IIS Manager UI (IIS 8)

Article
08/31/2016

Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

IIS 8 provides a UI, IIS Manager, which lets you:

Manage IIS and ASP.NET in one tool.
View health and diagnostic information that includes the ability to view currently running requests in real time.
Configure user and role authorization for sites and applications.
Delegate site and application configuration to non-administrators.
Connect to a web server, site, or application remotely by using HTTP.

In this document

IIS Manager contains a toolbar that you can use to navigate in the UI. Depending on your location or selection in the UI, the following buttons are available:

Back: goes back one page view.
Forward: goes forward one page view.
Refresh Page: updates the view of the current selected object in the UI.
Stop: stops the current action in the UI from completing.
Home: navigates to the home page of the current selection, such as the web server home page or a site home page.
Help: opens list of links to Help documentation.

Connection Manager and Tree

IIS 8 has a Connections pane and toolbar that lets you connect to web servers, sites, and applications. When you connect to a web server, site, or application from the Connections pane, the tree loads the connection along with any children of the parent connection. For example, if you connect to a site, the tree displays the site connection and the applications within that site.

The Connections toolbar contains the following buttons that let you interact with the tree:

Create New Connection: starts the connection wizard to connect to a web server, a site, or an application.
Save Current Connections: saves the connection information for the current list of connections in the tree.
Up: goes up one level in the hierarchy.
Delete Connection: removes the selected connection in the tree. If you click this button when you are on a node other than the connection node, such as a physical folder, the parent connection is removed from the list.

Workspace

The workspace is the area between the Connections pane and the Actions pane. The workspace has two views: Features View and Content View.

When you select Features View, you can configure features for an object, such as a site or an application. For example, when you select a site in the tree and then double-click the Modules feature on the site's Home page, you can configure the modules for that site.

When you select Content View, you can view the actual content of the object that you select in the tree. For example, when you select a site in the tree, the workspace displays the contents of that site, such as its physical directories, virtual directories, and files. If you select an object in the list, such as a file, you can click Switch to Features View in the Actions pane or in the right-click menu to configure features for that object. You can also view the Windows properties of content from the Actions pane when you are in Content View.

Actions Pane

You can use the Actions pane to configure IIS, ASP.NET, and IIS Manager settings. For example, you can use the Actions pane to open dialog boxes and wizards that let you complete tasks in IIS Manager, such as creating a site, adding a connection string for an application, or configuring recycling settings for an application pool. Additionally, you can complete other tasks from the Actions pane, such as starting and stopping a site or the web server, or delegating a feature.

Note

Items in the Actions pane are also available from the shortcut menu when you right-click an object in IIS Manager.