Add-ons contain all the programming code, javascript, styles, etc necessary to make portable Contensive functionality. They can be downloaded as part of a Contensive Collection, or manually created on the site.
To create a new add-on, Go to the Navigator >> Manage Add-ons >> Advanced >> Add-ons. This is a list of add-ons your site contains. Click the add button to add a new one.
Types of Add-ons
- Content
Content Add-ons are added to your editor and can be added to your pages. An example might be the commerce catalog. You drop it on the page from the editor. When visitors hit the page, they see your catalog.
- Admin
Admin Add-ons are pages you use from the admin interface to control and edit your site. And example might be a visitor report. When added to your site, the navigator includes a link to the feature.
- Remote Methods
These are more advanced Add-ons that are not typically used by content administrators. When added to your site, they create new URLs to your site that return data. For instance, your site may include ajax functionality that requires your site to respond to custom requests from special browser ajax calls. RemoteMethods provide this functionality. They are also used to communicate between sites, and from applications to sites. For instance, you may write a remote method called "TestMe" that just response with the word "OK". If anyone hits your site URL "http://www.mysite.com/TestMe, the site will respond with "OK"
- OnNewVisit
These are more advanced Add-ons that are not typically used by content administrators. When a new visitor arrives at your site, all OnNewVisit Add-ons are run. These are often used to initialize a visit.
- OnPageStart
These are more advanced Add-ons that are not typically used by content administrators. When any page is hit, all OnPageStart Add-ons are run at the beginning of the page.
- OnPageEnd
These are more advanced Add-ons that are not typically used by content administrators. When any page is hit, all OnPageStart Add-ons are run at the end of the page.
- Process
These are more advanced Add-ons that are not typically used by content administrators. A process add-on is executed outside of the webserver, and runs periodically to perform non-page related tasks. For instance, some features like the Content Spider require housekeeping processes to collect, organize and manage data.