Client-side Layout Definition Files

Assigning block properties only sets up the internal data that represents the view, not the actual HTML. Client-side layout definition files are used in generating the HTML for a rendering a view block. Most of the client-side layout definition files used for rendering blocks are available as individual XML files in the WEB-INF\xml\layoutsCS\mstr\layout folder of the MicroStrategy Web installation.

A client-side layout definition file uses the wRender element to display the view block. It can contain special tokens to represent dynamic values in the HTML. When JavaScript renders the view, it renders the HTML in the client-side layout definition file with the properties of the view block.

The view block from Block Library holds information about the name and location of the client-side layout definition file that must be used for rendering the block. The server-side layout definition file can be used to change the client-side layout definition file for any view block. It converts this information into a JavaScript variable and sends it along with the JSON to the Web browser.