ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming Problem - Design - Solution

10.2. Design

In this section we aren't going to develop a heavy infrastructure, as ASP.NET 2.0 already provides that for us! You can think of a Web Part as being similar to a user or custom control, with the addition of a title bar and a border (both of which are optional), and a drop-down menu with options to minimize and restore the Web Part, close it, delete it, and edit it. These commands are not always available and visible in the context menu, as this depends on the display mode in which the host page was loaded. The available display modes are as follows:

• Browse: In this mode the Web Part's context menu lists commands to minimize the Web Part so that only the title part will be visible, to restore it (if minimized), and to close it so it completely disappears from the page.

• Design: In this mode you can move Web Parts around, from one Web Part zone to another, by dragging and dropping them visually. Web Part zones are rectangular areas on the page where a Web Part can be dropped—only content in these areas can be personalized. A zone can be thought of as being a parking place on the page where Web Parts can reside: You can have a number of zones on one page. The Web Part's context menu also has a command to completely delete the Web Part from the page. The Delete command is different from Close, because Close just hides the Web Part from the page, but doesn't really remove it, so that you can re-open it later.

• Edit: In this mode an Edit command appears in the Web Part's context ...