Orchard CMS: Do I have to add a new layer for each page when the specific content for each page is spread in different columns?

orchardcms

Solution

There is a feature in the works for 1.5 to make that easier, but in the meantime, you can already get this to work quite easily with just a little bit of code. You should first add the fields that you need to your content type. Then, you are going to send them to top-level layout zones using placement. Out of the box, placement only targets local content zones, but this is what we can work around with a bit of code by Pete Hurst, a.k.a. randompete. Here's the code:

ZoneProxyBehavior.cs:
=====================

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using ClaySharp;
using ClaySharp.Behaviors;
using Orchard.Environment.Extensions;

namespace Downplay.Origami.ZoneProxy.Shapes {
    [OrchardFeature("Downplay.Origami.ZoneProxy")]
    public class ZoneProxyBehavior : ClayBehavior {

        public IDictionary<string, Func<dynamic>> Proxies { get; set; }

        public ZoneProxyBehavior(IDictionary<string, Func<dynamic>> proxies) {
            Proxies = proxies;
        }

        public override object GetMember(Func<object> proceed, object self, string name) {

            if (name == "Zones") {
                return ClayActivator.CreateInstance(new IClayBehavior[] {                
                    new InterfaceProxyBehavior(),
                    new ZonesProxyBehavior(()=>proceed(), Proxies, self)
                });
            }

            // Otherwise proceed to other behaviours, including the original ZoneHoldingBehavior
            return proceed();
        }

        public class ZonesProxyBehavior : ClayBehavior {
            private readonly Func<dynamic> _zonesActivator;
            private readonly IDictionary<string, Func<dynamic>> _proxies;
            private object _parent;

            public ZonesProxyBehavior(Func<dynamic> zonesActivator, IDictionary<string, Func<dynamic>> proxies, object self) {
                _zonesActivator = zonesActivator;
                _proxies = proxies;
                _parent = self;
            }

            public override object GetIndex(Func<object> proceed, object self, IEnumerable<object> keys) {
                var keyList = keys.ToList();
                var count = keyList.Count();
                if (count == 1) {

                    // Here's the new bit
                    var key = System.Convert.ToString(keyList.Single());

                    // Check for the proxy symbol
                    if (key.Contains("@")) {
                        // Find the proxy!
                        var split = key.Split('@');
                        // Access the proxy shape
                        return _proxies[split[0]]()
                            // Find the right zone on it
                            .Zones[split[1]];
                    }
                    // Otherwise, defer to the ZonesBehavior activator, which we made available
                    // This will always return a ZoneOnDemandBehavior for the local shape
                    return _zonesActivator()[key];
                }
                return proceed();
            }

            public override object GetMember(Func<object> proceed, object self, string name) {
                // This is rarely called (shape.Zones.ZoneName - normally you'd just use shape.ZoneName)
                // But we can handle it easily also by deference to the ZonesBehavior activator
                return _zonesActivator()[name];
            }
        }
    }
}

And:

ZoneShapes.cs:
==============


using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Orchard.DisplayManagement.Descriptors;
using Orchard;
using Orchard.Environment.Extensions;

namespace Downplay.Origami.ZoneProxy.Shapes {
    [OrchardFeature("Downplay.Origami.ZoneProxy")]
    public class ZoneShapes : IShapeTableProvider {
        private readonly IWorkContextAccessor _workContextAccessor;
        public ZoneShapes(IWorkContextAccessor workContextAccessor) {
            _workContextAccessor = workContextAccessor;
        }

        public void Discover(ShapeTableBuilder builder) {

            builder.Describe("Content")
                .OnCreating(creating => creating.Behaviors.Add(
                    new ZoneProxyBehavior(
                        new Dictionary<string, Func<dynamic>> { { "Layout", () => _workContextAccessor.GetContext().Layout } })));
        }
    }

}

With this, you will be able to address top-level layout zones using `Layout@` in front of the zone name you want to address, for example `Layout@BeforeContent:1`.

Problem

Original source