SharePoint Page Layouts Model (ECM)
Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010
A page layout is a template that is used in conjunction with a master page to control the look, feel, and content of a page. Each page layout has an associated content type that determines the kind of content that can be stored on pages based on that page layout.
Each content type contains columns that define content that can appear on a page and metadata associated with the page. A content type, therefore, contains a column for each of these data elements that are present on the page. When you create a content type, you add column templates to it for each field. Column templates determine the default field control that is associated with the column, and what kind of content the field can contain, such as a single line of text, a hyperlink, or a picture.
Content on a page is stored as SharePoint list items in the Pages document library. When users view or edit the page, content is pulled from the SharePoint list and displayed in field controls. When you create a page layout, you add field controls by using an editor such as Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 or by manually adding the markup.
The built-in Page content type contains columns that describe the metadata of the page. A sample of these columns is described in Table 1.
Table 1. Sample of columns that describe the metadata of a page
Column |
Description |
|---|---|
Start Date |
Determines when the page is visible on the site. |
Expiration Date |
Determines when the page is no longer visible on the site. |
Contact |
The person or group who created the page. |
Contact Email |
The e-mail address of the person who created the page. |
Contact Name |
The name of the person who created the page. |
Contact Picture |
A picture of the person who created the page. |
Page Layout |
For each instance of a page in a site, a specific page layout that is associated with the user and that determines which page layout to use. |
Visible in Navigation |
Yes if the page should show in navigation; otherwise, No. |
Page layouts are stored in the Master Page Gallery, a document library that is created when you install SharePoint Server 2010. By default, SharePoint Server 2010 creates a master page gallery for every site; however, you can create new pages only with the page layouts that are stored in the master page gallery of the top-level site in the site collection.
Page layouts can be used by all page instances that are based on that page layout. Master pages can be used by all page instances in a site. Page instances that are based on the same page layout in different sites can use different master pages.
As with any type of document stored in a SharePoint library, you can use versioning, check-in and check-out, workflow, and other features on page layouts. These features are available from within the master page gallery. The master page gallery is secured to limit the rights of most users, except those users with privileges of designer or greater. You can create folders inside the master page gallery to organize your master pages, and you can assign different security levels to folders by applying "per item" security to the folder.
See Also
Concepts
SharePoint Page Processing Model (ECM)
Custom Caching Overview in SharePoint Server 2010 (ECM)