Blog posts by Andy Butland2016-08-25T21:27:00.0000000Zhttps://world.optimizely.com/blogs/andy-butland/Optimizely WorldValidating for uniqueness with EPiServer<p>This is just a short post describing a method found for validating that the value provided for field within a page or block is unique across other instances of that content type. The specific need was for a poll block that provided a question and set of answers for users to pick from, with the results being saved to the dynamic data store. I had an "identifier" field that the editors had to complete, the value of which being unique across all polls. And rather than relying on them to remember that, it's obviously better to validate it.</p> <p>Here was the solution. Firstly I created an extension method that gets a list of all blocks of a given type other than the current block, looking like this:</p> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> public static IEnumerable<T> GetOtherContentData<T>(this T instance) where T : IContentData<br /> {<br /> var contentTypeRepository = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentTypeRepository>();<br /> var contentModelUsage = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentModelUsage>();<br /> var contentLoader = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentLoader>();<br /> var blockType = contentTypeRepository.Load<T>();<br /> var existingBlocks = contentModelUsage.ListContentOfContentType(blockType);<br /> return existingBlocks<br /> .Where(x => contentLoader.Get<IContent>(x.ContentLink).ContentGuid != ((IContent)instance).ContentGuid)<br /> .Select(x => contentLoader.Get<T>(x.ContentLink));<br /> }<br /></code></pre> <p>With that available validation can be wired up for the block like this: <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> public class PollBlock : BlockBase, IValidate<PollBlock><br /> {<br /> ...<br /> <br /> [Required]<br /> [Display(<br /> Name = "Identifier",<br /> Description = "This value should be unique across all polls to ensure recorded data is correctly stored",<br /> Order = 10)]<br /> [StringLength(10)]<br /> public virtual string Identifier { get; set; }<br /> <br /> ...<br /><br /> public IEnumerable<ValidationError> Validate(PollBlock instance)<br /> {<br /> var errors = new List<ValidationError>();<br /><br /> // Check whether the identifier is unique across all instances of the PollBlock<br /> if (AreThereOtherBlocksWithSameIdentifier(instance))<br /> {<br /> errors.Add(new ValidationError<br /> {<br /> ErrorMessage = "The identifier provided has been used on another poll block instance. Please choose a unique one.",<br /> PropertyName = instance.GetPropertyName(x => x.Identifier),<br /> Severity = ValidationErrorSeverity.Error,<br /> ValidationType = ValidationErrorType.StorageValidation,<br /> });<br /> }<br /><br /> return errors.AsEnumerable();<br /> }<br /><br /> private static bool AreThereOtherBlocksWithSameIdentifier(PollBlock instance)<br /> {<br /> var otherBlockInstances = instance.GetOtherContentData();<br /> return otherBlockInstances<br /> .Any(x => x.Identifier == instance.Identifier);<br /> }<br /> }<br /></code></pre></p>2016-08-25T21:27:00.0000000ZBlog postValidating for uniqueness with EPiServer<p>This is just a short post describing a method found for validating that the value provided for field within a page or block is unique across other instances of that content type. The specific need was for a poll block that provided a question and set of answers for users to pick from, with the results being saved to the dynamic data store. I had an "identifier" field that the editors had to complete, the value of which being unique across all polls. And rather than relying on them to remember that, it's obviously better to validate it.</p> <p>Here was the solution. Firstly I created an extension method that gets a list of all blocks of a given type other than the current block, looking like this:</p> <pre class="brush: csharp"><br /> public static IEnumerable<T> GetOtherContentData<T>(this T instance) where T : IContentData<br /> {<br /> var contentTypeRepository = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentTypeRepository>();<br /> var contentModelUsage = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentModelUsage>();<br /> var contentLoader = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentLoader>();<br /> var blockType = contentTypeRepository.Load<T>();<br /> var existingBlocks = contentModelUsage.ListContentOfContentType(blockType);<br /> return existingBlocks<br /> .Where(x => contentLoader.Get<IContent>(x.ContentLink).ContentGuid != ((IContent)instance).ContentGuid)<br /> .Select(x => contentLoader.Get<T>(x.ContentLink));<br /> }<br /></pre> <p>With that available validation can be wired up for the block like this: <pre class="brush: csharp"><br /> public class PollBlock : BlockBase, IValidate<PollBlock><br /> {<br /> ...<br /> <br /> [Required]<br /> [Display(<br /> Name = "Identifier",<br /> Description = "This value should be unique across all polls to ensure recorded data is correctly stored",<br /> Order = 10)]<br /> [StringLength(10)]<br /> public virtual string Identifier { get; set; }<br /> <br /> ...<br /><br /> public IEnumerable<ValidationError> Validate(PollBlock instance)<br /> {<br /> var errors = new List<ValidationError>();<br /><br /> // Check whether the identifier is unique across all instances of the PollBlock<br /> if (AreThereOtherBlocksWithSameIdentifier(instance))<br /> {<br /> errors.Add(new ValidationError<br /> {<br /> ErrorMessage = "The identifier provided has been used on another poll block instance. Please choose a unique one.",<br /> PropertyName = instance.GetPropertyName(x => x.Identifier),<br /> Severity = ValidationErrorSeverity.Error,<br /> ValidationType = ValidationErrorType.StorageValidation,<br /> });<br /> }<br /><br /> return errors.AsEnumerable();<br /> }<br /><br /> private static bool AreThereOtherBlocksWithSameIdentifier(PollBlock instance)<br /> {<br /> var otherBlockInstances = instance.GetOtherContentData();<br /> return otherBlockInstances<br /> .Any(x => x.Identifier == instance.Identifier);<br /> }<br /> }<br /></pre></p>2016-08-25T21:27:00.0000000ZBlog postCreating a Confirmation Email With EPiServer Forms<p>Had what probably seemed quite a straightforward request for an EPiServer site in development that's using <a href="/link/1c63c14e3ef148fb8080b50b09dfeabd.aspx">EPiServer Forms</a> - an add-on that allows editors to create their own forms to receive input from the site visitors and review the submissions in the back-office. They wanted a confirmation email to go to the recipient.</p> <p>Of course though, we don't know what fields the editors are going to create. There may not be one for the visitor's email address. nd even if there were, how can we know which field is the one to use?</p> <p>I came up with a solution to this that requires some simple conventions for the editor to follow but is quite straightforward for them to set up.</p> <p>The first step was to create a new model for the form, inheriting from the base one provided but adding additional properties for the confirmation email details:</p> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> public class FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlock : FormContainerBlock, IHasConfirmationEmail<br /> {<br /> [Display(<br /> Name = "Tick to send a confirmation message to the user following sign-up",<br /> Order = 40)]<br /> public virtual bool SendConfirmationEmail { get; set; }<br /><br /> [Display(<br /> Name = "Confirmation email subject",<br /> GroupName = ContentGroupNames.Content,<br /> Order = 45)]<br /> [StringLength(200)]<br /> public virtual string ConfirmationEmailSubject { get; set; }<br /><br /> [Display(<br /> Name = "Confirmation email copy",<br /> Order = 50)]<br /> [PropertySettings(typeof(BasicTinyMceSettings))]<br /> public virtual XhtmlString ConfirmationEmailCopy { get; set; }<br /><br /> public override void SetDefaultValues(ContentType contentType)<br /> {<br /> base.SetDefaultValues(contentType);<br /> AllowAnonymousSubmission = true;<br /> }<br /> }<br /></code></pre> <p>Then to allow for that model to be rendered, I similarly created a controller delegating to the provided base controller:</p> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> public class FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlockController : FormContainerBlockController<br /> {<br /> }<br /></code></pre> <p>And a view delegating to the user control that provides the front-end and back-office rendering functionality.</p> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> @model FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlock<br /><br /> @Html.Partial("~/modules/_protected/EPiServer.Forms/Views/ElementBlocks/FormContainerBlock.ascx", Model)<br /></code></pre> <p>Secondly I created a new field element type, that behaves just like a text box (I copied the user control TextboxElementBlock.ascx and saved it under a new name), but is a "special" one that the editors will need to use if they want the confirmation email to function. This is added to the form for the collection of the visitor's email address.</p> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> public class VisitorsEmailAddressElementBlock : TextboxElementBlock<br /> {<br /> }<br /></code></pre> <p>Finally I needed to hook into the form submission event to process the confirmation email. The following code:</p> <ul><li>Checks to see if the form submission comes from a form block type that can be configured with a confirmation email</li><li>Checks to see if the confirmation email has been configured</li><li>Checks that the "special" field holding the visitor's email address is present and has been completed</li><li>And if all those are the case, sends the email</li></ul> <pre class="language-csharp"><code><br /> [ModuleDependency(typeof(EPiServer.Web.InitializationModule))]<br /> public class FormSubmissionInitialization : IInitializableModule<br /> {<br /> public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)<br /> {<br /> var eventRegistry = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<FormsEvents>();<br /> eventRegistry.FormsSubmissionFinalized += OnFormsSubmissionFinalized;<br /> }<br /><br /> public void Preload(string[] parameters)<br /> {<br /> }<br /><br /> public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context)<br /> {<br /> var eventRegistry = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<FormsEvents>();<br /> eventRegistry.FormsSubmissionFinalized += OnFormsSubmissionFinalized;<br /> }<br /><br /> private static void OnFormsSubmissionFinalized(object sender, FormsEventArgs e)<br /> {<br /> HandleConfirmationEmail((FormsSubmittedEventArgs)e);<br /> }<br /><br /> private static void HandleConfirmationEmail(FormsSubmittedEventArgs eventArgs)<br /> {<br /> // Even though we get back the full form block details later, do a quick cast based check here<br /> // to see if we are working with a form that could have confirmation emails configured<br /> var formContent = eventArgs.FormsContent as FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlock;<br /> if (IsConfirmationEmailConfigured(formContent))<br /> {<br /> int fieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress;<br /> if (TryGetFieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress(formContent, out fieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress))<br /> {<br /> string recipientEmail;<br /> if (TryExtractVisitorsEmailAddress(eventArgs, fieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress, out recipientEmail))<br /> {<br /> // Send the email (the component called below is a simple wrapper for populating an email sending via SMTP)<br /> var confirmationEmailSender = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IConfirmationEmailSender>();<br /> confirmationEmailSender.SendConfirmationEmail("editable-form-confirmation.txt",<br /> formContent.ConfirmationEmailSubject,<br /> formContent.ConfirmationEmailCopy, recipientEmail);<br /> }<br /> }<br /> }<br /> }<br /><br /> private static bool IsConfirmationEmailConfigured(FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlock formContent)<br /> {<br /> return formContent != null && formContent.SendConfirmationEmail;<br /> }<br /><br /> private static bool TryGetFieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress(FormContainerWithConfirmationEmailBlock formContent, out int fieldId)<br /> {<br /> fieldId = 0;<br /> var contentLoader = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentLoader>();<br /> foreach (var element in formContent.ElementsArea.Items)<br /> {<br /> VisitorsEmailAddressElementBlock visitorsEmailAddressElementBlock;<br /> if (contentLoader.TryGet<VisitorsEmailAddressElementBlock>(element.ContentLink,<br /> out visitorsEmailAddressElementBlock))<br /> {<br /> fieldId = element.ContentLink.ID;<br /> return true;<br /> }<br /> }<br /><br /> return false;<br /> }<br /><br /> private static bool TryExtractVisitorsEmailAddress(FormsSubmittedEventArgs eventArgs, int fieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress, out string recipientEmailAddress)<br /> {<br /> var formData = eventArgs.SubmissionData.Data;<br /> recipientEmailAddress = formData["__field_" + fieldIdForVisitorsEmailAddress]?.ToString();<br /> return recipientEmailAddress.IsValidEmailAddress();<br /> }<br /> }<br /></code></pre>2016-06-24T17:21:00.0000000ZBlog postWorking with View Models in Umbraco and EPiServer<p>Cross-posting an article I've written for my company Zone's Medium blog. I've written about techniques for using strongly typed view models with Umbraco here before - in this article I recap some of that and extend the discussion to EPiServer CMS too.</p><p>You can read and comment on the article <a href="https://medium.com/@ThisisZone/working-with-view-models-in-umbraco-and-episerver-7ab1b01668df">here</a>.</p>2015-12-31T16:58:00.0000000ZBlog post