Summary

In this chapter we have examined the portal framework supported by WebParts in ASP.NET 2.0, an architecture that allows users to customize the look and feel of Web pages. We first looked at what WebParts and portals mean, seeing how WebParts provide concise portions of functionality for sites.

In looking at the framework, we started with the WebPartManager, the control that organizes WebParts on a page and manages how those WebParts can interact with users. We saw that you can provide simple menus to define what customization is allowed, and that authorization can be integrated with WebParts so that certain functionality can be removed for certain users or roles.

We then looked at what WebParts consist of, and that when placing them on a page you use distinct zones to define page areas. Because WebParts can be server controls or user controls, creating WebParts is extremely simple, and if complete control over the WebPart is required, a custom server control can be created. Whichever form of WebPart you use, you have control over how it looks by customizing the look and feel of the zone.

We then looked at the different zones that allow customization. The Catalog Zone allows closed WebParts to be added back into the page, or WebParts to be defined on a page, but not initially seen. The Editor Zone allows customization of the look and feel of WebParts, allowing properties such as the title, whether borders are shown, links for additional information or help, and custom WebPart properties to be changed.

The final topic saw how WebParts can be connected together, allowing data to flow between them. This allows the discrete WebParts to act together as a whole, making a page of WebParts indistinguishable from a page without WebParts. Because this is a more advanced topic, you have to write code to provide the definition of how WebParts connect and what data is available for transfer. We also saw that even if the connection points of WebParts use different data types, you can use transformers to convert between these data types.

Now it's time to look at making Web pages more accessible to a variety of different user types, from those with visual impairments to those with mobile devices or in different countries.