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Resources (OrchardCore.Resources)

Purpose

The Resources module provides commonly used resources like JavaScript libraries and CSS files. It also enables the Resource Manager so any module can describe what resources are necessary on any page or component. When the full page is rendered all the required resources are computed and custom <script> and <link> tags are rendered accordingly. You can also register custom <meta> tags.

Resource Locations

Resources will be served via the StaticFileMiddleware from either a module or themes wwwroot folder. When defining a resource the naming convention is ~/ThemeName/scripts/path-to-file.js or ~/Module.Name/styles/path-to-file.css

The tilde (~) is a convention used to indicate a relative path, for example a tenant base path. All script or stylesheet resources should be prefixed with the ~ character.

Resource Settings

Resource Settings are configured through the site admin.

AppendVersion

Enabling AppendVersion or Resources cache busting will automatically append a version hash to all local scripts and style sheets. This is turned on by default.

UseCdn

Enabling UseCdn will configure the IResourceManager to provide any scripts or styles, such as jQuery, from the configured CDN.

ResourceDebugMode

When enabled will serve scripts or styles, that have a CDN configured, or a debug-src, from the local server in non minified format.
This will also disable the CdnBaseUrl prepending.

CdnBaseUrl

When supplied this will prepend local resources served via the IResourceManager or Tag Helpers with the absolute url provided. This will be disabled in ResourceDebugMode

Named Resources

Named resources are well-known scripts and stylesheets that are described in a module or theme.
They have a name, a type (script, stylesheet) and optionally a version.
The OrchardCore.Resources module provides some commonly used ones:

Name Type Versions Dependencies
jQuery Script 3.7.1 -
jQuery.slim Script 3.7.1 -
jQuery-ui Script 1.12.1 jQuery
jQuery-ui-i18n Script 1.7.2 jQuery-ui
jquery.easing Script 1.4.1 -
jquery-resizable-dom Script 0.35.0 -
js-cookie Script 3.0.5 -
popper Script 1.16.1 -
popperjs Script 2.11.8 -
bootstrap Script 4.6.1 popper
bootstrap Script 5.3.3 popperjs
bootstrap Style 4.6.1, 5.3.3 -
bootstrap-select Script 1.14.0-beta3 -
bootstrap-select Style 1.14.0-beta3 -
codemirror Script 5.65.7 -
codemirror Style 5.65.7 -
font-awesome Style 6.5.2 -
font-awesome Script 6.5.2 -
font-awesome-v4-shims Script 6.5.2 -
Sortable Script 1.10.2 -
trumbowyg Style 2.28.0 -
trumbowyg Script 2.28.0 -
vue-multiselect Script 2.1.6 -
vuedraggable Script 2.24.3 Sortable
monaco-loader Script 0.46.0 -
monaco Script 0.46.0 monaco-loader
nouislider Script 15.6.1 -
nouislider Style 15.6.1 -

Registering a Resource Manifest

Named resources are registered by configuring the ResourceManagementOptions options.

This example is provided from TheBlogTheme to demonstrate.

public class ResourceManagementOptionsConfiguration : IConfigureOptions<ResourceManagementOptions>
{
    private static ResourceManifest _manifest;

    static ResourceManagementOptionsConfiguration()
    {
        _manifest = new ResourceManifest();

        _manifest
            .DefineScript("TheBlogTheme-vendor-jQuery")
            .SetUrl("~/TheBlogTheme/vendor/jquery/jquery.min.js", "~/TheBlogTheme/vendor/jquery/jquery.js")
            .SetCdn("https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.4.1.min.js", "https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.4.1.js")
            .SetCdnIntegrity("sha384-vk5WoKIaW/vJyUAd9n/wmopsmNhiy+L2Z+SBxGYnUkunIxVxAv/UtMOhba/xskxh", "sha384-mlceH9HlqLp7GMKHrj5Ara1+LvdTZVMx4S1U43/NxCvAkzIo8WJ0FE7duLel3wVo")
            .SetVersion("3.4.1");
    }

    public void Configure(ResourceManagementOptions options)
    {
        options.ResourceManifests.Add(_manifest);
    }
}

In this example we define a script with the unique name TheBlogTheme-vendor-jQuery. We use a name that is unique to TheBlogTheme to prevent collisions when multiple themes are active.

We set a url for the minified version, and the unminified version, which will be used in ResourceDebugMode. For the same reason we define two CDN Url's, which will be preferred over the local urls if the UseCdn setting in the site admin is set. We set the Cdn Integrity Hashes and the version to 3.4.1

This script will then be available for the tag helper or API to register by name.

Additionally, we can use the SetDependencies method to ensure the script or style is loaded after their dependency.

public class ResourceManagementOptionsConfiguration : IConfigureOptions<ResourceManagementOptions>
{
    private static ResourceManifest _manifest;

    static ResourceManagementOptionsConfiguration()
    {
        _manifest = new ResourceManifest();

        _manifest
            .DefineStyle("ModuleName-Bootstrap-Select")
            .SetUrl("~/ModuleName/bootstrap-select.min.css", "~/ModuleName/bootstrap-select.css")
            .SetDependencies("bootstrap:4");
    }

    public void Configure(ResourceManagementOptions options)
    {
        options.ResourceManifests.Add(_manifest);
    }
}

In this example, we define a style that depends on Bootstrap version 4. In this case, the latest available minor version of bootstrap version 4 will be added. Alternatively, you can set a specific version of your choice or the latest version available. See Inline definition for more details about versioning usage.

Registration

Make sure to register this IConfigureOptions<ResourceManagementOptions> in the Startup or your theme or module. serviceCollection.AddTransient<IConfigureOptions<ResourceManagementOptions>, ResourceManagementOptionsConfiguration>();

Usage

There are two ways to invoke a resource: either by using the IResourceManager API or a Tag Helper.
The API is necessary if you need to inject a resource from code, however it is recommended to use a Tag Helper when inside a view.

Using the API

From your module, add a reference to the OrchardCore.Resources.Abstractions project.
From the class you want to use the API in, inject the OrchardCore.ResourceManagement.IResourceManager interface.

Register a named resource

var settings = _resourceManager.RegisterResource("script", "bootstrap")

The result of this call is an object of type RequireSettings that is used to pass more parameters to the required resource.

Place the resource at the beginning of the HTML document
settings.AtHead();
Place the resource at the end of the HTML document
settings.AtFoot();
Set the version to use
settings.UseVersion("3.4");

This will use the latest available version between 3.4 and 3.5. If the version is not available an exception is thrown.

Append a version
settings.UseAppendVersion(true);

This will append a version string that is calculated at runtime as an SHA256 hash of the file, the calculation cached, and appended to the url as part of the query string, e.g. my-script.js?v=eER9OO6zWGKaIq1RlNjImsrWN9y2oTgQKg2TrJnDUWk

Register custom script

At the beginning of the HTML document:

resourceManager.RegisterHeadScript(new HtmlString("<script>alert('Hello')</script>"));

At the end of the HTML document:

resourceManager.RegisterFootScript(new HtmlString("<script>alert('Hello')</script>"));

Add custom meta tag

resourceManager.RegisterMeta(new MetaEntry { Content = "Orchard", Name = "generator" });

You can also add more content to an existing tag like this:

resourceManager.AppendMeta(new MetaEntry { Name = "keywords", Content = "orchard" }, ",");

Using the Tag Helpers

From your module, in the _ViewImports.cshtml or your view, add @addTagHelper *, OrchardCore.ResourceManagement, and take a direct reference to the OrchardCore.ResourceManagement nuget package.

Register a named script or stylesheet

This example registers the script named bootstrap and all its dependencies (jquery).

{% script name:"bootstrap" %}
<script asp-name="bootstrap"></script>

And for a stylesheet:

{% style name:"bootstrap" %}
<style asp-name="bootstrap"></style>
Force the CDN

You can force a resource to be used from its CDN. By default the behavior is defined by configuration.

{% script name:"bootstrap", use_cdn:"true" %}
<script asp-name="bootstrap" use-cdn="true"></script>
Use specific version

This example will use the latest available version with a Major version of 3, like 3.4.0. If the version is not specified the latest one is always used.

{% script name:"bootstrap", version:"4" %}
<script asp-name="bootstrap" version="3"></script>
Append a Version Hash

You can append a version hash that will be calculated, and calculation cached, and appended in the format ?v=eER9OO6zWGKaIq1RlNjImsrWN9y2oTgQKg2TrJnDUWk

{% script name:"bootstrap", append_version:"true" %}
<script asp-name="bootstrap" asp-append-version="true"></script>
Specify location

Specify a location the script should load using at, for example Foot to rendered wherever the FootScript helper is located or Head to render with the HeadScript See Foot Resources. If the location is not specified, or specified as Inline, the script will be inserted wherever it is placed (inline).

{% script name:"bootstrap", at:"Foot" %}
<script asp-name="bootstrap" at="Foot"></script>

Link and styles tag helpers always inject into the header section of the HTML document, unless the at location is set to Inline.

Inline definition

You can declare a new resource directly from a view, and it will be injected only once even if the view is called multiple time.

{% script name:"foo", src:"~/TheTheme/js/foo.min.js", debug_src:"~/TheTheme/js/foo.js", depends_on:"jQuery", version:"1.0" %}
{% script name:"bar", src:"~/TheTheme/js/bar.min.js", debug_src:"~/TheTheme/js/bar.js", depends_on:"foo:1.0", version:"1.0" %}
<script asp-name="foo" asp-src="~/TheTheme/js/foo.min.js?v=1.0" debug-src="~/TheTheme/js/foo.js?v=1.0" depends-on="jQuery" version="1.0"></script>
<script asp-name="bar" asp-src="~/TheTheme/js/bar.min.js?v=1.0" debug-src="~/TheTheme/js/bar.js?v=1.0" depends-on="foo:1.0" version="1.0"></script>

We define a script named foo with a dependency on jQuery with the version 1.0.

We then define a script named bar which also takes a dependency on version 1.0 of the foo script.

If the version was not set the one with the highest number would be used.

When rendering the scripts the resource manager will order the output based on the dependencies, regardless of the order they are written to:

  1. jQuery
  2. foo
  3. bar

You can also do the same for a stylesheet:

{% style name:"bar", src:"~/TheTheme/css/bar.min.css", debug_src:"~/TheTheme/css/bar.css", depends_on:"foo" %}
{% style name:"foo", src:"~/TheTheme/css/foo.min.css", debug_src:"~/TheTheme/css/foo.css", depends_on:"bootstrap" %}
<style asp-name="bar" asp-src="~/TheTheme/css/bar.min.css" debug-src="~/TheTheme/css/bar.css" depends-on="foo"></style>
<style asp-name="foo" asp-src="~/TheTheme/css/foo.min.css" debug-src="~/TheTheme/css/foo.css" depends-on="bootstrap"></style>

In this example define a style named bar with a dependency on the style named foo

We then define the style named foo

When rendering the scripts the resource manager will order the output based on the dependencies, regardless of the order they are written to:

  1. bootstrap
  2. foo
  3. bar

Note

You do not have to define a name for your script or style unless you want to reference it as a dependency, or declare it as Inline. Hence why the above inline examples all include a name.

Custom scripts

The following example demonstrates how to inject a custom script in the footer section.

{% scriptblock at: "Foot" %}
    document.write('<!-- some script -->');
{% endscriptblock %}
<script at="Foot">
    document.write('<!-- some script -->');
</script>

You can also inject a named custom script.

{% scriptblock name: "Carousel", at: "Foot", depends_on:"jQuery" %}
    document.write('<!-- some script -->');
{% endscriptblock %}
<script asp-name="Carousel" at="Foot" depends-on="jQuery">
    document.write('<!-- some script -->');
</script>

Named script will only be injected once and can optionally specify dependencies.

Custom style

The following example demonstrates how to inject a custom style in the head section. The style block will be injected after all stylesheet resources.

{% styleblock at: "Head" %}
    .my-class {
        /* some style */
    }
{% endstyleblock %}
<style at="Head">
    .my-class {
        /* some style */
    }
</style>

You can also inject a named style block. The style block will only be injected once based on its name and can optionally specify dependencies.

{% styleblock name: "my-style", depends_on:"the-theme" %}
    .my-class {
        /* some style */
    }
{% endstyleblock %}
<style asp-name="my-style" depends-on="the-theme">
    .my-class {
        /* some style */
    }
</style>

A link tag is used to define the relationship between the current document and an external resource such as a favicon or stylesheet. For a stylesheet, however, use the style helper.

{% link rel:"icon", type:"image/png", sizes:"16x16", src:"~/MyTheme/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" %}
<link asp-src="~/MyTheme/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" />

Output

<link href="/MyTheme/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" rel="icon" sizes="16x16" type="image/png" />
Using a file in the media library

If you wish to use files contained in the media library when using the link tag helper, you can use the AssetUrl helper directly in razor but in liquid you will need to first assign the filter result to a variable like so to generate the correct URL:

{% assign image_url = 'favicon/favicon-16x16.png' | asset_url %}
{% link rel:"icon", type:"image/png", sizes:"16x16", src:image_url %}
<link asp-src=@Orchard.AssetUrl("favicon/favicon-16x16.png") rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" />

Meta tags

{% meta name:"description", content:"This is a website" %}
<meta asp-name="description" content="This is a website" />

These properties are available:

Name Description
name (asp-name in Razor) The name attribute of the tag
content The content attribute of the tag
httpequiv The http-equiv attribute of the tag
charset The charset attribute of the tag
separator The separator to use when multiple tags are defined for the same name

Rendering

Your Layout.cshtml or Layout.liquid must make a call to the resource manager to render resources that have been registered.

Head Resources

These are generally rendered at the lower portion of the <head> section.

<head>
    ...
    {% resources type: "Meta" %}
    {% resources type: "HeadLink" %}
    {% resources type: "HeadScript" %}
    {% resources type: "Stylesheet" %}
</head>
<head>
    ...
    <resources type="Meta" />
    <resources type="HeadLink" />
    <resources type="HeadScript" />
    <resources type="Stylesheet" />
</head>

Foot Resources

These should be rendered at the bottom of the <body> section.

<body>
    ...
    {% resources type: "FootScript" %}
</body>    
<body>
    ...
    <resources type="FootScript" />
</body>

Note

When using tag helpers in Razor, you must take a direct reference to the OrchardCore.ResourceManagement nuget package in each theme or module that uses the tag helpers. This is not required when using Liquid.

Logging

If you register a resource by name and it is not found this will be logged as an error in your App_Data/Logs folder.

CDN disabled by default

The UseCdn option, configured in the Configuration -> Settings -> General section, is disabled by default. This is to allow access to resources when an internet connection is not available or in countries like China, where CDNs are not always accessible.

Note

It is recommended to enable the CDN setting after setup.

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