Working with data-capable elements

Data-capable elements conform to the Web Studio internal data format. The element types that can be data-capable are Web, XML, and database. The wizards for data-capable elements allow you to add split, define, and filter rules on the element content. The output of data-capable elements enables additional capabilities, such as assignment of portlet labels to element fields and the formatting of HTML output with cascading style sheet class definitions.

Database elements are data-capable by default. Web elements are data-capable when the visible text can be assigned a tabular structure. Data-capable options appear in the Web Element wizard as unformatted tables with a grey background. If the data-capable option does not appear, select an option and click Gridify. This forces the visible text in the element into a table that is then data-capable.

Creating data-capable Web element content

1. Select Build | Portlets from the Web Studio left pane.

2. Click the New icon on the Portlet Manager toolbar.

3. When the Portlet Builder displays, right-click in the left pane and select New Web Element.

4. Enter www.yahoo.com in the Location field and click Find.

5. Click Next.

6. Click any list.

7. When the captured options display, select the second Select option and click Gridify. You see your selection displayed as a table.

XML elements are data-capable if the XML format conforms to the internal Web Studio Document Type Definition (DTD). If the XML does not conform to the Web Studio DTD, a content XSLT can be used to perform an XML to XML transformation that converts the source XML to the correct XML format. Data-capable XML elements have a default HTML presentation and do not require an UI XSLT. You can override the default HTML presentation by specifying an UI XSLT, alone or in combination with a content XSLT.

Creating data-capable XML element content

1. Select Build | Portlets from the Web Studio left pane.

2. Click the New icon on the Portlet Manager toolbar.

3. When the Portlet Builder displays, right-click in the left pane and select New XML Element.

4. When the XML Element Definition window appears, enter the following input as an example:

   • XML URL –

     http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?c=Biotech%20news&o=xml
     

   • Content XSLT – click Select. When the Search window displays, click Search, select any XSL template you have created from the Results pane, and click Select.

   • UI XSLT – pink_ui_xslt

5. Click Next, then click Finish.

6. When you return to the Portlet Builder, click the down arrow beside the Save button to save the new element. See “Saving portlets” for specific instructions.

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