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Multiple dcrs in one DCT

ProfessorX

Whats your thoughts on loading multiple dcrs in to one dct?

Maybe using form api and repainting the picutre?

Thanks in advance!
WIN2K TS/TST 5.5.2 sp5; OD 5.6.0.1; DD 5.5.2
The Professor-

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Adam Stoller

What do you mean by loading multiple DCRs in one DCT? That doesn't make sense (at least not to me).
Processing multiple DCRs with one PT - okay.
Processing a single DCR with multiple PTs - okay
Can you ealborate on what you are trying to do and why?

--fish
Senior Consultant, Quotient Inc.
http://www.quotient-inc.com

ProfessorX

This is a big problem for many corporations.
There is content that is considered "Corporate" content, call it an <include> tag if you wish. If you go to any of our pages you will always get that corporate content. If corporate wants to make changes to it’s “corporate” content it can, in one central location. Follow me so far...

But now our many countries/divisions that are subsections of our site, and is starting to grow, wants to be able to change that corporate content. Well Corporate says that’s fine...once you change it you now own it.

What we would like to do is load a page that has regular content that is coming from a dcr\xml as well as load the content from that <include> page which is a dcr\xml. (Currently we were thinking we could do this with the FormAPI do it dynamically some how with the onload event or IW's custom events) and just change load dynamically (possibly could be done if the FormAPI <script> tag supported PERL).

Thanks in advance!
WIN2K TS/TST 5.5.2 sp5; OD 5.6.0.1; DD 5.5.2
The Professor-

lhdavis

So I'm assuming you have a corporate branch where the "corporate content" is maintained now using a DCT/PT. Also you use an <Include> on your division's specific content that you generate from a dcr/xml using a PT.

With these assumption, could you not just copy the existing "corporate content" DCT/PT as well as their corresponding DCRs to the division that wants to customize the content, make any changes necessary to the DCT and PT needed for the new "division content", and update the <include> path in the PT for all of your other division content, regenerate, and deploy?

Of course, I had two big assumptions there at the beginning but something like this approach is what I would recommend.

Luke Davis
Open Technology Group, Inc.
luke.davis@med.va.gov

ProfessorX

FYI: this is all in one Branch and is based Directories

Think of it this way
I have an <include> dcr that is corporate for all 80+ divisions right now. If corporate wants to make a change they go to one place "centralized". If a division wants to change that corporate content section they need to grab a copy change it and put it in there folder "do it dynamically".

What I'm trying to avoid here is the following.
1. If a division never wants to change the corporate content then nothing needs to change. Meaning the corporate content is centralized and if corporate makes a change it happens in one place.
2. I don't want to be disturbed by users saying, "Ahh yea I want to change to corporate content can you just copy it over in to my divisions directory". ...NOT! Luke wrote: With these assumption, could you not just copy the existing "corporate content" DCT/PT as well as their corresponding DCRs to the division that wants to customize the content

Thanks in advance!
WIN2K TS/TST 5.5.2 sp5; OD 5.6.0.1; DD 5.5.2
The Professor-

lhdavis

Why not put logic in your PT that checks for a particular division's version of the <include> file (you do have separate directories for divisions I guess), if it exists, <include> that, otherwise <include> the corporate version.

You could specify a naming convention for the division specific <include> such as oca_include.whatever for the OCA division. In the PT, pull in the folder name and parse it until you have the particular division, check if the division specific file exists, and use your an <iw_if>, <iw_else> tags to either pull in the division specific version or the corporate version <include>.

Luke Davis
Open Technology Group, Inc.
luke.davis@med.va.gov

ProfessorX

Luke sounds good thanks for your help but ya keep focusing on PT's.

I want to bring the base DCR up and the corporate dcr (which is located somewhere else) in one DCT.

Is that possible?

Thanks in advance!
WIN2K TS/TST 5.5.2 sp5; OD 5.6.0.1; DD 5.5.2
The Professor-

lhdavis

OK, I'm a bit slow sometimes Smiley Happy

Does "base DCR" refer to any DCR that should have the corporate DCR content displayed in it? For example, say the corporate DCR contains footer information that you want displayed on all public relation DCRs? Is that what you are asking?

Short answer is no, I don't know of a way to bring multiple DCRs into one datacapture template.

You could possibly write a merge app to parse through the XML in the corporate DCR and your "base" DCR, merge them together for use in a new, improved DCT. But that would be a one time conversion activity IMHO.

Still don't get the business case for this. Maybe you're not generating content and are only using the DCR's for rendering or something. Like I said, I'm slow.

Luke Davis
Open Technology Group, Inc.
luke.davis@med.va.gov

ProfessorX

yea I dont think it is possible either

1 BASE divsion specific DCR/DCT...lets call it homepage... so each divsion has its own homepage...
\data\homepage_div1.dcr
\data\homepage_div2.dcr
\data\homepage_div3.dcr
datacapture.cfg
\presentation\homepage.tpl

and a corporate include file somewhere
\includes\corporate_include.xml

bring them in both together into homepage DCT. If a item in the dct that is corporate specific gets touched (onChange) then when saving write it ALL out to homepage_div1.dcr. Division 1 know owns there own copy of corporate content.

The business case for this is very logical. If corporate needs to change the \includes\corporate_include.xml the can do it in one centerlized location and it will be shared across all those divisions that do not want to change or maintain corporate content.

Thanks in advance!
WIN2K TS/TST 5.5.2 sp5; OD 5.6.0.1; DD 5.5.2
The Professor-

lhdavis

Well if you are using presentation templates to generate your content that is deployed to your division websites I don't know why it is imperative to pull this information into the DCR. That's all I'm saying.

Could you write a callout in the \templatedata\<category>\homepage\datacapture.cfg to read in the initial \includes\corporate_include.xml file, and have an onChange handler if the division alters it to create a division specific \includes\division1_include.xml file? And make the callout smart enough to check if a division specific include file exists before loading the corporate include file?

This would meet your business case as stated I think:
"The business case for this is very logical. If corporate needs to change the \includes\corporate_include.xml the can do it in one centerlized location and it will be shared across all those divisions that do not want to change or maintain corporate content."

Luke Davis
Open Technology Group, Inc.
luke.davis@med.va.gov

Adam Stoller

How about a cgi-callout in the non-base DCR's that is in effect a CCI URL to edit the base DCR - so that way you can edit the specific page content in one DCR and with a click of a button on the DCT field bring up another window with the contents of the DCR that contains the "core" content that will be included in the generated page.

You could augment this further by having an optional field for specifying a *different* path for the "core" content [default to the "real core"] and have the CGI callout use that information to generate a redirect with the CCI URL - which would then, I believe provide pretty much all the functionality you're looking for.

Not exactly two DCRs in one DCT - but it provides the ability to access a cross-referenced DCR.

Yes?
(note: I haven't done this - so I have no code to offer for it - but it doesn't sound like it would be that difficult to implemt)

--fish
Senior Consultant, Quotient Inc.
http://www.quotient-inc.com