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Extending Images and Documents Module Send comments on this topic.
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Developing with Sitefinity > Modules > Modules API > Generic Content Based Modules > Images and Documents > Extending Images and Documents Module

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This topic lists possible ways for extending the Images and Documents module programmatically. This could be done by changing the web.config file, or making use of methods provided by the Library Manager. Also, there are helper classes that provide additional functionality when managing Images and Documents.

 

Changes to the web.config File

The web.config file could be used to extend the functionality of Images and Documents. The module could allow more extensions or could perform a different URL rewriting than specified by default.

web.config Copy Code
<cmsEngine defaultProvider="Generic_Content">
 <providers>
   <clear/>
   <add name="Libraries" urlRewriteFormat="[ProviderName]/[LibraryName]/[Name].aspx" urlDateTimeFormat="yy-MM-dd" urlWhitespaceChar="_" visible="False" defaultMetaField="Name" applicationName="/Libraries" allowVersioning="True" allowLocalization="False" localizationProviderName="" allowWorkflow="False" securityProviderName="" versioningProviderName="" connectionStringName="GenericContentConnection" type="Telerik.Libraries.Data.DefaultProvider, Telerik.Libraries.Data"/>
 </providers>
 ...

 

URL Rewriting

The URL rewrite format could be extended by changing the metadata - LibraryName, Name - in the following default setting:

Copy Code
urlRewriteFormat="~/{Provider}/{LibraryName}/[Name].sflb"

 

The possible metadata values are listed in the <metaFields> tag in <cmsEngine>. They are: Name, Width, Height, Size, Extension, AlternateText, Author, Category.

Do not remove or change {ProviderName}. If this meta field is removed, the default provider will be used. However, the default provider is the Generic Content one, and it does not provide the necessary functionality for the Images and Documents module.

 

Setting Library Extensions

The <libraryInfo> section includes the allowed extensions for each type of library. They could be set to different values here. Also, meta fields are set per library type, and not in general for the whole module.  

web.config Copy Code
<libraries defaultGenericProvider="Libraries">
   ...
  <libraryInfo>
   <add name="Image" title="Image Library" defaultExtenstions=".png, .jpg, .gif" metaKeys="Author, AlternateText, Extension, Name, Height, Width, Size, Category"></add>
   <add name="Document" title="Document Library" defaultExtenstions=".pdf, .doc" metaKeys="Author, Extension, Name, Size, Category"></add>
   <add name="Custom" title="Custom Library" defaultExtenstions=".png, .jpg, .gif" metaKeys="Extension, Name, Size, Category"></add>
  </libraryInfo>
 </libraries>

 

 Adding Custom Meta Field to File Properties

To add an additional field to the properties of an image or a document, the following code should be added to the web.config file: 

In the following code, change all instances of Name_of_Field with the specific name of the meta field to be created.

 

  • Add a key to the <metaFields> section:
    <metaFields> Copy Code
    <add key="Libraries.Name_of_Field"  
    valueType="ShortText"  
    visible="True"  
    searchable="True"  
    sortable="True"  
    defaultValue="" />

      

  • Add a key to the <libraryInfo> section:
    <libraryInfo> Copy Code
    <add name="Custom"
    title="Custom Library"
    defaultExtenstions=".*"
    metaKeys="Author, Description, Extension, Name, Size, Category, Name_of_Field">
    </    add>    

      

  • There is an additional step that should be taken - the control panel template should be changed to display the new field. Add a label, a textbox, and a literal to the template: 
    Control Panel Template Copy Code
    <sfGCn:ContentMetaFields ID="editMetaFields" runat="server">
         ...
         <li>
           <asp:Label ID="Label8" runat="server" AssociatedControlID="Name_of_Field"  Text="Name_of_Field"></asp:Label>
           <asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="Name_of_Field" MaxLength="255" TextMode=MultiLine></asp:TextBox>
           <p class="example">
             <asp:Literal ID="Literal10" runat="server" Text="Text that defines the field" />
           </p>
         </li>

    The path to the control panel template for image libraries is  ~/Sitefinity/Admin/ControlTemplates/Libraries/ControlPanelEdit_Image.ascx , while the one for document or custom libraries is ~/Sitefinity/Admin/ControlTemplates/Libraries/ControlPanelEdit.ascx.

 

 

Query Strings

If a download query string is added to the link of a file in a library, and is set to true, the file will be directly accessed for download. If false (as is by default), the file will be opened for viewing instead.

Example:

http://www.my_domain.com/MyFile.sflb?download=true 

 

There are four query strings that are available only for image files:

 

  • width, height -> the strings provide measures and the image is stretched to fit in them. Example:

    http://www.my_domain.com/MyFile.sflb?width=100&height=100

  • decreaseOnly -> when true, the image could only be decreased to fit in the measures set by the width and height strings. Still, if the image is smaller, it would not be enlarged. Example:

    http://www.my_domain.com/MyFile.sflb?decreaseOnly=true&width=100&height=100

  • proportional -> when true (by default), the image is stretched only proportionally until it fits in the measures set by the width and height strings.  Example: 

    http://www.my_domain.com/MyFile.sflb?proportional=true&width=100&height=100  

 

See Also