Ektron CMS400.Net Reference

>>Managing Users and User Groups > Custom User Properties

Custom User Properties

Custom User Properties allow you to create custom fields. These custom fields appear on the User Properties and Membership User Properties screens on the Custom tab (see screen below), and on the Membership server control.

Custom User Properties are used to define information about a user beyond the standard Ektron CMS400.NET user properties. Here are some examples.

employee ID

phone number

phone extension

instant message screen name

position

start date

department

birthday

the IP address of the user’s machine

Note: Only members of the Administrator User Group can work with Custom User Properties.

The View Custom Properties Screen

Use the View Custom Properties screen to create custom properties for users and membership users. From the View Custom Properties screen, you can:

add a new custom property. See Adding a Custom User Property

edit a custom property. See Editing Custom User Properties

reorder the way custom properties appear on the users and membership users screen. See Setting the Custom User Properties Order

work with custom properties in different languages. See Using Custom User Properties for Non-English Languages

Below is an example of the View Custom Properties screen.

The table below describes the View Custom Properties screen.

Buttons, Dropdown Boxes or Fields

Description

For More Information

Add button ()

Add custom user properties.

Adding a Custom User Property

Reorder button ()

Change the order in which the custom properties appear on the Users or Membership User Properties screen.

Setting the Custom User Properties Order

Language Selection Dropdown List

Allows you to view custom user properties by language.

Viewing Custom User Properties By Language

Object Type Dropdown List

Allows you to choose users or taxonomies whose custom properties you want to manage. Adding a Custom User Property

Assigning Custom Properties to a Taxonomy

Title Field

Displays the title of a custom user property. When viewing by language, the title changes to the title used in a specific language if it has been defined. Click a Title to edit the property.

Note: The title and label are the same field. On some screens, Title is used; on others Label is used.

Editing Custom User Properties

Type Field

Shows the Type that was chosen for a custom user property.

Type

Adding a Custom User Property

Follow these steps to add a custom user property.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Choose the standard language used in your Ektron CMS400.NET Workarea.

4. Click Add Property ().

5. The Add Custom Property screen appears.

6. Complete the screen according to the table below.

The Custom User Properties Fields

The following table describes the custom user properties fields

Field

Description

More Information

Label

Title of the property you are adding. For example, Employee ID.

Note: The Title and Label are the same field. On some screens the word Title is used, on others the word Label is used.

 

Type

The property’s data type. Once a type is selected and saved, you cannot change it. You must delete the custom property and re-enter it.

The Type Field

Input Type

Choose how a user is able to enter a response to the property.

The Input Type Field

Validation

Ensures the right type of data is entered in a text box or text area.

Validation

Min Value

If desired, enter the minimum value you want to allow. The Min Value only appears when the following Validations are used: Numeric Only, Date Only and U.S. Zip Code.

The following is an example of a Date Only Min Value: 01/01/1900.

 

Max Value

If desired, enter the maximum value you want to allow. The Max Value only appears when the following Validations are used: Numeric Only, Date Only and U.S. Zip Code.

The following is an example of a Date Only Max Value: 01/01/1987.

 

Message

A message that appears when information entered in a user property violates the validation criteria.

For example, if the validation is U.S. Zip Code, you might use the following message: Please enter a valid zip code

 

7. Click Save ().

8. The new property appears on the View Custom Properties screen.

The Type Field

The following table describes the types available in the Type field.

Types

Description

Input Types Available

Validations Available

String

Accepts all alpha, numeric, and symbol characters

Text Box

Text Area

Hidden

All validations

See Also: Validation

Boolean

Accepts a true or false response

Check Box

None

Numeric

Accepts numbers only

Text Box

No Validation

Cannot be blank

Numeric Only

U.S. Zip Code

Dollar Amount

Date

Only a date can be entered.

Text Box

No Validation

Cannot be blank

Date Only

SelectList

Select a response from a list of choices.

See Also: SelectList Field

NA

NA

Multi SelectList

Select any number of responses from a list of choices. See Also: MultiSelectList Field

NA

NA

Category

A system-defined type that appears when the first subscription is created. One entry covers all subscriptions.

See Also: Defining Subscriptions.

NA

NA

The Input Type Field

The following table describes possible responses to the Input Type field.

Input Type

Description

An Option When Used With

Text Box

Creates a standard text box. Below is an example of a text box.

String

Numeric

Date

Text Area

Creates a multi-lined area for entering text. Typically used when more than one line of text needs to be added. Below is an example.

String

Hidden

Hides the input field. This can be used by an administrator to add additional values at postback time. This requires a developer to add client-side JavaScript.

Note: If you change a String field’s Input Type from Text Box or Text Area to Hidden, then sign in as a member of the Administrators group, the field and its value still appear on the user’s profile.

String

Check Box

Creates a checkbox. Used when the field requires a boolean (true / false) response. Below is an example of a check box.

= True    = False

Boolean

Validation

The following table describes the validations available in the Validation field.

Validation

Description

An Option When Used With

No Validation

The entry is not checked.

String

Numeric

Date

Cannot be blank

A response must be entered.

String

Numeric

Date

Numeric Only

The response must be a number.

String

Numeric

Text Only

The response must be characters.

String

Date Only

The response must be entered in the following format: mm/dd/yyyy.

String

Date

Email Only

The response must be entered as an Email address. For example, [email protected].

String

Credit Card Only

The response must be entered as a credit card number. For example, nnnn nnnn nnnn nnnn

String

Social Security Only

The response must consist of nine digits in this pattern: nnn-nn-nnnn.

String

U.S. State Code

A two letter state code. For example: NH = New Hampshire.

String.

U.S. Zip Code

The response must consist of 5 (nnnnn) or 9 digits separated by a dash after the fifth (nnnnn-nnnn).

Note: If you use the Numeric Type, you cannot have a dash or space when using a nine digit Zip Code

String

Numeric

Valid US Phone Number

The response must consist of a 10 digits in this pattern: nnn-nnn-nnnn.

String

Canadian Postal Code

The response must consist of 6 (xnx nxn) alpha or numeric characters with a space after the first three characters.

String

Time HH:MM or HH:MM:SS or HH:MM:SS.mm

Time is entered in one of the following three formats.

HH:MM - Hours and Minutes 09:30

HH:MM:SS - Hours, Minutes and Seconds 09:30:45

HH:MM:SS.mm - Hours, Minutes, Seconds and milliseconds 09:30:45.002

String

IP Address

The response must be in the form of an IP address.

String

Dollar Amount

This validation works differently depending on the Type used. If used with the String Type, you can have a dollar sign ($) along with the money amount in the text field.

When used with the Numeric Type, you are not allowed to have a dollar sign ($) in the text field. The following are examples of each type with validation:

String - $3.00

Numeric - 3.00

String

Numeric

Canadian Social Insurance Number

The response must consist of nine digits in this pattern (nnn nnn nnn).

String

SelectList Field

Use a SelectList field to present the user completing the User Information or Membership User Properties screen with a list of choices. See example below.

When you create a custom user property and specify its type to be Select List, the screen changes as shown below.

Completing a SelectList Field Entry

To add an item to the list, enter its text in the Text field, then click Add . Added items then appear in the larger box on the left.

You can then

remove any item from the list by clicking it. It appears in the Text field. Click Remove.

change the text of any list item by clicking it. It appears in the Text field. Make changes then click Change.

change the sequence of list items by selecting an item then clicking the up or down arrow to move the item

Using the First List Item to Prompt a Response

You can use the first list item to prompt the user to make a selection instead of being a valid response. For example, the first list item may say Select from a list of choices. To do this, check the First item is not a valid selection for example, “[Select]” check box.

If you do, the field has an asterisk (*) next to it (indicating it is required) on the User Information and Membership User Properties screens. The user completing the screen must choose any selection other than the first item. If he tries to file the screen without choosing a different item, the following error message appears: Please fill in all required fields (*)

MultiSelectList Field

Use a MultiSelectList field to present the user completing the User Information or Membership User Properties screen with a list of choices. The user can choose as many responses as appropriate. See example below.

Selected items are indicated by a blue background.

When you create a custom user property and specify its type to be MultiSelect List, the screen changes as shown below.

For information about completing the screen, see Completing a SelectList Field Entry.

Features Field

This field is automatically included on the User or Member profile Custom Tab to allow the profile owner to edit events on a web calendar. Once this is checked, it cannot be unchecked.

For more information about Web Calendar, see Adding System Calendar Events.

Private Profile Field

This field is automatically included on the User or Member profile Custom Tab. It lets the profile owner determine which other users can see his community activities. For example, Viewing ActivityStream Widget on Another User’s Page explains how this settings affects other users' ability to see your activities.

The Private Profile field value also determines if a user's profile is visible on a forum. See Also: Using Discussion Boards on Your Web Site

And, when a Micro-message server control is placed on a page in TimeLine mode, micro-messages only appear for users whose Private Profile setting is set to Public. See Also: TimeLine Mode

Time Zone Field

The Time Zone property field is a special field used by the Web Calendar feature.

Select the time zone of the User or Member here. When they are logged in, appointment times will show in this time zone. For more information, See Also: Adding System Calendar Events.

Editing Custom User Properties

When you click a custom user property’s title, you are brought to the Edit Custom Property Screen. From this screen, you can edit and delete a custom property or create a version of the custom property in a non-English language.

When you edit a custom user property, the changes are applied to all users and membership users. These changes are also applied to any other language versions of the custom properties that exist.

To learn how to:

edit a custom user property. See Editing a Custom User Property .

delete a custom property. See Deleting a Custom User Property.

create a custom property for a non-English language. See Create a Custom User Property for a Non-English Language.

Editing a Custom User Property

When editing a custom user property, the changes are available to users and membership users when the save button is clicked.

Follow these steps to edit a custom user property.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Click the Title of the Custom User Property you want to edit.

4. Choose the field you want to change. You can edit the following fields:

Label

Input Type

Validation

Min Value

Max Value

Message

For descriptions of these fields, see The Custom User Properties Fields.

Note: You cannot edit the Type field. If you need to change the type, you must delete the custom user property and create a new one.

Warning! If you delete a custom user property, it is removed from all users and membership users. Any information that has been collected about users and membership users for that property will be lost. In addition, any language versions of the custom user property are deleted.

5. Click Save ().

6. When you click a user or membership user, you see your changes.

Deleting a Custom User Property

If you delete a custom user property, it is removed from all users and membership users. Any information that has been collected about users and membership users for that property will be lost. In addition, any language versions of the custom user property are deleted.

Follow these steps to delete a custom user property.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Click the Title of the custom user property you want to delete.

4. Click Delete ().

5. A dialog box appears asking if you are sure you would like to delete the item.

6. Click OK.

7. The View Custom Properties screen appears, and the property is no longer available.

Setting the Custom User Properties Order

You can change the order in which properties appear on the User and Membership Users Properties screen. To do that, follow these steps.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Click Reorder ().

4. The Reorder Custom Properties screen appears.

5. Click a property.

6. Click the Up or Down arrows to move the property up or down the list.

7. Click Save ().

8. On the View Custom Properties screen, you now see the properties in the new order. If you go to the User or Membership User Properties screen, the order of the properties there reflects the changes.

Using Custom User Properties for Non-English Languages

Like content, custom user properties have a language attribute. This is useful if you have users or membership users that only use a specific language. It can also be used if you want a custom user property to appear in the language in which the user is signed in.

Unless a language other than English is defined for a custom user property, the property defaults to the English version. For example, if you have two properties called Birthday and Phone Number in English and you can translate the French version of Birthday to Anniversaire, when you view the properties in French, you see the English version of Phone Number and the French version of Birthday.

Create a Custom User Property for a Non-English Language

When creating a custom user property, it must be created in English then translated to the desired language. This is done by editing the property, changing languages, filling out the Translate Custom Property Label screen and saving the property.

Warning! All custom user properties in languages other than English are tied to the English version of the property. If you delete the English version of the property, all other language versions of the properties are deleted also. However, you can remove a non-English language version of the custom properties without deleting the English version. See Removing a Non-English Custom User Property Title

The following steps illustrate how to translate the Title/Label of a property into French.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Choose a custom property to be defined in another language.

4. Choose a language from the language select dropdown box.

5. The Translate Custom Property Label screen appears.

6. Enter a Label for the property in the language you have chosen. For example, if you are creating a French version of a Birthday custom user property, you would enter Anniversaire in the label text field. For information on the Label property, see Label

7. Click Save ().

Removing a Non-English Custom User Property Title

Removing a non-English version of a custom user property title does not remove the English version of the property. When you remove the non-English version of a property, you are basically removing the label for that specific language in the custom property.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Choose the language in which the custom user property appears from the Language Dropdown Box.

4. Click the Title you want to delete.

5. The Translate Custom Property Label screen appears.

6. Click Delete ().

7. A dialog box appears asking if you would like to remove the translated custom property title.

8. Click OK.

9. The English version of the Edit Custom Property screen appears.

10. Click Back ().

Warning! Do not click the delete button on the Edit Custom Property screen. This action deletes the English version of the custom user property. If you click the delete button, you lose all information collected by the property and all language versions of the property.

Viewing Custom User Properties By Language

From the View Custom Properties screen, you can view the custom users properties by languages. When viewing by languages, it is important to remember that if there is only an English version of the property, the English version appears in all the languages.

All custom user properties, in languages other than English, are tied to the English version of the property. If you delete the English version of the property, all other language versions of the properties are deleted.

To view the custom user properties by language, follow these steps.

1. In the Workarea, click Settings > Configuration > Custom Properties.

2. From the Object Type pulldown, select User.

3. Choose the language in which to view the properties from the language dropdown box.

4. The View Custom Languages screen for that language appears.

Note: In the example below, some properties have not been translated, so the English versions appear instead.


Visit the Ektron Dev Center at http://dev.ektron.com 1-866 - 4 - EKTRON

Ektron CMS400.NET Reference Version 8.02 SP1 Rev 1

Ektron Documentation,© 2011 Ektron, Inc.