Get Rendered HTML From Sitecore Item - sitecore

Question

I need to get the rendered HTML output from a given Sitecore item, assuming it has a layout. I need it to be the latest version of the rendered content whether it's published or not. Using a web request approach like WebClient or HtmlAgility pack will not work because they make the request as an anonymous user which will only render the latest published version (and I need the latest version no matter the state.) Any thoughts? I have everything working I just cant find a way to impersonate or elevate the rights while I execute the page requests.

Answer 1

You could go the WebClient or HtmlAgility pack, but silently login the user based on a token in the query string:
public static class UserExtensions
{
public const string TokenKey = "UserToken";
public const string TokenDateKey = "UserTokenDate";
public static ID CreateUserToken(this User user)
{
if (user.IsAuthenticated)
{
var token = ID.NewID;
user.Profile.SetCustomProperty(TokenKey, token.ToString());
user.Profile.SetCustomProperty(TokenDateKey, DateTime.Now.ToString());
user.Profile.Save();
return token;
}
else
return ID.Null;
}
public static bool IsTokenValid(this User user, string token, TimeSpan maxAge)
{
var tokenId = ID.Null;
if (ID.TryParse(token, out tokenId))
{
var minDate = DateTime.Now.Add(-maxAge);
var tokenDateString = user.Profile.GetCustomProperty(TokenDateKey);
var tokenDate = DateTime.MinValue;
DateTime.TryParse(tokenDateString, out tokenDate);
if (tokenDate < minDate)
return false;
var storedToken = user.Profile.GetCustomProperty(TokenKey);
var storedTokenId = ID.NewID;
if (ID.TryParse(storedToken, out storedTokenId))
return storedTokenId == tokenId;
}
return false;
}
}
Then patch in a HttpRequestProcessor to look for the token:
public class SilentUserLogin : HttpRequestProcessor
{
public TimeSpan MaximumAge
{
get;
set;
}
public override void Process(HttpRequestArgs args)
{
var userValue = args.Context.Request.QueryString["user"];
var tokenValue = args.Context.Request.QueryString["token"];
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(userValue) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(tokenValue))
{
// find user
var user = User.FromName(userValue, AccountType.User);
if (user != null)
{
// Check token is valid
if ((user as User).IsTokenValid(tokenValue, MaximumAge))
{
// log user in
AuthenticationManager.Login(user as User);
}
else
Log.Audit("User token has expired for user: '{0}'".FormatWith(user.Name), this);
}
else
Log.Audit("Failed to locate auto login user " + userValue, this);
}
}
Patch this in with a config file:
<configuration xmlns:patch="http://www.sitecore.net/xmlconfig/">
<sitecore>
<pipelines>
<httpRequestBegin>
<processor type="Namespace.SilentUserLogin,Assembly" patch:after="*[#type='Sitecore.Pipelines.HttpRequest.StartMeasurements, Sitecore.Kernel']">
<MaximumAge>00:02:00</MaximumAge>
</processor>
</httpRequestBegin>
</pipelines>
</sitecore>
</configuration>
Finally, call the page via WebClient or HtmlAgility:
var token = Sitecore.Context.User.CreateUserToken();
var url = new UrlString();
url.HostName = HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Host;
url.Protocol = HttpContext.Current.Request.IsSecureConnection ? "https" : "http";
url.Path = "/";
url["sc_itemid"] = myItem.ID.ToString();
url["sc_lang"] = myItem.Language.ToString();
// Add parameters to allow accessing the master DB
url["user"] = Sitecore.Context.User.Name;
url["token"] = token.ToString();
// Call the url here
This code was cribbed from a similar situation where I needed a URL to feed to a PDF generation library, which behind the scenes fired up IE and hit the site as an anonymous user. This way we could pass a limited time security token via the query string.

Answer 2

You can setup a "preview" site that shows content from the master database as opposed to the public-facing published content. This article will help setting that up: How to Setup a Sitecore Preview Site to Review Content Before Publishing
Once you have this setup on a unique URL, you can then make a WebRequest to pages or use HtmlAgilityPack.