Creating, assembling & publishing web content

This getting started topic describes how to create, assemble, and publish web content in the Content Manager Explorer user interface.

The following diagram shows the main Content Manager items you use to create and publish web content:

Creating, assembling, and publishing web content involves doing the following:

1. Create content (Components)
Creating the content that you want to display on a page on a website involves creating Components (text content) and Multimedia Components (other content types such as PDFs or images). Components and Multimedia Components are based on Schemas that define the fields and optionally metadata fields you may use to define content. Fields may use Keywords to classify content. You can organize content using Folders.
2. Assemble web content (Pages)
Assembling web content involves creating webpages and adding to it. A Component Presentation is the combination of a Component and a Component Template: the Component defines the content and the Component Template how the content is displayed. A Page requires a Page Template which defines the look and feel of the webpage. You can organize your web content using Structure Groups.
3. Publish content
Publishing is the process of getting content out of the Content Manager where content is stored and on to the presentation environment where it is displayed to a website visitor. You publish content to a Target Type, which determines where and how content is Published. For example, organizations typically have the following Target Types:
  • a staging environment for internal review
  • a live environment for external consumption

Using Content Manager Explorer

To help you manage content you can use the following features:

Where used
Content Manager items are often related. Where used functionality allows you to view the relationship between Content Manager items. In Content Manager, you can use the Where Used feature on an item to view:
  • Which other items use the item
  • Which other items the item uses
  • Which BluePrint relationships the item has to other items
  • Where the item has been published
Versioning
Whenever you modify and save an item, such as a Component, Component Template, Page or Page Template, Content Manager creates a new version of the item. The "current version" of an item is the most recently checked-in version.
You can check out the current version of an item for your exclusive use. When you have an item checked out, other users can view the item, but they cannot edit the item: the item is locked and appears in your Checked-out Items list. Only you can edit the item while it is checked out. When you have finished editing an item, you can then check in the item. It then becomes available to other users.
Spellchecker
If installed on your system, the SpellChecker allows you to spell check the plain-text fields and rich text fields of Components and Component metadata, Publications, Structure Groups, Folders, Virtual Folders, and Page metadata.
Search Folders
Search Folders display the results of the search. When you open a Search Folder, the folder lists all of the items that match your search. You can create a Search Folder in any Search Folder in a Publication.
Workflow

Workflow ensures that tasks on a content item follow a specific flow of Activities. Each Activity in the Process is assigned to a user. When a user finishes an Activity, the next Activity is then assigned to the next user in the Workflow Process.

In both Content Manager Explorer and Experience Manager, the Things to do area in the Info Bar displays a user's work items:

  • Items assigned to this user's group
  • Items started by this user

Also in both user interfaces, users can inspect Activities in more detail in the Activities screen of the slide-out navigation:

  • Assigned Activities shows Activities that have been assigned but have not yet been started.
  • Started Activities shows Activities that have been started but have not yet been finished.
  • Finished Activities shows Activities that have been finished.

And finally, in Content Manager Explorer only, the Checked-out items node in the Shortcuts area contains a list of items that the user has checked out.

Bundles
A Bundle is a container in which you can put any number of items of any item type. Such items typically have something in common: they are all related to a specific marketing campaign or to a specific implementation feature. If a Bundle is subject to Workflow, it can only contain Components, Pages, Component Templates, Page Templates, Template Building Blocks, and other Bundles.