|
WCTL
Server-side Scripting
Creating
Custom Variables
Introduction
Creating Custom Variables
Custom Path Variables
Creating Custom User/Author Variables
Troubleshooting
Resources
Introduction
In the
previous section, we talked
about how to edit entire macros. This
allows you to customize nearly the entire user interface! And
you can even add features that don't normally come with Web Crossing.
One thing
that's very handy to know, and which helps you add features, is
how to create your own custom user and path variables.
It's
pretty easy, and very useful. You already saw how to add a site
variable in the lesson where you created
a visitor counter. Adding user and path variables isn't much
harder.
Creating
Custom Variables
Custom
variables are named very much like built-in variables. The built-in
variable %% user.userName %% keeps track of the user's
user Name. Using the same strategy, we could refer to a custom
user variable to display your members' ICQ numbers as %% user.icq
%%
All you
have to do to use a custom variable is to give it a value, and
Web Crossing will store it so you can display it next time you
ask for it.
You can
give it a value using the set command:
%% set user.icq 43533401 %%
or you
can send it in a field in a form that's submitted:
<input type="text" value="%% user.icq
%%" name="user.icq">
|
Note:
Including the value="%% user.icq %%" as part of
the HTML tag ensures that when the user comes back to edit
the page on which this field is displayed, the existing
value will be filled into the blank already.
|
Setting
a Custom Path Variable in a Folder Heading
To
illustrate how path variables work, we'll create two test discussions.
Create
one discussion and call it Test 1. Create a second, and
call it Test 2.
In
the heading of the Test 1 folder, type this:
%% set path.note "This is a special
note about the Test 1 Discussion." %%
%% path.note %%
This
code simply sets the value of path.note to the sentence in quotation
marks, and then displays the contents of %% path.note %%.
After
you make the edit and click OK, the Test 1 Discussion
header should read:
This
is a special note about the Test 1 Discussion.
Now
edit the discussion header again, and remove the whole line
that begins with "set path.note...," including the
percent signs, so that all that's left is %% path.note %%.
After
you click OK, the header still reads:
This
is a special note about the Test 1 Discussion.
Were
you surprised the text is still displayed, even through we removed
the "set" command line? We haven't told the value
of the variable to change, so it stays the same. It was set
the first time we edited the header, and we didn't change it
this time. It will stay the same every time this discussion
is viewed, unless we tell Web Crossing otherwise at some point.
Now
go to Test 2 and edit the header. Type in:
%% path.note %%
Take a look at what is displayed in the header now. Nothing!
We defined path.note for the Test 1 discussion,
but not for the Test 2 discussion. If we wanted to, we
could use a similar "set..." command to set an entirely
different value (sentence) for path.note for this discussion.
But until we do, the value of path.note for this discussion
is empty, or "null," and thus nothing is displayed.
Setting Custom
User/Author Variables
Setting
custom user variables is just as simple. The most useful way to
set a custom user variable is in a form field either in the registration
form macro (Registration macro) or on the page to edit preferences
(edit Preferences macro).
Some
examples of things you might want to include are: the ICQ number
we mentioned earlier, an AOL Instant Messenger username, a state
or country, or a business affiliation. Or anything else you can
think of a use for.
The basic
process is to include a form field similar to this:
<input type="text" value="%%
user.icq %%" name="user.icq">
in the
Registration or Preferences form.
Then
you can display the value of %% user.icq %% wherever you
want. You will probably want to put it on the Edited Preferences
macro page (the page that comes up after you change your preferences),
and on the author information page (which comes up when you click
on an author's name).
But remember:
if you include it on the author information page, you'll
have to display it as:
%% author.icq %%
since it is the post author's information you want to see, not
that of the user viewing the discussion! For a review of author
vs. user variables, see the section
on distinguishing them.
For an
example of how to use custom variables to do something useful,
see the section on creating a User
Ignore Filter.
The next
section will show you how to intercept and filter processing
of login requests, registration requests, preferences changes,
and more.
Troubleshooting
I tried
the example above, but when I look at the header all I see is
the WCTL itself, with all the double-percent marks. What am I
doing wrong?
- Make
sure you have turned on WCTL evaluation in the Control
Panels > General Settings:
Resources
Web Crossing
FAQ:
Sysop
docs:
WCTL
Concept Reference Page
Web
Crossing Tech Support Forum
Developer
Center
WebX
Harbor
|
