How a Digital Dashboard Factory Interprets Web Parts

  • Article

This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

A Digital Dashboard factory initializes Web Parts, gets content, and displays the content on the dashboard.

The initialization process begins when a user requests a dashboard.

The dashboard factory first checks the AutoUpdate property (from the Dashboard schema) for a value. If AutoUpdate contains a value of 1, or always, the dashboard factory checks for a value in the MasterPartLink property. If that property contains a value, the dashboard factory uses that value to get the master Web Part.

Note   If this operation fails, the dashboard factory uses the last found version of the master Web Part.

If MasterPartLink does not contain a value, the dashboard factory uses the current instance of the Web Part.

Next, the dashboard factory checks to determine whether the nonuser–specific properties of the Web Part differ from those of the master Web Part. If the properties differ, the dashboard factory updates the nonuser–specific properties to match those of the master Web Part.

After the initialization process is complete, the dashboard factory gets the content for the Web Part and renders it to the dashboard.

To render the dashboard

  1. The dashboard factory checks to determine whether the RequiresIsolation property contains a value of TRUE. If so, the dashboard factory renders the isolated Web Part.

  2. If the value in RequiresIsolation is FALSE, the dashboard factory checks for a value in the ContentLink property. If this property is defined, the dashboard factory receives content from the link. If ContentLink is not defined, the dashboard factory receives embedded content from the Content property.

  3. Next, the dashboard factory checks the value in the ContentType property to determine whether the content runs on the server. If it does, the dashboard factory executes the content as script.

    Note   If this operation fails, the Web Part displays a standard error message.

  4. After checking for a value in ContentType, the dashboard factory checks for a value in the XSLLink property. If XSLLink contains a value, the dashboard factory gets the XSL from the link. If that property does not contain a value (or if the operation fails), the dashboard factory checks for a value in the XSL property.

  5. The dashboard factory transforms XML content to HTML.

  6. The dashboard factory performs the necessary token string replacements and displays the content of the Web Part in the dashboard.

See Also

Developing a Digital Dashboard Using Web Parts | Web Parts |Web Part Schema | Ways to Add Web Parts to Your Dashboard | Guidelines for Building Good Web Parts | Types of Web Parts | How a Digital Dashboard Factory Interprets Web Parts