How to Customize the Layouts Application Master Page
Written by: Hector Portillo
The introduction of master pages in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 has made it easy for designers like me to customize the look and feel of SharePoint sites. I had created and customized master pages and user controls in .Net applications using Visual Studio. I was feeling right at home when I opened my first MOSS site in SharePoint Designer. I found I could designate my own custom master page to control the layout of pages of my lists and libraries. I could also designate another master page to control the layout of content pages. I had this thought that I could control the look and feel of every page in a MOSS site right from the SharePoint Designer environment. I would switch between SP Designer and IE explorer to make sure my custom SharePoint site was not breaking in the process of the customization. Finally, after testing the home page for errors, I was happy with the new custom look and feel.
How to Customize the ‘/_layouts’ Application.master Master Page
I started browsing my new customized site and noticed all system pages under the “/_layouts” folder were using the out of the box look and feel! Frustration started to kick in and I could not figure out why those pages were sticking to their old interface. I began to Google in hopes that someone out there had figured out a solution to this.
I found this:
It uses HttpModules to intercept the default Application.master master page and replaces it with custom Application.master master page. The steps are real easy to follow and quick to implement.
Posted on August 12th, 2009 in Technology, Tips & Tricks.