Implementing WSRP Portlet Modes Using the .NET Portlet Toolkit
To access or update portlet mode for a WSRP portlet, use
the PortletInfo.Mode property in the .NET Portlet
API.
WSRP portlets can expose functionality in different modes,
with each mode catering to a particular function. Many WSRP Consumers
provide functionality to let users request portlet markup in various
modes. There are 4 “standard” modes defined in the WSRP 1.0 specification:
- wsrp:view
- wsrp:edit
- wsrp:help
- wsrp:preview
WSRP-compliant portlets must support the wsrp:view mode. Producers
can also support custom modes, defined as URIs.
Two steps are required
to implement portlet modes:
- Configure the supported portlet modes in the wsrp-producer.xml
file.
The supported portlet modes for each portlet are specified
in the wsrp-producer.xml configuration file as children of the <supports> element as shown in the example below. For
a custom mode, the description may either be included in-line in the <supports> element or as part of a top-level <custom-portlet-mode> definition.
Each supported
mode must have an associated URL. Either include the URL for the mode
within the <url> node, or use the idref attribute to refer to a URL defined as a child of
the <portlet> element. If neither an URL nor
the idref is specified, the URL is assumed to be the first one found
for the portlet.
If the
<supports> element
contains multiple mime-type elements, the portlet mode support applies
to each of the mime-types included. To specify different portlet
modes on a per mime-type basis, add multiple
<supports> elements to the portlet definition, each with a different mime-type.
If the same mime-type is listed more than once, an exception is thrown.
Note: If the <portlet-mode> element is omitted, the
portlet is assumed to support the wsrp:view portlet mode. If wsrp:*
is specified, it implies all of the standard wsrp: values. Support
for “wsrp:view” is always assumed, even if it is not explicitly indicated.
<portlet>
...
<url id="default">http://localhost:4614/WSRPSamples/StockQuotePortlet.aspx</url>
...
<supports>
<mime-type>text/html</mime-type>
<portlet-mode>
<name>wsrp:view</name>
<url idref="default"/>
</portlet-mode>
<portlet-mode>
<name>wsrp:edit</name>
<url idref="default"/>
</portlet-mode>
<portlet-mode>
<name>wsrp:help</name>
<url idref="default"/>
</portlet-mode>
<portlet-mode>
<name>wsrp:preview</name>
<url>http://localhost:4614/WSRPSamples/StockQuotePortlet_preview.aspx</url>
</portlet-mode>
<portlet-mode>
<name>urn-myproject-portletmodes:search</name>
<url>http://myhost/myportlet/search.aspx</url>
<description lang="en">shows the search view for the portlet</window-state>
</portlet-mode>
...
</supports>
...
<custom-items>
<custom-portlet-mode>
<name>urn-myproject-portletmodes:search</name>
<description lang="en">shows the search view for the portlet</description>
</custom-portlet-mode>
</custom-items>
...
</portlet>
- Implement the portlet mode in the portlet code.
A portlet can access the portlet mode via the PortletInfo.Mode property during any portlet request, but may only change the current
mode during a performBlockingInteraction (typically,
an ASP.NET form postback). The new portlet mode is returned in the
response to the WSRP Consumer. If the WSRP Consumer does not understand
the mode returned by a portlet, it can ignore it. If the WSRP Consumer
requests a mode that the portlet does not understand, the WSRP Producer
will map to wsrp:view.
The example below toggles the display
of panels based on the portlet mode. This code is taken from the StockQuotePortlet.aspx.cs
sample included with the .NET Application Accelerator 1.1 MP1.
...
protected void Page_PreRender(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (WSRPPortletContext.Current.Portlet.Mode == "wsrp:edit")
{
editPanel.Visible = true;
helpPanel.Visible = false;
// set the stockSymbols textbox to the current property value
stockSymbolsTextBox.Text = stockSymbols;
viewPanel.Visible = false;
}
else if (WSRPPortletContext.Current.Portlet.Mode == "wsrp:help")
{
editPanel.Visible = false;
helpPanel.Visible = true;
viewPanel.Visible = false;
}
else // view mode
{
editPanel.Visible = false;
helpPanel.Visible = false;
viewPanel.Visible = true;
// display the quotes
DisplayQuotes(stockSymbols);
}
}
...
