Add-ons Management - Optimizely CMS 12

Exam Area: Area 2 – Installation, Operation & Configuration (20%)

1. Add-ons in CMS 12

Add-ons are NuGet packages that extend CMS functionality:

EPiServer.Find (Search & Navigation)
EPiServer.Forms (Form builder)
Optimizely.ContentGraph (GraphQL API)
EPiServer.GoogleAnalytics
And many third-party add-ons

2. Installing an Add-on

# Via .NET CLI
dotnet add package EPiServer.Forms
dotnet add package EPiServer.Find

# Via Package Manager Console
Install-Package EPiServer.Forms

3. Registering Add-on Services

// Program.cs - Register the add-on
builder.Services.AddOptimizelyForms();
builder.Services.AddFind();  // EPiServer.Find

// Or in IConfigurableModule
public class AddOnConfigModule : IConfigurableModule
{
    public void ConfigureContainer(ServiceConfigurationContext context)
    {
        context.Services.AddOptimizelyForms();
    }
}

4. module.config

<!-- Modules typically include a module.config -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<module>
  <assemblies>
    <add assembly="EPiServer.Forms" />
  </assemblies>
  <clientResources>
    <add name="EPiServer.Forms.ClientResources.View" 
         resourceType="Script" 
         path="ClientResources/Scripts/EPiServer.Forms.js" />
  </clientResources>
</module>

5. Admin UI - Add-ons

Admin → Add-ons
  → List of installed add-ons
  → Version information
  → Links to configuration
  → (Legacy: Online add-on catalog - CMS 11)

6. Client Resource Registration

// Use IRequiredClientResourceList to add client resources from an add-on
[InitializableModule]
public class AddOnResourcesModule : IInitializableModule
{
    public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
    {
        var resourceList = context.Locate.Advanced
            .GetInstance<IRequiredClientResourceList>();
        
        resourceList.RequireScript("~/addons/my-addon/scripts.js").AtFoot();
        resourceList.RequireStyle("~/addons/my-addon/styles.css");
    }
    
    public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context) { }
}

7. Uninstalling Add-ons

# Remove the NuGet package
dotnet remove package EPiServer.Forms

# Cleanup steps:
# 1. Remove the package reference
# 2. Remove service registration from Program.cs
# 3. Remove from module.config
# 4. Clean up DB tables if needed (manual)

Review Questions

How are add-ons installed in CMS 12? (Via NuGet packages)
After installing the NuGet package, what is the next step? (Register services in Program.cs)
What is IRequiredClientResourceList used for? (Registering CSS/JS from an add-on)
What information does module.config contain? (Assembly references and client resources for the module)
Where can you view installed add-ons? (Admin → Add-ons)

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