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<TITLE>RE: [opencms-dev] form based content management</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Ravi,</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>> I went through the documentation for opencms and found out it can do form based content management.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> I have installed an instance of opencms and I have not been able to figure out how to get form based</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> content management working with opencms yet.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>I've been looking for the same kind of functionality as you are, but it's not as cut and dried as I had hoped. (for those who have been on this list longer, please correct my explanation below as you see fit)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Creating this kind of functionality involves the creation of custom Content Definitions, which are a collection of jsp templates and java classes that access custom tables of data/content - these tables can be in the same DB as OpenCMS or elsewhere I guess, doesn't seem to matter, but usually in the same DB. These java classes you create contain certain methods that OpenCMS will invoke to do things, like edit, delete, move, select content. What happens inside those methods all depends on where you have this extra data stored.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Then you have the Back Office Module, which is another collection JSP templates (and maybe classes?) which basically provide you with an interface in OpenCMS for editing that content - the "form-based content management".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Unfortunately, documentation on both those items (Content Definitions and Back Office modules) is sparse (or at least I haven't been able to find it), but there is an example floating around called the "News Module" (you can download a version of it here - <A HREF="http://www.al-arenal.de">http://www.al-arenal.de</A>) which shows you how CD's and Back Office Modules work.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Right now, I guess we're just waiting for these two features to be documented.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Cheers</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2> Stephen Scholtz</FONT>
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