Defining content folders

Specifies whether this definition object is in a Working, PublishPending, Submitted, Published, Inactive, or Active state. Click the Click to collapse/expand icon to view further details, including who created the record, who modified it last, and dates of these changes.

• Content records in a Working state have been saved within the iMIS database, but the latest changes have not been made active on the associated iMIS content management websites by the associated publishing servers and their corresponding publishing service.

The Publish command on the toolbar queues the content record to the associated publishing server, during which the content record is in a PublishPending state and can be viewed in the Pending Requests detail. After each publish has successfully processed, the latest changes become visible on the associated websites and become active within iMIS, both of which are denoted by the Published state.

If an iMIS user does not have content authority group (CAG) Content Approver permissions, they will see a Submit command instead of a Publish command. The Submit command queues a publishing request to the Page Builder Task list of all content authority group members who have Content Approver permissions (or, if workflow is enabled for the parent content folder, only those members of the content folder's assigned content authority group who have Content Approver permissions). Only a person with Content Approver permissions in at least one content authority group can actually publish content records.

• For all other definition objects, the publishing process is less complex and does not involve content authority group permissions, publishing servers, or the iMIS publishing service. When the object is in a Working state, the latest changes have been saved within the iMIS database, but they have not yet been made active within iMIS. The Publish command makes the latest changes active within iMIS.
• Websites in an Inactive state are offline so that browsers cannot view the website content, and instead see a 503 error (Service Unavailable). Selecting the Is this website active? checkbox in the Status section of the website's definition puts the website in an Active state, enabling browsers to view the website content. Deselecting this checkbox puts the website in an Inactive state.

Specifies a version of the folder Title that meets the requirements for a path segment to the rendered .aspx files for each content record in the folder.

Specifies the website for which searches will always include the content records within this content folder. This value is not inherited by any children content folders, although when you create a new content folder this field will copy the current value from its parent content folder as a default value.

Note: If iMIS returns no search results, be sure to designate some content folders to list the specific website in either of these fields.

Specifies additional websites, other than the one specified in Default Website (for search), for which searches will always include the content records within this content folder. These values are not inherited by any children content folders, although when you create a new content folder this field will copy the current values from its parent content folder as default values.

Displays the rendered version of a content record in this content folder in the context of the website specified in Default Website (for search) regardless of the website on which the search was performed. When this option is cleared, the rendered content record is displayed in the context of the website in which the search was made.

Specifies the publishing servers that should manage the publishing of all content records within this content folder:

In the simplest case (only one publishing server defined in your iMIS content management environment) you should set this value to All for the root content folder (@) and set this value to Inherit on all folders under the root.

Specifies whether content workflow is enabled for this content folder and by default all of this content folder's child content records:

• If an Authority Group is assigned to this folder, the content workflow is enabled. Only the members of that content authority group (CAG) receive workflow notifications in their Page Builder Task list when changes occur to content records in the content folder.
• If no Authority Group is assigned, then any member of any content authority group in the system receives workflow notifications in their task list when changes occur to content records in the content folder.

The following fields appear only when a content authority group is assigned to a content folder:

• Owner of this content – Specifies which member of the assigned content authority group should replace the designated content owner of any child content records or content folders if the current owner assigned to a content record becomes ineligible for any reason. The drop-down list includes only those members of the assigned content authority group who have Content Editor permissions.
• Content is considered expired n days after last published – Specifies the default expiration interval for all content records in this folder. Expired content records are no longer rendered on iMIS content management websites, but the content record remains in the system with no change in status until it is manually deleted by selecting Organize > Delete on the Document system toolbar, or by using the Delete Selected button on a content authority group member's Page Builder Task list.

Note: This default expiration behavior can be selectively overridden by the Automatically remove expired content? field in the definition of each content record.

Note: For more information on the Content and Navigation Workflow task, which must be enabled through iMIS Process automation, see Creating and editing scheduled tasks.

Manually republishing the content record causes the content record to be displayed again on the iMIS content management websites and resets the expiration interval.

The expiration interval can be effectively overridden for a specific content record in this folder by specifying a value smaller than the expiration interval for the Automatic Publishing Frequency field in the content record definition. This ensures that the expiration interval is never reached for that content record.

• Update this value for content in this folder and all subfolders – Automatically applies the setting for Content is considered expired n days after last published to the following when you save your changes to this content folder definition:
  • All descendent content records
  • Descendant content folders with content workflow set up

Specifies the tags that are currently associated with the current content folder.

Note: Click Modify to display the tag selection tree.

Tags applied to a content folder are inherited by all descendant content records and content folders, not just the immediate children of this content folder. The Tags inherited from parent hierarchy area lists all tags that are being inherited from a content folder higher in the content folder hierarchy.

Only the inherited tags and the additional specific tags that you select here are used by the iMIS content management search engine. If you want search results to also find the descendant content records by descendant tags in the tag hierarchy, you must select the parent tag and also the specific descendant tags.

Although the iMIS content management search engine recognizes tag inheritance and finds descendant content records based on inherited tags, the Items by Tag report does not recognize tag inheritance and does not list the descendant content records and content folders for a tag that the descendant content records inherit.

To choose useful tags for the dynamic handling of descendant content records, it helps to understand how tag-related functionality handles tag inheritance:

• The prefiltered result set of a basic or advanced search includes all published content records that are tagged with any descendant of the tag that is matched by the search keywords.
• The prefiltered result set of a rendered Content Tagged List content item also includes published content records that are tagged with any descendent of a tag that is specified in the configuration of the Content Tagged List.
• The content of the Items by Tag report (Reports > Content Reports) does not list published content records that are tagged with any descendant of each tag in the report.

Note: Tags are always overwritten on import. For example, if you import a content folder from a staging server to a production server, the assigned tags on the production server are overwritten by whatever tags are assigned on the staging server.

Specifies the Document system permissions granted for this definition object to iMIS security roles, security groups, specific iMIS users, iMIS member types, or to all Full and Casual users based on their assigned authorization levels.

• Apply changes to all descendants – Changes to this section, when saved, flow automatically to all descendant definition objects. When this option is cleared, changes to this section apply only to the current definition object. This checkbox usually is displayed only on Document system folder objects.
• Use a preconfigured security set – Specifies a preconfigured security configuration to use for this definition object, which can be much simpler than using the Make this available to option to specify the permissions for definition objects. The specific permissions in the preconfigured security configuration are displayed (read-only) in the Make this available to area.

If you select a preconfigured security configuration and then switch to the Make this available to option, the permissions granted by the preconfigured security configuration are copied. This enables you to use a preconfigured security configuration as a starting point for defining custom permissions.

• Make this available to – Lists the roles, groups, users, member types, or authorization levels that have been enabled to define or view rendered output from this object. This option enables you to specify custom permissions for the definition object if none of the preconfigured security configurations meets your needs. The SysAdmin, Content Administrator, and Everyone roles are default system-defined security roles that are assigned to every definition object used by iMIS content management. The SysAdmin role is assigned in the definition of an iMIS user record, but the Content Administrator role is automatically assigned to every iMIS user who is a member of an iMIS content management content authority group (CAG) that is designated as a Master Admin content authority group.

The permissions that can be assigned to each entry in the list are:

• Full Control – Enables all permissions that follow.
• Read – Enables users to see this object both in iMIS content management definition windows and as rendered output in iMIS content management websites.

Note: Users cannot change the object's definition.

• Add – Enables users to create new objects. Users can also paste or import an object into the Document system.
• Edit – Enables users to edit this object's definition.

Note: Users cannot change delete the object.

• Delete – Enables users to delete this object.
• Select – (if displayed) Enables users to assign a tag to content folders and content records.

To work with content items that have been added to a content record, select from the following commands:

• Configure – Displays a Configure iPart window that allows you to define the properties of the content item. You can access Configuration Help for most content items.
• Copy To – Allows you to specify another content record to which you want to copy the content item.
• Move To – Allows you to specify another content record to which you want to move the content item.
• Connect – Displays a connection editor that enables staff or consultants to define content item connections. Connections allow one content item to interact with another content item on the same content record. Not all content items support connections; review the Configuration Help to determine a content item’s connection options.

When creating a new connection, the available connection types are listed. A drop-down list enables you to select from the other content items on the same content record. For example, to configure content item A to act upon content item B:

1. Click Connect on content item A. A Connect window is displayed.
2. Click Create a new connection.
3. Select the content item B in the Object Consumer drop-down.
4. Click Connect.
5. Click the red X to close the Connect window.

Each content item can have only one Object Consumer and one Object Provider per connection type. A content item can act as an Object Provider for one other content item only; a content item cannot as an Object Provider for multiple content items.

The connection editor lists all current connection points for the content item and allows you to define new connections. Each content item (Object Consumer and Object Provider) displays the connection once it is defined. For example, if you connect content item A to content item B and review the connections for content item B, you will see the connection to content item A. Connections can also be disconnected from the connection editor.

Currently, connections can be the following types:

• Object
• Atom Object
• Uniform Key
• String

The type of connection to use depends on the implementation by the content item’s author. Please refer to the specific content item’s Configuration Help for details.

• Minimize – Collapses the content item's preview area, instead displaying the content item's title bar only.
• Restore – Expands a collapsed content item to display its preview area.
• Remove – Removes the content item from the content record.

Note: The content types defined in the system determine the behavior of ASP.NET content item controls within iMIS. Each content item's control must have an associated content type, which tells iMIS how to create the corresponding content item within the system, how to edit the content item, how to display the content item, how to publish the content item, and so on. The system-defined content items in the Content gallery all have a corresponding content type. A special ContentWebUserControl content type is used as the default content type for all custom content items that you add to a content record. You can optionally define entirely new content types to enable more sophisticated system handling of a custom content item that has been added to a content record.

Other tips:

• Modifications to your master pages might be required if content items appear to overflow the boundaries of content item zones in the rendered pages. This requires modifying the template's master page and accompanying CSS files to make the Home page and interior page layouts larger than their default size.
• Custom ASP.NET content items are not described in this section because they are not part of the standard set of content items shipped with iMIS.
• Implementers can add an ad hoc ASP.NET web user control to a content record by entering the relative path to the content item in the Or, enter a path to a web user control field.

Specifies a relative URL from the root (~) of the physical path for the application or website that hosts your iMIS content management websites to a web user control that you want to insert into this content record.

Note: Be sure to use forward slashes (/) for the URL segment delimiters.

• When you choose to Save and Publish a content record or content item, no publishing options are displayed. Your changes to the content record or content item are automatically published and immediately visible on all websites that use the modified content.
• Hold Shift or Ctrl while selecting content records to select multiple records. You can publish a group of content records in one operation.
• When you publish a content folder, the publishing process automatically includes all descendants (content records and sub-folders) of that content folder. The publishing option you select is applied to each descendant.
• When you make changes to the definition of a content folder, the system flags only that content folder as now being in a Working state. However, changes made to a content folder can affect the behavior of all descendant content records and content folders; republish descendants of the modified content folder:
  • Use Publish All Items to reset the expiration countdown timer for all descendant content records that are controlled by the Content is considered expired n days after last published field.
  • Use Publish Working Items, Regenerate Published Items if you do not want to affect the current expiration countdown timer for all descendant content records.

If the selected definition object or folder has children, such as a navigation item in the Manage sitemaps tree or a sub-folder in the Manage websites tree, then all descendants of the definition object or folder are published as well.

Note: This option is displayed for some definition object types only.

Note: This option is not displayed for content folders: the publishing process for a content folder always applies to the content folder's descendants.

Publishes only the selected definition objects that currently have a status of Working. Selected objects that are in any other state are ignored.

Note: This option is displayed for some definition object types only.

Publishes all of the selected definition objects regardless of their status. The Updated on date is reset to the current date. Objects that are currently in a Published state have their Date of publication reset to the current date. However, if the Date of publication was manually overwritten, the date remains unchanged.

Note: This option is displayed for some definition object types only.

Note: If the Date of publication for a content record is blanked out, the publication date is reset to the current date when the content is published.

Publishes all of the selected definition objects regardless of their status. The Date of publication remains unchanged for objects that are currently in a Published state. The Updated on date is reset to the current date.

Note: This option is displayed for some definition object types only.

Prevents the publishing results from being displayed, which can reduce the number of clicks you must make when publishing. This option is saved as a preference until you change it again.