External multimedia content

If the External Content Library (ECL) feature has been set up by your organization for one or more multimedia content repositories, you may be able to access that content and use this content on your webpages. The way you work with external multimedia content is very similar to standard multimedia component, but there are important differences as well.

Connectors to external repositories

The availability of external multimedia content depends on how your organization has set up Content Manager, and you may have any number of different connected repositories. For example, your organization could add a "File System" connector to provide access to various types of multimedia content that is stored in that external file system.

The following image illustrates how the external content in the example File System connector would appear in the user interface:

External content in Content Manager Explorer

Each node in the navigation represents a separate connection, or mount point, to an external system. Each mount point can also be thought of as individual library of external content, which when expanded shows folders that contain the individual external content items. There are many similarities to standard multimedia components, but there are also some important differences to keep in mind. For this reason and to make things extra clear, we refer to this type of external content collectively as ECL content or individually as an ECL item.

As an editor in Tridion Sites, you work with this content in generally the same way you work with multimedia components.

  • Add a multimedia link to an external content item to a regular component, which you can then reuse on multiple pages. Use the same process as you do for adding a multimedia link to a standard Multimedia Component, but instead selecting a multimedia component from the publication's building blocks, select an ECL item from one of the libraries.
  • Add external content items directly to a page. Again, do this is the same way you add standard multimedia components to pages, only you select the item from an external content library.

Refer to the documentation on components and pages for more detail on adding and editing content.

Working with external content

The following are some of the differences that you should be aware of when working with external content:

  • In general, the actions that you can perform on ECL items are more limited because the content is managed in the external system rather than in Tridion Sites. For example, from the list view, you cannot delete, copy or paste ECL items. The availability of some actions depends on the individual repository.
  • When you open an ECL item from a mount point folder, clicking the View icon (or clicking the thumbnail image) opens the ECL items in the external system where it is stored. Other than modifying metadata, you cannot edit an external item within Tridion Sites as you can with standard multimedia components, such as to crop an image. Likewise, you cannot upload a new image, video or other file multimedia file to replace the existing one from within Tridion Sites. The exception to this is external metadata.
  • Independent of regular metadata that may be present for multimedia components, ECL items also have an External Metadata tab that displays metadata from the external system. Note the following regarding external metadata:
    • Some external systems allow the external metadata to be edited, while others provide the metadata strictly as read only data. In some cases, certain fields may be editable, while other fields will not be editable. Regardless of whether an external system allows editing, you must belong to a group that has the necessary rights and permissions assigned Content Manager, same as you do for any internal content. If you have questions about your group access or the ability to edit metadata in a specific repository, contact your System Administrator.
    • If your organization uses a templateless, data-only publishing model, external metadata is always included when ECL items are published.
  • ECL items cannot be opened or managed using the WebDAV option.