Introduction

This manual describes the various methods you can use to customize and extend Escenic Content Studio. Using the methods described here you can:

  • Add options to Content Studio menus.

  • Display notification messages.

  • Create custom side panels to be displayed in the same area as the Search, Sections and Clipboard panels.

  • Create custom editors for selected content item fields.

  • Use collection fields to access content published via Atom feeds.

  • Create a customized dashboard or home tab (displayed in the same area as the Content Studio editors).

  • Create a pinned tab (like the dashboard) in the editor area.

  • Create content-specific panes to be displayed either in the attributes panel of content editors or in research panels.

There are basically five different recommended customization methods:

Javascript extensions

With Javascript extensions you can:

  • Add options to Content Studio menus.

  • Display notification messages.

  • Create custom side panels to be displayed in the same area as the Search, Sections and Clipboard panels.

For a description of how to create Javascript extensions, see Javascript Extensions.

Custom field editors

A custom field editor replaces a standard content editor field with an HTML pane. Within the pane you can use HTML and Javascript to:

  • Display the current field value

  • Display UI components for modifying the field value

For a description of how to create custom field editors, see Custom Field Editors.

Link header plug-ins

A link header plug-in lets you display an HTML page containing information related to the currently-selected content item. A very simple example of such a page would be a preview of the content item. The page can either be displayed in a pane of the content editor's attributes panel or at the bottom of the Content Studio window in a research pane.

For a description of how to create link header plug-ins, see Link Header Plug-ins.

Custom dashboard

Content Studio permanently displays a dashboard in the main area used for displaying editors. The dashboard is visible whenever no editors are open but can also be displayed at any time by clicking on its tab, in the same way as any of the editors displayed in the area. The delivered system includes a default dashboard, but you can replace this with your own content.

For a description of how to do this, see Making a Custom Dashboard.

Pinned tabs

You can add pinned tabs of your own in addition to the Content Studio dashboard. A pinned tab works in the same way as the dashboard: it is a permanent, narrow tab with an icon but no label and no close button.

For a description of how create, use and manage pinned tabs, see Creating Pinned Tabs.

Two older, Java-based extension methods (Java plug-ins and custom property editors) are also described in this manual. These extensions methods are now deprecated, and you should not use them for new development work.