Prior to i-Dialogue v8, customization involved the modification of ASP.NET User Controls (*.ASCX extension) and ASP.NET Pages (*.ASPX pages). Today, most customization is achieved through Dialogue Script. This article applies to portal installations that require customization of physical ASCX controls in the base portal package.

Most ASCX and ASPX files are managed by Cubic Compass Software and are overwritten on upgrade, so they may not be directly customized.

However, the separation of presentation and business layer allows for copies of ASCX controls to be customized and inherit from the underlying core business module.

Following these steps will ensure ASCX control customizations are not lost on upgrade.

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To Customize a Portal ASCX Control

1) Make a COPY the ASCX control to be customized and add your company name as a prefix:
For example:
SignInControl.ascx should be copied and saved as CompanyNameSignInControl.ascx
2) Login to the portal admin explorer and click on the Web Part Catalog menu item.
3) Locate the new, copied file in the tree control towards the bottom of the page. Right click on the new file and select "Import".
4) Metadata for the new ASCX control will be imported and added to a folder name "Uncategorized". You may move the imported control to any other folder, or create a new folder for categorization (not required).
5) Right click on the imported control and set the default access permissions (typically involves granting "View" permissions to "Anonymous" users).
6) Navigate to pages where the old ASCX control exists and replace it with the new customized control using Tools-Page Settings.

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Files Overwritten On Update

All ASCX controls beneath the webparts folder, except for those in the ProService directory, are managed by the core package and are periodically updated/overwritten.

All images beneath the images directory are managed in the core package. New images that do not conflict with existing file names are not altered during update.

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Files Not Overwritten On Upgrade

All ASPX files in the root folder are not overwritten on upgrade and may be customized.

All CSS files in the Themes folder are not overwritten on upgrade and may be customized.

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Other Notes:

The "Inherits" attribute in the Control registration must not be altered from the core definition.

<%@ Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" Inherits="CubicCompass.Portal.ControlName" %>

The module inherited most likely has dependencies on ASP.NET code-front controls, such as Textboxes and Buttons. Removing these controls may result in exceptions. Try adding a Visible=false attribute to core controls not needed in the customization.