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Creating Parameters Schemas

You can set parameters for a Template Building Block when you add the Template Building Blocks to your Template. To specify which parameters you can set for a specific Template Building Block, you must create a Parameters Schema.

Before you begin

You must have Schema Management rights and Write permissions for the Folder in which you create the Schema in order to create a Schema.

About this task

For example, the Default Template Building Block called ’Component Query’ selects Components in a certain Content Manager Folder. It has a number of parameters, for example, a parameter that refers to the Folder to use. To be able to specify these parameters, a Parameters Schema has been created, called Component Query Parameter Schema.

Procedure

  1. Open Content Manager Explorer.
  2. Navigate to the Publication and Folder in which you want to create the Schema.
  3. Open the Ribbon toolbar Create tab and click New Schema.
    The New Schema window opens.
  4. On the General tab, fill in the following fields:
    • Name — the name of the Parameters Schema.
    • Description — a description of this Schema.
    • Schema Type — select Parameters Schema.
  5. Select the Design tab so that you can add and specify fields.
    Refer to Schemas to learn in detail about the various Schema field types and their extended options.
  6. Click Add to add a parameter to the Parameter Schema and specify a name, description and type for the parameter.
    Unsupported field types
    Template Builder does not support the following types of field for the Parameter Schema:
    • Format Area—a field of type Text with the option Allow rich text formatting selected.
    • Multivalue field—a field with Allow multiple values selected.
    • Embedded Schema field—a field of type Embedded Schema.
    Additional supported field types
    In addition to the field types you can select directly in Content Manager Explorer, you can also create the following field types:
    • A link to a Page—create by selecting External link as Type and starting the XML Name field with the string page_ (for example, page_PageReference )
    • A link to a Schema—create by selecting External link as Type and starting the XML Name field with the string schema_ (for example, schema_TypeLink )
    • A link to a Folder—create by selecting External link as Type and starting the XML Name field with the string folder_ (for example, folder_Role )
    • A link to a Structure Group—create by selecting External link as Type and starting the XML Name field with the string sg_ (for example, sg_Country )
    You can also use Custom URL to supply the URL of a Web page that contains text explaining this parameter’s function, purpose and any other information you deem necessary. To limit the amount of Web pages you need to create, use anchors in a single Web page that documents all parameters, and link each parameter to its specific anchor on that page.
  7. Click Save and Close to save your changes.

What to do next

You can now associate this Parameters Schema with a Template Building Block in Content Manager Explorer. After you have done that, when you use Template Builder to add the Template Building Block to a Template, you can set values for these parameters in Template Builder.