Hello Lee and Joe,

Just watched all the tutorials in regards to packaging skins for DNN 5 installations. I agree with you in regards to the legacy method being much easier but I do have a couple questions in regards to this new method. I noticed on your tutorials the main idea was installing the skins as a legacy and containers as legacy, etc... before packaging them via DNN extension engine and then going through the process of combining them and such. I am actually working on a skin from scratch for the DNN 5 platform meaning I am not attempting to actually convert an old skin made for the 4.0 framework to the 5.0 framework. I was wondering is it still easier to initially create a skin from scratch via the legacy method, install that skin onto DNN and than convert it to DNN 5 flavor whereby having to install extensions than delete extensions than reinstall them again with the fresh manifest.

I guess I am wondering is there a quick way that you know of to deal with a skin made from scratch for the DNN 5 community that is quicker than this installing as legacy and converting to the manifest way of doing it. I know one could obviously manually key in the manifest details but that seems like it could be tedious and perhaps it would be more time efficient to just zip the skins, zip the containers put them in a zip file uplaod them as legacy and than create a package from each of them, then delete the extensions, reupload, etc. etc... I don't know what do you guys think. Also you talked about skin objects in this tutorial but not the new widget framework that is client side based scripting. Can widgets be packaged as skin objects can and if so do they also need to be put at the top of the manifest either above a skin object or below as long as they are above the actual skin package?

Do you have a tutorial for widgets I looked but couldn't find one.

Lastly I am delving into creating modules as well as doing some skinning and I am just curious what you know in regards to order of operation if I were to say do a special bundle with module, widget, skin object, skin, container maybe even provider. I know packaging all these things into one package is not the norm but if I ran into a situation where it made sense is theere a way to put all of these things into one package and if so is there any special order I must follow in doing so.

I know skin objects have a special order to say skins and containers but if throughing modules, widgets and providers into this pool of one big happy package should their being any precedense of modules at the top or providers at the top or widgets etc.. or is it just the skin objects that must be put above the skin component if the skin component uses it.

I suspect this may hold true with widgets if a skin has a widget that has a runat=client type thing but maybe not since a widget runs on the clientside instead of server side. Anyway let me know your thoughts on this.

Based on your tutorial I think I will start building my skin legacy style but if you guys think of a quicker way to install a fresh skin that you will want to develop into a DNN 5 type situation that never was an older skin to start with thereby never needing to technically be converted let me know.

As I am writing this question I am thinking that as a skin that is starting from scratch in this era of DNN that has intentions in the long run of going into the DNN 5 community pool it may be more of prefrerence than time saver as it seems installing just to package and delete and install again may or may not save or lose any more time than say doing some cutting and pasting and hand coping a manifest that could be installed once and not have to be installed, packaged deleted and reinstalled.

Anyway let me know what you think on these things and if you have a tutorial concerning widgets I'd love to know as I feel I need to start getting into this widget thing just like the skin objects. Take care, Bo

FWIW, I'm still using the legacy skin packaging technique.

In DNN 5 I would build the skin using the ascx method:
DotNetNuke ASCX Skinning for Professional Skinners

The skin is therefore already installed and you can then use the same techniques from the tutorial to build the manifest file.

I am looking into skin widgets at the moment - currently experimenting with the new skin objects html method and the new super stylesheets, widgets will be after that.

I suspect that anything that needs installing before the skin such as skin objects and widgets will need to be placed at the top of the manifest file.

I'm guessing you could also place the module manifest in there as well. I don't think it will matter if the module is installed before or after the skin in the manifest.

Thanks,