Getting started
Contenta Explorer’s interface is the user window into the Contenta database.
It provides you with a way to view, change, and store data in the database.
Contenta Explorer employs a Windows-like interface. For example, you view the contents of a folder in the left pane of the window by clicking on the plus icon next to it, and you display the folder’s contents in the right pane of the window by clicking on the folder itself, and you use the scroll bars to view objects outside the display areas. Although the Contenta interface looks similar to the Windows Explorer interface, you are not viewing data stored on your hard drive and cannot access the data unless you are logged in to Contenta.
Since Contenta Explorer’s interface is interacting with data in a database and not on a hard drive, Contenta uses a vocabulary of terms that describe the data which will be new to you. For example, all data in Contenta is referred to as an object. Objects fall into three main categories; container objects, data objects, or hybrid objects that have properties of both the container and data objects. Although you see a Windows-like folder icon, in Contenta Explorer, the icon represents a container in the Contenta database and is referred to as a container object. You will become more familiar with the object types and terms as you become familiar with the Contenta application.