I have a situation where i have to display just the initial bredcrumb item of a skin but not list the drill downs. In other words, we just want the top most menu item breadcrumb of the section the user is visiting but not the sub items... To illustraite. If the user visits a page called "Apples" and then selects a sub menu item of "Types of Apples" I would like the bread crumb of my skin to display only top level of "Apples" in the breadcrumb and NOT "Apples>Types of Apples" I know this is a wierd request but if it could be done it would save me loads of design headach in trying to lable a section of a site to pick up just the top most Breadcrumb. So ...Is this possible? To have the breadcrumb list at only the top level as a skin object? If so, how would i code the Bread Crumb Object to dislplay this way in the skin? Please share your code sample or Idea. (I'm using DNN 5.x and 4.9.5 on another) I only have this weekend to do this... Don't you just love DEADLINES!

Perhaps the Breadcrumb isn't the right thing to use. You might want to place a Text/HTML module and use token replacement to display the TabName (Page name). If you need to place this at a special spot in the page, design your skin to have a pane there, and place the single module. Set the module to display on every page ...

Whoops, I just re-read this and see that you really do want the top level name, and not the page name.

You could create a custom version of the BREADCRUMB skin object. (Whoops, I didn't do that ... I did the USER object)  There is a discussion of the BREADCRUMB at Seablick.com and MitchelSellers.com.

If I were doing it, I would add an attribute that tells which levels to display in the breadcrumb.  That would be fairly easy to do.

RegGFX - That sounds like what i'm looking for, however, i'm unble to find your post link. Do you have your link which shows this handy?

RegGFX - I'm sorry but i need a little help in this regard. Could i see a sample snippit code I could test?

I just edited my reply to reflect my bad memory.

But, the Tom Kraak article about the skin object is here.  Tom has the link to Mitchel Sellers' blog entry that shows how to do the programming part and to create the skin object that can be installed.  My blog entry -- in which I went into a few more details than I posted here -- is at this address.  I stole heavily from Joe Brinkman's blog, and there are some pointers there ... with details on packaging it up.

(If the football games get boring on Sunday, I may take a shot at this ... but I'd encourage others to try to beat me to the punch!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH... I'll take a look... and as always feedback from others on this is always welcome.(Maybe a tutorial?) I've seen this done on DNN sites and always wanted to try it.
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In Regards to Football on Sunday.... Unfortunatally We DALLAS-ites have declared Sundays games a wash since the score was ran up on us by Mr. Favre and company. Oh-Well.. we'll get'm next year..and you know what they say about paybacks....
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I'll continue to watch this post.

I just read a post of yours at http://www.dnncreative.com/Forum/ta...fault.aspx Which suggested that: You can use a Text/HTML module with a replaceable token that has the page name.


So for this to work and if my skin is already installed could i just do this? <dnn:TabName runat="server" id="dnnTabName" TabName="True" /> Is there more i need to prepare before placing this in my DNN 5.X Skin? Just curious. Or maybe i should stick with the custom Breadcrumb approach?(which is proving to be quite a trouble shooting fiasco)

The replaceable text approach will not give you the root breadcrumb on every page, I'm afraid.

yeah.... after further thought... i'm realizing that approach won't work either... Well back to the drawing board.... I would really just like to display the TAB ID...and not have to bother with the breadcrumbs. Is there a module that will alow you to display the TAB ID as a skin object?

You can display the Tab ID using token replacement in a Text/HTML module.

I'm almost to embarrassed to ask, how would i accomplish that? I tried pasting [Tab:TabName] inside the text/html module source and nothing showed. Would it be too much to ask for clarification on how i do that?

There is a setting for the Text/HTML module that enables token replacement ...

D'OH!.... I found it... yes now the [Tab:TabName] works inside a text html/module... Great! Thank you for the tip... But now here is the next trick... How could i make [Tab:TabName] a Skin Object? Is that possible? Would i do that the following? : I tried this and dnn didn't seem to take it. Does it work for you?

No.  You actually need to create the skin object (an ascx and an ascx.vb file), package it up and install it into your copy of DotNetNuke.

It is a fairly simple process, but knowing some VB probably is a big help.

Joe Brinkman's blog about the USER skin object is a great source of information.  Then, you would take breadcrumb.ascx and breadcrumb.ascx.vb for your skin object.  I'd rename both of them so that you have a new skin object, not a replacement.  Then there are a couple of places where you'll want to change filenames, class names, and the namespace name.  Finally, you'll just want to remove the code that builds the string of breadcrumbs and links. You will replace that with the tab name.

But, if you are going to put a skin object into your skin, why not just put a content pane there and add a text/HTML module?  It will work the same, and will require less work on your part.

You know...I agree with you ... The Custom Content Pane with an added text/HTML module set with properties to display [Tab:TabName] and set the text/HTML module to be visible and added to all pages would be my simplest and best shot. I think thats what i'm going to do. Do you think doing it this way would be a maintenance nightmare on a site that may have 150+ pages?

If may be a bit of a pain when you first do it and the module doesn't appear in the right pane on all pages.  If so, you might be able to fix that with a SQL query.  Check these:

• Introduction to SQL Queries with SQL Server Express, DotNetNuke and Vista
• How to Update the DotNetNuke Page Settings Using SQL Queries
• Administrating modules in DotNetNuke using SQL
• Administrating Skins and Containers using SQL