Panels page or Panels node - which to use?

Question

I have two content types for a theatre listings site:

1. Production: title, description, image gallery, video
2. Show: date, ticket cost, production (nodereference to Production)

So a single Production node that runs for 14 nights will have 14 Show nodes linked to it. Simple.

Each Production page will pull together a list of Shows (using a View), images, video and maybe some other stuff. So I think Panels would be useful for this display.

But I'm struggling to understand whether it's best to create a single Panels page for this (that maybe overrides the default display of Production content type) or turn Production into a Panels node. The layout will be the same for each Production, so maybe a single Panels page is best?

The Production node edit page has to be simple and easy to edit, so making it a Panels node might add complexity?

Essentially, this boils down to what are the main differences between Panels page and Panels node?

Answer 1

"Essentially, this boils down to what are the main differences between Panels page and Panels node?"

A Panel page takes over the layout of the entire page. It can override one or more full pages.

A Panel node takes over one or more node(s) layout.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, Terminology does not define what a page is. I have posted a documentation issue at Terminology: Page.

In the meantime, a page is the container of a node; a page can contain multiple nodes.
In Panels a panel node can contain other nodes because of its flexibility. However, most usages of Panels is in the form of a Panel Page.

If I remember correctly, a panel node can have comments and widgets assigned to it, as any node would. A panel node fits within the template file node.tpl.php, while the page fits in the page.tpl.php (which is a layer up).

Answer 3

The difficulty with Mini Panels, Panel Node, Panels Page, Page Manager is that you don't figure out the specific limitations or benefits until you've actually worked with one of them trying to solve your problem.

I suggest you look at Panelizer, as it seems like the most direct way to add a panel to a pre-existing content types.

A Node Panel gives you a single content type called Panel, to which you can add fields. Panelizer goes the opposite direction (add a panel to a content type), which is more logical.