Creating Master Page (Nested Master Page) in ASP.Net: Part 3

Introduction

Here is Part 2

If we are building a large website, we might need to create multiple levels of Master Pages. For example, we might want to create a single site-wide Master Page that applies to all the content pages in our website. In addition, we might need to create multiple section-wide Master Pages that apply to only the pages contained in a particular section. Remember, we cannot work with nested Master Pages in Visual Web Developer or Visual Studio 2005 or earlier while in Design view. If we need to nest Master Pages, then we need to stick to Source view. We can nest Master Pages as many levels deep as we need to.

For example the code given below contains a Master Page named Site_Main.master, which displays a logo image and contains a single content area. It also contains site-wide navigation links.

<%@ Master Language="VB" CodeFile="Site_Main.master.vb" Inherits="MasterPage" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html>

<head id="Head1" runat="server">
<style type="text/css">
html
{

background-color:Silver;
font:14px Georgia,Serif;
}
.content
{
width:700px;
margin:auto;
border-style:solid;
background-color:white;
padding:10px;
}
.tabstrip
{
padding:3px;
border-top:solid 1px black;
border-bottom:solid 1px black;
}
.tabstrip a
{
font:14px Arial;
color:Fuchsia;
text-decoration:none;
}
.column
{
float:left;
padding:10px;
border-right:solid 1px black;
}
.rightColumn
{
float:left;
padding:10px;
}
.footer
{
background-color:Lime;
border:3px dotted red;
text-align:center;
}
.clear
{
clear:both;
}
</style>
<title>Website Main Master Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">

<asp:contentplaceholder id="ContentPlaceHolder1" runat="server">
</asp:contentplaceholder>

<br class="clear" />
<br />
<br />
<div class="footer">
Copyright © 2010 by CompanyName
</div>

</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>

There are two Master Pages Column1.master and Column2.master given below which are nested Master Pages. Both Master Pages include a MasterPageFile attribute that points to the Site.master Master Page.

Column1.Master

<%@ Master Language="VB" MasterPageFile="~/Site_Main.master" AutoEventWireup="false"CodeFile="Column1.master.vb" Inherits="Column1" %>

<asp:Content
id="Content1"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1"
Runat="server">
<div class="column">
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder
id="ContentPlaceHolder1"
Runat="server" />
</div>
<div class="rightColumn">
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder
id="ContentPlaceHolder2"
Runat="server" />
</div>
</asp:Content>

The Master Pages given above create three-column and two-column pages layouts.

The Column1_Con_Home.aspx page given below uses the Column1.master Master Page. When we request a HOME page, the contents of Site_Main.master, Column1.master and Column1_Con_Home.aspx are combined to generate the rendered output.

Column1_Con_Home.aspx Page

<%@ Page Title="" Language="VB" MasterPageFile="~/Column1.master" AutoEventWireup="false"CodeFile="Column1_Con_Home.aspx.vb" Inherits="Column1_Con_Home" %>

<asp:Content
ID="Content1"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1"
Runat="Server">
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content
ID="Content2"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder2"
Runat="Server">
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content
ID="Content3"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder3"
Runat="Server">
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
<br />
Here is some text.
</asp:Content>

Column2_Con_About.aspx Page

<%@ Page Title="" Language="VB" MasterPageFile="~/Column2.master" AutoEventWireup="false"CodeFile="Column2_Con_About.aspx.vb" Inherits="Column2_Con_About" %>

<asp:Content
ID="Content1"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1"
Runat="Server">
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
</asp:Content>
<asp:Content
ID="Content2"
ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder2"
Runat="Server">
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
<br />
Here is list of forum questions.
</asp:Content>

Note: Continued in the Next Part.

HAVE A GREAT CODING!