Configuring View Pickers and Teaser Views

Using an external Data Source component allows you to decouple the Teaser widget's back-end data retrieval function from its front-end presentation functionality. The Teaser View widget performs a similar function with regard to the Teaser widget's front end. A Teaser View widget has all the same presentation functionality as a Teaser widget, but no back-end functionality at all. It does not have an embedded Data Source, nor any means of attaching an external Data Source. A Teaser View widget can only be used in combination with a View Picker widget.

A View Picker widget can be regarded as a kind of switch that connects one Data Source to several Teaser View widgets. Like a Teaser widget, a View Picker widget can be configured to use either an embedded Data Source or an external Data Source. Unlike a Teaser widget, however, the View Picker widget has no front-end presentation functionality. Instead, it has a Related view field on which you can drop Teaser View widgets. You can then configure the Teaser View widgets to select content items from the View Picker's Data Source. The Teaser View widgets can select content items based on two criteria:

  • Content type

  • Position in the Data Source collection

The procedure for configuring these widgets is as follows:

  1. Create and configure the Teaser View widgets you require. A Teaser View widget is identical to a Teaser widget, except that it has no Data Source tab.

  2. Save/Publish the Teaser Views. Note, however, that these widgets cannot be placed on a template in the normal way.

  3. Create and configure a View Picker widget. You can configure it with either an embedded Data Source or an external Data Source in the same way as a Teaser widget.

  4. Drop the Teaser View widgets you created on the View Picker's Related view field.

  5. Select each dropped Teaser View widget in turn and edit its content item selection properties. These properties are displayed in the Element properties panel on the right. Note that you can only edit these properties here - you cannot edit them when editing the Teaser View widgets themselves.

  6. Save/Publish the View Picker widget.

  7. Place the Teaser View widget in the required location in a template.