.NET Answers » DotNetNuke – Module Development

Changing an Existing DNN Module

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:04:04 +0000

Got this question this morning from the “Ask A Question” form. “How do I make a change in an existing DotNetNuke module? I want to add new fields to the feedback form.” I’m assuming the question is about making changes to the module without touching the source code. But, unfortunately, you can’t do that. If [...]

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DotNetNuke SecurityException AspnetHostingPermission

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Yesterday I was setting up DotNetNuke for a designer on a computer at a corporate location so that he could start working on CSS for some of our custom modules. He had an earlier version of DNN installed, so you’d think that it would “just work” but there seems to be a new module or [...]

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DotNetNuke – FileUploadControl Danger!

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:31:01 +0000

A couple of days ago I was working with a client who was having trouble using the File Upload Control from within a DotNetNuke module. The problem we were seeing was that although all the code had been written correctly and looked just like every other implementation of the code I had ever used when [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Automating the PA

Dave — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:25:39 +0000

Last week we showed how to create a basic Program Assembly (PA). You’ll remember that a lot of the process was manual. And if you make a process manual, it is always open to error. But there is a better way. By using the Microsoft Web Deployment Project along with the MSBuild Community Task, you [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Creating the PA

Dave — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:03:05 +0000

By now you have the basics for creating a DotNetNuke module. The only question we have left to address is, how do we package this all up so that we can install it on another server? The file we are going to create is called the Program Assembly (PA) and is a zip file that [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Advanced Architecture

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:54:47 +0000

So far we’ve done all of our development assuming that we are developing our module for internal use. To be fair, that’s what most of you all will be doing. There are a lot more of you who will be developing modules for internal use who will be fine with the architecture I’ve already given [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Retrieving Settings

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:44:28 +0000

On Monday we discussed how to save setting information for our modules. Today we want to pick back up where we left off and deal with retrieving that information, both in the LoadSettings() method and in the view module. The Primary Method of Retrieval The main retrieval method is the Settings property that is available [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Module Settings

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:29:26 +0000

Since each instance of a module that we put on a page should be able to have it’s own configuration information, it is necessary to have some place that will allow us to configure it. For example, you may have a module which could display itself in a number of different ways. You need some [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Caching

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:31:35 +0000

A couple of days ago I showed a method for finding a module on another page. Néstor Sánchez pointed out that on a large site, this could cause a significant performance issue. He suggested, instead, registering the location of the module with the database when it is created on the page it is on. I [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Finding The Page a Module is On

Dave — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:11:39 +0000

Last week we talked a bit about Inter Module Communication, the ability of one module to notify another module on the page that something needs to happen without requiring a post back. The other need you may have is something I refer to as Cross Page Communication. This is not a DotNetNuke term, I just [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Inter Module Communication

Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:49:00 +0000

If you spend any time at all writing DotNetNuke modules, you will eventually run into a situation where you need one module to communicate with another. There are several methods of achieving this communication, but there is one DotNetNuke-sanctioned way that looks a bit more confusing, at first glance, than it really is. In fact, [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – PortalModuleBase

Dave — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:42:22 +0000

We’ve been through most of the basics now with respect to creating the View module of the DotNetNuke module set. We will be moving on to the Settings module next. But before we do, we need to review a few important properties and methods of the PortalModuleBase class that the view module inherits from. This [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Exceptions the DNN Way

Dave — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:54:04 +0000

Everyone knows (or should know) that handling exceptions is a fundamental feature of the .NET environment. And most of the time if we don’t handle the exception ourselves the .NET environment will handle it for us. However, letting the environment deal with the exception leaves us with absolutely nothing intelligent for our customers to report [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Making Content Portable

Dave — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:21:10 +0000

The last main feature of module development that we need to discuss is the implementation of IPortable. If you’ve ever worked with other content management systems in a corporate environment, you’ll appreciate the implementation of this interface since the number one issue most organizations have is getting data from a staging area to a production [...]

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DotNetNuke – Make Your Module Searchable

Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:46:32 +0000

So far, you know everything you need to know to get a basic module up and running. There are a few items we still need to cover regarding the configuration of your module so that it can have different types of behavior with each instance, but before we get to that, there are a few [...]

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DotNetNuke – Modules – Linking within the module

Dave — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:41:07 +0000

Now that we have the module skeleton up and running and we have a data access layer, the next thing we need to look at is specific functions you may need to use from within your code. One of the most useful functions is Globals.NavigateURL(). This is particularly useful if you want to generate a [...]

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DotNetNuke – Data Access Layer Alternative

Dave — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:20:11 +0000

Now that I’ve explained the standard way of creating a Data Access Layer (DAL) for DotNetNuke, we can address the alternative method of providing this same functionality. You see, the only reason for creating the DataProvider abstract class and the SqlDataProvider implementation class is so that alternative data providers can be created. Originally, this was [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Data Access Layer

Dave — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:12:49 +0000

On Tuesday, we started working on the code for our Data Access Layer by having CodeSmith generate some classes for us. Today, we are going to generate the DataSets we need and modify the controller classes to use them. At the end, you will have a DataLayer and Business Logic Layer that will allow you [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Data Access Layer

Dave — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:16:15 +0000

Now that we’ve created our stored procedures, we are going to use some of the other CodeSmith templates to generate our data access layer (DAL). Keep in mind that the templates you are going to be using were originally meant to be used on DotNetNuke 3.x. They did a great job of creating the code [...]

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DotNetNuke – Modules – Portal Specific Modules

Dave — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:33:42 +0000

Many of you won’t care too much about creating Portal Specific Modules because you’ll be creating modules for an environment that only has one portal. However, if you are creating a module for resell, or you will be using the module in a multi-portal environment, you’ll need this next piece of information I’m going to [...]

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DotNetNuke – Modules – Creating Stored Procs

Dave — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:23:12 +0000

Now that we have our tables created, we are going to use the CodeSmith product that we installed last week to create our stored procedures. We will also end up creating the SQL scripts that we will need to install this module into another DNN installation. So, the first thing you need to do is [...]

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DotNetNuke – Modules – Creating The Tables

Dave — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:16:42 +0000

On Tuesday we installed the free version of CodeSmith to help us create the database access code. Before we can create the access code, we need some tables in our system. Even if you think you know all about creating tables in a database, don’t skip this lesson. There are some very specific tips related [...]

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DotNetNuke – The Data Layer – Installing CodeSmith

Dave — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:35:42 +0000

There are other controls, and I’m sure I could go on talking about them for weeks yet, but we need to move on. Since most modules you build are going to need at least one table behind them, and most of the presentation layer can’t be developed until we have the data access coded, we [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Collapsible Panels

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:06:19 +0000

Last week we looked at how to add the ability to collapse a container as part of the DotNetNuke skinning series. Today, we are going to take a look at how to add a similar feature into the modules themselves. By the way, while it might work for a person interested in skinning to skip [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – LinkButtons

Dave — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:36:50 +0000

As you can probably already guess, localizing a LinkButton in DotNetNuke is pretty straightforward. But you’ll never guess what most people miss when they add this little control to their DotNetNuke module. Just like the ASP:Label control, internationalizing a LinkButton is a simple as adding a resourcekey attribute to the control. That much works just [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Labels w/ no Help

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:45:28 +0000

While the bulk of the labels you use on a module will be DotNetNuke labels, occasionally you want to be able to put text on the screen that doesn’t need context help and doesn’t need to be associated with a label. Instructions for a page are a good example of this. The problem becomes, how [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Internationalization (part 2)

Dave — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:32:48 +0000

Last Thursday, we looked at how you could change the text of the modules in DotNetNuke. Today, we want to show you how to add that same capability to your own modules. When you created your module, one of the directories that was created for you was a directory named “App_LocalResources”. In this directory are [...]

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DotNetNuke – Internationalization

Dave — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:48:39 +0000

One of the core features of DotNetNuke is that all of the text that shows up on a page either comes out of the database or out of resource files. Anything that comes out of the resource files can be localized for country and region. There are two benefits to having the text external to [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – DNN Controls – Label

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:43:08 +0000

The DotNetNuke framework has several built-in controls that you should use instead of the controls you would typically use in an ASP.NET application. Before we can go much further, we need to review the controls that are available so that you know what is available prior to starting your development efforts. Not doing so would [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Adding Actions

Dave — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:36:41 +0000

Monday, we took a look at the Anatomy of the View component and touched on the ModuleActions property. Today, we are going to dig into the Actions.Add() function a little deeper. The Add() function has the following signature public ModuleAction Add(int ID, string Title, string CmdName, string CmdArg, string Icon, string Url, bool UseActionEvent, SecurityAccessLevel [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Anatomy of the View

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:40:05 +0000

Now that we’ve laid the foundation of DotNetNuke modules, it is time to start looking at the specific modules. While it would be practically impossible to cover every detail and every API feature of a DotNetNuke component, we do want to look closely enough that you know what you are looking at as you are [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Benefits of Architecture

Dave — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:31:07 +0000

Now that we have something running, it’s time to take a look at the various parts of the DotNetNuke framework. But before we do, we need the all-important question, “Why do we care?” From an end user’s perspective, DotNetNuke is a content management system. What the end user ends up seeing is an environment that [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Where Stuff Shows Up

Dave — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:28:33 +0000

We continue our series on creating DotNetNuke modules today by showing you where the various components of the module we created last week show up in DotNetNuke. Remember, last Thursday, we registered the user controls that the DotNetNuke module wizard created for us but I told you not to run them yet because they would [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Registering Your Module

Dave — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:31:47 +0000

Yesterday, we used the DotNetNuke template to create a skeleton module and it’s supporting files. Today, we want to get those modules registered into our Visual Studio copy of DotNetNuke so that as we develop the modules, we can see and test the changes we make. To register the module, you will need to be [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Creating Base Modules

Dave — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:58:40 +0000

Now that we have DotNetNuke installed into Visual Studio we can go ahead and create our first modules. Actually, creating the modules is pretty simple. But it is even easier to do it wrong, which is why you need to read this post. Assuming you have your DotNetNuke project open, right-click on the project folder [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Install DNN into VS 2008

Dave — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:31:47 +0000

Today, we will install DotNetNuke into Visual Studio so that we can create our first module. So fire up Visual Studio, and let’s get going. I’ll be using Visual Studio 2008 to walk you through this, but the instructions are very similar if you are still using Visual Studio 2005. To install DotNetNuke, you can [...]

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DotNetNuke Modules – Foundational Concepts

Dave — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:19:26 +0000

There are two design patterns that DotNetNuke relies on heavily, not just in the core code, but in any module you might develop. The first is a three tiered architecture, or more appropriately a three layer architecture. The second is the use of the Provider model. If you don’t understand these two patterns, your first [...]

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Creating DNN Modules – The Tools

Dave — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:41:14 +0000

As with any endeavor, having the proper tools makes all the difference when creating a DotNetNuke modules. So, before we get started, you’ll need to make sure you have the following tools. Visual Studio 2008 The Microsoft Web Deployment Project MSBuild Community Task DotNetNuke Install Package DotNetNuke Starter Kit You’ll need to log into the [...]

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Creating DotNetNuke Modules

Dave — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:37:21 +0000

I’ve decided to start a series on how to create DNN Modules since I have several clients who need to know this information and I don’t know of one good place I can send them that has it all laid out in a nice step by step process. The things I plan to cover during [...]

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