About content types

November 14, 2023

When you create web projects, you create different types of content including:

  • Pages and links
  • Areas and content lists
  • Editorial content
  • Out-of-context content
  • Files and images
  • References to content and files

Creating pages and links

About pages

Your web project consists of a home page and subpages. Each page contains predefined and noneditable content and areas. Each area can contain one or more content items. The number and types of available content types depend on the page type.

A page template applies to every page. Page templates define the structure of a page, including the position of different areas and noneditable elements, for example a navigation menu.

The way that you create a page differs depending if you are in Contribute or Edit mode.


Creating a page in Contribute mode

To create a page in Contribute mode:

  1. In Contribute mode, in your website that previews in the main window, navigate to the parent page below which you want to create a new page. For example, navigate to Home to create a subpage of the Home page.
    content-type-1.jpg
  2. In the top toolbar, click Create page.
  3. In the New Content page, enter a page title and select a page template. Then, click Save.
    The new page displays in the main window.

Creating a page in Edit mode

In Edit mode, you create a new page from the left panel.

To create a page in Edit mode:

  1. In Edit mode, click on Pages in the left panel.
  2. In the navigation panel, navigate to the parent page below which you want to create a new page.
    content-type-2.jpg
  3. Right-click or click the elipsis  button ... beside the parent page. In the context menu, select New page.
  4. In the New Content page, enter a page title and select a page template. Then, click .

Specifying page details

The options that are available in the New Content>Add Page page depend on whether you are in Edit or Contribute mode and on the site you are working on.

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The three main fields are:

  • System Name
    System name of the page. The system name is used to build the page URL. You can also define a custom URL in the SEO tab. By default, the system name is created from the page title.
  • Title
    Title of the page. The title is mandatory.
  • Template name
    The page template that defines the structure of the page, areas on the page, types of content that each zone can content, and more. The list of available page templates is specific to each site.

Using a menu label to group pages

A menu label enables you to group pages under a single navigation menu. Its purpose is purely organizational as site users cannot click a menu label. After you create a menu label, you can create or move pages under the label.

You can only create a menu label in Edit mode.

To create a menu label:

  1. In Edit mode, click on Pages in the left panel.
  2. In the navigation panel, navigate to the parent page below which you want to create a menu label.
  3. Right-click or click the elipsis  button ... beside the parent page. In the context menu, select Add>New menu label.
  4. In the New Content>Add: Navigation menu page, enter a title.
  5. Click Save.

Creating an internal link

An internal link enables you to display a link to another page in your Jahia web project in a navigation menu.

You create an internal link in Edit mode by opening the context menu of the parent page.

To create an internal link:

  1. In Edit mode, click on Pages in the left panel. Navigate to the page in which you want to create the link.
  2. Right-click and in the context menu select Add>New internal link.
  3. In the Add: Internal link page, enter a title of the link. The title is the text that displays in the navigation menu.
  4. To select the page to link to, click on the Target field under Internal Link. The site tree for the current site opens.
  5. Navigate the site tree in the left pane and select the page to link to. In the right pane, select the page or content corresponding to the link that you are creating. Then click Save.
  6. To specify how the links opens for users, in the Target field under Link, choose one of the following:
    • New Window (_blank)
      Links opens in a new window
    • Parent Window (_parent)>
      Link opens in the same frame and site visitor leaves the current page.
    • Same window (_self)
      Link opens in a new tab
    • Topmost window (_top)
  7. Click Save.

Creating an external link

An external link enables you to display a link to a web page in a navigation menu.

It is possible to create an external link from the edit mode by opening the contextual menu of the parent page.

To create an external link:

  1. In Edit mode, click on Pages in the left panel. Navigate to the page in which you want to create the link.
  2. Right-click and in the context menu select Add>New external link.
  3. In the Add: Link (external)  page, enter a title of the link. The title is the text that displays in the navigation menu.
  4. In the URL field under Link (external) enter the URL of the external page.
  5. To specify how the links opens for users, in the Target field under Link, choose one of the following:
    • New Window (_blank)
      Links opens in a new window
    • Parent Window (_parent)>
      Link opens in the same frame and site visitor leaves the current page.
    • Same window (_self)
      Link opens in a new tab
    • Topmost window (_top)
  6. Click Save.

Areas and content lists

Areas define the layout of a page and where you can create content. Depending on the page template, areas are distributed differently on the page and can only contain certain types of content. You cannot move an area in a page.

A content list is similar to an area as it allows you to create content within it and specify the way contents displays. You can modify the order of the contents using the List ordering tab in the Edit engine and set the style of the list using the Layout tab.

You can move a list of contents from one area to another, from one page to another, and so on. You have several types of content lists which restrict the types of contents that can be created inside them.

Adding editorial content to a page

Editorial content is content that you create in Contribute or Edit mode, such as text, images, and structured content, for example, a news entry with a title, date, image and text.

To add editorial content to a page:

  1. Click the Any content button
    content-type-4.png
      when editing a page to open the content type selector.
    content-type-5.png

    Note: The types of content that are available depends on the area of ​​the page in which you create content.

Content types are organized by category, for example Bootstrap 3 and Form Components. To display the types of contents of a category, double-click on the category or on the arrow at the left of the category. Then, double-click on the content type to open the Edit engine where you can create content. You can also select the type and click OK.

You can use the search field at the top of the form to filter the types of contents that display.

The content is created in a content area of ​​the page or in a content list.

You can also open the content selector from the Create button on the left pane in Edit mode. This option is not available in Contribute mode.

content-type-6.png

To create contents using this panel, drag-and-drop the content type into an area on the page. Once the content type is selected, the left pane is hidden to display the page across its entire width. As you hover over the different areas of the page, an indicator indicates whether you can create content of the selected type in an area.

content-type-7.png
or
content-type-8.png

Once you release the click over the desired location, then the corresponding edit engine is displayed so that you can fill in the different fields to create your content.

Important: You cannot choose the position of new content within an area (relative to other contents in the same area) at creation time. If the content ordering of a zone/list is not automatic, you can move your content inside the zone by drag-and-dropping it or by using the "List ordering" tab of the corresponding area or content list.

Out-of-context content

Some content is not intended to be created in a page because it can be displayed in several other pages or only using search mechanisms. For example, a page can display only the last 10 articles and another page only displays articles of a particular theme. Jahia provides the contents directory for you to organize and manage this type of contents. You can access the contents directory from the:

  • Content interface in Contribute mode
  • Content tab in Edit mode
  • Content Manager

In these interfaces, you can create a folder tree to organize your contents. There are no restrictions on the types of content that you can create in the folders.

You creating out-of-context content in the same way that you create editorial content. You use the same content type selector and the same editing forms, which are specific to each type of content.

content-type-5.png

Out-of-context contents behaves in the same way as content created directly in pages. Content is not visible online until you publish it. You can start publishing using the context menu of out-of-context content or when publishing a that page references the content. For more information on referenced content, see References.

Adding files and images

Similar to out-of-context contents, files and images and are stored in a specific directory on the site: the "files" directory. You cannot directly add an image or a file in a page. Instead, you need to use:

  • An editorial content in which you can select one or more files
  • A reference type content

You can access the "files" directory from the:

  • Files interface in Contribute mode
  • Files tab in Edit mode
  • Document Manager

In these interfaces, you can create folder trees to organize your files. There are no restrictions on the types of files that you can upload to these folders.

To upload a file to Jahia:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • In Edit mode, click Files in the left menu and navigate to the folder in which to add the file. Open the context menu for the folder and select Upload.
    • In Contribute mode, select Files in the top toolbar. Navigate to the folder in which to add the file. Then, click the Upload button on the top toolbar. 
    • In the Document Manager, you can either select Upload option in the context menu of a folder or you click the Upload button in the menu bar, which will upload the file in the folder that is currently opened.
  2. In the Upload files dialog, clicking Choose File and select a file to upload from your local machine. You can repeat the process to upload multiple files.
    Select Automatically unzip  to automatically unzip files in .zip format. This provide faster uploads for large numbers of files. If your .zip file contains folders, folders are created that maintain the tree structure and file organization from the original file.
    content-type-9.png
  3. You cannot store files with the same name in the same folder. If you try to upload a file into a folder that already contains a file with the same name, then you must choose from the following options:
    • Rename
      Manually rename the file that you upload.
    • Rename auto
      Automatically rename the file that you upload. Jahia adds a number to the end of the file name.
    • Add new version
      The file that you are upload will replace the current one. All content that references this file will display the new file.
      content-type-10.png
  4. Click OK.

Adding references to content and files

References display content or files from other sections of your site, such as areas, pages, or folders. References enable you to display the same content in several pages. This makes it easier to manage your content, because you only have to modify the original content and changes are reflected in the referenced content.

The main types of references provided by default with Jahia are:

  • Image references
    Enables you to display an image on your site. You can use a different image by language and also add internal and external links to images.
  • File references
    Enables you to display a link to a file or image on your site and specify the name of the link that displays. By choosing the multi language type, you can specify a different file by language.
  • Content references
    Enables you to select content created elsewhere in your site to display in your page. From the Layout tab, you can choose the display style, known as “view”, of this referenced content.

Depending on your site, you may have other types of references to choose from.

You use the content reference type when you copy content and then you select Paste reference. This is also the type used when you use drag-and-drop from the Content tab in Edit mode. When you drag-and-drop from the Files tab in Edit mode you choose the type of reference to create.

content-type-11.png

Starting publication of a content reference also starts publication of the referenced content. Referenced contents appears in the list of contents to be published, if they are not already published.