ECL for multimedia

You can combine ECL functionality with one or more connectors to provide access to multimedia assets stored in external systems. In either Content Manager Explorer (Classic interface) or Experience Space, the ECL integration to other systems enables Editors to add the external content using the same methods they do for other Tridion Sites content or external data.

For multimedia, ECL supports two ways to connect to the Content Manager:

  • Connectors on the Tridion Integration Framework (preferred)
  • Legacy ECL Providers built with an earlier architecture

The following diagram illustrates the ECL architecture when integrating with an external multimedia system (showing both connectors and legacy Providers):

Server-side ECL for multimedia

The following definitions explain the key aspects of server-side ECL architecture in a multimedia use case:

Connector

A Connector is a specific type of Add-on that is specifically used to integrate Tridion Sites with other systems, either other RWS products or third-party systems. Connectors built on Tridion Integration Framework are flexible and agnostic with respect to usability within Tridion Sites—in short, write a connector once and run it everywhere.

Tridion Integration Framework

Tridion Integration Framework support multiple ways for users to access data that is external to the Tridion Sites content management system. External Content Library is one of those ways.

Add-ons

The Add-ons feature supports the uploading and management of extensions, including Connectors and legacy Providers. You also use the feature to upload the configuration for each connector, either as a <CONNECTOR>.json file or as an ExternalContentLibrary.xml file (if using a legacy Provider).

Legacy ECL Provider

Legacy ECL Providers plug into ECL to communicate with and retrieve multimedia in external systems. Legacy ECL Providers (pre-existing and not built on the Tridion Integration Framework) will continue to work as before.

GUI Extension (Classic only)

The GUI Extension displays external system namespaces (or mount points) in the Classic user interfaces (Content Manager Explorer and Experience Manager). Under the root-level nodes, users can see multimedia that is stored and available in the external system.

For Experience Space, no GUI extension is needed to support ECL functionality.

External Content Library API

The External Content Library API is for customizing and extending the External Content Library (ECL) feature, enabling it to communicate with an external system and expose content from that system in Tridion Sites.

The API reference documentation, available as a Windows Help file (.chm), contains more detailed information about how to use the API. To download the reference documentation for this API, see: .

Secure Token Service (legacy Providers only)

When using a Legacy ECL Provider, the Security Token Service is the identity provider that is responsible for issuing security tokens (SAML). Connectors built on the Tridion Integration Framework do not require the Secure Token Service.

Client-side ECL for multimedia

The following definitions explain the key aspects of client-side ECL architecture in a multimedia use case:

Namespace/Mount Point

A root node in Content Manager Explorer (Classic) or Experience Space defines a connection to an external system, which contains (within one or more directories) representations of multimedia that is stored in the external system.

  • For connectors built on Tridion Integration Framework, each node corresponds to a namespace for the external system. Any given connector configuration can expose several namespaces for the same system but with different setups, such as "youtube1" and "youtube2."
  • For legacy ECL Providers, each node is a mount point on the external system.
The function of the namespace and mount point is the same. For connectors based on Tridion Integration Framework, define namespaces in the connector's JSON configuration file. With legacy ECL Providers, mount points were defined in the ExternalContentLibrary.xml file; however, when using the Add-ons feature to upload the connector, we recommend that you define them instead as namespaces in the connector's JSON configuration file.
Stub Folders

Stub Folders are the Folders in Content Manager (under Building Blocks) where ECL will place stub Items. There are two types of stub Items for the following Content Manager objects:

  • Multimedia Components — Each Stub Item corresponds to a piece of multimedia content that is referenced in ECL but stored in an external system. When a user adds a reference to an ECL multimedia item, for example by creating a Multimedia Link, ECL generates a corresponding Multimedia Component as a Stub item, basing it on the ExternalContentLibraryStubSchema.
  • Multimedia Schemas — When a connector is added to the system for use with ECL, ECL automatically generates a Multimedia Schema as a Stub Item, giving it the name ExternalContentLibraryStubSchema-CONNECTOR NAME.
You need to manually create the Stub Folder in the user interface and then define it for the connector by its TCM-URI.
For Connectors based on Tridion Integration Framework, define stub Folders in the connector's JSON configuration file. For legacy ECL Providers, stub Folders are defined in the ExternalContentLibrary.xml file.

The ECL integration enables Editors to add the external content using the same methods they do for other Tridion Sites content or external data.

The following screen shot illustrates Content Manager Explorer with ECL-generated thumbnail images for videos that are managed externally in YouTube:

The video content in this example is made available in the Content Manager through implementation of a YouTube Connector that is built on Tridion Integration Framework.