Authoring templates

 

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  1. Overview
  2. Default values for content
  3. Hidden fields
  4. Customized help text
  5. Presentation templates and authoring templates
  6. Labeling elements

 

Overview

An authoring template...

The fundamental purpose of the authoring template is to provide a way for the template author to select the elements that appear on the content form. When constructing the authoring template, we can select more than one element field of the same element type. For example, you might add...

  • Three text element fields
  • Two rich text element fields
  • Four image element fields

...to the same authoring template.

 

Default values for content

When you create an authoring template, we can specify default values to be used when creating new content based on the template.

We can set default content values for the following sections of the authoring template:

Identification Descriptive information identifying the template, such as...

  • Name
  • title
  • Description

In addition we can specify additional authors and owners who can manage content items created with this template.

Profile Information that can be used to group and categorize content items or to build page elements such as menus. We can select categories to associate with the content item or enter keywords that will be assigned to the content item.
Content properties On a content form, contains information about the current content item including...

  • Template maps
  • Site areas that the item is stored under
Content Elements or components that are available for rendering as part of the content form.

For each element or component, we can specify default values. For example, for a text element you could specify the default text that would appear in the field on the content form, as well as related information such as the height and width of the field.

Workflow Workflow information, including the default workflow that will be associated with a content item generated with the template.

In addition to specifying the default workflow, we can set other workflow-specific properties such as the date and time when the content item should be published or expired.

Access Control Information about which users and groups have access to the content item. We can restrict access according to user, type of access, or combination thereof.

In most cases, you should be sure to specify default values for...

 

Hidden fields

With the exception of those fields that are required for a content form, we can designate any other field in the authoring template to be hidden. A field marked to be hidden in the authoring template is not displayed on the content form, thereby streamlining the form's visual appearance.

Although a hidden field is not displayed on the content form, the information defined in the field is still associated with the content form and will be processed with the form. This is particularly useful when used in conjunction with a default value for a field because it enables us to specify a setting for a field and then hide the field on the content form to ensure that the field's value cannot be changed by the content author.

For example, you might want to set access control levels for content generated from the authoring template in the Access Control section of the template and then hide that section on the resulting content form. When a content item is generated from the template, the access control levels for the content item will be derived from the default values in the template.

 

Customized help text

To further help tailor the content form for a content author, IWWCM provides the capability of adding customized help text to the authoring template.

  • We can define help text for the entire content form that is generated from the authoring template.

    This help text can be used to describe the purpose of the form, for example, or to explain at a higher level how the form contributes to the site content that the form supports. Because it is fully customizable, you are free to include whatever specific information you feel would be of use to the content authors using the form.

  • In addition to the HTML text we can add to describe the entire content form, we can also specify in-line help text that is displayed with each element on the form.

    This help text can provide targeted information for a particular field on the form, explaining possible values or noting special conditions related to the field.

 

Presentation templates and authoring templates

When referencing content components in a presentation template:

  • It is essential that all the components (and component types) the presentation template uses are available in the authoring template the content is based on.

  • It is acceptable to have more or less components stored within a content item than are actually used within one particular presentation template.

You should also be aware that an authoring template could be used by different presentation templates in different site areas.

 

Labeling elements

The names of element labels in different content items must be the same if an element reference in a presentation template is to change depending on the current content. This is an important consideration if two authoring templates will be using the same presentation template. The element types however, do not have to be consistent.

Example:

For an element reference called Heading from Current Site Area:

Site area Element label Element type
Business Heading Image
Personal Heading Rich Text
Features Heading Text
News Heading Text

 

Parent Topic

Work with authoring templates

 

Related tasks



Create an authoring template
Change the authoring template for a content item
Reapply an updated authoring template
Preview an authoring template