۶Ƶ

Authoring Content Fragments authoring-content-fragments

Authoring your Content Fragments is focused on both headless delivery and page authoring.

There are two editors available for Content Fragments. The editor described in this section:

  • has been developed for headless content delivery (though it can be used for all scenarios)
  • is available from the Content Fragments console

This editor provides:

WARNING
The editor described in this section is only available in the online ۶Ƶ Experience Manager (AEM) as a Cloud Service.

Content Fragment Editor content-fragment-editor

When you first open the Content Fragment Editor, you see four main areas:

  • top toolbar: for key information, and actions

    • a link to the Content Fragment Console (Home icon)

    • information about the model, and folder

    • links to Preview (if the Default Preview URL Pattern is configured for the model)

    • Publish, and Unpublish actions

    • an option to show all Parent References (link icon)

    • the fragment Status, and last saved information

    • a toggle to switch to the original (Assets-based) editor

      note warning
      WARNING
      The original editor opens in the same tab. It is not recommended to have both editors open at the same time.
  • left panel: shows the Variations for the Content Fragment, and its Fields:

  • right panel: presents tabs showing the properties (metadata) and tags, information about the version history, and information related to any language copies

    • in the Properties tab you can update the Title and Description for the fragment, or Variation
  • central panel: shows the actual fields, and content, of the selected variation

    • allows you to edit the content
      • when configured (as multiple) in the model, various data types allow you to Add instances of the relevant field
    • if Tab Placeholder fields are defined within the model they are shown here, and can be used for navigating; they will either be presented horizontally, or as a drop-down list.
    note note
    NOTE
    Depending on definitions in the underlying model, fields can be subject to certain types of Validation.

Content Fragment Editor - Overview

A single Content Fragment;

  • Consists of two levels:

    • Variations of the Content Fragment
    • Fields - defined by the Content Fragment Model, and used by every variation
  • Can contain a variety of references.

Variations and Fields variations-and-fields

In the left panel you can see:

  • the list of Variations that have been created for this fragment:

    • Main is the Variation that is present when the Content Fragment is first created, you can add others later
    • you can use Generate Variations(#generate-variations) to use a prompt based template that ۶Ƶ has created for a specific use case.
    • you can also create a Variation
  • the Fields within the fragment, and its variations:

    • the icon indicates the Data Type
    • the text is the field name
    • together these provide a direct link to the field content in the central panel (for the current Variation)

In various parts of the editor you can see the link icon. This can be used to open the item shown; for example, a Content Fragment Model, a Parent Reference, or a fragment being referenced:

Content Fragment Editor - Link Icon

Structure tree structure-tree

Open the Structure tree tab from the editor toolbar to show the hierarchical structure of the Content Fragment, and its references. Use the link icons to navigate to the references.

Content Fragment Editor - Structure tree

Saving and auto-saving saving-autosaving

With every update that you make, the Content Fragment is automatically saved. The last time saved is shown in the top toolbar.

Variations variations

Variations are a significant feature of AEM’s Content Fragments. They allow you to create and edit copies of the Main content for use on specific channels, and scenarios, making headless content delivery and page authoring even more flexible.

From the editor you can:

Create a Variation create-variation

To create a Variation of your Content Fragment:

  1. In the left panel, select the plus sign (Create variation) that is to the right of Variations.

    note note
    NOTE
    After creating your first variation, existing variations will be listed in the same panel.

    Content Fragment Editor - Create your first Variation

  2. In the dialog, enter a Title for your variation, and a Description if wanted:

    Content Fragment Editor - Create Variation dialog

  3. Create the variation. It appears in the list.

Rename a Variation rename-variation

To rename a Variation:

  1. Select the required variation.

  2. Open the Properties tab in the right panel.

  3. Update the variation Title.

  4. Either press Return or move to another field to auto-save the change. The title is updated in the Variations panel on the left.

Create variations using GenAI with Generate Variations generate-variations-ai

Use Generative Variations to leverage Generative AI to accelerate content creation.

To use the Generative Variations in the Content Fragment Editor:

  1. Open the Content Fragment Editor. In the header you will find the entry point to Generate Variations:

    Generate Variations in Content Fragment Editor

  2. Generate variations opens in new tab. In the left rail you can see the AEM Cloud instance and the Content Fragment you are creating content for. Select the prompt you want to use or create a new prompt.

    note note
    NOTE
    The available ۶Ƶ prompt templates available is limited now, but more will be added in future releases.

    Export to Generate Variations in Content Fragment

  3. Generate content by filling in the prompts. The content model from the fragment will be automatically used to generate content using GenAI.

    note note
    NOTE
    We are currently only supporting text fields.

    Export to Generate Variations in Content Fragment

  4. Select the generate variant you like and select “export variation”. Confirm the name of the content fragment variation and select either:

    • Export: export variation to Content Fragment and stay in the Generate Variation application.

    • Export and open: export variation to Content Fragment and open a new tab that shows the Content Fragment with the new variation from GenAI.

      Export to Generate Variations in Content Fragment

  5. Variations generated are shown in Main Content Fragment Editor.

    View Generate Variations in Content Fragment

See Generate Variations to learn more.

Delete a variation delete-variation

To delete a Variation of your Content Fragment:

<div class="extension note">
<div>NOTE</div>
<div>
<p>You cannot delete <strong>Main</strong>.</p>
</div>
</div>
  1. Select the Variation.

  2. In the Variation panel, select the delete icon (Trash Can):

    Content Fragment Editor - Delete Variation icon

  3. A dialog opens. Select Delete to confirm the action.

Edit Multi line text fields - Plain text or Markdown edit-multi-line-text-fields-plaintext-markdown

Multi line text fields can have one of three formats:

Fields that are defined as either Plain Text or Markdown have a simple text box, without (on-screen) formatting options:

Content Fragment Editor - Multi line text - full screen

Edit Multi line text fields - Rich Text edit-multi-line-text-fields-rich-text

For Multi line text fields that are defined as Rich Text, various features are available:

  • Edit the content:

    • Undo/Redo
    • Paste/Paste as Text
    • Copy
    • Select paragraph format
    • Create/manage table
    • Format text; bold, italic, underline, color
    • Set paragraph alignment
    • Create/manage lists; bulleted, numbered
    • Indent text; decrease, increase
    • Clear current formatting
    • Insert links
    • Select and insert references to image assets
    • Add special characters
  • Full-screen editor - toggle between full-screen and in-flow

  • Statistics

  • Compare and Synchronize

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - Multi line text - full screen toggle

NOTE
Multi line text fields are also indicated by the appropriate icon in the Fields panel.

Full-screen editor - Rich Text full-screen-editor-rich-text

The full-screen editor offers the same editing options as when in-flow - but offers more space for the text.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - Multi line text - full screen

Statistics - Rich Text statistics-rich-text

The action Statistics displays a range of information about the text in a Multi line field.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - Statistics

Compare and Synchronize - Rich Text compare-and-synchronize-rich-text

The action Compare is available for Multi line fields when you have a Variation open.

This opens the Multi line field in full-screen and:

  • displays the content for both Main and the current Variation in parallel, with any differences highlighted

  • differences are indicated by color:

    • green indicates content added (to the variation)
    • red indicates content removed (from the variation)
    • blue indicates replaced text
  • provides the Sync action, which synchronizes the content from Main to the current variation

    • if Main has been updated, then these changes will be transferred to the variation
    • if the variation has been updated, then these changes will be overwritten by the content from Main
    note caution
    CAUTION
    Synchronization is only available to copy changes from Main to the variation.
    Transferring changes from a variation to Main is not available as an option.

For example, a scenario where the variation content had been completely rewritten, so a synchronization will replace that new content with the content from Main:

Content Fragment Editor - Compare and Sync

Manage References manage-references

Fragment References fragment-references

Fragment References can be used to:

Create a reference to an existing Content Fragment create-reference-existing-content-fragment

To create a reference to an existing Content Fragment:

  1. Select the field.

  2. Select Add existing fragment.

  3. Select your required fragment from the fragment selector.

    note note
    NOTE
    You are allowed to select only one fragment at a time.

Create a Content Fragment, and reference create-reference-content-fragment

Alternatively you can select Create new fragment to open the Create dialog. Once created, this fragment will be referenced.

Content References content-references

Content References are used to reference other AEM content types, such as images, pages, and Experience Fragments.

Reference Images reference-images

In Content Reference fields you can both:

  • reference assets that already exist in the repository

  • upload them directly to the field; this avoids the need to use the Assets console to upload

    note note
    NOTE
    To directly upload an image to the Content Reference field, it must:
    • have a Root Path defined (in the Content Fragment Model). This specifies where the image will be stored.
    • include Image in the list of accepted content types

To add an asset, you can either:

  • drag and drop the new asset file directly (for example, from your file system) into the Content Reference field

  • use the Add asset action, then select either Browse Assets or Upload to open the appropriate selector for you to use:

    Content Fragment Editor - Add asset options

Reference Pages reference-pages

To add references to AEM pages, Experience Fragments, or other such content types:

  1. Select Add content path.

  2. Add the required path in the input field.

  3. Confirm with Add.

NOTE
This should not be used for references to:

View Parent References view-parent-references

Selecting the link icon in the top toolbar opens a list of all parent references.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - Show References

A window opens, listing all related references. To open a reference, select the name or title, or the link icon.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - Show References

View Properties, and Tags view-properties-tags

In the properties tab of the right panel, properties (metadata) and tags can be viewed. The properties can be either:

  • for the Content Fragment - if Main is currently selected
  • for a specific Variation

Content Fragment Editor - Properties

Edit Properties and Tags edit-properties-tags

In the properties tab (right panel) you can also edit:

  • Title

  • Description

  • Tags: using the drop-down list, or the selection dialog

    Content Fragment Editor - Manage Tags

Open the Content Fragment Model open-content-fragment-model

When you have Main selected, the name of the underlying Content Fragment Model is shown in the properties section. Selecting the link icon, opens the model in a separate tab.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - open Content Fragment Model

View the Version History view-version-history

In the Version history tab of the right panel, details of the current, and previous, versions are shown:

NOTE
A new version is created when the content fragment is published.

Content Fragment Editor - Version History Overview

Compare Version compare-version

For a content fragment you can compare a previous version against the current version.

To compare a previous version to the current:

  1. Select the three dots icon next to the version.

  2. Select Compare.

Content Fragment Editor - Version History Compare

This opens up a view that displays differences between the current version of the content, and the selected previous version of the content fragment. From the Variations with changes drop-down, you can select to see differences from the Main content and/or content from a Variation.

Differences are indicated by color:

  • Green: indicates content added (to the current version)
  • Red: indicates content removed (from the current version)

Content Fragment Editor - Version History Compare Versions

Revert to a Version revert-version

You can revert to any version.

To revert to a specific version:

  1. Select the three dots icon next to the version.

  2. Select Revert.

Content Fragment Editor - Version History Revert

View the Language Copies view-language-copies

In the Language properties tab details of any related language copies are shown. Selecting a link icon, opens the copy in a separate tab.

For example:

Content Fragment Editor - open Language Copy

NOTE
For more details about translating a Content Fragment, and creating language copies, see the AEM Headless Translation Journey.

Preview your Fragment preview-content-fragment

The Content Fragment editor provides authors with the option to preview their edits in an external frontend application.

To use this feature, you first need to:

  • Work with your IT team to set up the external frontend application that will render the Content Fragment by consuming its JSON output.
  • When the external frontend application is set up, the Default Preview URL Pattern must be defined as a property of the appropriate Content Fragment Model.

When the URL has been defined, the Preview button is active. You can select this button to launch the external application (in a separate tab) to render the Content Fragment.

Publish your Fragment publish-content-fragment

You can Publish your fragment to either your:

  • Preview instance
  • Publish instance

You can publish your fragment from either the editor, or the console. See Publishing and Previewing a Fragment for full details.

Unpublish your Fragment unpublish-content-fragment

You can also Unpublish your fragment from either your:

  • Preview instance
  • Publish instance

You can unpublish your fragment from either the editor, or the console. See Unpublishing a fragment for full details.

Fields, Data Types and Icons fields-datatypes-icons

The Fields panel lists all fields within the Content Fragment. The icon indicates the Data Type:

Single line text
Multi line text
Number
Boolean
Date and time
Enumeration
Tags
Content Reference
Fragment Reference
JSON Object

Tab Placeholder

Although not represented by an actual icon, a Tab Placeholder is represented in the left panel.
It is also represented in the central panel, either horizontally as shown, or in a drop-down list (when there are too many to show horizontally).

Good to know good-to-know

  • To edit a Content Fragment you need the appropriate permissions. Contact your system administrator if you are experiencing issues.

    For example, if you do not have edit permissions the editor will be read-only.

  • A Content Fragment Model can often define data fields named Title and Description. If these fields exist, they are user-defined fields and can be updated in the central panel when editing the fragment.

    The Content Fragment, and its variations, also have metadata fields (Variation properties) called Title and Description. These fields are an integral part of any Content Fragment and initially defined when the fragment. They can be updated in the right panel when editing the fragment.

  • See the Assets documentation for full information about the original Content Fragment editor - it is available from both the Assets console and the Content Fragments console.

  • Your project team can customize the editor if necessary. See Customizing the Content Fragment Console and Editor for further details.

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