Using the Database
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Using the Database
Articles
- Setting Up Your Database Structure
If you don’t use a database to hold any of your site’s content, then your content and the HTML markup are inextricably intertwined, and every new bit of content requires more markup. By storing content that has a repeating structure of any kind in the database, new content can be added simply by filling in a form. You only need to create one page that shows the markup that surrounds the information from the database, and then the pages for each item in the database are created automatically, all with exactly the same markup. If you want to change the design, you only need to change that one page, and all instances change automatically. - Working with Categories
Categories are one of the most powerful features of the Webvanta database system. Using the built-in category support, you can organize your information in all kinds of ways. - Creating Custom Item Types
When you're organizing a resources page or information portal, the database item types (such as articles, blog posts, web sites, blogs, events, books, ...) that you're likely to need are part of Webvanta's Knowledgebase system. But for a full-featured site, often you need to create a database structure that is specific to your unique application. - Adding Items to the Database
To add items to your database, choose Add Item from the Database menu in the control panel. (Note that articles and custom item types have their own admin pages; this is for other database item types.) Then choose the Item Type from the list at the top left of the New Item screen. When you choose the item type, the fields displayed will change. - Creating Articles
To create an article, choose Articles from the content menu, and then click New Article. Articles are content that exists primarily on your site, rather than being a link to something elsewhere on the web (or in the physical world). - Knowledgebase Presentation Options
There are many different ways you can choose to present the Knowledgebase content. One of the core benefits of the Webvanta approach is that how you present the information is entirely separate from the information itself, you can evolve you presentation easily. - Using the Linker Tool
Once you’ve set up your categories and item types, you need to get your links into your database — and continue to add links as frequently and effortlessly as possible. To streamline this process, install our Linker bookmarklet in your browser. - Styling Database Pages
Your Webvanta site comes with generically styled database pages, ready for you to add your own visual treatment. In many cases, you’ll be able to achieve the results you want by changing only the CSS that styles these pages. - Creating RSS Feeds
Your Webvanta site is automatically supplied with an RSS feed that covers all of the database content. By default, it provides the most recent 25 items. You can customize this feed and add additional feeds if you desire. To edit the feed, choose XML Feeds from the control panels’ Code Library menu, and then click the Edit icon for the feed. - Creating an Event Calendar
It's easy to create sophisticated event calendars with Webvanta. - Using Tags
- Using Site Search
Webvanta includes a built-in search engine that indexes all of your site's database content to provide high-quality search results.
You can configure which item types are included in the search, and to which pages the search results link.
- Using Fieldsets for Repeating Sets of Fields
Fieldesets are an advanced technique for use with custom item types. They allow you to define a group of fields, and to then repeat that group of fields as many times as you need for each item. The number of instances of a fieldset in a given record is not fixed, but can vary from one record to another. - Importing Data from CSV Files
When entering information into your Webvanta database, you can always enter it one record at a time using the automatically created admin forms. But if you have lots of existing information to enter, it may be easier to do so by uploading a file. - Displaying Related Content
The need often arises to display a list of database items that are related to the item being displayed. Webvanta provides a variety of mechanisms for accomplishing this. - Working With Related Assets
When you create a custom item type, you can define a field as being a Related Asset. Typical uses of this capability include associating a number of images with a project, a logo image with a company, or a PDF document with an item. - Working with Related Items
When you create a custom item type, you can define fields as being of the type "related item". This provides a connection to one or more database items of any type. - Displaying Paginated Database Results
When you have lots of items to list, sometimes there's more than you want to show on one page. The universal solution to this is pagination: break the list up into some number of pages, with a maximum number of items per page. Of course, you then need some sort of control to navigate between the pages. - Creating Forms for User Submissions
Your starter Webvanta site comes preconfigured with a contact form. Sometimes, however, you want to add fields to that form, or you want a variety of forms for different purposes. You may also want the information entered in a form to create a particular type of database item. Webvanta makes it easy to create custom forms and to manage the information that is submitted through them.
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- Building an Information Portal (not updated for 2.0)
Webvanta comes with a powerful set of capabilities for building content-rich resource sites (or parts of sites) that combine original articles and links to other resources around the web.
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