The web page list is an element that can be used to list web pages that belong to your website. Although a similar effect can be achieved using an HTML element with hyperlinks to various web pages, this is not recommended. The web page list is far more flexible than this and automatically updates when new web pages are added to your website.
For example, suppose you want to list on your root homepage the latest web pages that have been added to your website. This can be achieved using a web page list element that lists web pages of type document ordered by web page posted date descending.
A typical web page list. The web page list shown has element title set to "Latest Stuff", with display title ticked. Web pages are listed by posted date descending.
When in administration mode, click the Edit hyperlink above a web page list to update it.
Updating a web page list.
There are a large number of parameters associated with web page lists that can be updated and these are described below.
The Web Page List Location field is used to specify a web page whose child web pages are listed. As only web pages of type home or folder can have child web pages, only homepages or folders can be specified in this field. Web pages of type document are not allowed. You can specify a web page by entering its title. If more than one web page exists with the same title, you must be more specific about how you select a web page. For example, suppose your website contains two folders with title "2008", one with parent folder "Photos" and the other with parent folder "Events". Then you would need to enter "Photos, 2008" or "Events, 2008" rather than "2008".
The Web Page List Location field can be left blank. In this case, the field will automatically be updated so it is set to the value of the currently active web page. This is useful if a web page list element is placed in a zone on a webpage near the root of your website. This content may then be inherited by web pages further down your web page hierarchy. However, whenever a web page that inherits this content is viewed, the web page list will automatically update to list web pages that are child web pages of the active page.
The Sort By and Sort Ascending fields are used to determine the order in which web pages are listed. There are five Sort By options: Posted, Updated, Occurred, User and Alphabetical. The first three options can be used to sort web pages by their posted date, last updated date and occurred date respectively. The User Sort By option causes web pages to be listed in order of an integer that administrators can associate with a web page when it is created or updated. Finally, the Alphabetical Sort By option causes web pages to be listed in order of their Title. The Sort Ascending flag determines the order of the sort - ascending or descending.
At a bare minimum, a web page list element lists web page titles. If the Posted Dates check box is ticked, a web page's posted date may also be displayed if it has been specified. Similarly, the Updated Dates and Occurred Dates check boxes can be used to display a web page's last updated and occurred dates if they have been specified. When a web page's posted and last updated dates are the same, only the posted date is shown.
The Filter Pages By Occurred Date - Show field can be used to filter the web page list by occurred date. Three options are available: All, Future and Past. Select All for no filter by occurred date. Select Future to display only those web pages that have an occurred date in the future. Select Past to display only those web pages that have an occurred date in the past.
The Show Web Pages of Type field is used to specify the type of web pages that are listed by a web page list element. Three options are available: All, Document and Folder. Select All to display all types of web pages. Select Document to display only web pages of type document. Select Folder to display web pages of type folder or home.
As has already been stated above, a web page list element lists web pages that are found below the folder or homepage that is specified by the Web Page List Location field. By default, only those web pages whose parent web page is the folder or homepage specified by the Web Page List Location field are displayed. In this scenario, the Recursive flag is not ticked. However, when the Recursive check box is ticked, all web pages under the folder or homepage specified by the Web Page List Location field are displayed, no matter how deep they are located in the web page hierarchy.
By default, web page titles listed by a web page list element are displayed as hyperlinks. When a web page title hyperlink is clicked, the user is directed to the selected web page. This functionality can be switched off by un-ticking the Web Page Hyperlinks checkbox.
When a web page list is displaying information about web pages that contain a forum, it is possible to display alongside those web pages the number of posts that have been made against each web page's forum. This functionality is controlled by the Forum Comments field.
If the Web Page Images check box is ticked, a web page's image may also be displayed if one has been specified.
The Show More Link checkbox controls whether or not a hyperlink is displayed at the bottom of a web page list, which when clicked directs the user to the folder or homepage specified by the Web Page List Location field. This can be useful if the number of web pages in a web page list is limited to a certain number (see the Page Size field). In this case, the show more link could be used to direct a user to the folder or homepage specified by the Web Page List Location field, where a full list of all web pages might reside.
The Pager field is used to add a pager to the bottom of a web page list. This is useful when the number of web pages returned by a web page list is large. When this is the case, rather than displaying details about all web pages in a huge list, the pager allows users to step through the web page list, one page at a time. The Page Size field is then used to determine the maximum number of web pages that are displayed at any given time.
If the Descriptions field is ticked, a web page's description may be displayed alongside a web page's title. The Description Count field controls the number of web pages whose descriptions are displayed. If the Description Count field has value zero, all web page descriptions are displayed where they exist. If the Description Count field has some integer value greater than zero (say x), then web page descriptions are only displayed for the first x web pages.
If the Web Page Content field is ticked, a web page's content may be displayed alongside that web page's title. The web page content that is displayed underneath a web page's title consists of elements that are found in that web page's main zone. The Web Page Content Count field controls the number of web pages whose main zone content is displayed. If the Web Page Content Count field has value zero, all web page main zone elements are displayed. If the Web Page Content Count field has some integer value greater than zero (say x), then web page main zone elements are only displayed for the first x web pages.
When a web page list is empty (i.e. when there are no web pages to list), the text entered into the Displayed When No Web Pages field is displayed instead.
Finally, when you have finished updating a web page list element, click the OK button to return to the previous page. You should not use your browser's back button.