Extensions Integration Info for Webmasters
The PCRecruiter Web Extensions are a pre-built, table-based job display and applicant registration system that are an integrated part of the larger PCRecruiter applicant tracking system. The extensions are not a plugin that runs at the website, but rather a series of modules on the application server running the PCRecruiter ATS. Choices about which fields appear on the screen and what data is requested or displayed are managed by the PCRecruiter database administrators and will be covered in the training and setup phase of the product implementation. Your task as the designer or maintainer of the website is simply to provide a link to the PCRecruiter web extensions in the public website and to design an HTML Wrapper to match the style of the site. Main Sequence Technologies can also create the HTML Wrapper if you wish.
The URLs
The URLs for the Extensions are found inside of the PCRecruiter database under SYSTEM >> Console >> Candidate and Employer Registration Links. You will need administrative access to the database to reach this area, or will need to have someone with that access get the links for you. The URLs will be something like these:
JOB SEARCH: http://servername/pcrbin/regmenu.exe?uid=dbname.profile
LOGIN/REGISTER: http://servername/pcrbin/regfirst.exe?uid=dbname.profile
EMPLOYER/MANAGER : http://servername/pcrbin/employer.exe?uid=dbname.profile
The server name will be www.pcrecruiter.net for clients using Main Sequence Technologies hosting services. If the system is self-hosted, then there will need to be a publicly accessible domain or subdomain name pointing at the PCRecruiter installation on the server. Under some circumstances, you can register a sub-domain and point it to the PCRecruiter.net system to maintain a more consistent URL. Main Sequence Technologies can assist in setting this up.
Additional links can be generated for special purposes, such as linking directly to a particular search result or a listing of all positions, or linking directly to the apply link or job description for a particular position record. Contact webmaster@mainsequence.net for information.
Creating the HTML Wrapper
PCRecruiter includes an "HTML Wrapper" feature, which allows you to create your own HTML “shell” to wrap around the web extensions, matching the look to your website for a seamless integration. You'll create a template, and then link to the web extensions just as you would with any other web link. Site visitors will be transferred to the PCRecruiter server, but will still have the navigation and branding of the main website - only the URL in the address bar will be different. To create your wrapper:
- Build a “shell” webpage for the extensions to appear in. This page should be HTML with all of the links in the page set to absolute URLs, so that every image and link points to your website’s server, rather than to relative local files (i.e. each and every <a href> or <img> target location should begin with http://yourwebsite.com). The PCRecruiter application can host image files if necessary (SYSTEM >> Console >> Server Image Store), but it may slow down performance of the pages as the files are looked up and drawn out of the database.
- Find the area of the HTML code where you wish for the extensions to appear. In that area of the HTML, type the following: [[extensions]]. Make sure that this area is not inside of any <form> tags. You may want to use a <div> to fix a particular width on the module.
- Log into, or have a database administrator log into, the PCRecruiter database. Navigate to SYSTEM >> Console >> Customize Web Extensions >> HTML Wrapper. Paste in and save your edited HTML code. The upper box holds the “shell” for the Candidate web extensions, and the lower box holds the “shell” for the Employer web extensions. The system holds only one template for each.
Defining Colors and Fonts
PCRecruiter's web extensions include a default stylesheet which is located on the server side. The current basic stylesheet used by the web extensions can be viewed at www.pcrecruiter.net/pcrimg/inc/web2.css. All font and images styles in the default web2.css may be overidden by entering CSS style tags into the SYSTEM >> Console >> Customize Web Extensions >> Cascading Style Sheets area of the database. In order for the web extensions to properly recognize and use the colors and fonts you wish, you must use the same IDs and classes pre-defined in the web2.css file. Most elements in our web extensions carry IDs or classes which you can address in your custom CSS for tighter control. Keep in mind that any CSS linked in your HTML Wrapper will also affect the web extensions, so you may need to make adjustments to prevent table and link styles from adversely altering the look of the forms.
In most cases, the styles you'll be overriding are:
.pcrtitlecolor -- the backround cell of page/section titles
.pcrheadingcolor -- the left side table heading cells
.pcrtablecolor -- the general table cell style
.pcrtablecoloralt -- an alternate cell style for search result list 'stripes'
.pcrtitlefont -- the fonts in page/section titles
.pcrheadingfont -- the left side table heading font
.pcrtablefont -- the font for basic table data
.pcrtextbox -- inputs in forms
.pcrtextarea -- textareas in forms
.pcrcheckbox -- checkboxes in forms
.pcrselect -- select dropdoowns in forms
.pcrscrollbox -- scrolling checklists in forms
.pcrecheck -- background image of 'required' icon on forms
.pcrcomment -- text to the right of fields in some forms
Special CSS Alterations:
DISABLE ALL STYLES: If you wish to create your own stylesheet from scratch, you may completely disable the default web extensions stylesheet by going to SYSTEM > Console > Edit Database Names and Locations > Job Board Info.
VERTICAL LAYOUT: By the default, our web extensions are laid out in a table with a left and right column. If the content area of your site is very narrow, you may want to create a vertical layout instead. You may do so by adding this block to your CSS:
.stacked {regmenu-stacked: true; reg5-stacked: true; reg1-stacked: true; apply-stacked: true; reg7-stacked: true; regmail-stacked: true; empl2-stacked: true; empl1-stacked: true; emplmenu-stacked: true; empl4-stacked: true; emplogo-stacked: true; emplact-stacked: true; empl5-stacked: true; empl6-stacked: true; }
Common Questions
Can I use an iframe or a frameset?
You may use standard frameset or inline frame (iframe) methods to place the web extensions into your pages. We generally recommend against this, as they will require the website visitor will need to use a smaller area of the screen with an independent scrollbar, which can be cumbersome. Furthermore, if the database users intend to post links to their jobs on third-party sites like Monster or CareerBuilder, or email out links to specific jobs or forms, the links will point to the un-branded frame content, and the jobseeker will not be able to see or navigate the rest of the website.
If you must use an iframe, you may want to create a simple HTML wrapper with javascript in it that allows for a header/footer to appear on the job board when it's loaded outside of your iframe. A sample of this sort of wrapper is as follows:
<style> #headbanner, #footbanner {display:none} </style>
<script>
function addLoadEvent(func) {
var oldonload = window.onload;
if (typeof window.onload != 'function') {
window.onload = func;
} else {
window.onload = function() {
oldonload();
func();
}
}
};
function showheader(){
if(window.location == window.parent.location) {
document.getElementById('headbanner').style.display = 'block';
document.getElementById('footbanner').style.display = 'block';
}
};
addLoadEvent(showheader);
</script>
<div id="headbanner">
Header content goes here (logo image, etc.)
</div>
[[extensions]]
<div id="footbanner">
Footer content goes here (contact info, website URL)
</div>
What about SSL / HTTPS?
Due to the sensitive nature of contact information and resume data, Main Sequence recommends using a secure connection for the Web Extensions. If the database is hosted on the PCRecruiter.net ASP, https:// connections are available by default. If the PCRecruiter system is being run from a non-PCRecruiter.net location, SSL details would be available from the host of that location.
Visitors will get a mixed-security warning from their web browser if the HTML Wrapper being used is pulling images, scripts, stylesheets etc. from a non-SSL domain. You may need to get an SSL certificate for the main website or place the necessary files in a secure hosting location to use them in a secured web extensions implementation.
Can I 'build my own interface'?
Not yet... but soon. Main Sequence Technologies currently offers only the pre-built job board, which is skinned to match the website and linked to, but not actually 'integrated' into the page. We are planning to offer a more robust system of templates, as well as an API, in the future. Although development is actively underway, no fixed ETA is available at this time. We anticipate a 2012 release.
More complete information on customizing the look and functionality of the web extensions is available in our WisdomBase.
Questions? Contact webmaster@mainsequence.net
