System pages

System pages are pages that are automatically displayed by Wild Apricot, or by the gadgets that appear on your site pages. They perform routine functions such as authentication and event registration.

You can customize system pages by adding gadgets to the page, or modifying existing content gadgets. For example, you can customize the event details page with side columns or gadgets such as the upcoming events gadget. Or, you could make the Page not found error page a little more interesting, and add a link to your sitemap.

Like site pages, system pages are based on page templates, and can contain layouts and gadgets. You can view and restore previous versions of system pages.

System pages do not appear on your site menu, and cannot be deleted.

Available system pages

The following system pages are available:

Modifying system pages

You can modify system pages as you would edit individual web pages. Within each system page, you can divide the page into sections by adding layouts, and insert gadgets to perform specialized functions or display custom content.

Singular gadgets – those that cannot be combined with other singular gadgets on the same page – are not available when modifying system pages. The following is a list of singular gadgets:

• Blog
• Discussion forum
• Donation form
• Event calendar
• Forum summary
• Membership application
• Member directory
• Photo album
• Subscription form

Each system page includes a system gadget that performs a critical function. You cannot directly modify or delete the system gadget, but you can modify or insert other gadgets on the system page. For example, when modifying the Terms of use system page, you can change the title and add text or other content, but you cannot directly modify the Terms of use system gadget.

You can, however, control certain settings for system gadgets, including its CSS class or inline style.

Also, you can move the system gadget within the page, and place it within another layout cell. For example, when modifying the Event details system page, you can move the system gadget into a two-column layout, and add an upcoming events widget to the other column.

To modify a system page, follow these steps:

1. Click the System pages menu option from the Website module. To access the Website module from the main admin menu, click the Website menu.
2. Within the list of system pages on the left, click the page you want to modify. The page will appear on the right.
3. Click the Edit button.
4. Now, you can modify the page settings in the panel on the left, or click the Gadget or Layout icons to insert gadgets and layouts. You can modify the settings of existing layouts or gadgets by hovering over the layout or gadget and clicking the Settings icon. If the system page includes a content gadget, you can click the gadget then use the options appearing on the content editor toolbar to insert or modify text, graphics, links, and other elements. For more information, see Using the content editor.
5. When you are finished modifying the system page, click the Save button.

Modifying system pages displaying blue boxes

If a system page is unable to display its content – for example, an event details page whose content would vary depending on the event – it will instead display a blue box with an explanation of the kind of content the page would normally display.

You can add your own content above, below, or beside the blue box, but take care not to add content – such as a title – that is already displayed by the system gadget.

Some system pages may display a blue box in place of content depending on the type of administrator who is currently logged in. For example, the Add member to bundle system page will display a blue box if the administrator is not a bundle administrator. Similarly, the Email member and Member public profile system pages will display blue boxes if the administrator doesn't have a public profile.

If you want to modify a system page while seeing actual data in place of the blue box, you can go to Site pages (under the Website menu) and click the appropriate menu option within the page preview to display the page containing the system page. For example, to see actual content while modifying the Blog post system page, display a page with a blog gadget then click the Add post button. You can now modify the system page with a better idea of how it will really look.

Changing the page template

Like site pages, system pages are based on page templates. Within the page settings that appear when you begin modifying a system page, you can choose a different page template from the Page template drop-down list.

System gadget settings

Using the system gadget's settings, you can control its appearance. To display the system gadget settings, position your pointer over the system gadget then click the settings icon.

Within the Advanced section, you can enter CSS code or classes to further control the appearance and behavior of a gadget. You can also use CSS in the same way to control the appearance of layouts and placeholders. To display the advanced settings, click the triangle beside the Advanced heading.

The following advanced settings are available for system gadgets:

HTML ID
A unique identifier by which the gadget can be referenced within custom CSS or JavaScript code. The identifier is automatically generated but can be replaced with a more readable or memorable one (e.g. My404Gadget).

CSS class
The name of a CSS class defined on the CSS customization screen. You could, for example, enter the name myClass, where code similar to the following has been entered on the CSS customization screen:

.myClass .artBoxTitle {
  font-family: georgia;
  text-shadow: 1px 2px 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.6);
}

Inline style
CSS code to control the behavior or appearance of the gadget. For example, you could enter width: 250px; to control the gadget width.