My first content app

In this tutorial you create your first content app. A content app is a special app type that is well suited for managing custom content items such as products. The items in this example are antique cars but you can use any items you wish.

Create a module

Your content app needs to be deployed as a Magnolia module. Choose from these options depending on your skill level.

Option 1: Clone the project in Git

Choose this option if you know how to work with a Magnolia project and Git. You get a project that you can edit it in your IDE and customize to your needs.

Clone the app-tutorial repository.

git clone https://git.magnolia-cms.com/scm/documentation/app-tutorial.git

fake
Import the project into your IDE. Here's what the project looks like in IntelliJ IDEA:
Build the project into a JAR and deploy it to Magnolia instance. Or run the project in your IDE.

Option 2: Download the module JAR

Choose this option if you are new to Magnolia. Download the module JAR and follow the standard module installation instructions. You get the complete content app and can learn how it works.

Download from Nexus.
Copy the JAR into <CATALINA_HOME>/webapps/<contextPath>/WEB-INF/lib folder. Typically this is <CATALINA_HOME>/webapps/magnoliaAuthor/WEB-INF/lib.
Restart your Magnolia instance and run the Web update. This will install the App Tutorial module.

Option 3: Run a Groovy Script

If you already have a module, and want to quickly create a new App, you can use the Groovy App:

Open the Groovy app.
Edit the script /createAppScript.
Update the parameters you can see between line 9 and 14:
1. app_display_name, here you can specify the name of your app
2. parent_module, this is where the app will be created (enter your module name)
3. app_group, the group on the app launcher in which your app should display.
4. app_icon, the icon of your app
5. app_repository, here you can keep the default repository
6. app_folder_support, if you want to be able to create folders within your app

When the app is created, do not forget to export the configuration.

Module contents

The module contains the following source files:

Module descriptor: magnolia-module-app-tutorial.xml
App configuration products.yaml
App Launcher layout bootstrap: config.modules.ui-admincentral.config.appLauncherLayout.groups.edit.apps.products.xml
Sample products (cars): products.cars.xml
Images: dam.cars.xml
Custom node type app-tutorial-nodetypes.xml
User interface text in English: app-products-messages_en.properties
User interface text in Spanish: app-products-messages_es.properties

App configuration

The app is configured in YAML in products.yaml. Equivalent JCR configuration examples are provided below.

App descriptor

App descriptor configuration describes an app. The descriptor assigns the app a name, icon and implementation class. The name of the app content node must be unique as it is used to refer to the app across the system. This means you cannot name your own app pages since a Pages app already exists.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
# subapps definition

Node name	Value
modules
my-module
apps
products
appClass	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor

App launcher layout

The app launcher can only be configured in the JCR.

In the app launcher layout we add the app to the Edit group.

Node name
modules
ui-admincentral
config
appLauncherLayout
groups
edit
apps
pages
assets
contacts
products

Go to the app launcher and verify that you can see the Products app icon.

If you move the app to another group, log out and back in to see the change.

Browser subapp

The browser subapp allows you to view and organize items. It is part of every content app.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor

Node name	Value
modules
app-tutorial
apps
products
subApps
browser
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
subAppClass	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp

Content connector

A content connector tells the app where the content resides. In this case we store products in the repository so we use a JCR content connector. The configuration identifies the workspace and a path. It also configures the node type the app operates on.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
    contentConnector:
      includeProperties: false
      workspace: products
      rootPath: /
      defaultOrder: jcrName
      nodeTypes:
        - name: mgnl:product
          icon: icon-items
        - name: mgnl:folder
          icon: icon-folder

Node name	Value
subApps
browser
contentConnector
nodeTypes
product
icon	icon-items
name	mgnl:product
folders
icon	icon-folder
name	mgnl:folder
defaultOrder	jcrName
includeProperties	false
rootPath	/
workspace	products

Workbench

Workbench is a view that displays a list of content items in a workspace. It is part of the content app framework, typically defined in the browser subapp. The workbench contains at list of content views. Typical view types are tree, list and thumbnail. The workbench also provides a search box; results from search are displayed in the search view.

In this app, the workbench displays two node types: mgnl:folder and mgnl:product.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
    workbench:
      dropConstraintClass: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.tree.drop.AlwaysTrueDropConstraint
      editable: false

Node name	Value
browser
workbench
dropConstraintClass	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.tree.drop.AlwaysTrueDropConstraint
editable	false

Content views

A content view defines how the content is displayed to the user. Under workbench, we have four views: tree, list, thumbnail and search. The tree view defines columns: Name, Status and Modification date. The other views extend the tree view, displaying the same columns.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
    workbench:
      dropConstraintClass: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.tree.drop.AlwaysTrueDropConstraint
      editable: false

      contentViews:
        - name: tree
          class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.tree.TreePresenterDefinition
          columns: &amp;myColumns
            - name: name
              editable: true
              sortable: true
              propertyName: jcrName
              class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.PropertyColumnDefinition
            - name: status
              width: 45
              displayInChooseDialog: false
              formatterClass: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.StatusColumnFormatter
              class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.StatusColumnDefinition
            - name: moddate
              width: 160
              sortable: true
              displayInChooseDialog: false
              formatterClass: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.DateColumnFormatter
              propertyName: mgnl:lastModified
              class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.MetaDataColumnDefinition
        - name: list
          class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.list.ListPresenterDefinition
          columns: *myColumns
        - name: thumbnail
          class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.thumbnail.ThumbnailPresenterDefinition
        - name: search
          class: info.magnolia.ui.workbench.search.SearchPresenterDefinition
          columns: *myColumns

Node name	Value
workbench
contentViews
tree
columns
name
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.PropertyColumnDefinition
editable	true
label	Product name
propertyName	jcrName
sortable	true
status
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.StatusColumnDefinition
displayInChooseDialog	false
formatterClass	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.StatusColumnFormatter
label	Status
width	45
moddate
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.definition.MetaDataColumnDefinition
displayInChooseDialog	false
formatterClass	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.column.DateColumnFormatter
label	Modification date
propertyName	mgnl:lastModified
sortable	true
width	160
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.tree.TreePresenterDefinition
list
columns
extends	../../tree/columns
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.list.ListPresenterDefinition
thumbnail
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.thumbnail.ThumbnailPresenterDefinition
search
columns
extends	../../tree/columns
class	info.magnolia.ui.workbench.search.SearchPresenterDefinition

Here's the tree view:

Test the other views too. Search is case sensitive by default.

Actions

Actions allow you to add, edit and delete folders and products. Each action adheres to an action definition.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
  # workbench definition
    actions:
      addProduct:
        subAppId: detail
        icon: icon-add-item
        nodeType: mgnl:product
        appName: products
        class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.CreateItemActionDefinition
        availability:
          root: true
          nodeTypes:
            - mgnl:folder
      addFolder:
        icon: icon-add-folder
        class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.AddFolderActionDefinition
        availability:
          root: true
      editFolder:
        icon: icon-edit
        dialogName: ui-framework:folder
        class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.OpenEditDialogActionDefinition
      deleteFolder:
        icon: icon-delete
        class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DeleteItemActionDefinition
      editProduct:
        subAppId: detail
        icon: icon-edit
        appName: products
        class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.EditItemActionDefinition
        availability:
          nodeTypes:
            - mgnl:product
      deleteProduct:
        icon: icon-delete
        class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DeleteItemActionDefinition

Node name	Value
browser
actions
addProduct
availability
nodeTypes
folder	mgnl:folder
root	true
appName	products
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.CreateItemActionDefinition
icon	icon-add-item
nodeType	mgnl:product
subAppId	detail
addFolder
availability
root	true
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.AddFolderActionDefinition
icon	icon-add-folder
editFolder
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.OpenEditDialogActionDefinition
dialogName	ui-framework:folder
icon	icon-edit
deleteFolder
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DeleteItemActionDefinition
icon	icon-delete
editProduct
availability
nodeTypes
product	mgnl:product
appName	products
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.EditItemActionDefinition
icon	icon-edit
subAppId	detail
deleteProduct
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DeleteItemActionDefinition
icon	icon-delete

Action bar

An action bar makes actions available to users. The action bar is typically displayed on the right-hand side of the browser subapp. The action bar definition organizes actions into sections (green label) and groups (between horizontal lines). Availability rules determine which section is displayed to the user. For example, when the user selects a content item in the browser subapp, availability rules display only actions that are relevant to working with that item. A group contains actions that have something in common, such as actions for adding things.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
  # workbench definition
  # actions definition
    actionbar:
      defaultAction: editProduct
      sections:
        - name: root
          groups:
            - name: addActions
              items:
                - name: addProduct
                - name: addFolder
          availability:
            nodes: false
            root: true
        - name: folder
          groups:
            - name: addActions
              items:
                - name: addProduct
                - name: addFolder
            - name: editActions
              items:
                - name: editFolder
                - name: deleteFolder
          availability:
            nodeTypes:
              - mgnl:folder
        - name: product
          groups:
            - name: editActions
              items:
                - name: editProduct
                - name: deleteProduct
          availability:
            nodeTypes:
              - mgnl:product

Node name	Value
browser
actionbar
sections
root
groups
addActions
items
addProduct
addFolder
availability
nodes	false
root	true
folder
groups
addActions
items
addProduct
addFolder
editActions
items
editFolder
deleteFolder
availability
nodeTypes
folder	mgnl:folder
product
groups
editActions
items
editProduct
deleteProduct
availability
nodeTypes
product	mgnl:product
defaultAction	editProduct

Image provider

Image provider is a component that renders images used in apps. It generates the portrait image at the bottom of the action bar and the thumbnails for the thumbnail view.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
  # workbench definition
  # actions definition
  # actionbar definition
    imageProvider:
       class: info.magnolia.dam.app.ui.imageprovider.DamLinkImageProviderDefinition
       damLinkPropertyName: image

Node name	Value
browser
imageProvider
class	info.magnolia.dam.app.ui.imageprovider.DamLinkImageProviderDefinition
damLinkPropertyName	image

Select an item in the browser subapp to test the preview. The preview image is displayed at the bottom of the action bar.

Detail subapp

A detail subapp allows you to edit a product. It is configured with a subapp descriptor just like a browser subapp but the classes are different.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
# browser subapp definition
  detail:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor

Node name	Value
subApps
detail
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor
subAppClass	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp

Content connector

A JCR content connector is also needed in the detail subapp. Here the definition is simpler. You just need to name the workspace.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
# browser subapp definition
  detail:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor
    contentConnector:
      workspace: products

Node name	Value
subApps
detail
contentConnector
workspace	products

The rootPath property is omitted because the default value is / which is the same as in browser subapp content connector. If you define these properties they must have the same value in both subapps. However, since / is the default value you could omit the property in both subapps.

We highly recommend using the same rootPath in both the detail and browser sub-apps, to benefit from our standard set of actions provided out of the box.

Editor

Editor is a component that edits a content item. The editor typically contains a form. In a content app, you should create an editor definition under the detail subapp. Define the node types the editor edits, a form for editing them, and actions for saving the edit.

Node types

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
# browser subapp definition
  detail:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
    editor:
      nodeType:
        icon: icon-items
        name: mgnl:product

Node name	Value
detail
editor
nodeType
icon	icon-items
name	mgnl:product

Form

Your app can edit any kind of content. What you plan to edit determines what fields you need on the form. In this tutorial the items are products so we create a form with three fields: product name, photo and photo credit.

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
# browser subapp definition
  detail:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector configuration
    editor:
    # nodeType definition
      form:
        tabs:
          - name: product
            fields:
              - name: jcrName
                class: info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.TextFieldDefinition
              - name: title
                class: info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.TextFieldDefinition
              - name: image
                class: info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.LinkFieldDefinition
                targetWorkspace: dam
                appName: assets
                label: Select image
                identifierToPathConverter:
                  class: info.magnolia.dam.app.assets.field.translator.AssetCompositeIdKeyTranslator
                contentPreviewDefinition:
                  contentPreviewClass: info.magnolia.dam.app.ui.field.DamFilePreviewComponent
              - name: description
                class: info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.RichTextFieldDefinition

Node name	Value
editor
form
tabs
product
fields
jcrName
class	info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.TextFieldDefinition
name	jcrName
title
class	info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.TextFieldDefinition
name	title
image
identifierToPathConverter
class	info.magnolia.dam.app.assets.field.translator.AssetCompositeIdKeyTranslator
contentPreviewDefinition
contentPreviewClass	info.magnolia.dam.app.ui.field.DamFilePreviewComponent
appName	assets
class	info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.LinkFieldDefinition
label	Select image
targetWorkspace	dam
description
class	info.magnolia.ui.form.field.definition.RichTextFieldDefinition

Commit and cancel actions

Commit and cancel are generic reusable actions that save the form data. They are defined under the detail subapp. The corresponding dialog buttons are in the editor (see above).

/app-tutorial/apps/products.yaml

appClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentApp
class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.ContentAppDescriptor
subApps:
# browser subapp definition
  detail:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.DetailSubAppDescriptor
  # contentConnector definition
    editor:
    # nodeType definition
    # form definition
      actions:
        - name: commit
        - name: cancel

Node name	Value
detail
actions
commit
cancel

Create a few items. Verify that you can edit existing items too.

Now do it yourself

Here are ways to create your own content app:

Option 1: Copy an app

Copy the configuration nodes of an existing content app into a new app. You can copy one of Magnolia's native apps such as Contacts.
Export the copied configuration nodes into XML.
Open the XML in a text editor. Search and replace the item names. For example, if your app manages apples instead of oranges, replace apple with orange.
Import the XML back to Magnolia.
Register a new workspace in the module descriptor and create a new node type.

Option 2: Extend an app

This method works well if one of Magnolia's native apps does almost what you need. You don't need to change much. Extend the native app to get all its functionality and add something special. For example, configure a special Pages app that displays only one website branch. If editors mostly work in that branch the app saves them from having to navigate there.

Extend an existing app to inherit configuration. For example, see how the JCR Browser app extends the Configuration app by inheriting its subapps.
Define exceptions in your own app.

See also 3.3.5 Create an app in Magnolia Academy.

Enhancements

Here are ideas for enhancing your content app and making it ready for production use:

Add import and export actions

Add export and import actions so you can export products into XML. See how the actions are implement in the Contacts app. Copy the action configuration to your app. The Magnolia UI framework provides generic export and import actions that you can use out of the box.

Import and export actions in the Contacts app

/modules/contacts/apps/contacts/subApps/browser/actions/export
/modules/contacts/apps/contacts/subApps/browser/actions/import
/modules/contacts/apps/contacts/subApps/browser/actionbar/sections/root/groups/importExportActions
/modules/contacts/apps/contacts/subApps/browser/actionbar/sections/contact/groups/importExportActions
/modules/contacts/apps/contacts/subApps/browser/actionbar/sections/folder/groups/importExportActions

Add publishing actions

To add publishing actions:

Add activate and deactivate actions so that you can publish products to the public instance. Copy the actions from the Contacts app.
Add the activate and deactivate actions in the action bar. You can copy these also from the Contacts app.
Add a subscription to the products workspace so that public instances receive the content.

Don't forget to install your module also on the public instance! You may not need the app on the public instance but you will need the products workspace so that products can be activated.

Add deletion approval

Prevent editors from deleting products with a single click. The best practice is to mark an item for deletion and require the editor to publish the change:

Display a confirmation message, asking if the user really wants to delete the item.
Mark the item as deleted.
Activate the change. This finally deletes the item.

See how the Contacts app handles this and replicate the actions in your app. See also how the info.magnolia.ui.api.availability.IsNotDeletedRule action availability rule is used in the activate action to make sure that the activatable item is not marked for deletion.

Display products on the website

You may want to display product images on the website or in a shop. Add a URI2RepositoryMapping for the products workspace. The mapping tells Magnolia to serve content from the products workspace when the request URL contains the /products prefix.

To add a URI2RepositoryMapping:

Go to Configuration > /server/URI2RepositoryMapping/mappings.
Map the /products URI prefix to the products workspace.
Node name Value
server

URI2RepositoryMapping

mappings

products

URIPrefix
/products
handlePrefix

repository
products
Activate the products node and its properties to the public instance.
Optional: Grant the anonymous role permission to read the products workspace. This allows visitors to view the images on the public instance.

Photo credits:

Riley Brooklands 1930 and Fiat Cinquecento, Pedro Ribeiro Simões. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Pontiac 1952, Continental Mark II and Hudson 1927, John Lloyd. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martin Works
Aston Martin V8, Beltane43, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Lotus Esprit S1, Don Griffin

Node name	Value
server
URI2RepositoryMapping
mappings
products
URIPrefix	/products
handlePrefix
repository	products

Page tree

My first content app

Create a module

Option 1: Clone the project in Git

Option 2: Download the module JAR

Option 3: Run a Groovy Script

Module contents

App configuration

App descriptor

App launcher layout

Browser subapp

Content connector

Workbench

Content views

Actions

Action bar

Image provider

Detail subapp

Content connector

Editor

Node types

Form

Commit and cancel actions

Now do it yourself

Option 1: Copy an app

Option 2: Extend an app

Enhancements

Add import and export actions

Add publishing actions

Add deletion approval

Display products on the website