Static Content

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 using the Edit > Open Editor... command (or [F7]) that opens a dedicated editor window where you can see multiple lines of text.

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 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, STYLE, SCRIPT, and other HTML elements 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.