netFORUM CMS offers two distinct views for accessing your website content.
The Design View is the standard User Interface to Web site content and gives the user more direct visual access to content.
The Classic View view provides access to Web site content through a profile. This was the original CMS tool but most experienced users find the Design View to be better.
You can toggle between the Classic and the Page views by clicking on the mode of choice in the Links panel on the left navigation panel.
The CMS interface is composed of several panels that contain access points to CMS functionality.
Main menu - In the main menu bar you will find the major sections of the CMS including places to manage web sites, find and create pages, manage Postings and much more.
Site Information Panel - This panel allows you to manage site-level settings including site ID, layout dimensions and CSS file definition. You can preview the site in a new window by clicking the Preview Site button. You can also switch to edit another site by selecting it in the Manage Web Site drop-down list.
Shortcuts Panel - Several commonly used shortcuts can be found here. The most significant of which is the eWeb Deploy tool.
Preview Area - You are able to preview and navigate the site while you are working with this feature.
Components Panel - Access to all content elements can be found here. The contents of the Components Panel are determined by the Section in the Section drop-down. By selecting the respective tabs below you can manage Pages, Links, Defaults and Postings.
In CMS, Sections are a way to organize and apply specific settings to a group of pages. You can add or edit the properties of a section by clicking the plus or pencil icon next to the Section drop-down.
The Pages tab displays all the pages of a website. They are indexed and can be sorted by page description.
A page in CMS is a container of one or more content details. The page definition itself has a number of properties including a page ID, page title, and visibility conditions. Content details are then created and added to the page definition. You can edit the properties of a page by clicking the pencil icon next to the page description. To reveal the Content Details of a page click the folder icon to open it. To create a new page, click the plus sign icon in the Pages title bar.
A Page Detail is a unique content element of a specific content type that compose a page. Several Page Details can be added to a page and are arranged in the Content Pane by defining the row and column arrangement. You can edit a Page Detail by clicking the pencil icon next to the content type description. To add a new Page Detail, click the "add" link located at the right end of the "Content" header.
Content Types define a Page Detail. Common content types include HTML, List (SQL), Control (C# programmed), Form and Wizard. Each content type has unique properties required to compose it and are necessarily separate.
The concept of Links is unique to netFORUM CMS and somewhat difficult to wrap your arms around. When we talk about "links" we are talking about "system links." This is different from a typical static link as system links are rendered by the system and are dynamic in nature. These dynamic links are created in CMS to allow specific access control and maintain an anonymous connection to its target. For example, you can generate a link for a page and place it in a menu; if the visibility condition is not met for the target page, the link will also not be visible in the menu. Additionally, if you change the ID of the page (page code), the link wi0ll remain effective since the link is connected by the unique data key.
There are two types of system links: Site and Section. As the name suggests, a Section Link is associated with a section and will only display on pages within the particular section. Site Links will display on all pages not specifically set to ignore Site Defaults. Site and Section links can only be positioned in the outer sub-panes of default panes.
Links have two layers in netFORUM CMS. The top layer is its positioning; the bottom layer contains the target information. This bottom layer is called an "available link" and can be created, reused or duplicated as necessary for use in different positions.
The Defaults tab reveals access to the default pane make-up. There are two types of defaults: Site and Section. Site Defaults are global and appear on all other pages. Section defaults are used where you want a unique header or menu panel to display on a particular page or set of pages. You can also set properties of Defaults under the Default Pane Properties header in this panel. To edit a Default Pane, click the pencil icon next to the particular Default you wish to edit.
The baseline eWeb website is the fundamental model for creating sites in CMS. If you change baseline, it will affect all copies you make going forward. You may also remove yourself from the upgrade path. This includes the baseline site itself and any forms or wizards.
See article for tip on how to easily add/remove the &design=yes querystring parameter on your eWeb site.
To suppress the header on a web page (i.e., override the site default panes), either: