Structure of the AEM UI
The AEM UI has several underlying principles and is made up of several key elements:
Consoles
Basic Layout and Resizing
The UI caters for both mobile and desktop devices, though rather than creating two styles, AEM uses one style that works for all screens and devices.
All modules use the same basic layout:
The layout adheres to a responsive design style and accommodates itself to the size of the device, or window, or both, that you are using.
For example, when the resolution goes below 1024 pixels (as on a mobile device), the display is adjusted accordingly:
Header Bar
The header bar shows global elements including:
- The logo and the specific product/solution that you are currently using. For AEM, this element also forms a link to the Global Navigation
- Search
- Icon for accessing the help resources
- Icon for accessing other Solutions
- An indicator of – and access to – any alerts or Inbox items that are waiting for you
- The user icon, together with a link to your profile management
Toolbar
The toolbar is contextual to your location and surfaces tools relevant to controlling the view or assets in the page below. The toolbar is product-specific, but there is some commonality to the elements.
In any location, the toolbar shows the actions currently available:
Also dependent on whether a resource is selected:
Left Rail
The left rail can be opened/hidden as required to show:
- Content Only
- Content Tree
- Timeline
- References
- Filter
The default is Content Only (rail hidden).
Page Authoring
When authoring pages, the structural areas are as follows.
Content Frame
The page content is rendered in the content frame. The content frame is independent of the editor - to ensure that there are no conflicts due to CSS or JavaScript.
The content frame is on the right-hand section of the window, under the toolbar.
Editor Frame
The editor frame enables the editing features.
The editor frame is a container (abstract) for all the page authoring elements. It lives on top of the content frame, and includes:
- The top toolbar
- The side panel
- All the overlays
- Any other page authoring element; for example, the component toolbar
Side Panel
Contains three default tabs. The Assets and Components tabs lets you select such elements and drag them from the panel and drop them onto the page. The Content Tree tab lets you inspect the hierarchy of content on the page.
The side panel is hidden by default. When selected, it is either shown at the left side, or when the window width is less than 1024 pixels, it slides across to cover the entire window as, for example, on a mobile device.
Side Panel - Assets
In the Assets tab, you can select from the range of assets. Also, you can filter on a specific term, or select a group.
Side Panel - Asset Groups
In the Assets tab, there is a drop-down that you can use to select the specific asset groups.
Side Panel - Components
In the Components tab, you can select from the range of components. Also, you can filter on a specific term, or select a group.
Side Panel - Content Tree
In the Content Tree tab, you can view the hierarchy of content on the page. Clicking an entry in the tab jumps to and selects the item on the page within the editor.
Overlays
Overlays the content frame and are used by the layers to realize the mechanics of how you can interact transparently with the components and their content.
The overlays live in the editor frame (with all other page authoring elements), though they actually overlay the appropriate components in the content frame.
