DNN Tutorials

In this tutorial we add some cool features to our OWS Knowledge Base Article module, this covers social networking and working with APIs and web services.

Including: Send This to a Friend email, AddThis social bookmarks, Facebook Share API, integrating Yahoo! answers API. These are powerful techniques to enhance your OWS Modules.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - How to Build an 'Email to a Friend' function
• Video 2 - How to Add Social BookMarks with AddThis and Share on Facebook
• Video 3 - How to Display and Search Yahoo Answers via their API

Total Time Length: 34min 21secs

In this tutorial we demonstrate the new Content Staging Workflow options in the Community Edition of DotNetNuke 5.

The Content Staging Workflow options in the Community Edition of DotNetNuke apply to the Text / HTML module. We show you how to create a draft version, how to publish a draft version, how to view and preview the version history of the Text / HTML module as well as how to roll back to a previous version of the Text / HTML module.

The video covers:

• Video 1 - DotNetNuke 5 Community Edition HTML Module Content Staging Workflow

Time Length: 8min 46secs

In this free video tutorial we provide a quick start guide to using DotNetNuke 5.

This tutorial will help you get started using DotNetNuke without getting into all of the finer details, once you've got to grips with this tutorial you can then explore the other video tutorials on DNN Creative Magazine and those tutorials will help you to get the most from your DotNetNuke portal.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - Introduction, Configuring and Securing Admin and Host User Accounts
• Video 2 - Introduction to Admin Functions, How to Add a Module to the Page
• Video 3 - How to Add a Text / HTML Module to the Page
• Video 4 - How to Install and Configure the Links Module
• Video 5 - How to Use Containers and Skins in DotNetNuke
• Video 6 - Logo, How to Create Pages and Move Modules

Total Time Length: 59min 15secs

In this Free tutorial we demonstrate how to install the DotNetNuke Core Module Extensions in DotNetNuke 5.

If you have used previous versions of DotNetNuke and you are wondering where the core modules have moved to, or if you are a beginner to DotNetNuke and would like to install the additional free core modules that come as default with DotNetNuke, this tutorial will provide all of the information you need.

Video 1 - How to install DotNetNuke Core Modules in DNN 5

• Demonstration of core modules location in previous versions of DotNetNuke
• DotNetNuke 5 extensions
• How to install available extensions
• How to install multiple DotNetNuke core modules at the same time

Time Length: 2min 46secs

In this free tutorial we demonstrate how to install a standard module to DotNetNuke 5.

There are many modules available to extend the functionality of your DotNetNuke website, some of the modules require you to purchase them from websites, such as snowcovered.com and there are also many free modules available as well.

In this tutorial we demonstrate how to install a module using the Install Extensions method and also how to auto install a module using FTP.

The video contains:

• Video 1 - How to Install a Module in DotNetNuke 5

Time Length: 11min 16secs

In this free video tutorial we demonstrate how to install skins and containers in DotNetNuke 5.

If you have used an earlier DotNetNuke version, the installation has changed slightly, or if you are a beginner to DotNetNuke this should help you get up to speed quickly.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - How to Install a Skin in DotNetNuke 5
• Video 2 - How to Test a Skin, How to Auto Install a Skin

Total Time Length: 18min 14secs

In this tutorial we demonstrate the DotNetNuke NavMenu. The NavMenu is the default menu that comes with DotNetNuke, we demonstrate how to configure and setup the NavMenu in your DotNetNuke skins and how to create a horizontal menu, vertical menu and both a horizontal and vertical menu on the same page.

To begin the tutorial we demonstrate how to create a basic 1pane simple skin and add the NavMenu to your skin. The first menu we create is a horizontal menu, we show you how to add a background faded image to the menu, how to set the styling for hover over, the breadcrumb trail styling for the menu, (ie. the currently selected page) and how to work with the various attributes that are available for the NavMenu.

Following this we create a vertical menu and then demonstrate how to display both a vertical and horizontal menu on the same page. To finish we show you the attributes that are available for configuring which menu items should display when two menus are presented on a page.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - Introduction, Adding a Horizontal Nav Menu to a Skin
• Video 2 - An Overview of the Nav Menu Token Attributes
• Video 3 - Initial Background Styling and Positioning for the Menu
• Video 4 - How to Style the Root Menu Items
• Video 5 - Styling the Currently Selected, Mouse Over and Sub Menu Items
• Video 6 - Styling the Sub Menu
• Video 7 - How to Create a Vertical Menu Skin
• Video 8 - How to Style the Vertical Menu
• Video 9 - How to Display a Vertical and Horizontal Menu
• Video 10 - How to Configure the Display of 2 Nav Menus
• Video 11 - Configuring Which Pages to Display in the Vertical Menu

This tutorial demonstrates Debugging, Enhanced Reporting, Importing Records and Scheduling in Open Web Studio.

We begin the tutorial by demonstrating how to debug your OWS application using the built in OWS tools. This covers how to debug form variables, session variables, SQL queries, and troubleshooingt problems.

Next we enhance the reporting page that we built in episode 4 provide a facility to export your report to Microsoft Excel CSV files and HTML formatted Word documents.

Following this we enhance the Knowledgebase Manager so that it can import records from a CSV file, this allows you to automatically import multiple knowledgebase articles simultaneously.

To finish, we demonstrate how to schedule your OWS configuration using the DotNetNuke Scheduler. We demonstrate how to setup a query which executes each day and checks for any articles that have a pending status.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - Introduction, Debugging, Form Variable Troubleshooting
• Video 2 - Debugging Session Variables and SQL Queries
• Video 4 - How to Upload New Knowledge Base Articles Using a CSV File
• Video 5 - How to Use the DotNetNuke Scheduler with OWS

This tutorial demonstrate the ASCX method of DotNetNuke skinning. This is the method that the professional DotNetNuke skinners use as it is much quicker to build skins in this way.

We explain the concepts of DotNetNuke ASCX skinning, how to setup Visual Web Developer Express to enable the skin token attribute suggestions, how to use ASCX skin tokens, how to make quick edits to tokens and instantly see them on your DotNetNuke website, how to display two tokens of the same type - for instance two menus, how to use skinpath for images, how to view the attributes that are available for a skin token, how to speed edit CSS code, how to quickly create additional skins using the ASCX method and instantly view them within your DotNetNuke installation, and finally how to work with ASCX Containers.

The videos cover:

• Video 1 - Introduction, Pros and Cons of ASCX Skinning
• Video 2 - Introduction to ASCX Skin Code and Setup in VWD Express
• Video 3 - How to Edit The ASCX Tokens, Configuring the Search Token
• Video 4 - How to Display 2 Nav Menus, How to Use SKINPATH for Images
• Video 5 - Skin CSS Code Speed Editing in ASCX skins
• Video 6 - Containers ASCX skinning

This tutorial demonstrates how to add personalization to the knowledge base module.

We demonstrate InterModule Communications and create a ‘My Saved Articles’ module. This module allows the user to create their own list of favourite knowledgebase articles.

We demonstrate working with JQuery to create a ToolTip, how to change the “fetching data” message that is displayed for Ajax module refreshes (ie. When searching for an article and the site is loading the data) to an animated GIF and we show how to enable the OWS Text Editor, which allows us to create Rich Text/HTML articles.

The videos contain:

• Video 1 - Introduction, Building the Saved Articles Module
• Video 2 - Add to My Saved Function, Delete Function, JQuery Tooltip
• Video 3 - Fetching Data Customization, Using the Text / HTML Editor
• Video 4 - Multi Category Selection for a Knowledgebase Article - OWS Checkboxes (Advanced Technique)
• Video 5 - Interactive Logging Techniques, Beginning Reporting - OWS Columns and Column Templates