Alphamosaik
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Iteration 1 – Sprint 1 – Welcome page
layout analysis
UNESCO
Daniel Mankarios
daniel.mankarios@alphamosaik.com
Monday, June 08, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009 Page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
2.
Description of the mandate ..................................................................... 3
1.1.
Introduction .................................................................................... 3
1.2.
Document subject and scope ............................................................. 3
1.3.
References ...................................................................................... 4
1.4.
Acronyms and Definitions .................................................................. 4
Action Plan............................................................................................ 5
2.1.
Preliminary introduction to SharePoint content ..................................... 5
2.1.1.
Publishing HTML Field Controls ..................................................... 5
2.1.2.
Web part zones .......................................................................... 5
2.1.3.
Other zones ............................................................................... 6
2.2.
Analysis .......................................................................................... 7
2.2.1.
Due to make a difference............................................................. 8
2.2.2.
Direct Access – Data Center ......................................................... 8
2.2.3.
Direct Access – Documentation Library .......................................... 9
2.2.4.
What’s New ............................................................................... 9
2.2.5.
Featured Content...................................................................... 10
2.3.
Summary ...................................................................................... 11
2.4.
Conclusion .................................................................................... 11
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Document history
Author :
Daniel Mankarios
daniel.mankarios@alphamosaik.com
514-931-3169 x178
Reviewer(s)
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Draft
1. Description of the mandate
1.1.
Introduction
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) wishes to create a new public web site
using a renovated look and a more alluring interface. The platform selected is
Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007. The website will be using AlphaMosaik's
multilingual module as well as several custom components to deliver a rich
experience to all future users of their site.
1.2.
Document subject and scope
This document will cover one particular page layout within the SharePoint site. This page layout
is the « Welcome Page » and is used in only one location: the home page. The discussions in
this document pertain to the analysis of the nature of the actual zones found on the page and
the sources of content for these zones (within the page or from a container within the site). The
elements of the master page (top zone above and including the yellow banner, grey menu zone
at the left) are excluded from this analysis as they are not part of the content zone.
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1.3.
References
1. Microsoft. (2009). ASP.NET Web Parts Overview. Retrieved May 22, 2009,
from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hhy9ewf1.aspx
1.4.
Acronym
WSS
WFE
SQL
AD
MOSS
BLOB
IIS
SP
TL1
TL2
TL3
CEWP
CQWP
Acronyms and Definitions
Definition
Windows SharePoint Services v3.0
Web-Front-End
Structured Query Language
Active Directory
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Binary Large Object
Internet Information Services
Service Pack
Theme Level 1
Theme Level 2
Theme Level 3
Content Editor Web Part
Content Query Web Part
Static content: All references to static content within this document refer to
content that is entered directly into a zone designated to receive text that does not
change frequently. For example, the description of a theme on the theme welcome
page is considered to be static.
Dynamic content: All references to dynamic content within this document refer to
content that is not directly entered into a zone designated to receive text, but
rather to content that is automatically pulled from a container (list or library) whose
content can change frequently or automatically based on dynamic filters (date
filters and such).
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2. Action Plan
2.1.
Preliminary introduction to SharePoint content
This section will help UNESCO understand the nature of the various zones available
in a SharePoint site and the implications each zone has for editing and approval.
2.1.1.
Publishing HTML Field Controls
SharePoint allows the placing of publishing HTML field controls within a page. These
controls exist as zones and take on a certain position and size within the page.
They are also rich text enabled, allowing editors to customize text to their liking. A
certain number of predefined styles will be available (based on the design material
provided by Akufen) so that editors may ensure uniformity across all HTML field
control zones. However, a certain number of the rich text controls will also be
disabled to prevent overriding the styles. The image below provides a preview of
the HTML field control zone (with the styles dropdown showing).
This type of zone is considered to be a static content zone. Modifications to the
content of this zone are performed directly in the page where the zone is located.
The zone cannot be relocated as it is an integral element of the layout (the layout
can be modified by an administrator with the appropriate tools and permissions).
2.1.2.
Web part zones
Web part zones are zones in which web parts are added. The following image
illustrates a webpart zone, which has similar properties to a HTML field control zone
in its static placement and size on the page, and the dialog allowing users to add
web parts to the zone.
Web parts are defined in the following manner:
ASP.NET Web Parts is an integrated set of controls for creating Web
sites that enable end users to modify the content, appearance, and
behavior of Web pages directly from a browser. (Microsoft, 2009)
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The web parts to be used will pull content from containers within the site where the
page is located. These containers will be lists or libraries of various sorts. Since the
content of the list can change independently from the page itself, web parts are
generally considered to be dynamic content objects.
The following image illustrates 3 sample web parts in their zone (edit mode) as well
as the final appearance for an end user:
As the content gets pulled from containers throughout the site, editing of the
content displayed in the webpart is performed inside the containers (lists, libraries)
where the content is located. This is the native behavior of SharePoint and should
be understood by UNESCO content editors and approvers.
2.1.3.
Other zones
Other publishing zones do exist (image zones, title zones, other field controls) but
will not be used for the design of the welcome page layout. Therefore, their
descriptions are excluded from this document.
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2.2.
Analysis
The analysis is to be conducted on the content zone of the welcome page. The
mockups provided by UNESCO will be used to refer to the various zones on the
page with each subsection of the document describing a different zone on the page.
The content zone referred to above is the represented in the following diagram:
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2.2.1.
Due to make a difference
This zone will contain static text and will be implemented using a publishing HTML
field control.
2.2.2.
Direct Access – Data Center
This zone will contain a set of hyperlinks and some text. As the content of this zone
will rarely change, it can be implemented using a publishing HTML field control.
However, since its graphical appearance is consistent with a number of other
components in the site (title colors, font, and background), it is best implemented
with a versatile webpart: the Content Editor Web Part (CEWP). This webpart allows
the insertion of rich text content (HTML) in the very same manner as an HTML field
zone. The differences are that it is packaged in a webpart (can inherit the styles
applied to web parts) and that the webpart or zone can have a fixed height (to
ensure proper alignment with its neighboring webpart).
Should it be too difficult to control the styles and appearance of this component
using a CEWP, it can be implemented using a “Summary links web part” with
appropriate styling and layout.
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2.2.3.
Direct Access – Documentation Library
The same reasoning as the “Data Center” zone applies to this zone. It will be
implemented using a Content Editor Web Part.
2.2.4.
What’s New
Title
Image
Body
Link
This zone will contain a listing of recent news (i.e. dynamic content). Therefore it
will consist of a webpart whose behavior and design is described in a separate
document (Iteration 1 – Sprint 1 - What’s New Webpart and derivatives analysis).
The most likely candidate for this webpart would be a Content Query Webpart
(CQWP).
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2.2.5.
Featured Content
This zone contains a mix of different content, each item published under a different
heading. Given the nature of the content (“featured”), it can be considered to be
dynamic. Additionally, given the formatting constraints (optional image at a certain
position, heading positions, fonts, sizes, links, etc.), this zone would be best
implemented using a webpart that will automatically format the content using a set
of predefined rules. The most likely candidate for this webpart would again be the
CQWP.
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2.3.
Summary
The various zones of content in the welcome page can be summarized with the
following mockup:
2.4.
Conclusion
To conclude, the welcome page layout described in the above paragraphs should
address the needs of UNESCO based on the preliminary analysis provided in the
RFP and the discussions with UNESCO.
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