Docs

Document Types

Document Types in InspireCMS define the structure and behavior of your content. They determine what fields are available, how content is organized, and how it's presented to visitors.

Understanding Document Types

A document type is essentially a blueprint for content, similar to a class in object-oriented programming. It defines:

  • What fields are available for content entry
  • How content is organized in the admin interface
  • What templates can be used for rendering
  • How content is structured in the URL hierarchy

Creating Document Types

To create a document type:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Document Types in the admin panel
  2. Click Create Document Type
  3. Configure the following settings:

Basic Settings

  • Name: Human-readable name (e.g., "Blog Post")
  • Slug: Machine-readable identifier (e.g., "blog-post")
  • Icon: Visual identifier in the admin interface
  • Category: For organizing document types (e.g., "web", "data")

Advanced Settings

  • Show as Table: Whether to display content in a table view
  • Show at Root: Whether content can be created at the root level
  • Allowed document types: Document types that can be children of this type

Custom Fields

Associate custom fields with your document type to define what data can be entered:

  1. In the Structure section, click New field or Attach
  2. Select from available field groups or create new ones
  3. Arrange field groups in the desired order

Templates

Define which templates are available for rendering your content:

  1. In the Templates section, click Add Template or Attach
  2. Create a new template or select an existing one
  3. Set a default template for new content

Content Hierarchy

InspireCMS allows you to create parent-child relationships between content:

Setting Child Types

Define which document types can be children of the current type:

  1. In the Allowed document types field, select appropriate document types
  2. This determines what content types can be created underneath this content
  3. Leave empty to prevent child content from being created

Using Document Types

Once document types are configured, content editors can use them to create structured content:

  1. Navigate to the Content section in the admin panel
  2. Click Create Content and select your document type
  3. Fill in the fields defined by your field groups
  4. Save and publish your content

Managing Document Types

Over time, you may need to modify your document types:

Editing Document Types

  1. Navigate to Settings > Document Types
  2. Click on the document type you want to modify
  3. Make changes to settings, field groups, or templates
  4. Click Save to apply changes

Deleting Document Types

Be cautious when deleting document types, as it may affect existing content:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Document Types
  2. Select the document type you want to remove
  3. Click Delete and confirm your choice

Importing and Exporting Document Types

You can share document types between InspireCMS installations:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Export
  2. Use the Export button to download document type definitions
  3. On another installation, use the Import button to upload definitions

Best Practices

  • Create document types that align with your content strategy
  • Use clear, descriptive names for document types
  • Group related fields for better organization
  • Define parent-child relationships carefully to create logical content hierarchies
  • Test your document types with sample content before full implementation

Next Steps

After setting up your document types, you'll want to:

  1. Create field groups to define your content structure
  2. Design templates to render your content
  3. Set up navigation to help users find your content

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