Documentation

This is a reference on all application functions and features, including data model, CMS, application and security settings, administration and UI (user interface). This document is intended for site integrators, administrators and Webmasters.

• Administration (ACP)
  • Access & Login
  • Sitewide Options & Settings
• Styles, Layout & Homepage
  • Layouts
  • Sections & Include Pages
• Categories & Site Navigation
• Content Management
  • Content "Types"
  • Content Display
  • Content Authoring/Submission
  • Content Restriction
    • Downloadable Items
  • Usage Scenarios
• User Management
• Forums
• Surveys
• Newsletter Management
• Calendar & Events
• File Management
• Chat/Conference & Paging
• Database Model
• Default Security Settings
• Page List (.asp scripts)

Administration (ACP)

All aspects of the site can be managed via the Web-based Administration Control Panel. Using the ACP, you can configure the design, structure, content and layout of the site. 

To login and access the ACP, use the 'sa' (Super Admin) account and password that has been provided. Once you login to the ACP, select the icon for the feature you wish to manage. A minimum Access Level of 4 is required to access the ACP.

Sitewide Settings & Labels

Sitewide settings such as date/time formats, site title and URL paths can be set in the Options menu of the ACP at: ACP > Options > General Settings

• Server date time settings
• Server email component
• Site label, title
• Site root path and secure (SSL) root path

Email Confirmation/Notification Messages

Various "notification" emails are sent in different site areas. These messages are sent for features like password lookup, new forum topics, order confirmation and new user registration.

All of these messages can be viewed and edited via the ACP > Newsletters menu. This is the same Newsletter facility that can be used to compose and send any e-Newsletters.

Each email "notification" function is assigned a corresponding Newsletter message via the Global Options menu at  ACP > Options.  To assign a message for email "notification", select from the drop-down lists in the Email & Messages section. By default, several messages are defined and set for each notification function.

Notification emails:

• password/user lookup
• forums post/reply
• new content
• approved content 
• order confirmation

For more information on Newsletter message compostion, see the Newsletter Management section.

Enabling & Disabling Features

Certain features such as ad banner, forums, surveys, etc.. can be toggled via the Options menu of the ACP at: ACP > Options > Enable / Disable Settings.

Labels & Language

Most of the labels used throughout the site including content and other features, and on the Content Submission page (submit_content.asp) can be modified in under the ACP > Options > Language & Labels section.

In this way, the "Forums" could be re-labeled "Bulletin Boards" or "Discussion Area". The Form Labels section defines labels for each of the standard content fields. In this way, form labels like "Title", "Category", or "Author" can be re-labeled.  Translated versions of the site (see License Agreement) could also be created by modifying these global labels.

  

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Styles, Wrapper and Homepage Layout 

Design flexibility is a key element. Easy-to-manage include files and style sheets (A.K.A. "skins") separate the portal's design layer.  This means virtually any look-and-feel can be integrated with the portal's functional layer. Any Flash, DHTML, and client side scripting can be added to the portal's design wrapper. The design portions are changed via standard HTML includes that are used to create a wrapper around the dynamic content areas. Style sheets are used to manage design elements thoughout the site. Several design layouts are provided so that you can use the existing layouts or create your own by following the guidelines outlines in the Design & Style Guide.

The fonts, colors and styles used throughout the site are defined on the 'default.css' *(see footnote) style sheet.  This style sheet can be viewed and edited via the ACP > Styles menu.

Additional style sheets are provided and can be enabled via the ACP > Styles menu. To use another style sheet, select it from the "Pre-defined styles" drop-down list and click the "Set as Current Style" button.  Use caution as this action will overwrite the existing 'default.css' so any previous style customizations would be lost.

Each component of a page has a related style property. Each property can be accessed from the "Style Properties" drop-down list, or scroll down to view each property and attribute.  The source code for the default.css page can also be directly edited by clicking the "View / Edit Source Code" link.

For a detailed look at all style properties, or to create custom themes (skins), refer to the Design Guide.

Wrapper = Header and Footer Templates

All site pages share a common "Wrapper" that surrounds the functional and content portion of the page. The "Wrapper" is made up of 2 pages -- Everything before the functional and content portion is in the Header (i_header.asp) and everything that follows is in the Footer (i-footer.asp).

To view or modify the Header & Footer, use the ACP > Wrapper menu. When viewing the Header and Footer you'll see that other include pages are referred to in the HTML code.  These other include pages construct the navigation (App and Content Menus) that are used throughout the site.

If you wished to create an entirely custom navigation that used Flash, DHTML or any other HTML interpreted code it could be added here by editing the HTML content of the Header & Footer. In this scenario you would also want to remove include references to the other navigation include in the code (ie: <!--#include file='i_app_menu_v.asp'-->).

* -  The 'default.css' style sheet is referenced via a LINK HTML tag in the site's Header (ACP > Wrapper). Since it is possible to edit the Header (i_header.asp) HTML code the LINK tag can be changed to use an alternate style sheet or completely removed.

 

Homepage Layouts

The Homepage (default.asp) is the entry way to the site and the first page that most visitors will encounter.  Homepage content is frequently updated and the desired layout will vary dependant on site reqirements.  For this reason, several layouts have been made available to easily modify the layout and content of this page.

To modify the homepage layout: ACP > Homepage

If requirements extend beyond the included layouts, The ACP > Homepage area also provides a means to directly edit the source code of the default.asp page. Click the 'View / Edit Source Code' link to edit the source code. Click the 'Save to Default.asp' button to save any changes. Note that any changes made here will overwrite the default.asp page.

Any of the include pages can be referenced in the default.asp source code to enhance the functionality and content of this page.

 

Use Include Pages for Extended Functionality

Several include pages are provided that can be used to modify the content in various sections of the home page.

To reference an include, use this code where needed on the homepage (default.asp):

<!--#include file='i_anyincludepage.asp'-->

Content Related Includes

Use these files to select and display various content items....

i_generalcontent.asp

Displays any "general" Content (ContentTypeId=1) that is featured. Use the 'HomeContentHeadTD' and 'HomeContentHeadFont' style properties to format the display of the 1st featured item. Subsequent featured items use the 'HomeContentTD' and 'HomeContentFont' style properties. To change the order of items displayed, use the ACP > Content > (select an item to edit) > Priority field.

i_featuredcontent_col.asp - (single column)
i_featuredcontent_2col.asp - (2 columns)
i_featuredcontent_row.asp - (horizontal row)
i_featuredtitles_row.asp - (horizontal row - titles only)

Displays any featured content from any of the other Content Types (ContentTypeId<>1). Use the 'FeatureTable', 'FeatureHeadTD' and 'FeatureTitleTD' and 'FeatureTD' style properties to format the display of items in these include pages. The label that displays at the top of each section feature is set in the ACP > Content > Content Types > (select a type to edit) > "Featured" label field. When left blank the 'FeatureHeadTD' row is eliminated.

i_newcontent_col.asp
i_newcontent_2col.asp
i_newcontent_row.asp

Displays the newest content from any of the other Content Types (ContentTypeId<>1). Use the 'SectionTable', 'SectionHeadTD' and 'SectionTitleTD' and 'SectionTD' style properties to format the display of items in these include pages. The 'newest' label that displays at the top of these includes is set in the ACP > Options > 'Newest Label' setting.

i_contentlist_top10.asp (selects Top 10 records)
i_contentlist_top5.asp (selects Top 5 records)

Displays a top (5 or 10) list of featured content ordered by Priority, Date Added(newest first). These includes are the best choice for creating a blog-style list of content that displays the Title and Short Description of each item. If no Short Description is defined the Full Content is displayed instead. The "More" link is also displayed, so that users can drill-down to see the Content Detail Page.

i_toprated.asp
i_popular.asp
i_popcontent_row.asp(horizontal row of content types where popular is enabled)
i_newest.asp

Displays a link list of content titles ordered by correspondingly by rating(i_toprated.asp), views(i_popular.asp) or most recent first(i_newest.asp).

i_myfavorites.asp

Displays a link list of content titles that the user has added to their favorites list.

i_tabs_1.asp (general content, newest content, categories)
i_tabs_2.asp (general content, who's online, categories)

These tabular panels display tabbed sections on the home page. Use the .TabTable, .TabTD, .TabFont and .PanelTable style classes to format the tabs and panels

 

Special Function Includes

Use these files to select and display other functional sections...

i_forums.asp
i_featuredsurvey.asp
i_affiliates.asp
i_whosonline.asp
i_calendar.asp
i_upcomingevents.asp
i_inbox.asp
i_subscribe.asp
i_search.asp
i_login.asp

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User Management

All user related data can be managed via the ACP > Users menu. By default, an Access Level of 5 is required to access this page.

Adding Users

There are 3 ways that new users can be added to the site's database. Once added with a username, email address and password the user can login and access restricted areas (for more information see "Access Levels & Security") of the site. The only required field in the Users database table is the email address so that Users can subscribe to the Newsletter without a Username and Password. In order to login, a Username and Password are required.

1) Users can "sign-up" on the registration page (register.asp)

2) Users can be added via the ACP > Users menu 

3) Users can subscribe (email only) via the Newsletter subscription pages (i_subscribe.asp & subscribe.asp)

By default, when a user registers via register.asp they will be assigned an access level of 1. The new user will receive a "Welcome New User" email notification. The text of this new user message is defined via the ACP > Newsletters menu. The "default" Newsletter message can be changed by marking the "send to new users?" checkbox. Only 1 Newsletter should be set as the new users "default". Information on other email notification functions can be found in the "Administration & Options" section.

When a user is added via the ACP > User Management page, the access level can be set accordingly by the administrator. For more information on the access levels required for specfic areas review the "Default Security Settings" in the Documentation.

User Groups

User groups can be managed using the ACP > User Management > 'Add/Edit Groups' link. When the application settings (ACP > Options) 'Enable group security' option is enabled, group security is used. Each user group has an associated access level that is used to authenticate all users that belong to the group. If a user does not belong to a group, the user's access level is used to authenticate which areas the user has access to.

For example, by default the Calendar page (calendar.asp) requires an access level of 1. This access level is determined by the check_security(1) statement in the .asp source code for calendar.asp. If you wanted only access level '2' users to access the calendar, you would change the check_security(1) statement to check_security(2). This would require a user to have access level=2 before they could view the 'calendar.asp' page.

To grant users an access level of 2, you could individually set each users access level to '2' using 'ACP > Users', or a new group could be created (using ACP > Users > Add/Edit Groups..) with an access level of 2, and then the appropriate users would be added to the new group. In order for the user's group security to be enabled, the 'Enable group security' option must be checked in ACP > Options.
For more information on access levels and security settings see, Default Security Settings.

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Site Navigation & Categories

The site's Content Menu is dynamically created by the Categories and Content Types defined in the ACP.

The application was designed to meet two critical navigation requirements: 1) The user should always understand where they are, and 2) The path to major (top-level) content should always be obvious.

When determining categories for the site, consider what topical (subject) labels apply to your site's content. Think of the categories as a primary means to organize the content. Create an outline and create a multi-level heirarchy if needed.

Categories can be added and updated via the ACP > Categories Menu.

Next determine all of the "types" or forms of content that will be on the site. For example, 'article', 'photo', 'press release' or 'business listing' are types of content.  Think of each Content Type in it's entierty.  For example, the 'article' content type may contain various sections of text, images and data, where as the 'photo' content type may only be a single image.

Content Types can be added and updated via the ACP > Content > Content Types Menu.

For more information, see Content Management and Content Types

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Content Management System (CMS)

All CMS functions and content can be managed via the ACP > Content Manager.

Sitewide Content Settings & Labels

Various labels that identify items on the Content UI (content.asp) can be managed via the ACP > Options menu. The default Content List Page fields and labels on the Content Submisstion Form can also be defined here. 

Content "Types"

Websites contain various "types" of content that can take many forms. Examples of content types are: product or service descriptions, articles, news stories, frequently asked questions, photo galleries, downloadable files, case studies, white papers, company information and virtually any other format. Content types are often used to distinguish site content and create "sections".

A Content Type may consist of text, images, hyperlinks and other information. This information (or data) may have identifiable fields such as "title", "description" or "date added".

Several Content Types are pre-defined. To modify these types or create new ones, use the ACP > Content > Content Types menu. In essence, then Content "Types" become the content driven sections of the site. For more information on setting up Content Types and Categories, see Usage Scenarios.

 

The "General" Content Type

The "General" Content Type (which always has Content Type Id value of 1) can be used to create generalized content and informational articles for the site.

Content items such as "About this Site", "Contact Information", "Mission Statement", "Terms of use" or "Privacy Policy" are usually a good fit for the "General" content type.  General news and annoucements are also good items for the "General" content type. Using the "General" content type, a Blog style news list can be created on the home page -- where items can be featured and/or latest items listed first.

For the home page, any "General" Content Type items that are marked as featured will display first as part of the main featured content section.

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Content Type and Category Relationships

To optimize display of content within the heirarchy of categories, any or all Content Types can be set to use all or a dedicated group of categories (Category Group). To "filter" the available categories for any given Content Type, there are several options...

1) Dedicating Categories to a Content Type

Any given content type can have it's own dedicated group of categories (Category Group). In this way the display of content can be filtered into categories and only these categories will be displayed when content is authored for the given type.

For example, consider the "FAQ" Content Type. We want to create an "FAQ" content section whereby the user first selects a topical category and then reads the FAQ's in the selected category.

First, we create a list of categories via ACP > Categories and put them into a Category Group named 'FAQ Topics'...

Here are our categories that are 'FAQ Topics' :

• Sales Questions
• Technical Questions
  • Installation & Set-up
  • How do I...?

Next, a content type named 'FAQ' is created via ACP > Content > Content Types. Each 'FAQ' consist of several fields. These fields are set for the add/edit, list and detail of the FAQ content type ...

• Title
• Category
• Question
• Answer

Finally, set the 'Limit categories' drop-down list to 'FAQ Topics', so that this becomes the cateory type that is dedicated to the 'FAQ' content type.  When the 'FAQ' content section is accessed from the site, the list of FAQ Topics is displayed to the use for selection.

2) Cross-type Categories

In this scenario, one group of categories is used by several (1 or more) content types. In this example, consider the 'Article' and 'Link' content types.

For this cross-type scenario, both "Links" and "Articles" will share the same group of topics (categories).  A category group named "Article and Resources" is created. The topical categories are added to this type via the ACP > Categories menu. Any "Link" or "Article" that is added to the site will fall into one of these categories:

• Sports
  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Baseball
• Cooking
  • Grilling
  • Asian style
  • Gourmet

Secondly, a content type named "Link" is created via ACP > Content > Content Types. The 'Limit categories' drop-down list is set to the "Article and Resources" category group. The 'Link' content type uses these fields.

• Category
• Title
• Short Description
• Related URL

Next, a content type named "Article" is created ACP > Content > Content Types. The 'Limit categories' drop-down list is also set to the "Article and Resources" category group. The 'Article' content type uses these fields: 

• Category
• Title
• Author
• Short Description
• Body / Long Description
• Date Added

Finally, when a user selects the Links or Articles section the list of "Article and Resources" categories is displayed. Similiarly when content if the "Link" or "Article" type is submitted, the category selection list will only display the "Article and Resources" categories.

When the sitemap (content.asp) page is accessed, the heirarchy of category groups and categories is displayed. If the user were to select the "Article and Resources" category group that we've created, content of both "Link" and "Article" type would be listed.

3) Using All Categories for a Content Type

Often, content items may apply to any category that has been created. For example, the content of a "Press Release" may relate to a product, person or just be "generic" in nature. To categorize this type of content, the "Limit Categories" drop-down list is not used. When content is submitted for this type, the entire list of site-wide categories is displayed. Similiarly, the user is not forced to first selected a category when browsing this content section.

For more information on setting up Content Types and Categories, see Usage Scenarios.

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Basic Content Management

All content can be maintained via the ACP > Content Manager. From this area administrators can...

• List all content items
• Add new content
• Edit/delete existing content
• Update multiple items at once
• Define & manage content types

Content Display

From the site's Content page (content.asp), all content is displayed in List and Detail format. While defining a Content Type, various options allow you to change the format and functionality of each Type.  Under the List Page and Detail Page sections you can select the fields that should be enabled for the Content Type.

If no fields are selected for detail view, the "Title" link created for the list view will link to the click thru page (instead of the content detail page). In this way you can directly link to related or download url's without displaying the content detail view.

At the foundation of the CMS are 20 base fields that accomodate 90% of the data for any given content model such as articles, downloads, links, photos, news and company information. 

Standard Content Fields:

• Title
• Author/Credit
• Username (The user that posts the content)
• Short Description
• Full Description (Enables WYSIWYG editing) 
• Date Added
• Category
• Impressions
• Average Rating
• Priority
• Image (Upload or select)
• Thumbnail (Upload or select)
• Filename (Upload or select)
• Related URL
• Download URL
• Prev/Next Link (Enables content series)
  

Custom Content Fields

When a Content Type requires more specification, custom fields can be defined via the ACP > Content Manager > Content Types. 

For example, consider a "Real Estate Listing" as a Content Type. Each listing would use some standard content fields like "Title", "Description" and "Date Added".  A real estate listing would also require several industry specific fields like "Bedrooms", "Baths", "Lot Size", etc..

Various options are set for each custom field:

• Attribute Label: The name & label of the custom field
• Input Type: The form input for the Content Submission page
  • Select
  • Text
  • Textarea
  • Radio
  • Checkbox
  • Label (none)
  • Hyperlink
• Size, Rows, Max (applies only to Text, Textarea)
• Tag Attributes: Add HTML attributes to the form input (ie; OnClick="javascript:..")
• Option SQL (Radio, Select, Checkbox): SQL Query to use to generate the options
• Option List (Radio, Select, Checkbox): Comma sepated list of options
• Default Value: Set on Content Submission form when new content is added
• Pre HTML, Post HTML: Any HTML code that should display before or after the custom field on the Content Submission form.

For more information see, Content Authoring & Submission

"Paging" and "Wrapping" Content Lists 

The ACP > Content Manager > Content Types menu also has settings that define how many records are shown per page and per row in the Content List View. To set these values, specify a number in the "Start new row every" and "Start new page every" form inouts. When no values are specified, the defaults are used:

• 10 records per page
• 1 records per row

Creating Multi-part Content (Series) 

Of then there is a need to create a sequence of content items that are separated into "pages". The Previous Item and Next Item content selection lists can be used to define successive or preceding content items. This feature is handy if you have content items that are in sections, chapters or that relate to each other.

Featuring Content 

To feature a content item, click on the item's Title in the ACP Content Manager list.  Once in edit mode, a populated form will display with all of the fields for the content item. The "Display" and "Featured" checkboxes can be marked as needed, and then use the UPDATE button to commit the change(s).

Content items marked "Featured" are flagged for display on the Homepage. However, there are other settings that will affect the display of items on the Homepage. Remember that "General" content (Id# 1) will display in the main feature of the Homepage.

"Featured" content items will display when:

1. The "Feature" checkbox is set via the ACP > Content Manager
2. The item's Content Type is enabled and ready for display on the Homepage
3. The Homepage layout includes a featured content section 

For further information on displaying content see, Restricting Access to Content and Special Content Features

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Content Authoring & Submission

While in the ACP > Content Manager you will also see that each Content Type has various User Submission Settings.  Select the standard and custom fields that made available for data entry on the Content Submission Page (submit_content.asp). Here you can also define which users (based on Access Level) can submit content, and which users can approve the display of content. When a Content Type utilizes the file related fields (Filename, Image or Thumbnail) you can also define which users can upload content related files to the Web server.

There are often cases where content will be submitted, but will be displayed at a later time or pending review. At any time, a content item can be removed or set using the "Display" checkbox via the ACP Content Manager. If the item is not marked for "Display", but is marked "Featured" it will remain on the Homepage, but not display elsewhere in the site.

When content is added via the Content Submission Page (submit_content.asp), the display of the item depends on it's Content Type.  In the ACP > Content > Content Types > User Submission Settings the "Required access level" for submitting content and approving content are indicated. When the submitting user's Access Level is greater than or equaly to the indicated "to approve content" level, the content item will automatically be set to display when it is submitted. A higher approval level should be used for Content Types that first require review before going live on the site.

Creating simple HTML Forms Within Content

In the Full Description field, (WYSIWYG Editing) the 'form.asp' page can be referenced to capture form results via email. To create an HTML form within the content, reference the 'form.asp' page within the <FORM> tag (action=form.asp). In order to edit the HTML source code within the WYSIWYG Editor, the "<>" icon must be clicked.

When the content (and the form contained within) is displayed to the user, any submitted form data will be passed to the ACP > Options > From Address. 

For example, here is the HTML code for a simple form that posts a name and message...

<FORM action=form.asp method=post>
<TABLE>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>Name</TD>
<TD><INPUT maxLength=50 size=30 name=name> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD>Title</TD>
<TD><INPUT maxLength=50 size=30 name=title> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD>Email</TD>
<TD><INPUT maxLength=50 size=30 name=email> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD>Message</TD>
<TD><TEXTAREA name=message rows=10 cols=90></TEXTAREA> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD></TD>
<TD><INPUT type=submit value=SEND></TD></TR></TBODY>

</TABLE>

</FORM>

 

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Creating parent/child content relationships

There are many scenarios where the creation of "sub" or "child" content items is used for business logic. Consider items where there may be a "parent" item and then a subset set of content items under the "parent". For example, consider a "project" that has one or more "tasks". In this case, a "project" would be the parent, and "tasks" would be the sub (child) items:
My project

• - task 1
• - task 2
• - task 3

The parent and child items may each have their own unique data fields:

Project: title, description, status, deadline, client

Tasks: title, type, description, status, attachments

Displaying sub (child) content

The fields displayed in the Sub Content grid are a subset of those selected for the Content Type's list view fields. The field that will display in the columns of the Sub Content grid are:

Title,Author/user,DateAdded,Impressions,(Custom Fields)

When no detail fields are selected, the Title link for the item in list view will link directly to the related url, download url or filename. In this way, the user does not have to first access the detail page can be directed to an external site or downloadable file.

Multiple Content Item Management

When populating the site with content, a useful facility is provided in the CMS that updates multiple content items at once. To access this facility, go to ACP > Content > Multiple Item Management.

From the Multiple Item Management page, all content items are listed and several standard content fields (Content Type, Title, Category, Description, etc..) can be updated. This page also lets the administrator quickly "Display" (Show) or Delete content items.

To create content items based on files that exist on the Web server (Download files or Images), you can specify the relative path on the Web folder (ie; images/content/feb04) in the 'Specify a Web folder on server' field.  Next, click the "Load Content" button.  A content record will be created for each file in the specified folder.  This feature is convienent for FTP'ing files and then quickly creating related content records. The created records can then be updated accordingly.

For more information on managing files on the Web server see, File Management.

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Restricting Access to Content

Access to specific Content Items can be restricted used the Required Access Level field. When using ACP > Content Manager to add/edit the content record, specify the minimum Required Access Level that the user must have in order to view the Content Detail page. When a user attempts to amplify from the list view to the detail view, their Access Level is validated against the Access Level specified for the Content Item. When their Access Level is not adequate, they're redirected to login. Otherwise, the Content Detail page is displayed.

Downloadable Files (Download URL and Primary Filename)

The Content Manager is used to create the Content item and upload the related download file. By default, the files will be uploaded to the '/library' folder, but this folder path can be changed during the upload process to use a different target folder. If the download files already exist on the server, or you want to FTP several files at once, see the Multiple Content Item Management section.  Either the Download URL can be used to specify a complete URL for the download file, or the Filename field can be used to specify a local path on the Web server (or the Web server's network)

When a Download URL is specified:

A link is created on the Content Detail Page (content.asp) that displays the URL. The link references 'click_download.asp'. When the link is clicked by a user, the Required Access Level is checked. Next, the 'click_download.asp' script increments the Content downloads counter and then initiates the download by redirecting to the specified URL.

When a Primary Filename is specified:

A link is created on the Content Detail Page (content.asp) that displays the file path. Any local folders above the site root folder will be truncated from the file path. If the entire path is above the site root, only the filename itself will display. For more information on managing files on the Web server see, File Management.

When using the Filename field to reference the download file, access to the download file can be controlled in 3 ways:

1. open access: any visitor can download any file.
2. level-based access: users of a specified access level can download the file.

   Open download access
   

   No special settings are required to enable this. By default, any content with a related Download URL or Filename will be made accessible to all users provided that the Download URL and/or Filename fields are set to display on the Detail Page of the Content Type. In this case, also make sure that users have READ permission on the folders where the download file(s) are located.
   
   

   Level-based download access
   To enable this when using 'ACP > Content Manager' to add/edit the content record, specify the minimum Required Access Level that the user must have in order to download the file. When a user attempts to download the file via 'click_download.asp', their Access Level is validated against the access level specified for the content record. Files in the temporary folder should be removed at regular intervals manually or via a scheduled task on the Web server. By renaming the file, it makes it difficult for unauthorized users to guess the temporary filename.
   
   When the download file is renamed the following format is used:
   randomnumber_sessionid_originalfilename

   Initiating the Download

   When a user clicks on the Filename or Download URL to initiate the download the 'click_download.asp' page is used. The 'click_download.asp' page queries the Content database table to obtain the Filename and Download URL values for the given ContentId record. If a value exists in the Filename field, the user is redirected to the specified filename (which may include a filename, relative, or full file path). If no value is specified for Filename, the user will be redirected to the specified Web Download URL. 
   
   

   Displaying a Legal Acceptance Notice

   Often when downloading any file on-line the user will be prompted to accept terms defined in a license and/or legal agreement.  For this reason the click_download script will check the accept_download_id application variable can be used to set the Content Id of existing content that should be displayed prior to the user accepting (or declining) a file download. The actual verbage and contents of this agreement are the sole responsibility of the site producers and/or owner.

   
   
   
   

   Related File Deletion

   When the Content Manager is used to delete a content record, the related file (specified in the Primary Filename field) will be deleted from the Web server.  Files referenced by the Image or Thumbnail fields are not deleted. For more information on managing files on the Web server see, File Management.
   

   
   
   
   
   

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   Special Content Features

   User Ratings

   To enable user content ratings, ;use the Content Types Manager (ACP > Content > Content Types) menu. Select the Content Type you wish to enable ratings for, and check the "Enable User ratings" checkbox.  When content of this type is displayed, a link that allows that user to submit a rating will be displayed below the content detail. The label for this link can be modified via the ACP > Options > Language & Labels > content submit rating label.

   
   
   

   When the "Submit rating" link is clicked, a pop-up is displayed for the user to select a 1 to 10 scale rating. Subsqently, the average rating can be displayed by selecting the "Avg. Rating" fields in the List and/or Datile Page options of the Content Type Settings. Users can only submit one rating per content item.

   
   
   
   
   

   "Add to Favorites" 

   When the Inbox facility is enabled, the "Add to Favorites" link wil also display below the content detail.  The "Enable Inbox" setting and "Add to Favorites" label can be updated via the ACP > Options menu.

   
   
   
   
   

   Displaying Ads in Content

   The location of ads within each Content Type can be also be set via the Content Types Manager (ACP > Content > Content Types). Select the Content Type you where the ads should be displayed, and then selecl the location for the List and Detail pages. For more information, see the Ad Management section

   
   
   

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   CMS Usage Scenarios

Classifieds Section

1. Create a Category Group named "Classified Categories"
2. Add categories to this new "Classified Categories" type
   • ie; For Sale, For Rent, Help Wanted, Etc..
3. Create a new Content Type named "Classified Ad"
   • Limit categories to the "Classified Categories"
   • Enable user posts and file uploads
   • Select the appropriate fields for the "Classified Ad"
   • Add custom fields as needed

Downloads Library

1. Create a Category Group named "Download Categories"
2. Add categories to this new "Download Categories" Group
   • Applications, Screensavers, Utilities, Etc..
3. Create a new Content Type named "Download"
   • Limit categories to the "Download Categories" type
   • Enable user posts and file uploads for admin level users
   • Select the appropriate fields for the "Download"
   • To display an acceptance agreement see,
   • To enable secure access to downloads see,

Job Postings

1. Create a Category Group named "Job Listing Categories"
2. Add categories to this new "Job Listing Categories" Category Group
   • Administrative, Technical, Management, Etc..
3. Create a new Content Type named "Job Listing"
   • Limit categories to the "Job Listing Categories" Group
   • Enable user posts for the user level that will post listings
   • Add additional custom fields as needed
   • Select the appropriate fields for add/edit, list and display

Knowledge Base System

1. Create a Category Group named "KB Categories"
2. Add categories to this new "KB Categories" Category Group
   • Installation, Configuration, Software, Etc..
3. Create a new Content Type named "KB Article"
   • Limit categories to the "KB Categories" Group 
   • Enable user posts for the user level that will post articles
   • Add additional custom fields as needed
   • Select the appropriate fields for add/edit, list and display 

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Forums

To enable the discussion forums, see ACP > Options > Enable/Disable > Enable Forums.

Creating Forums

Forums can be created via the Forums UI (forums.asp) or via the Forums Manager (ACP > Forums) and click the 'create a new forum' link. Only other users that have Access level of 3 or greater can be selected as Forum moderators. 

Users can view the forums, read and post topics, and reply to topics. Users can also later edit there own topics and replies. To enable some of the message editing features the 'i_formatting.asp' include page contains several Javascript functions used in the forums.

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The Calendar page (calendar.asp) displays the Calendar's current month's view, and events contained within.

Monthly, weekly and daily views

The Calendar provides various views to access the event information that is stored in the 'Events' and 'EventOccurs' database tables. Users can select (click) any given date for a detailed daily view. Users can also navigate to then "previous" and "next" time periods (month, day), and filter the events by type. The event types are defined by the "Event Types" category in the ACP > Category Manager. The Category Type must be named "Event Types" for the event type selected list to be created.

Add and update events

Ad-hoc event data (Event name, location, description and date/time occurence) can be added by clicking the 'Add Event' link in the Calendar's daily view. The Calendar supports event recurrence by allowing the user to define the length and interval of any given event. Any given event can be set as:

1) "Private" -The event will only display on the Calendar of the user that added the event.

2) "Public" -The event will display on the calendar to all users (that are not logged in).

3) "Busy" - The title and event details will not display on the Calendar, but 'username busy' displays.

There is no means via the ACP to edit the Calendar and Events. This can only be done from the stanard UI via 'calendar.asp'. Users can only update (modify) events that they have added.

Event Registration

The Event Registration is a basic facility that allow users to "sign-up" for a particular event. To make events "registerable" the "Enable user registration" checkbox must be checked when the event is added or updated.  Once registration is enabled, users can click the "Register.."  button on the Event Detail view (calendar.asp).  The Event Registration page (upd_userevents.asp) is then shown with form fields for the user to complete. The 'Registration code' field is an open text field where users can refer to pertinant data (ie; ad #, account #, reference code, etc..).

Once a user has registered for an Event, the registered user list is accessible from the ACP > Registrations menu.

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