Unleashing Ektron's Page Builder Technology

Monday, October 25, 2010

Ektron released their Page Builder technology in CMS400.net version 7.6, and with it, a wealth of capabilities never before seen on the platform.  The immediate benefits were apparent, where developers could setup a simple template, program a couple of Ektron widgets, and then let content authors create their own pages! Voila, the ability to create landing pages and mini-sites was born...

However, at Foundation 648, we've been trying to make better use of this technology, making our web solutions even more dynamic.

Frequently, we are building websites that take advantage of Audience-Driven navigation and the use of multiple landing pages.  Each of these sites will have 5-10 templates, based on a common theme, but with their own navigation, their own content widgets, their own unique sub headers, etc.

Our old methodololgy would be to create a master page, then create master pages for each audience based on the main master page, then create content templates based on the audience's master page.  We would then assign the resulting .aspx page to a content folder in Ektron and all the content would be displayed in the appropriate audience template.  This would work well enough, but if the client wanted a different widget in a section, or wanted to change a sub header graphic, it would be time to open Visual Studio and make a change.

The "out-of-the-box" Page Builder system was great, in that you could create a Page where authors could control all the various elements on the page.  If you wanted to create a mini site, you could make copies of that page and customize the content for each page.

However, the problem became immediately apparent, what if you wanted to change a widget in the left column of the page and have it affect every page based on that layout?  Could you create a Page Builder Master Page?

Master Page Builder Template (Page Builder Page as a Content Template)

In comes Page Builder with a twist...  As we struggled with how to take advantage of this technology, a solution presented it self.  We would:

1. Create Ektron Page Builder Pages in a special folder within Ektron that would define the layout for each section of content
2. We would create a custom Ektron widget that essentially would act as a regular Ektron Content Block Control, recoginzing a dynamic parameter and loading that content
3. We would register that Page Builder Page as a template within Ektron
4. We would assign that template to that audience's content
5. The Quick Links for that content would then reference the Page Builder template and aliases would work correctly

Here are the details...

1.  Create Your Page Builder Page

Create your page builder page in Ektron, make sure you add a widget that will render an Ektron Content Block dynamically via the ID query string.

If you don't have one, go ahead and download this one.  Once you've added this, register it within Ektron and add it to your Page Builder Template.

Now, you have a Page Builder Page ready for dynamic content.

2.  Register Your Page Builder Page as an Ektron Template

Make note of the Page Builder Template and the Ektron Page ID from Step 1.  Then, in the Workarea, go to Settings -> Configuration -> Template Configuration.

Click 'Add' and in the 'Add New Template' dialog, enter the Page Builder Template + the Page Builder ID as follows:

PB-PressReleases.aspx?PageId=833

Do NOT check 'Page Builder Wireframe'.  Click 'Save'.

Now, you have a template that dynamically maps to your Page Builder Page!

3.  Assign the Dynamic Page Builder Template to your Content

Go to the content folder that contains the content blocks to be displayed in your dynamic template.  Click 'View' -> 'Properties'.  Click 'Edit Properties'.  Under the 'Templates' tab, add your dynamic Page Builder template to the list of templates and make it the default.  Click 'Save', then create your content.

If you go to the Library and view quick links, you'll see the links are formed appropriately.  The URL structure goes:

Page-Builder-Template.aspx?PageID=PBPageID&ID=ContentBlockID

If you create an alias for this content block, you'll see the URL is formed exactly the same!

With this technique in place, developers can take advantage of Ektron's Page Builder technology, while still giving content authors the more traditional, simple method of adding and managing content.  PLUS, these layouts can be managed completely with Ektron without needing to change code to add, subtract or edit layout components.

Enjoy...