Resource Mapping

Last update: June 21, 2024
  • Applies to:
  • Experience Manager as a Cloud Service

CREATED FOR:

  • Admin

Resource mapping is used to define redirects, vanity URLs, and virtual hosts for AEM.

For example, you can use these mappings to:

  • Prefix all requests with /content so that the internal structure is hidden from the visitors to your website.
  • Define a redirect so that all requests to the /content/en/gateway page of your website are redirected to https://gbiv.com/.

One possible HTTP mapping prefixes all requests to localhost:4503 with /content. A mapping like this could be used to hide the internal structure from the visitors to the website as it allows:

localhost:4503/content/we-retail/en/products.html

To be accessed using:

localhost:4503/we-retail/en/products.html

As the mapping automatically adds the prefix /content to /we-retail/en/products.html.

CAUTION
Vanity URLs do not support regex patterns.
NOTE
See the Sling documentation, and Mappings for Resource Resolution and Resources for further information.

Viewing Mapping Definitions

The mappings form two lists that the JCR Resource Resolver evaluates (top-down) to find a match.

These lists can be viewed (together with configuration information) under the JCR ResourceResolver option of the Felix console; for example, https://<*host*>:<*port*>/system/console/jcrresolver:

  • Configuration
    Shows the current configuration (as defined for the Apache Sling Resource Resolver).

  • Configuration Test
    This lets you enter a URL or resource path. Click Resolve or Map to confirm how the system transforms the entry.

  • Resolver Map Entries
    The list of entries used by the ResourceResolver.resolve methods to map URLs to Resources.

  • Mapping Map Entries
    The list of entries used by the ResourceResolver.map methods to map Resource Paths to URLs.

The two lists show various entries, including those entries defined as defaults by the applications. These entries often aim to simplify URLs for the user.

The lists pair a Pattern, a regular expression matched to the request, with a Replacement that defines the redirection to impose.

For example, the:

Pattern ^[^/]+/[^/]+/welcome$

Triggers the:

Replacement /libs/cq/core/content/welcome.html.

To redirect a request:

https://localhost:4503/welcome ``

To:

https://localhost:4503/libs/cq/core/content/welcome.html

New mapping definitions are created within the repository.

NOTE
There are many resources available that help explain how to define regular expressions. For example, https://www.regular-expressions.info/.

Creating Mapping Definitions in AEM

In a standard installation of AEM you can find the folder:

/etc/map/http

This folder is the structure used when defining mappings for the HTTP protocol. Other folders ( sling:Folder) can be created under /etc/map for any other protocols that you want to map.

Configuring an Internal Redirect to /content

To create the mapping that prefixes any request to https://localhost:4503/ with /content:

  1. Using CRXDE navigate to /etc/map/http.

  2. Create a node:

    • Type sling:Mapping
      This node type is intended for such mappings, though its use is not mandatory.

    • Name localhost_any

  3. Click Save All.

  4. Add the following properties to this node:

    • Name sling:match

      • Type String

      • Value localhost.4503/

    • Name sling:internalRedirect

      • Type String

      • Value /content/

  5. Click Save All.

This mapping handles a request such as:
localhost:4503/geometrixx/en/products.html
as if:
localhost:4503/content/geometrixx/en/products.html
was requested.

NOTE
See Resources in the Sling Documentation for further information about the sling properties available and how they can be configured.
For example, String Interpolation is useful because it lets you configure a mapping that gets per environment values through environment variables.
NOTE
You can use /etc/map.publish to hold the configurations for the publish environment. These configurations must be replicated, and the new location ( /etc/map.publish) configured for the Mapping Location of the Apache Sling Resource Resolver of the publish environment.
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