Content
Content management in DynamicWeb 10
The Content area is where you, the editor, work with content.
In a typical setup:
- The Content tree is used to create and maintain the content structure using e.g. pages and folders
- The workspace is where you view and work with the content of the page selected in the tree
All content is created using our built-in building blocks such as pages, paragraphs or one of these with an added item type. At the top of the content tree, you can also switch between websites using a website selector.
When working with content in the workspace you can switch between two available modes — visual editor and the list view — using the button next to the action-menu button.
Visual Editor
The Visual Editor, a special view for grid-based designs, allows content editors to work with content in a visual manner. Using this view, you can add content to a page using an intuitive and editor-friendly WYSIWYG interface.
On grid-based designs, a page consists of rows with columns where you can add content from a paragraph. If you hover over an existing row or column, you have access to different editor tools, e.g. edit, copy, and delete. These tools may differ depending on your permission-level.
When you add a row or a column to a page in Visual Editor-mode you can select either a saved preset or an empty row/paragraph. Typically, it is easier to create new content based on a preset, but it depends on the circumstances.
In visual editor-mode you also have access to page settings by clicking the pink gear icon in the lower right corner.
List View
The list view, on the other hand, provides a non-WYSIWYG overview of all content created on the page. You can also add content to a page from this view using the + New row button to add new rows to a page. To add paragraphs to a row, click on an empty row and you will be presented with all available paragraph types.
Building blocks
So far we've mentioned content only in the abstract - now we'll take a short look at the building blocks which are used to create content on a solution.
Websites
A website is the default building block under which pages are placed. All solutions are born with a default website called Standard, although some may feature more out of the box, e.g. solutions based on DynamicWeb Swift.
Pages
Pages are default building blocks chiefly used for two things:
- To define the content structure of a website in backend - and, if this structure is used to generate a navigation from, in frontend
- To act as containers for content coming from a paragraph or an item
Pages are accessed via the content tree of the website they are created under:
Pages are often paired with an item type extending it with additional content or settings.
Rows
Rows are building-blocks associated with grid-based designs. Rows are used to create the grid for a page, and a row consists of one or more columns where paragraphs can be added.
Rows are not used on non-grid-based designs, so as a rule they will only be available if the design is created with the visual editor in mind. If a design does not employ rows, you cannot add them from the list view but can instead add paragraphs to a page directly.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are default building blocks which are used for two things:
- They act as containers for content - text, an image, some associated settings.
- They act as anchors for paragraph apps such as a product catalog app or a query publisher
How they are ordered also typically defines the content structure on the page they are on.
In Visual Editor mode, paragraphs are outlined in green and placed inside a row which is outlined in yellow:
In List View mode paragraphs are shown as white-coloured list items, either alone or under a row:
Like pages, paragraphs can be paired with an item type with additional fields for storing content or settings. In fact, almost all modern solutions (including Swift) uses paragraphs with various types of item types added to create content.
Item types
Item types are custom content types which are used to e.g. create custom page or paragraph types, to extend page or website settings, and more.
Item types consist of:
- A set of item fields for storing data - text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc.
- Settings controlling:
- Where an item can be used - e.g. under a specific website, or as a child to another item type
- What the item type can be used as, e.g. to create a page, a paragraph, or to extend website or page settings.
Once an item type is created, users can create instances of it - items.
Some basic terminology:
- An item type is a template or mold used to create items from, e.g. a custom paragraph type with some additional fields
- An item is an instance of an item type, e.g. a specific paragraph created based on an item type
Item types are created under Settings > Areas > Content > Item types. As an editor, you will probably not be at the business-end of that tool, as it is usually used when designing the content model for a solution, but it's at least useful to know where custom content types or settings are defined.
Apps
Apps are small modules which may be attached to a paragraph (item settings permitting), fulfilling a number of different purposes - e.g.:
- Rendering a product catalog or a shopping cart
- Rendering a form
- Publishing query results of a product or content search
- Rendering a Customer center
- Handling user login and related tasks such as profile creation, address management, etc.
Really - a wide variety of tasks related to more advanced features than displaying static content.
Recycle bin
A recycle bin containing all deleted pages, rows, and paragraphs is located beneath the Navigation tree. If you accidentally delete something, you have the option to restore it from this recycle bin. Simply right-click the context menu for the page, row, or paragraph you want to restore and select 'Restore'.
The recycle bin does not automatically delete items after a specific number of days. However, if you want to delete files, you need to select the items you wish to delete and select 'Delete selected items' from the Actions menu.
