Dyname Page

A Dynamic Page is a single page template that is connected to a collection. On the page, widgets are placed and then connected to the corresponding data in the collection. Essentially, you are mapping content from the collection to the widgets on the Dynamic Page. This can be very useful and effective because you are managing one table of data and one page template instead of potentially dozens of separate pages. Examples of when a collection and dynamic page would be useful could include athletic teams, special events, employment opportunities, individual staff "bio" pages, and more. Dynamic pages are effective with any topic or collection that includes multiple listings that may require a page and that may change over time. 

One frequent use of a Dynamic Page is with Staff Directories, where you click on a staff member and it brings up the dynamic page with the mapped data from that staff member's data from the collection. The dynamic page gives the impression that each person has their own page, but the reality is, it is one page to control them all.

Before you begin please note that Dynamic Pages require an existing collection in order to connect to it. This is an advanced feature and can be a bit technical, if you need help setting up a collection and or a dynamic page please let us know at [email protected].

To create a dynamic page:

1. There are two ways to create a dynamic page-
   • In the pages panel, you may add a new page and the choose the Dynamic Page option (recommended)
   • OR you can choose and convert an existing page to an Dynamic Page
     
2. When creating a new Dynamic Page, you will be prompted to choose a "type", just choose Blank. 
   The type of page simply determines a template layout and some basic widgets already on the page. Even "Blank" is not truly blank. You will see a preview on the right side of the popup.
   

3. You then must enter a Page Name as well as choose a collection to connect it to.
   Note that the page name will be used in conjunction with the item name from the collection to give your items a dynamic page URL. So, the name should be short, concise, and relatable to the topic. For example, naming the Dynamic Page "Team Member" means that each item (person) in the connected collection will have a page link assigned to them like this: domain/team-member/item-name (typically the person's name).
   

4. Click +Add Page

5. The Dynamic Page will now be added as a page in the Pages Panel.
   We recommend you move the new Dynamic Page into a folder, for example a folder called Dynamic Pages. By default dynamic pages are set to Hide from Navigation and will appear with a "cylindrical" icon.
   

6. The Dynamic Page you created will be active in the editor and you will note that this places the editor into "Dynamic Mode" (in the upper right corner).
   This is to let you know you are editing a Dynamic Page, which is different from editing a normal page. Any edits to this page will affect ALL items from the collection (as it is a single dynamic page).
   

7. In the editor, feel free to customize your page.
   Delete or move the rows, columns, and widget around on the page. Add widgets you may need to the dynamic page. It is recommended that you plan your page layout ahead of time, maybe even with pencil and paper. Think about the information you need to display from the connected collection and which widget should be used on data and field type.

   Keep in mind that edits done to this dynamic page will affect and display on ALL of the "pages" for all of the items in the collection. Thus, customize the page with that in mind. 

8. For each piece of information from your collection that you want to display add and use an appropriate widget. Right click the widget to connect the widget to the corresponding field from the connected collection.
   For example, if the title displayed needs to be the name of the person, you can add a Text Widget and connect it to name column field from the collection.
   

9. When connecting a widget to the collection it will have you select from a drop-down.
   The list will include "site-wide" Content Library items (like from Business Information') as well as the items it finds in the connected collection. Under "Collections" it will display the fields (columns) that your table has in it. In this case, Name, Department, Email, etc. coming from our external PlusPortals Staff collection.
   

10. With the item selected, click Connect.
    The selected information from the corresponding connected field will show up in the widget (if any is present). Note while building/editing the dynamic page, the first entry in the collection is used. If information is not present it will be blank.

11. In this example we have connected to two different Text Widgets to two different collection items, ProperName and Position respectively.
    

12. You can right click the widget and edit its design to modify design elements that the widget is capable offering like Text Color etc. You make also right click the widget to Change Connected date. 

13. Repeat this process and continue to customize and connect widgets until you have a Page Template. Be sure to preview the page, and Click Done when complete.

14. You may update and edit the Dynamic Page any time you want, access the page in the Pages Panel, when selected it loads the page into the editor and places you in Dynamic Mode.