Add a component reference element to a template

We add a component reference element to an authoring template when we want the component reference to be used by a set of items using the same authoring template.

1. Open or create an authoring template.

2. Click Manage Elements.

3. Select Component reference as the element type.

4. Enter a name. Do not use double-byte and non-ASCII characters.

5. Enter a display title to use as the title of the element displayed indexes and forms.

6. If we have created a text provider plug-in for a multi-locale site, we can also select the text provider and enter a key to look up a string from the selected text provider. The text provider displays different display title for each language it has been configured for. The text entered in the Display Title field is only used if an appropriate display title is not available from the selected text provider, or if the text provider is not available.

7. Click Add. The component reference element is added to the form.

8. Go to the Default Content tab.

9. Go to the component reference element we added and click Select Component to select a component, or do nothing if we want the content creators to select a component.

10. Click

    to open the display properties of the element. This is where we define how the element is displayed on the item form.

    1. To display the element as a required field select Identify this as a required field.

    2. To hide a field on the content form from all users select Hide field. Specify a default value if the field is a required field.

       Administrators and managers can choose to display hidden fields and elements in an item by clicking Show hidden fields.

    3. Click Add to restrict users to only be able to reference the components types we select.

    4. Type field-specific help into Field help text. This displays with the element in the content form.

       If we have created a text provider plug-in for a multi-locale site, we can also select the text provider and enter a key to look up a string from the selected text provider. The text provider displays different help text for each language it has been configured for. The text entered in the Field help field is only used if an appropriate help text is not available from the selected text provider, or if the text provider is not available.

    5. Select the users or groups to grant edit access to a field or element by clicking Add Editors.

    6. Select the users or groups to grant view access to a field or element by clicking Add Viewers.

11. Save the authoring template.

Parent Use a component reference element