Adding a new blog in Sueetie and with BlogEngine.NET 2.5+ Multi-Blog Capabilities
An Overview
BlogEngine.NET 2.5 was the first version of BlogEngine.NET to support multiple blogs in a single instance and is included in Sueetie v3.3 and higher. From the beginning Sueetie supported multiple blogs running in separate instances. With the release of BlogEngine.NET 2.5, the old way of supporting multiple blogs through separate instances of BE.NET is no longer supported. Don't worry, native BlogEngine.NET Multiple Blog setup and management is MUCH easier.
Blog Url Logic
Prior to Sueetie v3.3, multiple blogs were recognized by their blog root url, which was their Sueetie application key. For instance, a "business" blog could have been located at http://yoursite/
business where "business" is the blog root and served as the Sueetie Application Key.
With Sueetie v3.3 and higher, you have the option of configuring your community to support a single blog or multiple blogs. Sueetie sites with multiple blogs require a
shared blog root directory and a blog subfolder for each blog. For instance, in the url
http://yoursite/blogs/business, "blogs" serves as the shared blog root directory and "business" is the subfolder for the blog. We'll demonstrate configuring these settings in both Sueetie and BlogEngine.NET and see how they work together next.
Single Blog Sites Can Stop Reading Here
If you're using a single blog on your site you can stop reading. You don't have to do anything other than install Gummy Bear to enjoy your blog at http://yoursite/yourblog.
Selecting Your Site's Multiple Blog Configuration
As we just said, Sueetie v3.3 and higher supports a single blog at
http://yoursite/yourblog (the default) or multiple blogs at
http://yoursite/sharedblogfolder/blog1, http://yoursite/sharedblogfolder/blog2, etc. You set your site blog configuration in Sueetie Administration -> Applications -> Blogs.
You can use any term you want for your shared blog folder property and do not have to use "blogs." If using another term you will need to change the folder name in Gummy Bear and configure in IIS accordingly. ("Blogs" is an IIS Application in a Multiple Blog configuration which we'll look at in a moment.)
Creating the Sueetie Application for the Blog
Now that we've configured Sueetie to support multiple blogs, let's create the Sueetie Applications for each blog. When creating blogs in the future, a good practice is to create the application first, restart Sueetie, then create the blog in BlogEngine.NET.
Here's the Sueetie Administration Applications page. Circled are the application keys of the new blogs. It's important to understand the relationship between BlogEngine.NET blog settings and Sueetie Blog application settings. We'll cover that next. You'll notice that we won't be using the default blog application at http://yoursite/blog so we disabled it. More on that later.
Application Keys, Virtual Folders and the Primary Blog¶
BlogEngine.NET supports unlimited blogs by using virtual folders and container names to store the blog's XML data. The most important element in BlogEngine.NET-Sueetie Integration is the Virtual Folder used by the blog.
Important: Every BlogEngine.NET blog must have a virtual folder assigned, including the Primary Blog.Understanding the Primary Blog logic of BlogEngine.NET is important. The default blog is assigned the Primary Blog. It would typically have the virtual path of ~/, but for use with Sueetie you must assign the Primary Blog a virtual path like
~/news which, by the way, is the default virtual path assigned for the Primary Blog in Sueetie. (http://sueetie.com/blogs/news, or http://yoursite/sharedblogfolder/news)
The screenshot below displays the elements we've been discussing. In blue we see the Primary Blog assigned. It is our "News" blog with the virtual path of
~/news, not ~/. The full url for our Primary Blog will be http://yoursite/sharedblogfolder/news. As we said, you can assign this any virtual path you want
as long as the corresponding Sueetie Blog Application has the same text, or in this case "news" as its ApplicationKey property.
You'll notice the other BlogEngine.NET Virtual Path properties circled, with the corresponding ApplicationKey properties displayed in the Sueetie Applications list above.
BlogEngine.NET Multiple Blog Physical Layout
This physical layout of the BlogEngine.NET blog data content helps to understand what's behind the settings we've entered previously. In yellow is our Primary Blog contents. It has no "physical" distinction from other blogs, where the "Business" and "Roundup" blogs have their own physical /app_data/blogs area.
Telling Sueetie About the Primary Blog
For purposes of determining context and integration, Sueetie has to know about the Primary Blog as well. A new "IsPrimary" property has been added to the SueetieBlog object and is set on the Sueetie Blog Administration form shown below.
IIS Application Setup
Multiple blog sites will be configuring their shared blog folder (default "blogs") as an IIS Application. This is the physical location where BlogEngine.NET resides. There is no longer a "blog" folder or application. As we said, Sueetie supports multiple blogs at http://yoursite/blogs/ or a single blog at http://yoursite/yourblog, not both. Here's a screenshot of blogs set as an IIS Application.
What's At http://yoursite/blogs?
When you go to http://yoursite/blogs you'll find an index.aspx page which by default redirects to http://yoursite/blogs.aspx, your Sueetie Aggregate Blogs page listing your blogs and most recent posts (you configure how many of each to display.) Here's a screenshot of Sueetie's Aggregate Blog Page.
Process Review
While this How-To was on the longish side, the process of getting started with multiple blogs is very simple.
- Configure your site for Multiple Blogs in Sueetie Administration - Configured as Single Blog by default
- Create your Sueetie Blog Application - "News" blog already created and assigned as Primary Blog
- Specify your Primary Blog's Virtual Path - Default ~/news. This is set by default. If modifying, must match Sueetie Blog Application Key
Let's assume we're already setup for multiple blogs and need to add a new blog, in which case the steps are even simpler. A classic non-event.
- Create the Blog Application in Sueetie Administration, paying attention to the assigned application key
- Create the blog in BlogEngine.NET, giving it a matching Virtual Path as the application key.
Assigning Blog Owners
Sueetie fully supports the assignment of blogs to individual and multiple users. That process is described on the
Assigning Blog Owners to Sueetie Blogs.Top