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Created by Orckestra

A Guide to Creating Data Types

Introduction

C1 combines page-based and item-based approaches as a content management system. As a page-based system it visually gives you a 1:1 relation between pages created in C1 and the pages on your website. As an item-based system, C1 makes a full use of structured data, the role of which is played by datatypes in C1.

Figure 1: Datatypes in Data perspective

This guide focuses on creating datatypes that you can further use on web pages via input forms for entering data. It also gives an overview of datatype properties as well as datatype fields and widgets used with these fields.

Besides, it features step-by-step instructions on how to create fields that serve specific purposes in input forms. It also provides information about how to add input forms based on datatypes to web pages by using the C1 Composite.Forms.Renderer package.

Who Should Read This Guide?

This guide is intended for editors who want to learn to create datatypes and use them with input forms on web pages.

We assume that you know how to work in the Content perspective of Composite C1. We also assume that you have an idea of structured data such as tables in databases.

As a datatype creator, you will primarily work in the Data perspective where you will need permissions to create and edit datatypes. As a datatype user, you will mostly work in the Content perspective where you will need permissions to add and edit pages and data items.

To make use of input forms on the web pages, you will also need to know how to add functions to pages in the Content perspective.

Getting Started

To get started with datatypes, you are supposed to take a number of steps.

Getting Started

Step

Activity

Chapter or section

1

Create global datatypes

2 Creating and Managing Datatypes

2

Add fields to datatypes

3 Creating and Managing Fields

3

Select widgets for datatype fields

4 Widgets

4

Create specific fields for input forms

5 Creating Specific Fields

5

Use input forms with datatypes

6 Using Input Forms with Datatypes

 

In the following few chapters, you will learn more about these and other activities.

Terms and Abbreviations

The following is the list of terms and their definitions used throughout this guide.

Terms and Definitions

Term

Definition

Datatype

An entity used to store and reuse structured data in Composite C1

Global datatype

A datatype that represents data reusable across all web pages on all web sites created in C1.

Page datafolder

A datatype that represent data associated with one specific page.

Page metatype

A datatype that represents flexible metadata structures assigned to a page or a section of the website.

Widget

In C1, a control used for getting input values from users and storing them in corresponding datatype fields

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