DotNetNuke 6 introduces some really cool new features – especially the new User Interface – but there are also quite a few smaller enhancements that make it easier for Admins and Host users to manage their site.
One of these is the concept of Module Categorization. Module Categorization allows Host users to categorize their modules so that finding a module in the Control Panel is much easier.
Lets look at how it works.
When logged in as a Super User browse to the Host >> Extensions module and click on one of the links to edit an Extension. You will then see a new drop-down list which allows you to choose the category for the module
There are a number of default categories created and most of the modules that are shipped with DotNetNuke are categorized already. For example the HtmlPro module that is being edited is in the Common Category by default.
Once a module is categorized, what does this mean?
When we go to add a module to a page using the new DotNetNuke 6 Control Panel we now see that we can select the category of module that we would like to add.
In DotNetNuke 5.6 and earlier versions, the Module drop-down list displayed every module available to that user – in some sites the list could be huge, making it difficult to find modules. In DotNetNuke 6 this drop-down list is filtered based on the selected category, and by default the Common category is preselected.
Any module can be added to the Common category, but if managed properly, this should allow Page Administrators to find the module they want to add much easier.
DotNetNuke 6 Community Edition includes two Categories by default – Admin and Common, but Super Users can add new Module Categories through the Taxonomy module, by adding terms to the Module_Categories Vocabulary.
During the Beta process a number of people have suggested adding support for categories to the package manifest to allow the developer to preselect the category on install. This ability was intentionally left out as the goal of Module Categorization is to allow Super Users to manage the categorization, and allowing extension developers to add categories would defeat this goal.