Using Rules to replace spaces by dashes in Sitecore 7.5 in 3 simple steps

April 28, 2015 Rodrigo Peplau 2

In this article I show how to use rules to rename items so, every time an item is saved, spaces gets replaced by dashes. Advantage of using rules is that you can visually setup different kind of conditions, without having to hardcode them at your code.

1) Create the Action that triggers the item renaming

In your master database, add your new Action using the template /sitecore/templates/System/Rules/Action. In this case I’m using the path /sitecore/system/Settings/Rules/Definitions/Elements/Script because the Script Element Folder is already referenced by the Item Saved rules.

The Type field must point to your class that handles the item renaming (use the format “Namespace.ClassName, Assembly“)

2) Create the class that executes the item renaming

This is where your code for checking and renaming the item gets executed (parameter “ruleContext.Item” brings the item being saved).

using Sitecore.Diagnostics;
using Sitecore.Rules;
using Sitecore.Rules.Actions;

namespace BusinessLayer.Rules.Actions
{
    public class AddHyphensToItemName : RuleAction where T : RuleContext
    {
        public override void Apply(T ruleContext)
        {
            Assert.ArgumentNotNull(ruleContext, "ruleContext");
            var obj1 = ruleContext.Item;
            if (obj1 == null)
                return;

            // Scape if no space is at the Name
            var itemName = obj1.Name;
            if (!itemName.Contains(" "))
                return;

            // Rename the item
            itemName = itemName.Replace(" ", "-");
            obj1.Editing.BeginEdit();
            obj1.Name = itemName;
            obj1.Editing.EndEdit();
        }
    }
}

3) Create the Rule to execute the Action above

Add your new Rule using the template /sitecore/templates/System/Rules/Rule, then edit your rules.

In this case what I’m doing is:

• Including everything under “/sitecore/content/Site/Home” – because I just want to apply this rule to the items under my Homepage;
• Skipping items that doesn’t have a layout – We don’t mind if items without renderings has spaces;
• Calling the action “Add Hyphens To Item Name” for the matching Items.

 

Categories: Actions, Development, Rules