Beginning DotNetNuke Skinning and Design (Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

by Andrew Hay (Author), Shaun Walker (Author)
Key Phrases: module settings, news feed, image header, Increasing the Property Value, Neighborhood Association, Internet Explorer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
*"Skinning" refers to an application's ability to change the look of the design by a setting in the application

*Explains how DotNetNuke skins can be created in either ASP.NET or HTML with CSS and can be developed with any Web tool that creates HTML/CSS or ASP.NET

*Combines the hot topic of using the DotNetNuke application framework with CSS and other site layout technologies to manage the user experience, look, feel, and functionality of Web sites

*Covers how to package, install, and remove a skin and offers programming tools for skins

*Discusses efficient design, when to use HTML versus CSS versus ASP.NET for a design, and browser-safe designs

From the Back Cover
Beginning DotNetNuke Skinning and Design

The skinning engine of DotNetNuke has strengthened over the last several years, making it a highly successful way to customize the look, feel, and user experience of a web site. Featuring a Foreword by DotNetNuke creator Shaun Walker, this book takes you through the process of designing a custom skin for a DotNetNuke site and shows you how to apply web design features to that site.

Author Andrew Hay discusses the necessary steps for streamlining the interaction between client and end-user, as well as designer and developer. To that end, he has divided the book into three sections: the first section addresses basic terminology used in DotNetNuke skinning. The second section shows you how to apply the skills you've acquired to a specific site. The final section explores new technologies and specialty areas of DotNetNuke, ASP.NET, and web site development.

No matter your amount of experience in web site development and regardless of platform, by the end of this book you will be well versed in the installation, configuration, and customization of a DotNetNuke web site.

What you will learn from this book

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How to find, modify, and apply existing skins

*

Tips for working towards a DotNetNuke solution that successfully passes an HTML validation test

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Ways to install a third party menu component

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How to add personalization, AJAX, Silverlight, and sIFR technologies to extend your site

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Ways to maximize the potential of web user controls in your site

Who this book is for This book is for web developers who are interested in customizing the look and feel of a DotNetNuke web site.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; illustrated edition edition (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470109637
• ISBN-13: 978-0470109632
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enough content for a full book...?, March 11, 2008

By	H. P. Chiosso (Argentina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is OK, there are some useful recommendations. However, the actual information about skin creation takes just a few chapters, and a good deal of the book is about DNN, installing DNN, they even throw in something about Silverlight. Which is useful, but probably not completely in the focus of the title, in my opinion.

Perhaps it would be nice to see more information about skin objects and container objects, with more information on how they look and how they can be configured. Or even discuss the appearence and skinning possibilities of some of the core modules.

The book seems to be targetting half way between developers and designers, and in that attempt may not result as useful as it could, to neither of them (too light for a developer, too technical for a designer). It does say "Programmer to programmer" in the subtitle, so the reader should consider himself warned about it. In any case, it would be nice to see a book like this, but aimed from a designer's perspective.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent How-To, January 7, 2008

By	B. Waldron (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's face it - you don't use DNN for its good looks. The book was a great way for me to learn all of the customization options for DNN so I could build a great looking site.

The book has very believable practical examples and was glad to see a section about Silverlight.

If you are new to DNN, buy it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stick with it, September 2, 2008

By	Kevin Ross (Carnation, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first few chapters are painfully dry and appear to take you on a tour of DotNetNuke that you probably didn't want to take. Stick with it, you will find that the later parts of the book get practical and worth your time. The practical chapters are helpful, and will get you making your own skins very quickly.