qVarbreadcrumbs

(Plone 2.5.x)

Links

• Home page - http://quintagroup.com/services/plone-development/products/qvarbreadcrumbs

1. qVarbreadcrumbs - is a Plone add-on product that allows you to customize breadcrumbs to your needs. This product replaces the standard way of breadcrumbs generation by a different one if needed.

Such kind of breadcrumbing is used in those situation when site structure (the way we can get to a page) is different from the structure by folders. It sometimes may also be preferable for SEO purposes. On sites, where qVarbreadcrumbs is installed, breadcrumbs are generated in the same way as it is done by default in Plone (folders, subfolders indicated), with one exception: objects, which possess breadcrumbs property, insert objects, that are indicated in their property before their own title in a breadcrumbs path. Such a customized breadcrumbing works only with those objects, where breadcrumbs property is written. On pages where it is not specified, breadcrumbs will be generated in a usual way.

Imagine we have a folder incorporate, which includes pages:

• Incorporate (http://www.portal.com/incorporate/index.asp) - a default page for this folder;

• Where to Incorporate (http://www.portal.com/incorporate/whereto.asp);

• Incorporate in Any State (http://www.portal.com/incorporate/states.asp);

• Incorporate in Nebraska (http://www.portal.com/incorporate/nebraska.asp).

The peculiarity of this folder is that its content is organized in such a way that you can visit Incorporate in Any State (states.asp) page only after you visit Where to Incorporate page (whereto.asp), link from which leads to states.asp. Similarly with nebraska.asp: you can visit Incorporate in Nebraska page only after visiting Incorporate in Any State page, which require initial visit to Where to Incorporate page. Another ways of visiting either states.asp or nebraska.asp are impossible, as those page titles are not present in navigation tree. The only way to visit them is through other pages.

Thus, not to get lost on site, breadcrumbs can be really helpful, providing you a clear picture of the way you get to a page.

Thus, when we are on incorporate default page, the breadbrumbs look: Home -> incorporate

When on Where to Incorporate: Home -> incorporate -> Where to incorporate

When on Incorporate in Any State breadcrumbs should be: Home -> incorporate -> Where to incorporate -> Incorporate in Any State

Finally, when on Incorporate in Nebraska: Home -> incorporate -> Where to incorporate -> Incorporate in Any State -> Incorporate in Nebraska

Notice, that all three pages are in the same folder, and breadcrumbs show how we got to one page from another.

How to organize breadcrumbs in a desired way?

As we need a special breadcrumbing for states.asp page, we go to ZMI interface (add /manage_main to page URL), and chose Properties tab. Add a new property:

name - breadcrumbs

type - lines

Now fill the value field with whereto.asp and save the changes:

Now, if we go to Incorporate in Any State (states.asp) page, the breadcrumbs will look as we needed:

Home -> incorporate -> Where to incorporate -> Incorporate in Any State

The same way, if we need a special breadcrumbing for the page Incorporate in Nebraska (nebraska.asp), go to ZMI interface and chose Properties tab. Add a new property with name - breadcrumbs, type - lines.

Fill the value field with whereto.asp and states.asp, save the changes:

Thus, breadcrumbs on Incorporate in Nebraska page are the following:

2. Silo titles for breadcrumbs items, different from object title (common feature with ​qSilobreadcrumbs) can be set. This task is accomplished with the help of special product ​qSiloGroup.

To do it, go to the folder that includes items, that are to be renamed. Click on Edit Nav button.

In the opened window you may change the navigation titles to what you need. Let's change Incorporate Your Business to Reasons to Incorporate.

You can also see the changes you have done through ZMI interface: go to folder properties, and you will see the changed titles in silo_items field. Here the the existing title for why.asp page (Incorporate Your Business) is changed to Reasons To Incorporate:

Breadcrumbs titles are taken from silo_items. Thus, as a result, why.asp page looks this way, with the changed breadcrumbs titles:

3. This product also adds default page in breadcrumbs item urls. Thus links go not to a folder, but to a default page of this folder. For example, in such a breadcrumb Home -> incorporate -> Where to incorporate -> Incorporate in Any State Link from incorporate will point to default page index.asp - http://www.portal.com/incorporate/index.asp.

Default page of a folder can be changed via display green drop down menu.

In the opened window select another item you want to be a default one for the folder (i.e. Incorporating in California instead of Incorporate in California):

You can also change the default page through folder properties (ZMI) in default_page field.

This as an example of California folder with index.asp document as as default one. In case you want another page becomes default one for this folder, delete index.asp and put down, for example, costs.asp and save changes.

qVarbreadcrumbs product uses this default_page property to change breadcrumb links. When content items are selected to be default ones, qVarbreadcrumbs product generate new links (not to folders, but to folders' default pages) on the basis of what is written in default_page property field.