Works with Caching
  • What MCMS Caches by Default
    • The Disk Cache
    • The Node Cache and High-Level Caches
    • Tuning the Node Cache
  • Improving Performance with ASP.NET Output Caching
    • Enabling ASP.NET Output Caching
    • Caching the Plant Fact Sheet
    • Caching the Site Map
    • Personalization and Invalidation
  • Proving that Caching Enhances Site Performance
  • Summary

• Chapter 23: Site Deployment
  • Using the Site Deployment Manager
  • Opening the Site Deployment Export Dialog
    • Choosing Objects for Export
    • Excluding Objects from the Export Package
    • Exporting Containers Only
    • Viewing Template Dependencies
    • Removing Objects from the Included and Excluded Export Objects List
    • Exporting Rights Groups and Users
    • Specifying the Location of the Export Package
    • Saving an Export Profile
    • Previewing the Contents of an Export Package
    • Creating the Export Package
  • Importing Packages
    • Creating a Fresh Database for Testing Import Jobs
    • Opening the Site Deployment Import Dialog
    • Container Rules
    • Importing an Existing Site Deployment Object File
    • Running Import Processes on a Live Production Site
    • Before We Continue
  • Automating Deployment Using the Site Deployment API
    • Differences between the Site Deployment API and the Site Deployment Manager
    • Writing a Server-Side Export Script
    • Writing a Server-Side Import Script
    • Writing a Script to Back up and Restore Rights Groups and Users
    • Server-Side Deployment Scripts vs. Client-Side Deployment Scripts
    • Planning for Contingencies
  • Summary

• Chapter 24: Hosting Multiple Websites and Adding SSL Security
  • Hosting Multiple MCMS Websites
    • Multiple Channels and One MCMS Application
    • Multiple Channels and Multiple MCMS Applications
    • Mapping Channel Names to Host Header Names
  • Adding SSL Security
  • Summary

• Appendix A: Upgrading from MCMS 2001 to MCMS 2002
  • Backing Up the MCMS 2001 Site
  • Upgrading the MCMS Software
  • Upgrading the Database
  • Noticing the Differences
    • Site Manager Replaces the Site Builder
    • Visual Studio .NET for Templates
    • Web Author Console
  • ASP or ASP.NET?
    • Staying with ASP
    • Go for Broke: ASP.NET
  • Summary

• Appendix B: References
  • Microsoft Resources
  • Knowledge Base Articles Referenced in the Book
  • MSDN and TechNet Articles Referenced in the Book
  • Author Blogs
  • Community Resources
  • Other References from the Chapters
  • About Tropical Plants

• Index

Matt Butcher

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