All of the field types for Content contribution on a dotCMS instance are Types of Content are defined by Webmasters with customized field types to allow content contributors to create content on a dotCMS managed site. The standard field types may include:
Field Types
| Display Type | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Text | Single line text with no formatting tools available to content contributors |
| Textarea | Text | Multi-line text with no formatting tools available to content contributors |
| WYSIWYG | Text | Multi-line text which can be easily formatted by content contributors |
| Radio | Selection (Single) | Allows selection of a single value from a set of pre-defined text values |
| Select | Selection (Single) | Allows selection of a single value from a set of pre-defined text values |
| Checkbox | Selection (Multiple) | Allows selection of zero, one, or multiple values from a set of pre-defined text values |
| Multi-select | Selection (Multiple) | Allows selection of zero, one, or multiple values from a set of pre-defined text values |
| Date | Date and Time | Date (only) |
| Date/time | Date and Time | Date and Time |
| Time | Date and Time | Time (only) |
| Site or Folder | Location | Enables each individual content item to be located in (and to inherit permissions from) a separate site or folder |
| Binary | File | File or image embedded in, and accesible only to, the content it is added to |
| Image | File | Link to an image which can be accessed separately from the content (via the Site Browser) |
| File | File | Link to a file which can be accessed separately from the content (via the Site Browser) |
| Category | Taxonomy | Allows content contributors to select from a pre-defined list of Categories |
| Tag | Taxonomy | Allows content contributors to add free-form Tags |
| Relationships Field | Taxonomy | Allows content contributors to relate individual content items of different Content Types |
| Key/Value Field | Taxonomy | |
| Constant Field | Not Displayed | Value which is the same for all content of this Content Type |
| Hidden Field | Not Displayed | Value which can be changed per content item, but is not displayed on the content editing screen |
| Custom | Custom Code | Custom field displayed and managed with Velocity and Javascript code |
Organizing Fields on the Screen
The fields in the content editing screen may be arranged to make it easy for content contributors to view and edit appropriate fields.
| Organization Type | Available Via | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Row | Add Row button (bottom) | Creates a separate row, in which fields may be added and arranged |
| Tab | Add Row button (bottom) | Places all rows following the Tab into a separate tab within the content editor |
| Column | Field List (right) | Adds a column to a row, allowing you to separate fields into multiple columns |
| Line Divider | Field List (right) | Adds a visible line, allowing you to visually separate fields |
| Permissions Field | Field List (right) | Removes the “Permissions” tab, displaying permissions as a field instead |
| Relationships Legacy | Field List (right) | If the Content Type has any Legacy Relationships, removes the “Relationship” tab, displaying the Legacy Relationships as a field instead |
Notes on Specific Field Types
Select Fields
When adding a simple “Select” list field, the first item in the list will become the default choice in the select list when the content contributor is adding content. To force the content contributor to make a conscious choice of an item in the select list do both of the following:
- Add only a pipe (
|) as the first choice in the select list (no label, no value) - Make the field required, so that the default first “null” choice is not valid, forcing the content contributor to click and choose an item from the select list
Multi-Select Fields
Multi-select fields do NOT need any special handling. Multi-select fields always force the contributor to choose a value, otherwise the field is left blank.
Examples
The following images display a number of the Standard Fields Types, as they're seen from a content contributor's perspective (on the Content editing screen):