Umbraco User's Guide

FINDING AND INSTALLING UMBRACO MODULES

Umbraco modules are small pieces of functionality that are compatible with the Umbraco starter kits and are open-source licensed so that you may change the way the modules work if you want. When you install an Umbraco starter kit, such as the Simple starter kit, some modules are installed for you. The top navigation, contact form, and feed viewer are all examples of Umbraco modules.

Umbraco modules are simply Umbraco macros specifically designed to work seamlessly with Umbraco starter kits. The modules may have dependencies on specific starter kit markup, such as an HTML element id or a content placeholder id. In most cases, you can also use Umbraco modules with Umbraco sites that are not based on Umbraco starter kits. Most Umbraco modules are created without compiled code, which allows you to investigate the module or to alter it for your own specific use. Some modules use XSLT, which you can find in the /xslt/ folder in your Umbraco site's root. Other modules use ASP.NET, generally C#, code, which is either in the /app_code/ or /usercontrols/ folder in your Umbraco site's root.

Some Umbraco modules are installed when you install an Umbraco starter kit.

You can install Umbraco modules directly from the Umbraco Skin editor. When working with the Skin editor for an Umbraco starter kit, do the following:

1. Click the Insert Module button from the toolbar. A list of available modules appears as shown in Figure 1-27.
2. Select a module and then click ...