Web Part Page with Quick Launch?

Question

Hi!

I want to create a document library with a web part page as default content type, but I want the WP page to have a Quick Launch. How can I achieve this? I have a WSS 3.0 environment.

I found this excellent blog on how to add a Quick Launch to an existing Web Part page in a document library - but how can I add it to the template without altering the 12-Hive?

http://www.u2u.info/Blogs/Patrick/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1744

Thanks in advance!
Jenny

Answer 1

here's how I usually do this, using SharePoint Designer:

1.  Open your site in SharePoint Designer.
2.  Click the <File> menu, chose <New> and choose <ASPX>
3.  Click the <Format> menu, choose <Master Page> and choose <Attach master page>
4.  Click OK for the default one.
5.  Click to select the content part of the screen, that's labeled PlaceHolderMain
6.  Click the little chevron icon on the far right of this section (a little arrowhead).  Click <Create Custom Content>
7.  With the cursor inside of PlaceHolderMain, click the <Insert> menu, choose <SharePoint Controls> and click <Web Part Zone>
(if you wanted your page to have multiple zones in horizontal or vertical configurations, you'd insert a table on the page first, with the columns set up to your preference, and then insert the Web Part Zones inside each table cell.)
8.  At this point, you can save your page.  Save it wherever in your site will be most logical for its functionality. An example, when I've created one of these that's a general "Dashboard" for the site, I just save it at the root level. But, you can save this inside a list or library folder if it makes more sense. 
9.  You can click F12 to open this new page in your browser.  Grab that URL to it, and place the URL as a link in your site, so that users will be able to get to it.

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Laura Rogers, MCSE, MCTS
SharePoint911
http://www.sharepoint911.com/blogs/laura

Answer 2

Thank you Laura for your explanation! But I think I wasn't so clear in my question. What I would like to achieve is to create a document library with web part pages as standard document type - but when I create a web part page in the document library, it should have a quick launch.

Today, the web aprt pages in a document library doesn't have a quick launch. I could go in and change that setting afterwards in SharePoint Designer, but thisd is not a good alternative for the end users.

So, without altering the files in smartpgs in 12-Hive, can I add the quick launch to those pages.

Now when I'm writing this, I'll guess that the best way would be is to create a Document Library Definition based on Document Library and then change the copied smartpgs catalogue?

This is a little bit new to me, so if anyone has a good how-to on creating a doc lib definition, I'd appreciated it.

Regards
Jenny

Answer 3

Hi Jenny,

I had the same issue with web part pages. Not sure about your case, but my web part pages would appear with about 100 pixels of empty space from the left side where the quick launch should be. What I did was to edited the master page for the site so that quick launch shows up on web part pages. I can't remember the exact change or the resource I had used, but try the post from the following site. I'm pretty sure this is what I had done.

http://jetlounge.net/blogs/teched/archive/2009/01/12/quick-launch-bar-navigation-missing-from-web-part-pages-in-sharepoint.aspx

I don't understand why it was designed not to show the quick launch for web part pages by default, while everything else show quick launch (except the list forms pages). If it was necessary, they could just add another option for this purpose when creating the webpart pages or document library.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Thanks, but I'm not sure this is the same problem.

The problem with the web part pages in a document library is that they have an empty placeholder that overrides the content for that placeholder in the masterpage:

<asp:Content ContentPlaceHolderId="PlaceHolderLeftNavBar" runat="server"></asp:Content>

By removing that code from the web part pages, the Quick Launch will be visible on those pages again.

The problem is that this has to be done on every Web Part Page in a doc lib after they are created. This is not an appealing option since it means that the end users would have to use SharePoint Designer.

One alternative is to go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\TEMPLATE\1033\STS\DOCTEMP\SMARTPGS and change the files for the web part pages there. But altering the 12-Hive is not something I want to do!

The last option should be to create a document library definition and alter the files in my custom doc lib def. But I need some guidance here how to do that. Preferable by not using Visual Studio.

Any ideas?

Answer 5

Hi Jenny,

The above link that I posted shows you editing the master file. Once you edit the master file, it'll affect all web part pages. So, you don't have to edit the existing webpart pages individually. And when you create a new web part page, it'll have the quick launch be default. I didn't have to go through each page and make the changes.

Answer 6

Hi!

You were right, it really worked!

Thanks you very much!
Jenny