Jonas Bergqvist
Jan 8, 2016
  6001
(1 votes)

Automatic landing page in Quicksilver using the search provider system

My last blog post was an overview over “automatic landing pages”. This blog post will show how we can implement this on Quicksilver, using the search provider system. We will change the current facet navigation in Quicksilver to instead use url-based facet navigation.

Image greenShoes.PNG'

Image greenShoesHtml.PNG

Hackday project

This is a hackday project, which was very quickly developed. There is alot of improvement possibilities that I see now directly when I'm writing this blog post. You can easily take the code and prettify it.

Adding nuget package or copy files from github

We will start with adding the nuget package “brilliantcut.automaticlandingpage” to quicksilver. The easiest way to install the packages are to create a new package source in visual studio that points to "http://nuget.jobe.employee.episerver.com/" (https://docs.nuget.org/consume/Package-Manager-Dialog). Now it's possible to install the packages by writing "install-package brilliantcut.automaticlandingpage" in the "Package manager console".

Another alternative to install the nuget package is to copy the c# classes from github: https://github.com/jonasbergqvist/BrilliantCut.AutomaticLandingPage

Now we have some nice classes that we can use to change the current facet navigation on the site.

Disable the default partial route

We will disable the default partial route in “SiteInitialization.cs”. The following line should be removed in the class: CatalogRouteHelper.MapDefaultHierarchialRouter(RouteTable.Routes, false);

New feature folder

Create a new folder under the “Features” folder called “AutomaticLandingPage”.

Configurable module

Create a new configurable module by creating a new class that implements “IConfigurableModule” in the new folder. Set a module dependency to the site initialization by adding the following attribute on the class: [ModuleDependency(typeof(SiteInitialization))].

We will now add a new partial route using the service “CatalogContentRouteRegistration” in “BrilliantCut.AutomatedLandingPage”. Add the following line in the initialization method: context.Locate.Advanced.GetInstance<CatalogContentRouteRegistration>().RegisterDefaultRoute();

Let the “ConfigureContainer” method be empty for now. We will come back to this soon.

[ModuleDependency(typeof(SiteInitialization))]
public class AutomaticLandingPageInitializationModule : IConfigurableModule
{
    public void ConfigureContainer(ServiceConfigurationContext context)
    {
    }

    public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
        context.Locate.Advanced.GetInstance<CatalogContentRouteRegistration>().RegisterDefaultRoute();
    }

    public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
    }
}

New FilterOptionFormModelBinder implementation

The default FilterOptionFormModelBinder in Quicksilver needs to be overridden to make the automated landing page work. We will create a class called “AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder”, which will get the values caught in the partial route, and add those to the FilterOptionFormModel:

public class AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder : FilterOptionFormModelBinder
{
    private readonly DefaultModelBinder _defaultModelBinder;
    private readonly IContentLoader _contentLoader;

    public AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder(IContentLoader contentLoader, LocalizationService localizationService, Func<CultureInfo> preferredCulture, DefaultModelBinder defaultModelBinder) 
        : base(contentLoader, localizationService, preferredCulture)
    {
        _defaultModelBinder = defaultModelBinder;
        _contentLoader = contentLoader;
    }

    public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
    {
        var model = (FilterOptionFormModel)_defaultModelBinder.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
        if (model == null)
        {
            return model;
        }

        AddFacets(controllerContext, model);

        var contentLink = controllerContext.RequestContext.GetContentLink();
        IContent content = null;
        if (!ContentReference.IsNullOrEmpty(contentLink))
        {
            content = _contentLoader.Get<IContent>(contentLink);
        }

        var query = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.QueryString["q"];
        var sort = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.QueryString["sort"];
        SetupModel(model, query, sort, null, content);
        return model;
    }

    private static void AddFacets(ControllerContext controllerContext, FilterOptionFormModel model)
    {
        var routeFacets = controllerContext.RouteData.Values[FacetUrlService.RouteFacets] as ConcurrentDictionary<RouteFacetModel, HashSet<object>>;
        if (routeFacets != null)
        {
            model.FacetGroups = new List<FacetGroupOption>();
            foreach (var routeFacet in routeFacets.Keys)
            {
                var facetGroupOption = new FacetGroupOption
                {
                    GroupName = routeFacet.FacetName,
                    GroupFieldName = routeFacet.FacetPath,
                    Facets = new List<FacetOption>()
                };

                foreach (var facetValue in routeFacets[routeFacet].Select(x => x.ToString()))
                {
                    facetGroupOption.Facets.Add(new FacetOption
                    {
                        Name = facetValue,
                        Key = facetValue,
                        Selected = true
                    });
                }

                model.FacetGroups.Add(facetGroupOption);
            }
        }
    }
}

Update Configurable module

The configurable module can now be updated to set the “AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder” as the implementation for “FilterOptionFormModelBinder”:

[ModuleDependency(typeof(SiteInitialization))]
public class AutomaticLandingPageInitializationModule : IConfigurableModule
{
    public void ConfigureContainer(ServiceConfigurationContext context)
    {
        context.Container.Configure(c => c.For<FilterOptionFormModelBinder>().Use<AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder>());
    }

    public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
        context.Locate.Advanced.GetInstance<CatalogContentRouteRegistration>().RegisterDefaultRoute();
    }

    public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
    }
}

_Facet.cshtml

We need to make changes to _Facet.cshtml to use the HtmlHelper in BrilliantCut.AutomaticLandingPage. The following line can be used in the <li> tags:

<a href="@Html.FacetContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>(), typeof(string).FullName, facetGroup.GroupFieldName, facetGroup.GroupName, facet.Key)">@facet.Key (@facet.Count)</a>

The whole file:

@using System.Web.Mvc.Html
@using BrilliantCut.AutomaticLandingPage
@using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes
@using EPiServer.Shell.Web.Mvc.Html
@using EPiServer.Web.Routing

@model EPiServer.Reference.Commerce.Site.Features.Search.Models.FilterOptionFormModel
@{
    Layout = null;
}
<div class="col-sm-3 facets-wrapper jsSearchFacets">
    @if (Model.FacetGroups.Any(x => x.Facets.Any(y => y.Selected)))
    {
        <div class="well facets-summary product-filtering choices">
            <h3>@Html.Translate("/Category/Filters")</h3>
            <ul class="nav">
                @for (var i = 0; i < Model.FacetGroups.Count; i++)
                {
                    var facetGroup = Model.FacetGroups[i];
                    for (var j = 0; j < facetGroup.Facets.Count; j++)
                    {
                        var facet = facetGroup.Facets[j];
                        if (!facet.Selected)
                        {
                            continue;
                        }
                        <li class="facet-active">
                            <a href="@Html.FacetContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>(), typeof(string).FullName, facetGroup.GroupFieldName, facetGroup.GroupName, facet.Key)">@facet.Key (@facet.Count)</a>
                        </li>
                    }
                }
                <li class="facets-amount">
                    @Html.Translate("/Facet/Choices") <strong>@Model.TotalCount</strong>
                </li>
            </ul>
            <a href="@Html.ContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>())">Remove all</a>          
        </div>
    }

    <ul class="nav">
        <li>
            <h3>@Html.Translate("/Category/SortBy")</h3>
            @Html.DropDownList("FormModel.Sort", Model.Sorting, new { @class = "form-control jsSearchSort" })<br />
        </li>
    </ul>

    @for (var i = 0; i < Model.FacetGroups.Count; i++)
    {
        var facetGroup = Model.FacetGroups[i];
       
        <ul class="nav facet-group">
            <li>
                <h3>@facetGroup.GroupName</h3>
                @Html.TextBox(string.Format("FormModel.FacetGroups[{0}].GroupFieldName", i), facetGroup.GroupFieldName, new { @hidden = "true" })
            </li>
            @for (var j = 0; j < facetGroup.Facets.Count; j++)
            {
                var facet = facetGroup.Facets[j];
                if (facet.Selected)
                {
                    continue;
                }
                <li>
                    <a href="@Html.FacetContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>(), typeof(string).FullName, facetGroup.GroupFieldName, facetGroup.GroupName, facet.Key)">@facet.Key (@facet.Count)</a>
                </li>
            }
        </ul>
    }
</div>

The whole implementation

AutomaticLandingPageInitializationModule

[ModuleDependency(typeof(SiteInitialization))]
public class AutomaticLandingPageInitializationModule : IConfigurableModule
{
    public void ConfigureContainer(ServiceConfigurationContext context)
    {
        context.Container.Configure(c => c.For<FilterOptionFormModelBinder>().Use<AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder>());
    }

    public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
        context.Locate.Advanced.GetInstance<CatalogContentRouteRegistration>().RegisterDefaultRoute();
    }

    public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
    }
}

AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder

public class AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder : FilterOptionFormModelBinder
{
    private readonly DefaultModelBinder _defaultModelBinder;
    private readonly IContentLoader _contentLoader;

    public AutomaticLandingPageFilterOptionFormModelBinder(IContentLoader contentLoader, LocalizationService localizationService, Func<CultureInfo> preferredCulture, DefaultModelBinder defaultModelBinder) 
        : base(contentLoader, localizationService, preferredCulture)
    {
        _defaultModelBinder = defaultModelBinder;
        _contentLoader = contentLoader;
    }

    public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
    {
        var model = (FilterOptionFormModel)_defaultModelBinder.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
        if (model == null)
        {
            return model;
        }

        AddFacets(controllerContext, model);

        var contentLink = controllerContext.RequestContext.GetContentLink();
        IContent content = null;
        if (!ContentReference.IsNullOrEmpty(contentLink))
        {
            content = _contentLoader.Get<IContent>(contentLink);
        }

        var query = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.QueryString["q"];
        var sort = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.QueryString["sort"];
        SetupModel(model, query, sort, null, content);
        return model;
    }

    private static void AddFacets(ControllerContext controllerContext, FilterOptionFormModel model)
    {
        var routeFacets = controllerContext.RouteData.Values[FacetUrlService.RouteFacets] as ConcurrentDictionary<RouteFacetModel, HashSet<object>>;
        if (routeFacets != null)
        {
            model.FacetGroups = new List<FacetGroupOption>();
            foreach (var routeFacet in routeFacets.Keys)
            {
                var facetGroupOption = new FacetGroupOption
                {
                    GroupName = routeFacet.FacetName,
                    GroupFieldName = routeFacet.FacetPath,
                    Facets = new List<FacetOption>()
                };

                foreach (var facetValue in routeFacets[routeFacet].Select(x => x.ToString()))
                {
                    facetGroupOption.Facets.Add(new FacetOption
                    {
                        Name = facetValue,
                        Key = facetValue,
                        Selected = true
                    });
                }

                model.FacetGroups.Add(facetGroupOption);
            }
        }
    }
}

_Facet.cshtml

@using System.Web.Mvc.Html
@using BrilliantCut.AutomaticLandingPage
@using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes
@using EPiServer.Shell.Web.Mvc.Html
@using EPiServer.Web.Routing

@model EPiServer.Reference.Commerce.Site.Features.Search.Models.FilterOptionFormModel
@{
    Layout = null;
}
<div class="col-sm-3 facets-wrapper jsSearchFacets">
    @if (Model.FacetGroups.Any(x => x.Facets.Any(y => y.Selected)))
    {
        <div class="well facets-summary product-filtering choices">
            <h3>@Html.Translate("/Category/Filters")</h3>
            <ul class="nav">
                @for (var i = 0; i < Model.FacetGroups.Count; i++)
                {
                    var facetGroup = Model.FacetGroups[i];
                    for (var j = 0; j < facetGroup.Facets.Count; j++)
                    {
                        var facet = facetGroup.Facets[j];
                        if (!facet.Selected)
                        {
                            continue;
                        }
                        <li class="facet-active">
                            <a href="@Html.FacetContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>(), typeof(string).FullName, facetGroup.GroupFieldName, facetGroup.GroupName, facet.Key)">@facet.Key (@facet.Count)</a>
                        </li>
                    }
                }
                <li class="facets-amount">
                    @Html.Translate("/Facet/Choices") <strong>@Model.TotalCount</strong>
                </li>
            </ul>
            <a href="@Html.ContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>())">Remove all</a>          
        </div>
    }

    <ul class="nav">
        <li>
            <h3>@Html.Translate("/Category/SortBy")</h3>
            @Html.DropDownList("FormModel.Sort", Model.Sorting, new { @class = "form-control jsSearchSort" })<br />
        </li>
    </ul>

    @for (var i = 0; i < Model.FacetGroups.Count; i++)
    {
        var facetGroup = Model.FacetGroups[i];
       
        <ul class="nav facet-group">
            <li>
                <h3>@facetGroup.GroupName</h3>
                @Html.TextBox(string.Format("FormModel.FacetGroups[{0}].GroupFieldName", i), facetGroup.GroupFieldName, new { @hidden = "true" })
            </li>
            @for (var j = 0; j < facetGroup.Facets.Count; j++)
            {
                var facet = facetGroup.Facets[j];
                if (facet.Selected)
                {
                    continue;
                }
                <li>
                    <a href="@Html.FacetContentUrl(ViewContext.RequestContext.GetRoutedData<CatalogContentBase>(), typeof(string).FullName, facetGroup.GroupFieldName, facetGroup.GroupName, facet.Key)">@facet.Key (@facet.Count)</a>
                </li>
            }
        </ul>
    }
</div>
 
Jan 08, 2016

Comments

tobias.gladh@knowit.se
tobias.gladh@knowit.se Feb 23, 2016 12:51 PM

Applying this to QuickSilver based soultion causes the Episerver UI to be unreachable (if not already logged in). Seems like it affects the routing for functions that don't have a page setup in EPiServer. Regular pages works while functions like /BackendLogin, /Login, /Cart/AddToCart or /Identity/Index does not work. It's the CatalogContentRouteRegistration that's causing the issue. Any ideas on why it causes this? 

Apr 26, 2016 11:30 AM

I will look at it, thanks

Please login to comment.
Latest blogs
Announcing new library: SettingsManager

When you run .net app, there have been a few ways to store settings. Those can be set via appSettings.json, or via Azure Portal AppService...

Quan Mai | Apr 30, 2026

From Prompting to Production: Optimizely Opal University Cohort and the Future of Agentic MarTech

Most organizations today are still playing with AI. They experiment with prompts, test ideas in isolated chats, and occasionally automate a task or...

Augusto Davalos | Apr 28, 2026

Six Compelling Reasons for Upgrading to CMS 13

Most software updates ask you to keep up. Optimizely CMS 13 asks something different — it asks whether your digital strategy is built for a world...

Muhammad Talha | Apr 28, 2026

Optimizely CMS 13 breaking changes: GetContentTypePropertyDisplayName

When upgrading from CMS 12 to 13, resolving property display names may not work as before. Here’s what changed.

Tomas Hensrud Gulla | Apr 27, 2026 |

Accelerate Optimizely DAM Adoption: Unlocking Business Value with Metadata Bulk Import

Accelerating Optimizely DAM Adoption How a Metadata-Driven Bulk Import Utility Unlocks Real Business Value Executive Summary For enterprises runnin...

Vaibhav | Apr 27, 2026

Optimizely CMS 13 breaking changes: IValidate<T>

Custom IValidate validators in Optimizely CMS 13 are no longer auto-discovered. They must be registered explicitly when upgrading from CMS 12.

Tomas Hensrud Gulla | Apr 27, 2026 |