Postbacks not working in Dot Net Nuke 5.2.1 with javascript disabled

Question

I am working on my first DotNetNuke website and there is a requirement for all the custom module functionality I am developing to be available with JavaScript disabled.

However, when I create a module that contains a simple submit button, i.e.<input type="submit" />, DotNetNuke displays a critical error with JavaScript turned off but works as expected with JavaScript turned on.

When I attach to the running process using Visual Studio, the unhandled exception is thrown from admin/Skins/Nav.ascx.vb line 177. The inner exception message is "Invalid JSON primitive: ."

My research online only managed to turn up this forum post (Postbacks are not working when Javascript is disabled in the browser) that appears to be the same problem as mine, but no solution is provided.

Can anyone shed any light on this issue? Is it viable to be attempting to write non-JavaScript functionality in this version of DotNetNuke?

Update: it turns out that another website designed recently with Dot Net Nuke by the company I am working for is having the same problem with non-javascript postbacks when using DNN version 5.1.4 but it does not have the problem (i.e. it can postback without javascript) in DNN version 5.0.1.

So perhaps a hard dependency on javascript has been introduced at some point after version 5.0.1. We are investigating this possibility further and I will keep this question updated as we go. Obviously I still welcome anyone's input on the subject.

Update: i've started a thread on the Dot Net Nuke forums to see if I can get any help there. If any solutions come up I'll post them here. Trying to find official DNN stance on support for javascript disabled functionality

Answer 1

DotNetNuke relies heavily on JavaScript and I doubt there is a real easy way around it - at least considering you need to support all functionality. Perhaps you can clarify that?

The the bottom line here is that you're going to need to modify DotNetNuke to meet your needs. It certainly isn't impossible to get it working, but I would venture a guess that it just plain isn't worth it for most people.

If, as you said, you need to retain ALL functionality without using JavaScript, you're going to have a pretty substantial amount of work to do.

I'd suggest, to get started, you download the source package, set up a development environment on your local machine, turn off JavaScript in your browser and start taking notes. This will help to determine the level of effort involved.

I'm guessing you won't get a lot of responses out of this one (as the poster in the forum thread you linked to didn't) as very few people have sat down in front of DotNetNuke with this as a requirement.

Also, keep in mind that any time you're making substantial changes to the DotNetNuke framework, you're interfering with your ability to easily perform upgrades in the future. Just another thing to think about.

Answer 2

I believe that I've seen the leadership in DNN say that they've taken a hard dependency on JavaScript, and have no intention at this time of considering a non-JavaScript compatible scenario.

That being said, being able to do a simple postback shouldn't be too difficult to support. I would look around in the Client API area for the error that you're describing. A lot of the Client API code is in the DotNetNuke.WebUtility assembly, which is a separate download from CodePlex to get the source.

Answer 3

One of the developers in the office found a workaround to get postbacks working with javascript disabled. Unfortunately since he does not have a Stack Overflow account, I will try to translate his solution as best I can for those who are interested. Bottom line is postbacks with Javascript disabled is possible once you make a few changes to the Dot Net Nuke environment.

Step 1 - Change the menu module. In our case we used the Telerik RadMenu.

<dnn:NAV runat="server" id="dnnNAV"  ProviderName="DNNMenuNavigationProvider" IndicateChildren="false" ControlOrientation="Horizontal" CSSControl="mainMenu" />

becomes

<dnn:RADMENU runat="server" id="dnnRADMENU" MaxLevel="2" EnablePageIcons="False" PagesToExclude="" ShowPath="True" />

Step 2 - Remove the actions and visibility modules.

<dnn:ACTIONS runat="server" id="dnnACTIONS"  ProviderName="DNNMenuNavigationProvider" ExpandDepth="1" PopulateNodesFromClient="True" />

<dnn:VISIBILITY runat="server" id="dnnVISIBILITY"  minicon="images/DNN-minus.gif" maxicon="images/DNN-plus.gif" />

Step 3 - Download the DNN source and make two changes in the LibraryUI\Utilities\ClientAPI.vb file.

Line 155:

DotNetNuke.UI.Utilities.ClientAPI.RegisterClientReference(objButton.Page, DotNetNuke.UI.Utilities.ClientAPI.ClientNamespaceReferences.dnn_dom)

becomes

If Not objButton.Page.IsPostBack Then
 DotNetNuke.UI.Utilities.ClientAPI.RegisterClientReference(objButton.Page, DotNetNuke.UI.Utilities.ClientAPI.ClientNamespaceReferences.dnn_dom)
End If

Line 355:

ClientAPI.GetCallbackEventReference(objPage, "", "", "", "")

becomes

If Not objPage.IsPostBack Then
 ClientAPI.GetCallbackEventReference(objPage, "", "", "", "")
End If

Step 4 - compile the Dot Net Nuke library.

Note: Also make sure you are not logged in as an admin or host, as the admin/host panel at the top of the page will also break if you attempt to postback with javascript disabled.

Hope this helps someone else. If you feel like I'm missing some important details, let me know and I'll try and fill in what's needed.