Creating additional custom Content Types
Create custom Content Types in Content Manager Explorer in a Publication, and use them at the Page Template level to replace or supplement the Content Types that are automatically generated.
Procedure
- In Content Manager Explorer, right-click a Publication for which you want to create custom Content Types and select Properties from the context menu.
The Publication opens in a new dialog.
- Select the Content Types tab.
A list of custom Content Types for this Publication appears.
- Click Insert to create a new Content Type.
A number of properties and settings appear on the right.
- Specify your new Content Type as follows:
- Content Type Title
- A name for your Content Type. Users see this text as a possible value when they add a new Component to a Page. The Content Type name should describe the type of content being created, as well as its visualization, such as "Blue press release" or "Product description - summary".
- Content Type Description
- A description of your Content Type. Users see this text as a possible value when they add a new Component to a Page.
- Content Title
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Set to User-defined to prompt the user for a name for the new Component as part of the creation, or to Automatically generated to have a name for the new Component automatically generated, based on a format string you provide.
If you select Automatically generated, provide a format string that contains one or more of the following placeholders:
Placeholder Meaning %N% The name of the Prototype Component on which the new Component will be based %P% The name of the Page to which the user adds the new Component %D% The timestamp at the time of creation. %U% The name of the user who creates the new Component %ID% The Content Manager URI (unique identifier) of the Prototype Component Use the Component Title Preview to get an idea of what your generated title would look like.
- Prototype Component
- Use the Browse button to navigate to, and select, a Component that you wish to use as the basis for Components of this new Content Type. You can see the Schema of this Component in the Prototype Component Schema field. This Component must have been published to the Web site, even if not included on a Page.
- Storage Location
- Use Browse to navigate to a Folder in which you want to store the Components that the user creates, based on this Content Type.
- Component Template
- Use Browse to navigate to, and select, a Component Template that you wish to render the new Component with by default. Properly authorized users can change the Component Template after adding it to the Page.
- Default insert position on Page
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Select Top to ensure that the new Component and Component Template are added to the top of the list of Component Presentations on this Page. Select Bottom to have them added to the bottom of the list.
Note: The position of the Component Presentation in the list on the Page in Content Manager Explorer does not necessarily correspond to its position on the published Web page, because the Page Template may change the order, lay out Component Presentations horizontally, or arrange them on the Web page in some other way.
- Repeat the steps above as needed to add more Content Types to the Publication, then save and close the Publication.
- To make a Content Type available for a set of Web pages, open a browser, access a Web page that is editable and start editing by clicking the SDL Tridion button at the top left corner of the page.
- Select the slide-out navigation button at top left, select Settings, and in the screen that appears, select Inline Editing.
A list of settings appears.
- Select Content Type Mappings from the list.
A list of Publication appears.
- Select the Publication that contains the Page Template for whose Pages you want to make the new Content Type(s) available.
A list of Page Templates in that Publication appears.
- Select the Page Template for whose Pages you want to make the new Content Type(s) available.
A Content Types area slides into view on the right.
- Select Predefined Content Types and from the list you see, select the predefined Content Types you want users to be able when adding content to the Web page.
- Click Apply Changes.
The Content type(s) you selected are now available to users visiting a Web page rendered with this Page Template.