Creating News Items - Native API - Sitefinity - Front- & Back-End Development

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi,

I have created a user control to allow people to post news items from the front end of the website without being authenticated by following the documentation here http://www.sitefinity.com/documentation/documentationarticles/developers-guide/sitefinity-essentials/modules/news/creating-news-items. When a news item is created I assign a "staff-notice-board" category to the news item.

This all appears to work correctly as when you look in "Content > News" I can see the news items and all the information is correct including the category.

When I add a news list to a page and try to filter by "staff-notice-board" it doesn't return any results however if I leave the list unfiltered they appear.

The only way I can get the news items that have that the category set to "staff-notice-board" to display in a filtered list is to open them individually via "Content > News" and then clicking publish.

Although my code is setting the category I don't think by doing it this way it is updating all the appropriate tables in the database which is why it isn't appearing in my news items that have been filtered by a category.

It's a long shot but has anyone else experienced this? I have copied the code in my user control below.

Thanks
Richard

<%@ Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="NoticeBoard.ascx.cs" Inherits="Controls_NoticeBoard" %>

<div style="margin-top: 10px; display:block;">

<asp:Panel ID="pnlClassifieds" runat="server" Visible="true">

<div>

<asp:Label ID="lblNewsTitle" runat="server" Text="Title" Style="font-weight: bold"></asp:Label></div>

<div>

<asp:TextBox ID="txtNewsTitle" runat="server" MaxLength="100" Style="width: 300px;"></asp:TextBox>

</div>

<div>

<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ID="valNewsTitle" runat="server" ErrorMessage="Please complete this field"

Text="Please complete this field" Display="Dynamic" ControlToValidate="txtNewsTitle"

SetFocusOnError="True" ForeColor="Red" ValidationGroup="Classified"></asp:RequiredFieldValidator></div>

<div style="margin-top: 10px;">

<asp:Label ID="lblNewsSummary" runat="server" Text="Summary" Style="font-weight: bold"></asp:Label></div>

<div style="margin-top: 4px;">

<asp:TextBox ID="txtNewsSummary" runat="server" MaxLength="150" TextMode="MultiLine"

Rows="2" Style="width: 300px; font-family:Arial;"></asp:TextBox>

</div>

<div>

<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ID="valNewsSummary" runat="server" ErrorMessage="Please complete this field"

Display="Dynamic" Text="Please complete this field" ControlToValidate="txtNewsSummary"

SetFocusOnError="True" ForeColor="Red" ValidationGroup="Classified"></asp:RequiredFieldValidator></div>

<div style="margin-top: 10px;">

<asp:Label ID="lblNewsContent" runat="server" Text="Content" Style="font-weight: bold"></asp:Label></div>

<div style="margin-top: 4px;">

<asp:TextBox ID="txtNewsContent" runat="server" TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="5" MaxLength="512"

Style="width: 300px; font-family:Arial;"></asp:TextBox>

</div>

<div>

<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ID="valNewsContent" runat="server" ErrorMessage="Please complete this field"

Text="Please complete this field" ControlToValidate="txtNewsContent" SetFocusOnError="True"

ForeColor="Red" ValidationGroup="Classified"></asp:RequiredFieldValidator></div>

<div style="margin-top: 10px;">

<asp:Button ID="btnSubmit" runat="server" Text="Submit" OnClick="btnSubmit_Click"

ValidationGroup="Classified" />

</div>

</asp:Panel>

<asp:Panel ID="pnlClassifiedsConfirm" runat="server" Visible="false">

<div><b>Thank you, your item has been submitted successfully.</b></div>

</asp:Panel>

</div>

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

using System.Web;

using System.Web.UI;

using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

using Telerik.OpenAccess;

using Telerik.Sitefinity;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Modules.News;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.News.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Taxonomies;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Taxonomies.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Workflow;

public partial class Controls_NoticeBoard : System.Web.UI.UserControl

public const string UrlNameCharsToReplace = @"[^\w\-\!\$\'\=\@\d_]+";

public const string UrlNameReplaceString = "-";

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

private void CreateStaffNoticeBoardItem(string txtNewsTitle, string txtNewsSummary, string txtNewsContent)

// Create new news item id

Guid masterNewsId = Guid.NewGuid();

// Set up news manager

NewsManager newsManager = NewsManager.GetManager();

// Bypass security so any user can post

NewsManager.GetManager().Provider.SuppressSecurityChecks = true;

NewsItem newsItem = newsManager.GetNewsItems().Where(item => item.Id == masterNewsId).FirstOrDefault();

if (newsItem == null)

// Add the news item

// The news item is created as a master. The newsId is assigned to the master.

newsItem = newsManager.CreateNewsItem(masterNewsId);

newsItem.Title = txtNewsTitle;

newsItem.Summary = txtNewsSummary;

newsItem.Content = txtNewsContent;

newsItem.DateCreated = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.PublicationDate = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.LastModified = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(+30);

newsItem.AllowComments = false;

newsItem.UrlName = Regex.Replace(txtNewsTitle.ToLower(), UrlNameCharsToReplace, UrlNameReplaceString);

newsItem.ApprovalWorkflowState = "Published";

newsManager.Lifecycle.Publish(newsItem);

// Save the changes.

newsManager.SaveChanges();

// Set the category for new news item to classifieds - news item already needs to be created first

// Get new news item id

newsItem = newsManager.GetNewsItem(masterNewsId);

TaxonomyManager manager = TaxonomyManager.GetManager();

var categoryId = manager.GetTaxa<HierarchicalTaxon>().Where(t => t.Name == "staff-notice-board").Single().Id;

var catlist = newsItem.GetValue<TrackedList<Guid>>("Category");

catlist.Add(categoryId);

newsItem.SetValue("Category", catlist);

// Save the changes.

newsManager.SaveChanges();

// Publish the news item. The published version acquires new ID.

var bag = new Dictionary<string, string>();

bag.Add("ContentType", typeof(NewsItem).FullName);

protected void btnSubmit_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

CreateStaffNoticeBoardItem(txtNewsTitle.Text, txtNewsSummary.Text, txtNewsContent.Text);

pnlClassifieds.Visible = false;

pnlClassifiedsConfirm.Visible = true;

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi Richard,

Instead of these lines of code

var catlist = newsItem.GetValue<TrackedList<Guid>>("Category");

catlist.Add(categoryId);

newsItem.SetValue("Category", catlist);

use this line of code

newsItem.Organizer.AddTaxa("Category", new Guid[] categoryId );

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi Lupi,

Just tried this but it didn't make any difference.

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Richard, are you using Workflow on your news module?

If not, try using the Lifecycle member of the NewsManager to publish the item, as follows:

newsItem.ApprovalWorkflowState = "Published";

newsManager.Lifecycle.Publish(albumItem);

newsManager.SaveChanges();

this should kick it through to the published state so that it appears as such in the backend list.

I hope this is helpful!

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi SelAromDotNet,

This is how I am doing it and it and it is publishing fine but the category is the issue. Although it sets the category of the news item it does not appear in filtered lists by the category set for some reason.

You have to re-publish it so to speak to get it to appear in the filtered list.

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

oh sorry, my mistake I understood your problem to be that it wasn't "saving" your changes including the category as a published item...

so when you open your created item in the backend, is that category selected? or do you have to select it then publish it?

If it is you're saying that all you have to do is publish it, and it works as expected with the filter, is that correct?

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

My code inserts the news item fine, sets the category and sets the status to published. When you look in the backend "Content > News" and the newly created item everything looks correct.

I'll add a news list to a page and by default it won't be filtered and it will be displayed. If I try to filter the list by the category that was assigned to the news item the list won't display anything.

The only way you can get the news item in the filtered list is to re-publish it from the backend which seems to me that the code isn't populating the required tables that are needed to set categorys on the news items.

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Richard, this is the code I tried and it worked --

if (newsItem == null)

// Add the news item

// The news item is created as a master. The newsId is assigned to the master.

newsItem = newsManager.CreateNewsItem(masterNewsId);

newsItem.Title = "News Title";

newsItem.Summary = "News Summary";

newsItem.Content = "News Content";

newsItem.DateCreated = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.PublicationDate = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.LastModified = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(+30);

newsItem.AllowComments = false;

newsItem.UrlName = "news-title";

var manager = TaxonomyManager.GetManager();

var categoryId = manager.GetTaxa<HierarchicalTaxon>().Where(t => t.Name == "staff-notice-board").Single().Id;

newsItem.Organizer.AddTaxa("Category", new Guid[] categoryId );

// Save the changes.

newsManager.SaveChanges();

var bag = new Dictionary<string, string>();

bag.Add("ContentType", typeof(NewsItem).FullName);

WorkflowManager.MessageWorkflow(masterNewsId, typeof(NewsItem), null, "Publish", false, bag);

You don't need to save the news item before assigning a category to it.

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi Lupi,

In order to use the WorkflowManager you have to be authenticated and the users on this particular site are not which is why I am using newsManager.Lifecycle.Publish(newsItem); at the recommendation of Telerik.

Posted by Community Admin on 14-Sep-2012 00:00

This is strange, the code below did it for me - executed it as anonymous user and after refreshing a test page with a News widget set to show only news items with category "staff-notice-board" the new item showed up.

var newsItem = newsManager.CreateNewsItem(masterNewsId);

newsItem.Title = "News Title";

newsItem.Summary = "News Summary";

newsItem.Content = "News Content";

newsItem.DateCreated = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.PublicationDate = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.LastModified = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(+30);

newsItem.AllowComments = false;

newsItem.UrlName = "news-title";

newsItem.Organizer.AddTaxa("Category", new Guid[] categoryId );

// Save the changes.

newsItem.ApprovalWorkflowState = "Published";

newsManager.Lifecycle.Publish(newsItem);

newsManager.SaveChanges();

Posted by Community Admin on 17-Sep-2012 00:00

Hi Lupi,

I have modified my existing code and it now works as intended.

The main change was newsItem.Organizer.AddTaxa("Category", new Guid[] categoryId );

Thanks for your help.

Richard

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

using System.Web;

using System.Web.UI;

using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

using Telerik.OpenAccess;

using Telerik.Sitefinity;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Modules.News;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.News.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Taxonomies;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Taxonomies.Model;

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Workflow;

public partial class Controls_NoticeBoard : System.Web.UI.UserControl

public const string UrlNameCharsToReplace = @"[^\w\-\!\$\'\=\@\d_]+";

public const string UrlNameReplaceString = "-";

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

private void CreateStaffNoticeBoardItem(string txtNewsTitle, string txtNewsSummary, string txtNewsContent)

// Create new news item id

Guid masterNewsId = Guid.NewGuid();

// Set up news manager

NewsManager newsManager = NewsManager.GetManager();

// Bypass security so any user can post

NewsManager.GetManager().Provider.SuppressSecurityChecks = true;

// Check if news item already exists - item might be saved as draft

NewsItem newsItem = newsManager.GetNewsItems().Where(item => item.Id == masterNewsId).FirstOrDefault();

if (newsItem == null)

// Add the news item

newsItem = newsManager.CreateNewsItem(masterNewsId);

newsItem.Title = txtNewsTitle;

newsItem.Summary = txtNewsSummary;

newsItem.Content = txtNewsContent;

newsItem.DateCreated = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.PublicationDate = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.LastModified = DateTime.Now;

newsItem.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(+30);

newsItem.AllowComments = false;

newsItem.UrlName = Regex.Replace(txtNewsTitle.ToLower(), UrlNameCharsToReplace, UrlNameReplaceString);

TaxonomyManager manager = TaxonomyManager.GetManager();

var categoryId = manager.GetTaxa<HierarchicalTaxon>().Where(t => t.Name == "staff-notice-board").Single().Id;

newsItem.Organizer.AddTaxa("Category", new Guid[] categoryId );

// Save the changes.

newsItem.ApprovalWorkflowState = "Published";

newsManager.Lifecycle.Publish(newsItem);

newsManager.SaveChanges();

protected void btnSubmit_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

CreateStaffNoticeBoardItem(txtNewsTitle.Text, txtNewsSummary.Text, txtNewsContent.Text);

pnlClassifieds.Visible = false;

pnlClassifiedsConfirm.Visible = true;

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Creating News Items - Native API

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