Blocks

A block in MDP is a section of a page that contains certain specific information. As an analogy, think of a newpaper page. Each story and division of information on a page would be a block. Some blocks consist of weather information, advertisements, a brief mention of other sections inside, and other types of information. When the newspaper page is laid out, these "blocks" may be placed at different locations on the page, although some will typically be placed at the same location in each issue.

Some examples of blocks in MDP are the main menu, contact block, RSS news feed, and many others.

When a new block is created, you must specify the type of information the block will contain. This is done from a drop down menu that specifies the block type. Third party blocks add a new block type to the menu as necessary as in the list below.

Going to Administration -> Settings - Blocks will reveal a display of blocks similar to the one below although the exact display will vary from one site to another.

Administration Blocks New block View blocks Show all blocks Configure View blocks Order Position Title Module Name Language State Options Area1 User Points Blocks userpoints All Center Admin messages Admin_Messages messages eng Left Incoming Blocks menu All Left Reminder Blocks html eng Left Menu MDMenus supermenus All Left Online Now Blocks online All Left Users Block Blocks user All Right User's Login Blocks login All Right Today's Big Story Blocks big All Right Past Articles Blocks past All

USAGE

The vertical position of blocks can be changed by using the up and down arrows.

New block - allows for the creation of new blocks (see below)

View blocks - returns one to the screen above from other areas (such as new block)

Show all blocks - this toggles between showing all blocks (including inactive ones) and active blocks only

Configure - this section enables or disbles the use of collapsible menu icons and minimize buttons (see below)

New block

Configure