Requirements for Building a Master Pages From the Bottom Up using SharePoint Designer 2007

There has been a number of conversations over the last year referencing building master pages from the bottom up using SharePoint Designer ( 2007).

Although It is a best practice – using SPD 2007 - to build customized master pages using an existing master page, it does not replace the fact that in order to recognize the various components that make up the master page a designer must build a master page from the ground up.

There are a number of blogs that speak to this process. It is not my intent to duplicate any postings. It is my intent to discuss this process in my own words and to add value based on the feedback from a number of sessions. All designers, should download the base.master file from Microsoft and use it as a starting point.

There are a number of blogs that identify the required controls and placeholders for Master Pages:

Discover How to Build Various Master Pages

To start, I would recommend that designers open up a number of master pages in SharePoint Designer’s Code View. You will note the consistent tags between the elements. Remember, you would need to ensure that all of the required controls and content place holders are included on the master page.

....... Read More

http://sharepoint.mindsharpblogs.com/Driskell/archive/2009/04/03/Requirements-for-Building-a-Master-Pages-From-the-Bottom-Up-using-SharePoint-Designer-2007.aspx