Knowledge Base Module

Hi everyone and Telerik Team

I want to add a knowledge base module to my website.I just want it to look similar with your KB module.  www.sitefinity.com/.../kb.aspx

I have 2 options:

*First one is modfying "News Module",changing its .asp codes according to new KB module and register it as a "MyKnowledgeBase Module".

*Second one is creating a new Knowledge Base module but i dont actually know which codes i have to use to create a new one.

Can you provide me some useful informations such as codes,links or guides?

Regards.

Any ideas? How to develope a knowledge base module?

Hi Can,

This can be done with both of the options you mention about.

1. All articles can be news items. The classification on the right side can be categories widget with modified template for the case. You can find the Taxonomy control template available with Sitefinity SDK.To change the templates go Sitefinity backend -> Administration->Setting->Advanced-> Controls->ViewMap and click on the create new button. Fill in the boxes:
HostType: Telerik.Sitefinity.Web.UI.PublicControls.LoginStatusControl
LayoutTemplatePath: ~/Custom/LoginStatus_LoggedOut.ascx ( this is path to your template )
Go to Additional templates to enter the same Host and the path to the Logged_In control.
The last templates will be cached so you need to restart the web.config in order to apply the changes.
Search on top can be configured to index only news items. Search widget can be styled as you like and its template is available with the SDK.

2. Creating a module is more complicated task. You can refer to the Products module sample in Sitefinity SDK. Explore the module functionality to get the idea how it is working and then review the code. When you got to the module in the backend and Create new Products items the dialog that will allow you to enter information is all defined in ProductsDefinitions.cs. You can review the definitions try to extend them with new sections or fields (don`t forget to add a resource entryfor each new definition in ProductsResources.cs).
Then review the frontend template of the module FrontendProductsDetailsView.ascx and modify it to suit your needs. Here is a video on creating modules.

All the best,
Stanislav Velikov
the Telerik team

Thank you for reply Stanislav

First one is easier to do i think.

I am not going to use a "Blog" module.It is unneccesery for my current WebSite.So,i want to change its name as "Knowledge Base" and other properities.Can you explain me how can i do it.How to modify?

Additionally,in Sitefinity Knowledge Base Posts on the right side there is a part =>>

Article Info

Hello Can,

You can not change the built in Blogs module and use a new instance of it. You will have to create a new module which will have its own tables in the database and a widget to display data in the frontend. To get advantage of already working module use Products module. It will require lots of custom development to create proper frontend widget template corresponding to the data entered in the backend.

Here is a short overview:
Products module is content based module because it inherits from ContentModuleBase and it is using Workflow. Sitefinity workflow provide the means to publish and create new content. To modify the backend form of the module go to ProductsDefinitions.cs and observe main section and how each field definition. Each definition has a resource entry in ProductsResources.cs and mapping to the database. Mappings are defined in ProductsFluentMapping.cs and also as Lstrings which is a Sitefinity type that allows this field to be localized in different language. Observe Lstring mapping in ProductItem.cs and the fuield WhatIsInTheBox.
Frontend of the module is presented trough widget templates FrontendProductsDetailsView.ascx where you modify how you want the data you entered in the backend to be presented in the frontend. There is a designer to edit the widget with a user interface when placing it on a page. CustomSettingsDesignerView.ascx and corresponding code file and javascript file for the functionality of the designer.
To retrieve information from other modules in your module and present it you should use API functionality. Here is the documentation to get you started.
The part of the module you are interested in retrieves name of the author of a currently selected blog post and its categories and passes the values to a Literal control.

All the best,
Stanislav Velikov
the Telerik team