Working with Content Fragments

With Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Content Fragments let you design, create, curate, and publish page-independent content. They let you prepare content ready for use in multiple locations/over multiple channels, ideal for headless delivery.

Content fragments contain structured content:

• They are based on a Content Fragment Model, which predefines a structure for the resulting fragment.
• The structure can range between:
  • Basic
    • For example, a single, multi-line text field.
    • Used for preparing straightforward content for use in page authoring.
  • Complex
    • A combination of many fields of varying data types, including text, number, boolean, data, and time, among others.
    • Used either for preparing more structured content for page authoring, or for delivery to your application.
  • Nested
    • The reference data types available let you nest your content.
    • Tends to be used for delivery to your application.

Content fragments can also be delivered in JSON format, using the Sling Model (JSON) export capabilities of AEM core components. This form of delivery:

• enables you to use the component to manage which elements of a fragment to deliver
• allows bulk-delivery, by adding multiple content fragment core components on the page being used for API delivery

This and the following pages cover the tasks for creating, configuring, maintaining, and using your content fragments:

• Enable Content Fragment functionality for your instance
• Content Fragment Models - enabling, creating, and defining your models
• Managing Content Fragments - create your content fragments; then edit, publish, and reference
• Variations - Authoring Fragment Content - author the fragment content and create variations of the Master
• Markdown - using markdown syntax for your fragment
• Using Associated Content - adding associated content
• Metadata - Fragment Properties - viewing and editing the fragment properties
• Use Content Fragments, together with GraphQL, to deliver content for use in your applications. To help with this, you can preview JSON output.

The number of communication channels is increasing annually. Typically channels refer to the delivery mechanism, either as the:

• Physical channel; for example, desktop, mobile.
• Form of delivery in a physical channel; for example, the “product detail page”, “product category page” for desktop, or “mobile web”, “mobile app” for mobile.

However, you (probably) do not want to use the same content for all channels - you must optimize your content according to the specific channel.

Content fragments let you:

• Consider how to reach target audiences efficiently across channels.
• Create and manage channel-neutral editorial content.
• Build content pools for a range of channels.
• Design content variations for specific channels.
• Add images to your text by inserting assets (mixed-media fragments).
• Create nested content so you can reflect the complexity of your data.

These content fragments can then be assembled to provide experiences over various channels.

Content Fragments and Content Services

AEM Content Services are designed to generalize the description and delivery of content in/from AEM beyond a focus on web pages.

They provide the delivery of content to channels that are not traditional AEM web pages, using standardized methods that can be consumed by any client. These channels can include:

• Single Page Applications
• Native Mobile Applications
• other channels and touch-points external to AEM

Delivery is made in JSON format using the JSON Exporter.

AEM Content Fragments can be used to describe and manage structured content. Structured content is defined in models that can contain various content types; including text, numerical data, boolean, date and time, and more.

Together with the JSON export capabilities of AEM core components, this structured content can then be used to deliver AEM content to channels other than AEM pages.

Content Type

Content fragments are:

• Stored as Assets:

  • Content fragments (and their variations) can be created and maintained from the Assets console.
  • Authored and edited in the Content Fragment Editor.

• Used in the page editor with the Content Fragment component (referencing component):

  • The Content Fragment component is available to page authors. It allows them to reference, and deliver, the required content fragment in either HTML or JSON format.

• Accessible using the AEM GraphQL API.

Content Fragments are a content structure that:

• Do not have layout or design (some text formatting is possible in Rich Text mode).
• Have one or more constituent parts.
• Can contain, or be connected to, images.
• Can use in-between content when referenced on a page.
• Are independent from the delivery mechanism (that is, page, channel).

Fragments with Visual Assets

To give authors more control of their content, images can be added to and/or integrated with a content fragment.

Assets can be used with a content fragment in several ways; each with its own advantages:

• Insert Asset into a fragment (mixed-media fragments)

  • Are a part of the fragment (see Constituent Parts of a Content Fragment).
  • Define the position of the asset.
  • See Inserting Assets into your Fragment in the Fragment Editor for more information.
  NOTE

  Visual assets inserted into the content fragment itself are attached to the preceding paragraph. When the fragment is added to a page, these assets are moved in relation to that paragraph when in-between content is added.

• Associated Content

  • Are connected to a fragment; but not a fixed part of the fragment (see Constituent Parts of a Content Fragment).
  • Allows some flexibility for positioning.
  • Are easily available for use (as in-between content) when using the fragment on a page.
  • See Associated Content for more information.

• Assets available from the Assets browser of the page editor

  • Allow full flexibility for selection of an asset.
  • Allows some flexibility for positioning.
  • Does not provide the concept of being approved for a specific fragment.

Constituent Parts of a Content Fragment

The content fragment assets are made up of the following parts (either directly or indirectly):

• Fragment Elements

  • Elements correlate to the data fields holding content.
  • You use a content model to create the content fragment. The elements (fields) specified in the model define the structure of the fragment. These elements (fields) can be of various data-types.

• Fragment Paragraphs

  • Blocks of text–often multi-line–that are delimited as individual entities.

  • In the Rich Text and Markdown modes, a paragraph can be formatted as a header, in which case it and the following paragraph belong together as one unit.

  • Enable content control during page authoring.

• Assets Inserted into a Fragment (Mixed-Media Fragments)

  • Assets (images) inserted into the actual fragment and used as the internal content of a fragment.

  • Are embedded in the paragraph system of the fragment.

  • Can be formatted when the fragment is used/referenced on a page.

  • Can only be added to, deleted from, or moved within, a fragment using the fragment editor. These actions cannot be made in the page editor.

  • Can only be added to, deleted from, or moved within, a fragment using the Rich Text format in the fragment editor.

  • Can only be added to multi-line text elements (any fragment type).

  • Are attached to the preceding text (paragraph).

    CAUTION

    Assets can be (inadvertently) removed from a fragment by switching to Plain Text format.

    NOTE

    Assets can also be added as additional (in-between) content when using a fragment on a page; using either Associated Content or assets from the Assets browser.

• Associated Content

  • This is content external to, but with editorial relevance for, a fragment. Typically images, videos, or other fragments.

  • The individual assets within the collection are available to be used with the fragment in the page editor, when it is added to a page. This means that they are optional, depending on the requirements of the specific channel.

  • The assets are associated to fragments via collections; associated collections allow the author to decide which assets to use when they are authoring the page.

    • Collections can be associated to fragments as default content, or by authors during fragment authoring.
    • Assets (DAM) Collections are the basis for the associated content of fragments.

  • Optionally you can also add the fragment itself to a collection to aid tracking.

• Fragment Metadata

  • Use the Assets metadata schemas.

  • Tags can be created when you:

    • Create and author the fragment

    • Or later:

      • By viewing/editing the fragment Properties from the console
      • By editing the Metadata when in the fragment editor
  CAUTION

  Metadata processing profiles do not apply to Content Fragments.

• Master

  • A part of the fragment

    • Every content fragment has one instance of Master.
    • Master cannot be deleted.

  • Master is accessible in the fragment editor under Variations.

  • Master is not a variation as such, but is the basis of all variations.

• Variations

  • Renditions of fragment text that are specific to an editorial purpose; can be related to channel but is not compulsory, can also be for ad-hoc local modifications.
  • Are created as copies of Master, but can then be edited as required; there is content overlap between the variations themselves.
  • Can be defined during fragment authoring.
  • Stored in the fragment, to help avoid scattering of content copies.
  • Variations can be synchronized with Master if the Master content has been updated.
  • Can be Summarized to quickly truncate the text to a predefined length.
  • Available under the Variations tab of the fragment editor.

In-Between Content when Page Authoring with Content Fragments

In-between content:

• Is available for use in the Page Editor when working with Content Fragments.
• Is additional content added within the flow of a fragment once it has been used or referenced on a page.
• Is available for use in the Page Editor when working with Content Fragments.
• In-between content can be added to any fragment, where there is only one element visible.
• Associated content can be used, as can assets and/or components from the appropriate browser.

Required by Fragments

To create content fragments, consider the following:

• Content Model

  • Are enabled using the Configuration Browser.
  • Are created using Tools.
  • Required to create a fragment.
  • Defines the structure of a fragment (title, content elements, tag definitions).
  • Content model definitions require a title and one data element; everything else is optional.
  • The model can define default content - if applicable.
  • Authors cannot change the defined structure when authoring fragment content.
  • Changes made to a model after dependent content fragments have been created, can impact those content fragments.

To use your Content Fragments for page authoring, you also need:

• Content Fragment Component

  • Instrumental in delivering the fragment in HTML and/or JSON format.
  • Required to reference the fragment on a page.
  • Responsible for layout and delivery of a fragment; that is, channels.
  • Fragments need one or more dedicated components to define the layout and deliver some or all elements/variations and associated content.
  • Dragging a fragment onto a page in authoring automatically associates the required component.

Example Usage

A fragment, with its elements and variations, can be used to create coherent content for multiple channels. When designing your fragment, you must consider what is used and where it is used.