Setting up Component Sets in Content Station Aurora – Home

Info: This feature requires Content Station 11.18 or higher.

Note: It is assumed here that you are familiar with the concept of configuring components for a Digital article.

A Component Set is used as one of the ways of configuring components in a Digital article.

It defines the following:

The component types that a user can make use of in a particular article such as a body component, an image component, a custom component, an interactive component, and so on.
The functionality of a component type such as if it can be converted to another component type and if so which one, and if it can be made part of another component.
The properties in the Properties panel for each component type.
The default look and feel of a component.
The appearance of the Component window that is used for adding a component to an article: the name and icon of a component, how they are grouped and how the group is named.

Adding a component

Figure: The Component window in a Digital article is used for adding components to the article. It shows all component types that can be added to the article, grouped by component type.

How it works

A Component Set is a set of files containing the configuration of the component types, the Component window, and the Properties panel. These files are bundled in a ZIP file.

Component Sets are uploaded and managed through the Management Console of Content Station.

Multiple Component Sets can be set up, each with their own configuration.

Example: One Component Set could be set up containing only those components that are needed for a news article, another for a blog post, yet another for publishing to a digital channel, and so on.

A Component Set is assigned to an article template; each template can have only one Component Set assigned.

When a Digital article is created, it is based on an article template. The Component Set that is assigned to the template is used to define the components that a user can make use of in that article. Using this method, controlling the available components for a Digital article can be done for each individual article.

A default Component Set containing default components is provided by WoodWing as part of Content Station. Additional sets can be created as needed and can also include Custom components and interactive components.

An uploaded Component Set can be replaced by a new set. Any article (template) that made use of the previous set will automatically have the new set assigned.

The process

The process involves the following steps:

Creating a Component Set
Uploading the Component Set to Content Station
Assigning the Component Set to an article template
Testing the setup

1. Creating a Component Set

Instructions for creating a Component Set can be found on Github: https://github.com/WoodWing/csde-components-boilerplate.

The Component Set will be created as a ZIP file.

Follow the provided documentation to do one or more of the following:

Define the component type(s) that the user can make use of in a particular Digital article. Use the default Component Set as a basis and/or create custom or interactive components as needed.
Define how the component types should be grouped in the Component window, how to name each group, and which icon to use for each component type or property.
Create as many Component Sets as needed.

Applying a style to the components

Styling the components of a Digital article is done by applying a Style to the article. In this style, the styling for each component type is defined.

When a component that has been added to an article needs to be styled in a different way than other components of the same type in the article, a predefined style can be applied in the form of a 'Style variant'. This is done by choosing the variant in the Properties panel for the component.

Defining Style variants is also done in a Component Set. (See the description for the 'select' control.)

2. Uploading the Component Set to Content Station

To make a Component Set available in Content Station, it needs to be uploaded. This is done in the Component Set page of the Management Console.

The Component Set page

Figure: The Component Sets page in the Management Console of Content Station.

Click Add New to add a new Component Set.
Modify an existing Component Set by renaming, disabling or deleting the current set, or by uploading a new set.

Notes:

Disabling a Component Set removes it from the list of Component Sets to choose from when creating an article template (see below).
Component Sets are global; they are made part of a Brand by assigning them to an article template.
The Default Component Set cannot be deleted.
When a Component Set is updated, any Digital article (template) that is open during the update will not use the new version until the article (template) is reopened.
When phasing out a component, it is best to keep it available in the Component Set but to exclude it from the Component window.

3. Assigning the Component Set to an article template

Making the components that are defined in the Component Set available in a Digital article is done by assigning the Component Set to an article template. See Setting up article templates for Content Station Aurora.

Note: Once a Component Set has been assigned, it cannot be replaced by another. This also means that once an article template is assigned to a Conversion Rule, it cannot be changed by another article template.

Tip: To assign a different article template to an existing Component Set, duplicate the Component Set by using the Create Duplicate button and assign a different article template to the new Component Set.

When the Digital article is created, it is based on the article template and will only contain those components that are defined in the assigned Component Set.

4. Testing the setup

Test the setup by creating a new Digital article.

On opening, it should contain the components that were added in the template that the article is based on.

Click the plus-sign to open the Component window and verify that all groups and components are present as configured.

Add one or more components and verify in the Properties panel that their properties are as configured.

Document history

23 January 2019: Updated section 3 'Assigning the Component Set to an article template' with information about changing the article template for an existing Component Set.