Creating templates for specific locations in Orchard themes - orchardcms

Working on a custom theme for Orchard 1.6. I've got my top navigation & recent blogs rendering exactly how I want it. However I want to create a footer that shows the navigation & recent blog posts in a different way. I'm using four zones across the footer and want to add widgets to them (navigation, recent blog posts), however I want the rendering to be different.
I can't figure out how to create a view that is used for these widgets JUST within these zones. The template override options shown in the Shape Tracing tool aren't specific to the zone I'm in so they'd apply to the ones in the body of the site (which I've already implemented).
Is what I'm trying to do even possible w/o some custom code (not just a view but some type of a new component) which I'm trying to avoid?

If you enable Widget Alternates, you'll get additional alternates that you can use, in particular depending on the zone name.

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Proper Kentico object for non-user-editable block of static html/javascript

The Situation: I've got a mid-sized chunk of html/javascript that contains an authentication script/input (it's a text input, radio control, and a combo box and a few buttons). What it is is less important than the concept that it's a mass of static client side code that the marketing department can pretty easily accidentally the whole thing.
The Desire: I want the users to be able to add it as a whole to a page, but not be able to modify it. When something needs to change, I want to change it in one place and have it be changed on all the pages.
What I've Tried: Widget with a default text. It works, but feels wrong. Users can edit it, and if they do when I fix it one place it doesn't propagate to all the instances. I'm a bit of a Kentico noob, but it seems like there should be a better way to do this.
Also note: I'm using portal engine if that makes a difference.
A widget is the proper usage. What you make your widget inherit from is the key in this case. I'd suggest creating a new widget based on a static HTML webpart. This way you can set the static HTML markup and hide the property from the content editor on the front end. You can do this by going to the Properties tab of the widget and setting the visibility of the field on the form. Don't delete the field, just hide it. It should be a checkbox that says hide on public form or editing form.
** Edit **
As I read through my answer and comments, I realized I meant to say clone the static HTML webpart and set its default text to your javascript. Then create a widget based on that cloned webpart. The text will reside in the web part and will allow you to update it in one place later, if needed.
I will not do it this way because you will be not able to make changes in the future. You can better create a new webpart this can be an empty webpart and then create a custom layout. In this layout you can put you're code. In this way you can always change you're code in the future and then it will be changed on all the places where the widget is placed.
I'd use a new widget based on the Static HTML webpart (make the field read only or hide it as Brenden mentioned), but store the data in a new custom setting.
no coding needed (only a macro to read the custom setting)
able to edit the script on the fly on any instance in the settings module. If you have multiple of these settings you won't need to go through all kinds of widgets to adjust their default setting but find them on a central place.
Cheers!
David
In this case I think it makes sense to create a custom web part to store all your code in it and use it that way. If you want to achieve it without creating a custom web part, you have to store the code in some non-web part and not widget specific object. I like the suggestion of creating a custom setting. You can then access this custom setting via a macro. This macro can be used as a default property of a newly created web part (inherited e.g. from the static text web part, you'd use the text property). You may as well create a widget out of it. Another approach is to use Kentico localization keys as a workaround. you can create a key in the Localization application and access it again, via a macro, e.g. {?customkey.myhtml?}. The approach with a custom setting however sounds cleaner to me.
This syntax should be working to access a custom setting value via macro:
{%Settings.CustomSettings.xxx%}
{%Settings.CustomSettings["xxx"]%}
{%Settings.CustomSettings.GetValue("xxx")%}

Replacing sitecore layout in parent and child items

I am creating a new footer sublayout in sitecore for use in multiple sites (we run a multi site environment). Currently a sublayout called StandardLayout is used, but I would like to change this across several of our sites to a new layout GlobalFooter.
The problem is that child items of the Home Page have overridden layout components, so what I would like to know is if there is an easy way to change the layout without losing all of the overridden components (as I expect that I may need to reset the layout in order for the flow down to occur)?
I am hoping to be able to just change the top level element (Home) and then have this flow down to the child elements, otherwise this task will become very long and tedious if I need to go through each item and change the presentation to use the new footer.
The icon circled in red in the image above indicates that the presentation has been overridden for that particular sitecore item.
To answer your question, directly, there is no way to apply an update of the presentation details of a template to templates that inherit from it that have had their presentation details changed without losing the changes.
The solution described in the blog post you linked to is the best solution for updating inherited presentation details in this manner. IMHO, I believe that this functionality should have been built into Sitecore long ago as a separate button on the ribbon, and you may choose to add one if you are so inclined. If you do not have the time to do so however, creating an admin page that you later delete from the site after using is a perfectly viable solution as well.
This post appears to detail a way that I can achieve my goal, basically I would create a admin page that does not publish and put the code in the blog into it to update the layout via a button trigger.
https://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Blogs/Technical-Blogs/John-West-Sitecore-Blog/Posts/2011/09/Programmatically-Update-Layout-Details-with-the-Sitecore-ASPNET-CMS.aspx

Mixing Orchard CMS content with module

I am currently working on an Orchard module. This module contains an MVC application including the views. I would like to make the module as configurable as possible. One of the items that I would like the customer to configure is the way the MVC views from the module look. Part of it will be determined by the theme. But not everything. Consider the following scenario:
The module contains a view for placing an order. The view displays a form in ´normal view way´. That is field labels and input labels. But at the head of the form each customer must be able to define his own set of instructions to display. Or maybe the customer wants to put there a message for pointing the customer to some other actions.
In the most ideal way I would have a content page where the customer can put all kind of content and one specific block that is the result of the view of the module. Kind like a web part. I can´t find out if it is possible and how that is achieved.
Edit for clarification
Module creates a page like this:
TITLE
FORM
So both title and form are outputted by the module controller.
I have managed to create a layer with the condition that the url matches the page with my form.
I have added a HTML widget to this layer in the content zone with position 1 (tried 0 to).
However the pages looks like this:
TITLE
FORM
WIDGET
instead of
WIDGET
TITLE
FORM
Returning a ShapeResult from your controller action will ensure that your view is themed and benefits from widgets, which are your "kind like a web part" thingies in Orchard.

How to change the look of Orchard

I've downloaded the latest version of Orchard (0.5) and I've looked at the initial layout of the site. Looks good. But, it only allows me to edit different parts of it and not the actual layout of the page.... or does it? If so, how do I go about changing this?
Check out this link to understand the concept of layers and zones.
Basically, you can customize the zone (a place to put a widget or a place where content goes) layout of a particular page by matching it to a layer (using a rule defined in by the layer). The layer structure allows for inheritance.
You'll want to grab the 0.8 version when it's available Monday 10/25/2010: we did a lot of work around UI composition for that release, basically rewriting the whole UI layer. We're also writing new documentation for those features that you'll find on http://orchardproject.net shortly.
A theme can override the layout of the whole page or of any shape on it by just providing a new template or shape rendering method.

Using a MulitpleLookupField in MOSS '07 Layout Page

I have a page layout for my MOSS '07 site that I want put a MultipleLookupField in. The field will point to a multiple lookup column in my custom content type that points back to the pages library so I can have a "Related Articles" field.
I've gotten the field to show up correctly--it's even editable when the page is in edit mode! But when you click on the link that shows up there, it display the page's properties view instead of the page itself.
There's lots of properties on the control, but there's little documentation at MSFT as to what they do.
Does anyone know how to change the link's URL to the actual page instead of the properties view?
Here's the tag I'm using:
<SharePointWebControls:MultipleLookupField
ID="MultipleLookupField1"
FieldName="RelatedIssues"
runat="server"></SharePointWebControls:MultipleLookupField>
The link takes me to here: /Pages/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=6&RootFolder=*
I want it to take me here: /Pages/faq1.aspx
Unfortunately the lookup control is designed to be compatible with generic lists and does not understand that the document libraries have a file with a specific url associated.
You will probably have to find a custom lookup control on the web or roll your own.

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