Master and content pages

•

Environment: onsite

• 2 minutes to read

MasterPage

Defining a MasterPage is just like defining a normal page. MasterPages can contain markup, controls, or code, or any combination of these elements. However, they can contain a special type of control called a ContentPlaceHolder control. A ContentPlaceHolder defines a region of the master page rendering that can be substituted with content from a page that derives from the master.

Syntax of ContentPlaceHolder:

<div id="container" style="width:100%;height:100%;visibility:hidden">
  <asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="WebClientPlaceHolder" Runat="server">
  </asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</div>

To differentiate a MasterPage from a normal page, we use the .master file extension.

ContentPage

A page can derive from a MasterPage by defining a MasterPageFile attribute on its Page directive, as demonstrated below. A page that derives from a MasterPage is called a ContentPage.

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Masterpages/Master.master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="Default" Title="SuperOffice CRM.web" %>

It can declare Content controls that specifically override content placeholder sections in the MasterPage. A Content control is associated to a particular ContentPlaceHolder control through its ContentPlaceHolderID property. A ContentPage may only contain markup and controls inside Content controls. It cannot have any top-level content of its own. It can, however, have directives or code.

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Masterpages/Master.master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="Default" Title="SuperOffice CRM.web" %>

<%@ Register TagPrefix="so2" Namespace="SuperOffice.CRM.Web.UI.Controls"  Assembly="SuperOffice.CRMWeb" %>

<asp:Content ContentPlaceHolderID="WebClientHeadPlaceHolder" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="WebClientPlaceHolder" Runat="Server">

<!--ClientScripts-->
<div id="scripts"></div>

<!--Initialize scripts are added here-->
<div id="InitializeScripts" visible="false"></div>

<!--Dialog Scripts are added here-->
<div id="DialogScripts" visible="false"></div>

<!-- This is the placeholder for the pagebuilder, do not remove -->
<so2:PageBuilder ID="PageContent" runat="server">

</so2:PageBuilder>

<input type="text" style="display:none" id="dummyinput" />
  TEST<!--StartupScripts-->

</asp:Content>

The above example demonstrates the relationship between master and content page. The MasterPage in this case defines ContentPlaceHolder regions, named WebClientHeadPlaceHolder and WebClientPlaceHolder, along with some default content for this region. Individual content pages in SuperOffice inherit the common site layout and look-and-feel from the MasterPage.