The standard parts included in the Web Part Framework are fine for building simple Web Part applications, but you'll quickly run into some of their limitations when your needs become more complex. For example, the Web Part Framework includes the DeclarativeCatalogPart control, which you can use to add new Web Parts to a page. However, this control is quite limited. Because it does not support paging or sorting, you cannot use the DeclarativeCatalogPart control to display a catalog that contains more than a small number of Web Parts. It also does not support drag-and-drop functionality. The PropertyGridEditorPart included with the framework enables you to edit custom Web Part properties easily. However, when you use this control, you cannot customize the appearance of the form displayed by the editor. In particular, the form generated by this control does not support validation. Don't worry. The Web Part Framework can be extended easily. In this chapter, you learn how to create custom Web Part Zones, custom Catalog Zones, custom Editor Zones, and custom Display Modes. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to extend the Web Part Framework so it does just about anything you want. |