Next Generation Authoring (Beta)
Release date: 28th August 2024
Our Next Generation Authoring (Beta) release is designed to improve the experience for both content authors and developers by delivering:
- An enhanced 'look and feel' to help authors effortlessly create content
- Additional features for developers to control form layout and how fields are displayed
This release of Next Generation Authoring is classified as a beta release. During this beta phase you have the option to switch Next Generation Authoring on or off. We encourage you to switch it on and start taking advantage of the benefits it has to offer.
Enhanced 'look and feel'Link copied!
Our next generation of content authoring has a reimagined 'look and feel' straight out of the box, to enhance the authoring experience in Dynamic Content.
Whether you're producing new content or updating old content, you'll notice the following enhancements to your authoring experience:
Prominent field labelsLink copied!
Larger, bolder field labels help you to find the fields you need quickly.
Compact cardsLink copied!
Compact media and content cards save space and make it easier to view more fields at the same time.
One click replaceLink copied!
Media and content can be replaced with one control by simply hovering over the item and selecting "Replace" to open the Asset browser.
Enhanced input fieldsLink copied!
Selected input fields, such as date and time pickers, are enhanced to make them easier to use. An example of the new date/time picker is shown below.
Take a look at some example customized input fields to find ways to improve your authoring experience.
Arranging nested contentLink copied!
Add and reorder nested content with quick actions which are more convenient than dragging and dropping, especially for long lists.
Note that dragging and dropping nested content now has a tilted motion.
Features to optimize authoringLink copied!
New developer features make it simple for developers to customize the authoring experience by modifying content schemas to improve authoring workflow.
Customizable componentsLink copied!
To display input fields on content forms, Next Generation Authoring uses components. You can use these components as is, or you can customize the functionality by setting parameters.
Examples of when you could use customizable components are to:
- Use a slider as an input field and control the slider labels
- Customize the color picker with a company specific set of color swatches
- Hide the field from a content author
Learn how this feature can help optimize your authoring experience by taking a look at our example customized input fields.
Control over layout with grids and tabsLink copied!
New layout features allow developers to specify how fields are arranged on the content form. Fields can be organized into grids, so that related items are grouped together. Tabs can be used to organize fields for easy navigation, putting advanced options under one tab, for example. Tabs can be horizontal or vertical.
These layout features help you to make the form easier to navigate and provide a better experience for the content producer.
The image below shows a content form with fields organized in a grid.
A form with two vertical tabs is shown below.
Find out how tabs and grids can help with workflow and organization.
ConditionalsLink copied!
There are several new schema features, including conditionals.
Conditionals allow you to use the value of one part of a schema to set the state of another. For example, you can enable or disable a field based on user input, change the validation of a field based on the value of a country selection dropdown, or hide and show fields based on whether a checkbox is selected.
Learn how your authoring workflow can be simplified with the help of conditional input fields.
Content palettesLink copied!
Content palettes are flexible lists that make it easier to create blogs, layouts and other combinations of different types of content items. An improved user interface makes it easy to choose the content you want and arrange it in the order you choose.
Find out how you can gain flexibility when authoring content with content palettes.
Dropdown menus with labelsLink copied!
You can now create dropdown menus with a list of labels and values, so that user friendly labels are used in the authoring experience and the corresponding values are returned.
In the example shown below, "Low", "Medium" and "High" correspond to numbers defined by the developer.
Make sure field values are easy to understand by using friendly field values.
Read only propertiesLink copied!
Read only properties are now supported. You can combine this setting with conditionals so that properties can be enabled or disabled based on the state of another property.
Hidden propertiesLink copied!
You can now include properties in a schema that are not displayed on the content form. You might choose to use hidden properties to add metadata to a schema that cannot be seen or edited by users, for example. These properties can be const values or properties that you update using the Content Management API. See hidden properties for more details.
Switch on Next Generation AuthoringLink copied!
To take advantage of the new 'look and feel' of Next Generation Authoring, simply switch it on using the "Next Generation Authoring" switch (shown below).
There's no need for schema changes by your developers, you'll get the enhanced 'look and feel' as soon as you switch on Next Generation Authoring.
During the beta phase, you have the option to toggle between our new and previous content authoring modes.
Read more about Switching on Next Generation Authoring
Related pagesLink copied!
Optimize your authoring experience