With the Content Block iPart, you can empower authorized users to create and edit content directly on a page, without using Surf-to-Edit or accessing Tools. Through iPart configuration, you can allow users to insert HTML content, add attachments, create child pages, and submit replies. At its simplest, a content block can be HTML that is read-only unless the user has permissions to see the edit command. At its most complex, a block can act as a message board with multiple posts, child posts, and replies. You can limit the number of posts to a set number, or you can leave it at the default (zero), which lets it grow indefinitely.
Tagging to filter content
To control what content appears in a Content Block, you create tags specific to ContentBlock Items and apply those tags to specific instances of the iPart. For example, if you want to create a new blog for Tim Jones, you could create a ContentBlock tag such as blog-JonesT, place a new Content Block iPart on a content record, and configure the iPart to display the tag blog-JonesT. Now the content that Tim authors in this blog will be unique to his blog, if you do not apply this tag anywhere else:
Content created with anything other than a Content Block iPart will not be displayed, even if it has the same tag. For example, a content record containing HTML tagged with News will not show up in a Content Block that is also using the News tag.
Best practice: Plan for and create the tags you want to use before configuring your Content Block iParts. Content can seem to disappear if you change the tags assigned to a content block already in use, because it no longer matches the tag set currently configured.
Creating a message board
Only users with the Content Editor permission may create posts and children, but any authenticated users can reply to a post and edit or delete their own replies.
To use the Content Block as a message board with multiple posts, child posts, and replies, make use of the following configuration options:
■ Maximum items to display - Choose the maximum number of posts that will be displayed; 0 indicates an unlimited number of posts.
■ Display mode - Expanded display mode will display replies and child posts in-line, while Summary mode only shows replies and child posts when the post is opened.
■ Allow child posts - Allow Content Editors to add a child post to existing content.
■ Allow replies to posts - Allow authenticated users to reply to posts; you may indicate whether to allow HTML and/or attachments in the replies.
Content Block iPart set up as a discussion board