Overview
Second Site includes ten different Static Content properties to add content to the site. You can use those properties to add text, banner ads, copyright notices, favorite pictures, hit counters, or any other content you desire to the content that is created from your genealogy data.
The property names begin with the prefix "Extra" because the contents are added to sections of the page that may already have content. So, for example, the Extra Header text is added to the header of the page which already includes the site title and page title.
Like Layouts, Static Content properties can vary by Page Set. For example, you can add a copyright notice to all pages, while adding a quote of the day only to the main page. See the Layouts Section for an explanation of how Static Content properties work in the Layout subsections.
Many User Items support page-specific content properties that complement the properties described on this page. The difference is that the Static Content properties described here apply to all the pages in a particular Page Set, whereas the User Item properties typically apply to a single page.
Static Content Text
The Static Content properties can contain plain text, HTML, or Second Site script statements. See the Built-in Dynamic Content Scripts page for ways of creating dynamic content via the Static Content properties.
Second Site attempts to determine whether a static content property contains HTML or plain text. If Second Site finds the "<" character in a static content text property, it assumes that the static content text contains HTML tags. Otherwise, it assumes that the content is plain text.
When a static content property contains HTML, Second Site processes any embedded script statements and writes the result to the output page.
When a static content property contains plain text, Second Site converts carriage return characters to the HTML tag "<BR>", which creates a line break. Then Second Site processes any embedded script statements and writes the result to the output page.
In static content text, both HTML or plain text, backslash characters must be doubled to be consistent with backslashes in content that comes from the TMG data. Use "\\" to produce "\" in the output.
Editing Static Content
Static Content properties will tend to have long text values. For that reason, it's best to edit them via the Edit Window which you can open using the Edit Menu or [F7]. The Edit Window opens the text in a dedicated window where you can see multiple lines of text.
Main Page
The main page of the site is different from other pages generated automatically by Second Site: it has no content other than the header, footer, etc. Any content you add is treated as extra content even though it is really the only content. For that reason, and to maintain some consistency with Second Site Version 1, there are two ways to specify the content of the main page.
- You can use the Site.Main Page Content property to set the main page content. Site.Main Page Content is the same property as used in Second Site Version 1.
- You can use the Layouts.Main Page.Extra Content property to set the main page content.
Those two properties share the same value, and so the two property names are effectively synonyms. If you change the Site.Main Page Content value, and then open the Layouts.Main Page section to inspect the Main Page.Extra Content value, you will see that it has changed also.
Static Content Properties
Extra Header
The Extra Header property defines static content that is included in the Header section of the layout. It is designed to augment the Site.Description property, but it can be used for banner-type content in the Header section.
Extra Content
The Extra Content property defines static content that is included at the top in the main content section of the page. The Standard Page Script for that section puts the Extra Content text at the top of the content section.
Extra SideBar
The Extra SideBar property defines static content that is included in the SideBar section of the page. The Menu Page Scripts add the Extra SideBar content after any menu items that are in the SideBar.
Extra Footer
The Extra Footer property defines static content that is included in the Footer section of the page.
Extra Section
The Extra Section property defines the content of a special section that can be used for banners or whatever purpose the user decides. The location of the Extra section is determined by the Layout choice. In three-column Layouts it is usually on the opposite side of the window from the SideBar section. In other Layouts, it is beneath the Content section.
Extra Person Top
The Extra Person Top property defines static content that is included near the top of each person page entry, after the subject's name and lifespan, but before any other content generated from the TMG data. Extra Person Top could be used for a disclaimer about the state of research, placed near each person's content. For most sites, it will be empty.
Extra Person Bottom
The Extra Person Bottom property defines static content that is included at the bottom of each person page entry, after all content for the person including citations. Extra Person Bottom could be used for a disclaimer about the state of research, a per-person copyright notice, a request to send updates, or some other purpose. For most sites, it will be empty.
The Extra Person Top and Extra Person Bottom content cannot vary by person; it is the same for everyone. You add content that is specific to a person via tags in your TMG database.
Extra Head
The Extra Head property is designed for HTML tags that belong in the <HEAD> element of the HTML output document. Intended for advanced users, the Extra Head property can be used to define <link>, <script>, <style> and other HTML tags in the HEAD element.
Extra Meta Description
The Extra Meta Description property is used to specify the content of the HTML META Description element. Do not enter the META tag; enter the description only.
Extra Meta Keywords
The Extra Meta Keywords property is used to specify the content of the HTML META Keywords element. Do not enter the META tag; enter the keywords only.
META Tag Notes
META Descriptions and META Keywords are not visible to users browsing your site. They describe the page for automated processes that visit the page including search engines.
Search engines often use the value of the META Description tag as the descriptive text shown when the page is listed in search results.
In the past, search engines used the value of the META Keywords tag to specify keywords that describe the content of the site. Now most major search engines ignore the META Keywords tag so it's probably not worth the time to specify it.
If you want to add other META tag types, use the Extra Head property. In that case, you must supply the entire META tag as the Extra Head section can be used to add any HTML element that is valid for the Head section, and so Second Site does not know what tag type you intend to add.
For more information about META tags, see How to Use HTML Meta Tags on SearchEngineWatch.com.
