Calling all developers! We invite you to provide your input on Feature Experimentation by completing this brief survey.

 

Per Magne Skuseth
Mar 21, 2014
  4218
(5 votes)

Add some color to your UI

Here is a little trick to spice up the editorial view when using simple selection lists in EPiServer:
The SelectItem Text property in selection factories can contain html, which means that you can easily make the editorial controls look a bit more exciting.

public class BlockColorSelectionFactory : ISelectionFactory
{
    public IEnumerable<ISelectItem> GetSelections(ExtendedMetadata metadata)
    {
        yield return new SelectItem()
        {
            Text = "<span class='colorselector blue'></span>Blue",
            Value = "blue"
        };
        yield return new SelectItem()
        {
            Text = "<span class='colorselector white'></span>White",
            Value = "white" 
        };
        yield return new SelectItem()
        {
            Text = "<span class='colorselector gray'></span>Gray",
            Value = "dark"
        };
        yield return new SelectItem()
        {
            Text = "<span class='colorselector black'></span>Black",
            Value = "black"
        };
    }
}
In this case, the colorselector css classes are defined in a style sheet that is registered as a client resource.
 
[SelectOne(SelectionFactoryType = typeof(BlockColorSelectionFactory))]
public virtual string ColorTheme { get; set; }
 
 color
 
Here is another example, where I’ve used an image tag:
public class LanguageSelectionFactory : ISelectionFactory
{
    public IEnumerable<ISelectItem> GetSelections(ExtendedMetadata metadata)
    {
        var languageBranches = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<ILanguageBranchRepository>().ListEnabled();
        return languageBranches.Select(branch => new SelectItem()
        {
            Text = string.Format("<img class='flag' src='/App_Themes/Default/Images/flags/{0}.gif'/>{1}", branch.LanguageID, branch.Name),
            Value = branch.LanguageID
        });
    }
}

flags

… And when using SelectMany:

 langz

Mar 21, 2014

Comments

Mari Jørgensen
Mari Jørgensen Mar 21, 2014 01:29 PM

Nice! I like it! :)

Kristoffer Ekenstam
Kristoffer Ekenstam Jan 28, 2015 04:42 PM

I can't get this to work in the latest version.
It just displays the HTML markup instead of an image.

Any ideas?

Jul 31, 2015 04:07 PM

I've got the same issue as Kristoffer Av Ekenstam , did you ever find a resolution?

Per Magne Skuseth
Per Magne Skuseth Oct 8, 2015 04:21 PM

This will only work for CMS 7.x, I'm afraid.

Please login to comment.
Latest blogs
Further Enhancing Production Database Scalability in DXP Cloud Services

About a year ago we announced that we are improving the scalability of SQL databases in DXP Cloud Services , focusing first on non-production...

Anna Pleshakova | Jan 27, 2025

Automatic Alt-Text for Images with AI Assistant for Optimizely

Creating accessible and user-friendly content has never been more critical. For websites, ensuring that images include descriptive alt-text is an...

Luc Gosso (MVP) | Jan 26, 2025 | Syndicated blog

Optimizely CMS easy RSS feed integration library

As I've mentioned in my  previous blog post , while I was developing the Optimizely version of my blog, I tried to look for a library that could...

David Drouin-Prince | Jan 25, 2025 | Syndicated blog

Decimal numbers in Optimizely Graph

Storing prices as decimal numbers on a commerce website and planning to expose them through Optimizely Graph? It might not be as straightforward as...

Damian Smutek | Jan 23, 2025 | Syndicated blog