eXo Platform 3.5

## Chapter 4. Work With Content

eXo Platform provides you with 2 options to create the content for your new extension:

- Create new content manually.

- Import an existing content into your extension.

This chapters represents issues related to creating a new content manually via the following topics:

- Node type

- WCM template

- Document type

- Dialog Syntax

- Taxonomy

## Node type

To create a content for your extension, you first need to define a node type which represents the document type in the JCR. There are 2 ways to define your node type:

- Via the Content administration portlet. For more details on how to create a note type via the Content administration portlet, see the Manage node types in the eXo Platform 3.5 user guide.

- Via the .xml configuration files by creating a nodetypes-configuration.xml file in your extension as below.

    <nodeType hasOrderableChildNodes="false" isMixin="true" name="exo:newnodetype" primaryItemName="">

      <supertypes>

        <supertype>exo:article</supertype>

      </supertypes>

      <propertyDefinitions>

        <propertyDefinition autoCreated="true" mandatory="true" multiple="false" name="text" onParentVersion="COPY" protected="false" requiredType="String">

          <valueConstraints/>

        </propertyDefinition>

        <propertyDefinition autoCreated="false" mandatory="true" multiple="false" name="date" onParentVersion="COPY" protected="false" requiredType="Date">

          <valueConstraints/>

        </propertyDefinition>

      </propertyDefinitions>

    </nodeType>

By defining a supertype, you can reuse other node types and extend them with more properties (just like inheritance in Object Oriented Programming).

## WCM template

After defining your node type, you need to select templates which are applied to a node type or a metadata mixin type. eXo Platform provides 2 types of WCM templates, including:

- dialogs which are HTML forms for creating node instances.

- views which are HTML fragments for displaying nodes.

From the Content administration portlet, the Manage Template module lists all existing node types that have been associated with Dialog and/or View templates. These templates can be attached to permissions (in the usual membership:group_ form), so which specific templates are displayed according to user rights (which can be useful in a content validation workflow activity).

## Document type

The Document Type checkbox is to define if the node type should be a Document Type or not. If this checkbox is selected, the Sites Explorer considers such nodes as user content and applies the following behavior:

- The View template will be used to display the DocumentType nodes.

- The document types nodes can be created by the Add Content action. The forms shown in the Add Document action are the corresponding Dialog templates of each document type.

Non-document types are hidden unless the Show Non-document Nodes option is checked.

Templates are written using Groovy Templates and will require experiences with JCR API and HTML notions.

## Dialog Syntax

Dialogs are Groovy Templates that generate forms by mixing static HTML fragments and Groovy calls to the components responsible for building the UI at runtime. As a result, you will get a simple but powerful syntax.

### Interceptors

By placing interceptors in your template, you will be able to execute a Groovy script just before and just after saving the node. Pre-save interceptors are mostly used to validate input values and their overall meaning while the post-save interceptor can be used to do some manipulations or references for the newly created node, such as binding it with a forum discussion or wiki space.

To place interceptors, use the following fragment:

    <% uicomponent.addInterceptor("ecm-explorer/interceptor/PreNodeSaveInterceptor.groovy", "prev");%>

Interceptor Groovy scripts are managed in the 'Manage Script' section in the ECM admin portlet. They must implement the CmsScript interface. Pre-save interceptors obtain input values within the context:

    public class PreNodeSaveInterceptor implements CmsScript {

      public PreNodeSaveInterceptor() {

      }

      public void execute(Object context) {

        Map inputValues = (Map) context;

        Set keys = inputValues.keySet();

        for(String key : keys) {

          JcrInputProperty prop = (JcrInputProperty) inputValues.get(key);

          println("   --> "+prop.getJcrPath());

        }

      }

      public void setParams(String[] params) {

      }

    }

Whereas the post-save interceptor is passed the path of the saved node in the context:

    <% uicomponent.addInterceptor("ecm-explorer/interceptor/PostNodeSaveInterceptor.groovy", "post");%>

    public class PostNodeSaveInterceptor implements CmsScript {

      public PostNodeSaveInterceptor() {

      }

      public void execute(Object context) {

        String path = (String) context;

        println("Post node save interceptor, created node: "+path);

      }

      public void setParams(String[] params) {

      }

    }

### Hidden fields

In the next code sample, each argument is composed of a set of keys and values. The order of arguments are not important and only the key matters. That example defines a field with the id as "hiddenField2", which will generate a hidden field. The value of this field will be automatically set to UTF-8 and no visible field will be printed on the form.

    String[] hiddenField2 = ["jcrPath=/node/jcr:content/jcr:encoding", "visible=false", "UTF-8"];

    uicomponent.addHiddenField("hiddenInput2", hiddenField2);

Once the form has been saved, the date value will be saved under the relative JCR path ./exo:image/jcr:lastModified.

#### Non-value field

You cannot either see the non-value field on the form or input value for them. Its value will be automatically created or defined when you are managing templates.

    String[] hiddenField1 = ["jcrPath=/node/jcr:content", "nodetype=nt:resource", "mixintype=dc:elementSet", "visible=false"] ;

    uicomponent.addHiddenField("hiddenInput1", hiddenField1) ;

#### Non-editable fields

It is possible to create widgets that are non-editable (and then only used to print some information).

    String[] fieldCategories = ["jcrPath=/node/exo:category", "multiValues=true", "reference=true", "editable=false"]; uicomponent.addTextField("categories", fieldCategories);

#### Create node type or mixin type

In many cases, when creating an instance where the node is out of form, you must still specify the CMS service about the node structure. Particularly, you must define if which node type is child of the newly created node or if the current node has any mixin type attributed.

By defining these arguments, the node and its children are created with the correct node type and mixin type.

See the following example:

    String[] hiddenField = ["jcrPath=/node/jcrcontent", "nodetype=nt:resource", "mixintype=exo:rss-enable", "visible=false"] ;

    uicomponent.addHiddenField("hiddenInput", hiddenField) ;

#### Hidden field with default value

In the previous sample, the value was automatically created and set according to the current date. However, it is also possible to set a default value for a field.

    String[] hiddenField = ["jcrPath=/node/jcrcontent/jcr:mimeType", "image/jpeg"] ;

    uicomponent.addHiddenField("hiddenInput", hiddenField) ;

#### Visible without null fields

It is possible to tell that a widget should be visible only if its value is not null or when the form is used to edit the node which has been existing.

    String nameArgs[] = ["jcrPath=/node", "mixintype=mix:votable", "visible=if-not-null"];

    uicomponent.addMixinField("name", nameArgs )

#### WYSIWYG widget

Widgets are natively part of the eXo Platform product to provide a simple and easy way for users to get information and notification on their application. They complete the portlet application that focuses on more transactional behaviors.

WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get. This widget is one of the most powerful tools. It renders an advanced JavaScript text editor with many functionalities, including the ability to dynamically upload images or flash assets into a JCR workspace and then to refer to them from the created HTML text.

    String[] fieldSummary = ["jcrPath=/node/exo:summary", "options=basic"] ;

    uicomponent.addWYSIWYGField("summary", fieldSummary) ;

    String[] fieldContent = ["jcrPath=/node/exo:text", "options=toolbar:CompleteWCM,'height:410px'", ""] ;

    uicomponent.addRichtextField("content", fieldContent)

The "options" argument is used to tell the component which toolbar should be used.

By default, there are five options for the toolbar: CompleteWCM, Default, BasicWCM, Basic, SuperBasicWCM.

- CompleteWCM: a full set of tools is shown.

The following buttons are shown: Source, Templates, Show Blocks, Cut, Copy, Paste Text, Undo, Redo, SpellCheck, WCM Insert Gadget, Flash, Table, Insert Special Character, WCM Insert Content Link, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strike Through, Justify Left, Justify Center, Justify Right, Justify Full, Ordered List, Unordered List, Text Color, Background Color, Remove Format, Link, WCM Insert Portal Link, Unlink, Anchor, Style, Font Format, Font Name, Font Size, Maximize.

- Default: a large set of tools is shown, no "options" argument is needed in that case.

The following buttons are shown: Source, Templates, Cut, Copy, PasteText, Undo, Redo, SpellCheck, RemoveFormat, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strike Through, Ordered List, Unordered List, Link, Unlink, Anchor, Image, Flash, Table, Special Character, Text Color, Background Color, Show Blocks, Style, Font Format, Font Name, Font Size, Maximize.

- BasicWCM: a minimal set of tools is shown.

The following buttons are shown: Source, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strike Through, OrderedList, UnorderedList, Outdent, Indent, Justify Left, Justify Center, Justify Right, JustifyFull, Blockquote, Link, Unlink, WCM Insert Portal Link, WCM Insert Content Link, Show Blocks, Style, Font Format, Font Name, FontSize, Maximize.

- Basic:

The following buttons are shown: Source, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strike Through, Ordered List, Unordered List, Outdent, Indent, Justify Left, Justify Center, Justify Right, Justify Full, Blockquote, Link, Unlink, Show Blocks, Style, Font Format, Font Name, Font Size, Maximize.

- SuperBasicWCM:

The following buttons are shown: Source, Bold, Italic, Underline, Justify Left, Justify Center, Justify Right, Justify Full, Link, Unlink, WCM Insert Portal Link, WCM Insert Gadget, WCM Insert Content Link.

There is also a simple text area widget, which has text-input area only:

    String [] descriptionArgs = ["jcrPath=/node/exo:title", "validate=empty"];

    uicomponent.addTextAreaField("description", descriptionArgs) ;

#### Create a custom RichText editor fields

In the WYSIWYG widget section, you already know about a set of default toolbars (CompleteWCM, Default, BasicWCM, Basic, SuperBasicWCM). In this section, you will learn how to create a RichText editor with custom buttons.

Just edit the configuration file and modify or add new items to the configuration file of the RichText editor is located in: apps/resource-static/src/main/Webapp/eXoConfig.js

Take a look at the eXoConfig.js file to see a definition of a custom toolbar named "MyCustomToolbar":

    FCKConfig.ToolbarSets["MyCustomToolbar"] = [

      ['Source','Templates','-','FitWindow','ShowBlocks'],

     ['Cut','Copy','PasteText','-','SpellCheck','-','Undo','Redo'],

     ['WCMInsertGadget','Flash','Table','SpecialChar', 'WCMInsertContent'],

     '/',

     ['Bold','Italic','Underline','StrikeThrough','-','JustifyLeft','JustifyCenter','JustifyRight','JustifyFull','-','OrderedList','UnorderedList','-','TextColor','BGColor','-','RemoveFormat'],

     ['Link','WCMInsertPortalLink','Unlink','Anchor'],

     '/',

     ['Style','FontFormat','FontName','FontSize']

    ] ;

Every toolbar set is composed of a series of "toolbar bands" that are grouped in the final toolbar layout. The bands items move together on new rows when resizing the editor.

Every toolbar band is defined as a separated JavaScript array of strings. Each string corresponds to an available toolbar item defined in the editor code or in a plugin.

- Put the desired button names in square bracket ("[" & "]") and separate them by commas to create a toolbar band. You can look at the above code to know all the possible toolbar item. If the toolbar item does not exist, a message will be displayed when loading the editor.

- Include a separator in the toolbar band by putting the "-" string on it.

- Separate each toolbar brands with commas.

- Use slash ("/") to tell the editor that you want to force the next bands to be rendered in a new row and not following the previous one.

### Note

The last toolbar band must have no comma after it.

#### Simple select box widget

The select box widget enables you to render a select box with static values. These values are enumerated in a comma-separated list in the "options" argument. The argument with no key (here "text/html") is selected by default.

    String[] mimetype = ["jcrPath=/node/jcrcontent/jcr:mimeType", "text/html", "options=text/html,text/plain"] ;

    uicomponent.addSelectBoxField("mimetype", mimetype) ;

As usual, the value will be stored at the relative path defined by the jcrPath directive argument.

For more examples on how to create WCM templates, refer to Reference Guide.

#### Advanced dynamic select box

In many cases, the previous solution with static options is not good enough and one would like to have the select box checked dynamically. That is what eXo Platform provide thanks to the introduction of a Groovy script as shown in the code fragment below.

    String[] args = ["jcrPath=/node/exodestWorkspace", "script=ecm-explorer/widget/FillSelectBoxWithWorkspaces:groovy", "scriptParams=production"];

    uicomponent.addSelectBoxField("destWorkspace", args) ;

The script itself implements the CMS Script interface and the cast is done to get the select box object as shown in the script code which fills the select box with the existing JCR workspaces.

    import java.util.List ;

    import java.util.ArrayList ;

    import org.exoplatform.services.jcr.RepositoryService;

    import org.exoplatform.services.jcr.core.ManageableRepository;

    import org.exoplatform.webui.form.UIFormSelectBox;

    import org.exoplatform.webui.core.model.SelectItemOption;

    import org.exoplatform.services.cms.scripts.CmsScript;

    public class FillSelectBoxWithWorkspaces implements CmsScript {

      private RepositoryService repositoryService_;

      public FillSelectBoxWithWorkspaces(RepositoryService repositoryService) {

        repositoryService_ = repositoryService;

      }

      public void execute(Object context) {

        UIFormSelectBox selectBox = (UIFormSelectBox) context;

        ManageableRepository jcrRepository = repositoryService_.getRepository();

        List options = new ArrayList();

        String[] workspaceNames = jcrRepository.getWorkspaceNames();

        for(name in workspaceNames) {

          options.add(new SelectItem(name, name));

        }

        selectBox.setOptions(options);

      }

      public void setParams(String[] params) {

      }

    }

### Note

It is also possible to provide a parameter to the script by using the argument "scriptParams".

#### Widget with selector

One of the most advanced functionalities of this syntax is the ability to plug your own component that shows an interface, enabling you to select the value of the field.

In the generated form, you will see an icon which is configurable thanks to the selectorIcon argument. The syntax is a bit more complex but not much.

    String[] groupArgs = ["jcrPath=/node/exogroup", "selectorClass=org:exoplatform:ecm:webui:selector:UIGroupMemberSelector"];

    uicomponent.addActionField("group", groupArgs);

You can plug your own component using the selectorClass argument. It must follow the eXo UIComponent mechanism and implements the interface ComponentSelector:

    package org.exoplatform.ecm.webui.selector;

    import org.exoplatform.webui.core.UIComponent;

    public interface ComponentSelector {

      public UIComponent getSourceComponent() ;

      public void setSourceComponent(UIComponent uicomponent, String[] initParams) ;

    }

#### Multi-valued widget

A widget can have multiple values if you add the argument "multiValues=true" to the directive.

## Manage template service

The Template service enables you to create dialogs and view templates for each node type registered. Each node type may have many dialogs and view templates. The template will be used when creating or viewing nodes.

You can find the template service configuration in /webapps/ecm-wcm-core/WEB-INF/conf/wcm-core/core-services-configuration.xml.

    <component>

      <key>org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.TemplateService</key>

      <type>org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplateServiceImpl</type>

    </component>

As usual, one can register a plugin inside the service. This plugin initializes default dialogs and views template of any node type as nt:file, exo:article, exo:workflowAction, exo:sendMailAction, and more.

    <component-plugins>

      <component-plugin>

        <name>addTemplates</name>

        <set-method>addTemplates</set-method>

        <type>org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplatePlugin</type>

        .........

      </component-plugin>

    </component-plugins>

With init-parameters as:

    <init-params>

      <value-param>

        <name>autoCreateInNewRepository</name>

        <value>true</value>

      </value-param>

      <value-param>

        <name>storedLocation</name>

        <value>war:/conf/ecm/artifacts/templates</value>

      </value-param>

      <value-param>

        <name>repository</name>

        <value>repository</value>

      </value-param>

      <object-param>

        <name>template.configuration</name>

        <description>configuration for the localtion of templates to inject in jcr</description>

        <object type="org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplateConfig">

          <field name="nodeTypes">

            <collection type="java.util.ArrayList">

              <value>

                <object type="org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplateConfig$NodeType">

                  <field name="nodetypeName">

                    <string>exo:article</string>

                  </field>

                  <field name="documentTemplate">

                    <boolean>true</boolean>

                  </field>

                  <field name="label">

                    <string>Article</string>

                  </field>

                  <field name="referencedView">

                    <collection type="java.util.ArrayList">

                      <value>

                        <object type="org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplateConfig$Template">

                          <field name="templateFile">

                            <string>/article/views/view1.gtmpl</string>

                          </field>

                          <field name="roles">

                            <string>*</string>

                          </field>

                        </object>

                      </value>

                    </collection>

                  </field>

                  <field name="referencedDialog">

                    <collection type="java.util.ArrayList">

                      <value>

                        <object type="org.exoplatform.services.cms.templates.impl.TemplateConfig$Template">

                          <field name="templateFile">

                            <string>/article/dialogs/dialog1.gtmpl</string>

                          </field>

                          <field name="roles">

                            <string>*</string>

                          </field>

                        </object>

                      </value>

                    </collection>

                  </field>

                </object>

              </value>

            </collection>

          </field>

        </object>

      </object-param>

    </init-params>

## Taxonomy

Taxonomy is a particular classification arranged in a hierarchical structure. Taxonomy trees in eXo Platform will help you organize your content into categories.

When you create a new taxonomy tree, you will add a pre-configured exo:action (exo:scriptAction or exo:businessProcessAction) to the root node of the taxonomy tree. This action is triggered when a new document is added anywhere in the taxonomy tree. The default action moves the document to the physical storage location and replaces the document in the taxonomy tree with a symlink of the exo:taxonomyLink type pointing to it. The physical storage location is defined by a workspace name, a path and the current date and time.

Like adding document types, taxonomy trees can be managed through the Content administration portlet, or by adding .xml configuration files.

To configure taxonomy trees by adding configuration files in the /webapp/WEB-INF/conf/acme-portal/wcm/taxonomy/ directory, create a new file called $taxonomyName-taxonomies-configuration.xml. For example, if the name of your taxonomy tree is "acme", the file should be named acme-taxonomies-configuration.xml.

You can view the file here: $PLF-HOME_/samples/acme-website/webapp/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/conf/acme-portal/wcm/taxonomy/acme-taxonomies-configuration.xml.

As you can see, the value-params enable you to define the repository, workspace, name of the tree and its JCR path. You can then configure permissions for each group of users in the portal, and the triggered action when a new document is added to the taxonomy tree. Finally, you can describe the structure and names of the categories inside your taxonomy tree.