Contents
- The idea in one sentence
- Items have a type
- Types have fields
- Items live in a tree
- One item, two places
- What this means for you
The idea in one sentence
Everything on an Exponential site, from a page or a news article to a picture, a file or even a user account, is a content item (the technical word is object), and items are arranged in a tree, like folders on a computer (Getting started).
Items have a type
Think of a pile of paper forms: a vacation request, an expense claim, an address change. Each is a different kind of form with its own boxes. Content items work the same way. Each one has a content type (technically a class), such as:
| Type | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Folder | Holds other items, like a drawer; often becomes a menu entry |
| Article | A news item, a blog post, a story |
| Image | One picture, with its title and alternative text |
| File | A document for download: a PDF, a spreadsheet |
| User | A person's account |
Your site may have its own types, for example Product, Event or Recipe. A site builder creates them; you choose among them when you press Create new (Creating and editing content).
Types have fields
The boxes on the form are fields: Title, Intro, Body, Image, Publish date. When you edit, every field has its own area, and a red star marks the ones you must fill in before you can publish (The edit form). If you wish a type had another field, for example a Phone number on a Location, that is a request for your site builder, not something to squeeze into the text.
Items live in a tree
The Content structure tab shows the tree. At the top is the front page. Below it are folders, which hold articles, which can hold images, and so on. The left column shows the same tree, and you open branches by clicking the small triangles.
Home
├── About us
│ ├── Our team
│ └── Contact
├── News
│ ├── Summer opening times
│ └── New website launched
└── ServicesOn most sites the tree is the menu: the folders under Home become the main menu, and the order of the items is the order you see. How do I change the order of sub items? explains how to change it. Pictures and documents usually live in a separate part of the tree, the Media library (Images, media and uploads).
The items directly inside the one you look at are its sub items. That is where the Create new button is: you always create a new item inside something.
One item, two places
An item can appear in more than one place without being copied. Add a location in the More actions menu of a list gives it a second place (Many items at once). Change it once, and both places show the change. That is different from Copy, which makes a second, independent item.
What this means for you
- To change something, first find the item in the tree or with the search (Finding something).
- To add something, first go to the place where it belongs, then press Create new.
- If a menu entry is in the wrong order, it is the order of sub items that needs changing.
- If you need a box the form does not have, ask your site builder for a new field.
Related pages
- Words explained
- Finding your way around
- Creating and editing content
- Structuring the content tree, for site builders
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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