Understanding the Admin Shell

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Understanding the Admin Shell

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Understanding the Admin Shell #

New in v1.2.0

The Admin Shell is the unified 3-column interface that houses all DMSI DDLS administration pages. Starting with v1.2.0, every DDLS admin screen loads within this single shell rather than as separate WordPress admin pages.

Before v1.2.0 #

In v1.0.x, each section of DDLS (Licenses, Customers, Reports, Settings, etc.) was registered as a separate WordPress admin submenu item. Navigating between sections triggered full WordPress admin page loads and each page had its own URL registered with add_submenu_page().

Starting with v1.2.0 #

DDLS now registers a single WordPress admin page at admin.php?page=dmsi-ddls. All navigation within DDLS happens via URL parameters within that single page:

admin.php?page=dmsi-ddls&section=licenses&view=all

admin.php?page=dmsi-ddls&section=email&view=logs


admin.php?page=dmsi-ddls&section=settings&view=license-types

The shell reads the section and view parameters and renders the appropriate content in Column 3 (the main content area).

Benefits #

Consistent UI: Every DDLS screen shares the same layout, navigation, and visual style.

Extension Integration: Third-party extensions can add their own sections and views to the shell without registering separate WordPress admin pages.

Persistent Context: Column 1 (section list) and Column 2 (view list) remain visible as you navigate, so you always know where you are.

Bookmarkable URLs: Because navigation uses URL parameters, any screen can be bookmarked or linked directly.

Related Topics #

  • [The Three Columns](#)
  • [Navigating the Admin](#)
  • [Available Sections](#)

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