Currently the panels-based home page provides a decent default that can be customized via the Panels in place editor. However, it has two problems:

  • Creates a dependency on several features (all that provide pane content to the home page).
  • Can't be customized without overriding the feature.

Using Context Field, Boxes and Views Boxes for layout control outlines an alternative worth considering (though it depends on some theme-based layout functionality). #1331134: Consider adding context + boxes support for laying out section pages is a dependency.

Possible interim approach:

  • Remove use of Panels.
  • Replace existing home page with a menu callback that returns an empty string. This allows the page to be constructed entirely with Context.
  • Produce a context that sets a layout using Context panels layouts.
  • In each Debut feature, provide views-based blocks and alter this context, adding one or more blocks in the regions provided by the selected layout.

Alternate approach:

  • Retain use of Panels but provide an empty panels page.
  • In each Debut feature, alter this panels page, adding one or more panes in the regions provided by the selected layout.

Either approach would result in a flexible and additive home page design and solve the current issue of dependency--that the home page feature needs to require specific other features that provide its panel panes.

Comments

nedjo’s picture

I've posted a module, Context panels layouts, to enable this functionality.

nedjo’s picture

Sketched an approach in summary that would not as yet require Boxes or Context node.

nedjo’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

Sketch in approach.

nedjo’s picture

Title: Consider context + boxes approach to home page and section pages » Decide Open Outreach page layout approach for e.g. home page and section pages
ezra-g’s picture

Creates a dependency on several features (all that provide pane content to the home page).

This is a common enough issue for all distributions powered by Panels that we could address it by investigating #1557842: Allow Feature module exports to add Panes to Existing Panels, rather than moving away from Panels.

sonicthoughts’s picture

See cross post: http://drupal.org/node/1736922#comment-6361586. My vote would be Panels or Display Suite.

Robin Millette’s picture

nedjo’s picture

Status: Active » Closed (duplicate)
nedjo’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

Fix typo.