Adding Edit Options to a Module

One of the annoyances with ASP.NET and hence DotNetNuke is that to create your finished piece of coding there may well be a pieces of code in more than one file.  This becomes more annoying when trying to understand how DotNetNuke operates.  Hopefully by the time you have finished you first DotNetNuke module also you will fell that the layout makes sense.

I was putting together my first DotNetNuke module but was unable to find how you get those edit options when you place the mouse over the pencil icon for a module.  The aim was to produce something like the image below with extra edit options against the module for configuing items such as products and bookings.

My first point of investigation was the dnn configuration file associated with the module.  This file is used to define which files, .ascx, .ascx.vb and images are to be included in the module.  There is also a section which looks like it is associated with the edit options I was after.  I added the extra sections which I required, added this file, together with the various others into a zip file and uploaded them as a new module.  As you may have guessed, this is not the whole story.  Part of the dnn configuration file with the extra entries for Edit Booking, Edit Products, Edit Activities. is given below.  Note that all items to be used as we intend are given a type of Edit.

<FRIENDLYNAME>janet.Booking>/FRIENDLYNAME>
    <CONTROLS>
        <CONTROL>
            <SRC>Booking.ascx</SRC>
            <TYPE>View</TYPE>
        </CONTROL>
        <CONTROL>
            <KEY>Edit</KEY>
            
            <SRC>editBooking.ascx</SRC>
            <ICONFILE>taskedit.png</ICONFILE>
            <TYPE>Edit</TYPE>
        </CONTROL>
        <CONTROL>
            <KEY>Activities</KEY>
            
            <SRC>editActivities.ascx</SRC>
            <ICONFILE>taskedit.png</ICONFILE>
            <TYPE>Edit</TYPE>
        </CONTROL>
    <CONTROL>
            <KEY>Products</KEY>
            
            <SRC>editProducts.ascx</SRC>
            <ICONFILE>taskedit.png</ICONFILE>
            <TYPE>Edit</TYPE>
        </CONTROL>
        <CONTROL>
            <KEY>Groups</KEY>
            
            <SRC>editChargeTo.ascx</SRC>
            <ICONFILE>taskedit.png</ICONFILE>
            <TYPE>Edit</TYPE>
        </CONTROL>
    </CONTROLS>

The next step is to provide reference to these items in the code behind page associated with your module presentation code.  Expand the usually hidden Web Form Designer Generated Code region of the code behind file.  Here, in the page_init subroutine, you require some entries like