Inserting the MessageBoard server control onto a page

Prerequisite

You must have installed the server controls. See Installing server controls into Visual Studio Toolbox.

1. In Visual Studio, choose View > Toolbox.
2. Click the Ektron server control tab to display the server controls.
3. Drag the MessageBoard server control and drop it into the desired location on the page.

   NOTE: You also can place the cursor on the page where you want the server control, then double click the server control that you want.

   <CMS:MessageBoard ID="MessageBoard1" runat="server" />

4. Click on MessageBoard in the code to display and modify the control’s properties using the Properties window of Visual Studio. The page is updated as you modify the property values.
   —Image—

   

MessageBoard properties

The following are Ektron-specific server controla server control uses API language to interact with the CMS and Framework UI to display the output. A server control can be dragged and dropped onto a Web form and then modified. properties. For information about native .NET properties such as font, height, width and border style, use Visual Studio^® help.

• CacheInterval (Double)

  The number of seconds that a server controla server control uses API language to interact with the CMS and Framework UI to display the output. A server control can be dragged and dropped onto a Web form and then modified.’s data is cached. The default is 0 (zero). For example, if you want to cache the data for 5 minutes, set to 300. See also: Caching with server controls.

• CommentBoxLocation

  Defines the location of the comment box. By default, bottom is selected. Choices are:

  • Bottom. Comment box appears below the comments
  • Top. Comment box appears above the comments
  • Data Type: EkEnumeration.MessageBoardCommentBoxLocation
• DefaultObjectID (Long)

  The default object ID for this control to use when there is no matching dynamic parameter value passed.

• DisplayXslt (String)

  If desired, enter a relative or absolute path to an Xslt that determines the display of the page.

  WARNING! Files stored in the siteroot\Workarea folder are overwritten (or deleted) when you upgrade Ektron. To avoid problems, copy the default file to a folder outside the siteroot\workarea folder then edit it. If there is no default file, create the file outside the siteroot\workarea folder. Next, in this property, enter the path to that file relative to the site root folder.

  WARNING!
  If you enter a valid EkML file at the MarkupLanguage property, the Displayxslt property value is ignored.

• DoInitFill (Boolean)

  By default, Fill occurs during the Page_Init event. Set to false if you want to postpone the fill-action until later. In this case, Fill is automatically called during the Page Render event. You might do this if you need to set or change a property on the control in code-behind and have it render with your changes shown.

• DynamicObjectParameter (String)

  Gets or sets the QueryString parameter to read a object ID dynamically. To use the default object ID, leave blank.

• EnablePaging (Boolean)

  This property, in conjunction with the MaxNumber property, lets site visitors view an unlimited number of items while controlling the amount of screen space. The MaxNumber property limits the number of items displayed. If you set this property to True, and the number of items exceeds MaxNumber, navigation aids appear below the last item, allowing the visitor to go to the next screen.

• Hide (Boolean)

  Hides or displays the output of the control in design time and run time.

  • True. Hide the control output.
  • False. Display the control output.
• Language (Integer)

  Set a language for viewing content; shows results in design-time (in Visual Studio) and at run-time (in a browser).

• MarkupLanguage (String)

  Enter the template markup file (.ekml) that controls the display of this server control. To use the default .ekml file, leave this field blank.The default file follows this pattern: \siteroot\Workarea\template\this object\objectname.ekml. For example, \siteroot\Workarea\template\collection\collection.ekml.To customize the default .ekml file, copy it to a folder outside the siteroot\workarea folder and edit it. Next, in this property, enter the path to that file relative to the site root folder.See also: Ektron Markup LanguageEktron Markup Language

• MaxResults (Integer)

  Enter the maximum number of items to appear in the initial display of this server control. To set no maximum, enter zero (0). To let site visitors view more than the maximum but limit the amount of space, enter the maximum number of results per page here. Then, set the EnablePaging property to True. If you do and more than the number of MaxResults are available, navigation aids help the site visitor view additional items.

• Moderate (Boolean)

  Set to True to force moderation of the Message Board. If set to false, moderation is controlled by the user or community group with which the Message Board is associated. See also: Moderating a Message Board.

• ObjectType (EkEnumeration.MessageBoardObjectType)

  The type of object to which the Message Board is assigned. Choices are:

  • Content. A content item
  • User. An individual
  • CommunityGroup. A community group
• ProfileParamName (String)

  The parameter name to pass in the QueryString to the TemplateUserProfile page, if you want it to be anything other than id. For example, you may prefer userid, because it is more descriptive, as shown in the following example.

  

• ShowMaxCharacter (Integer)

  The maximum number of characters to display in the comment. If the number of characters in a comment exceeds this, a ... more >> link appears. Users click the link to see the full text.

• SpamControlType (EkEnumeration.MessageBoardSpamControlType)

  Assigns a spam filter to the Message Board. Ektron provides 3 spam filters, and the ability to define your own. Spam control is turned off by default. Filter choices are:

  • SameUserMessageDay. A user cannot post the same comment to a board more than once per day
  • SameUserTimeDelay. Prevents user from posting another comment for period of time, specified in the SpamTimeSpan property.
  • SameMessageTimeDelay. Prevents user from posting an identical comment for a period of time, specified in the SpamTimeSpan property.
  • Custom. Message Board uses your custom spam filter code. See Filtering Spam.
• SpamTimeSpan (Integer)

  The number of seconds for which the SameUserTimeDelay or SameMessageTimeDelay spam filters delay a user from posting a second time. See also: Filtering Spam.

• Stylesheet (String)

  Specify the path to a style sheet for use with this server control. Leave blank to use the default style sheet. To use a custom style sheet, place it in a folder outside the siteroot\workarea folder then edit it. Next, in this property, enter the path to the custom style sheet relative to the site root folder.

  NOTE: If you enter a valid EkML file at the MarkupLanguage property, the Stylesheet property is ignored.

• SuppressWrapperTags (Boolean)

  Suppresses the output of the span/div tags around the control.

  • True. Suppress wrap tags.
  • False (default). Allow wrap tags.
• TemplateUserProfile (String)

  The URL path to a page that contains a UserProfile server control. The path can be relative or absolute. If you enter a path, a user can click any user’s name or avatar from the Message Board server control and be forwarded to that profile page. See illustration below.

  

  Note that user templates can be defined in the Workarea > Settings > Community Management > Templates screen. However, if you assign a template in this field, this setting takes precedence over the setting on the Workarea Template screen.

• WrapTag (String)

  Lets a developer specify a server control’s tag.

  • Span (default). Designate an inline portion of an HTML document as a span element.
  • Div. Apply attributes to a block of code.
  • Custom. Lets you use a custom tag.