Components (WCMS Part 3)

In this post we'll look at the Component Manager, one part of the WCMS, the Webcrossing Customization Management Suite.

A "component" is a large block of page functionality. In this case, it refers to:

• Top Level View (how the top level of the site looks)
• Folder View (how items listed in a folder look)
• Message View (how messages look listed in a discussion
• Toolbar (how the list of buttons or links looks at the bottom of the page

There are between 2 and 5 options for each of these components, and you must choose one of each. Like everything else in Webcrossing, components are hierarchical. You can use the Tabular Folder View for one folder and the Sortable Folder View for another. First, choose your default Components using the Component Manager in the Control Panel. Then, within each subfolder where you want something other than the default, use the folder level Component Manager (reachable via the Edit Folder page) to choose a different Component. There are some restrictions on putting non "Classic" views inside Classic views, but generally you can arrange things in a nested fashion if necessary.

Most Components have an extensive page of settings you can reach from the Component Manager pulldown menu once you have it enabled.



The Component Manager allows for a lot of customization "bang" for very little effort. Next time, Folder and User Items.