Setting Up your PWF Parameters

There are multiple locations within the .NET controls setup where you will need to specify a URL or property for the system to point to. These parameters are set up within the PWF Parameters form within Personify or on the Select/Edit Personify Web Parameter screen on your e-Business website. PWF parameters are useful to use, because they allow you to update the same URL address on multiple controls. You change the URL in the back office on the PWF Parameters screen or on the Select/Edit Personify Web Parameter screen on the web, it passes the value, and automatically updates it on the controls.

Depending on how you design your website, these PWF Parameters may be defined at different times in the process. If you are designing your website from the top down (i.e., you are defining the overall layout first, then building the pages underneath), the PWF Parameters CANNOT be defined until the building block pages are developed. Therefore, you have the option of creating placeholder parameter values that you are able to fill in later. Since some of the URLs defined on the e-Business web control definition screen are required, this option allows you to select the dummy data to continue. Enter dummy data in the Parameter Value field and come back to fill in the actual URL after the page has been developed. For example, if you are designing your Online Store page using the Product Listing control, the Product Detail pages may not have been developed yet. Therefore, you can define the "Product Detail URL" PWF Parameter with dummy data in the Parameter Value field. Once all of your pages have been defined in e-Business, you can come back to the PWF Parameter and enter the actual URL value.

If you are designing your website from the bottom up (i.e., your building block pages have been developed and now you are linking them together), the PWF Parameters can be defined first before selecting them in the e-Business web control definition screen. For example, if you have already defined your Product Detail page to be used with the Product Listing web control, you can define the PWF Parameter for "Product Detail URL" and enter the actual URL to be used in the Product Listing web control.

Setting Up a PWF Parameter in the Back Office

For a video demonstrating how to set up a PWF parameter, refer to Video Demo: Setting Up a PWF Parameter.

To set up a PWF Parameter in the back office:

1.    In Personify, type PWFparameters into the command line, as highlighted below.

2.    Click Create New Web Pwf Parameter.
The PWF Parameter Details screen displays, as shown below.

3.    Enter the Parameter Name.
For example, Product Detail URL. Please note that the maximum number of characters you can enter is 24.

4.    Enter the Parameter Value.
For example, http://APA.com/Store/ProductDetails.aspx.
Depending on the requirements of your website and web controls, you may need the URLs listed in the table below.

There are multiple locations within the .NET controls setup where you will need to specify a URL or property for the system to point to, such as an error message. These parameters are set up within the PWF Parameters form within Personify360 or on the web. If you add a PWF parameter in the back office, you may have to clear your cached data for it to display on the web. If you add the PWF parameter on the web, it will display automatically. For more information, refer to Clearing Cached Data on the Web.

5.    Enter the Parameter Description.
For example, this page lists the price, description, image, etc. of a specific product.

You can use these above values to search for the PWF parameter you set up on a .NET control's Select/Edit Personify Web Parameter screen on the web, as shown below.

6.    If necessary, check the System Flag checkbox.
When checked, the parameter value cannot be changed, because there is code that relies on the exact value or text.
For example, the PWF parameter System Files, which uses the URL defined here to upload system resources to the web.

7.    Click Save.
You can now navigate to your website and set a .NET control's URL parameter to this value.

When you save your new parameter, if the following error message displays, try shortening the Parameter Name: String or binary data would be truncated. The statement has been terminated.

If you do not see the PWF parameter you created as an option on the Select/Edit Personify Web Parameter screen on you e-Business website, you may have to clear your cached data. Refer to Clearing Cached Data on the Web for more information.

Setting Up a PWF Parameter on the Web

This steps assume you are using the DNN CMS.

To set up a PWF Parameter on the web:

1.    Login to your site has host.

2.    Create a new page or navigate to an existing page on your website. See Adding a Page to Your Site Using DNN for more information.

3.    If necessary, add the DNN Web Control Container Module to your page. See Adding a DNN Web Control Container Module for more information.

4.    From the pencil icon, select Edit Web Control Container.

5.    Add a .NET control or edit an existing .NET control. See Adding a .NET Control to a Page Using DNN for more information.

6.    From the .NET control's URL parameter line, click edit.
The Select/Edit Personify Web Parameter screen displays.

7.    Select Add new record, as highlighted below.

The New Parameter screen displays, as shown below.

8.    In the Name text box, enter a name.
For example, Product Detail URL.

9.    In the Value text box, enter the URL or property for the system to point to.
For example, http://APA.com/Store/ProductDetails.aspx.
Depending on the requirements of your website and web controls, you may need the URLs listed in the table below.

There are multiple locations within the .NET controls setup where you will need to specify a URL or property for the system to point to, such as an error message. These parameters are set up within the PWF Parameters form within Personify360 or on the web. If you add a PWF parameter in the back office, you may have to clear your cached data for it to display on the web. If you add the PWF parameter on the web, it will display automatically. For more information, refer to Clearing Cached Data on the Web.

10.  In the Description text box, enter a description for your PWF parameter.
For example, this page lists the price, description, image, etc. of a specific product.

11.  Click the Check icon to save the PWF parameter, as highlighted below.

12.  Click Save.
The URL is added in the back office and the .NET control's URL parameter is set to this PWF parameter value.

List of URLs

Please keep in mind that depending on your business requirements, some of these URLs may not already exist. For example, if you do not have a specific page that displays contact information, the Contact Us URL may not exist.