Defining Content Relationships

Related Assets is a feature that enables you to connect an asset to other assets within the same site or to global assets, even if they don’t share any tags and aren’t in the same category. The Related Assets application only displays content that meets the criteria you’ve specified, and also is listed as a related asset for a piece of content that is published using the Asset Publisher. You’ll learn more about the Asset Publisher in the Publishing Assets section. For now, you’ll focus on how to define relationships between assets so when you begin publishing assets, the Related Assets application can successfully display those relationships. You’ll take a closer look at the Related Assets application next.

By default, the Related Assests application is configured to display any related asset of the asset selected in the Asset Publisher. You can configure what content relationships to display, if you prefer not to show every related asset for the selected asset. To do this, go to the Related Assets app and select the Options icon (Options) in the upper right corner of the application and click Configuration. Under the SetupAsset Selection tab, set the type of asset(s) to display using the Asset Type menu. The default value is set to Any. You can narrow the scope of the app to display any single category of asset type or select multiple assets from the menu.

Filter options let you set minimum requirements for displaying assets by their categories, tags, and custom fields. Ordering and Grouping allows you to organize assets using the same criteria. Display settings allow you to customize how assets are shown in the app. They can be listed by title, in a table, by abstract, or full content. You can convert assets to different document types like ODT, PDF, and RTF. You can choose to show various metadata fields such as author, modification date, tags, and view count. You can even enable RSS subscriptions and customize their display settings. When you’re finished setting the Source and Filter options, click Save.

Now that you’ve configured the Related Assets application to display specific content types, you need to actually define the relationships for your assets. Next, you’ll go through a simple example of defining related assets for a web content article and then display those related assets.

Suppose you own a gift shop at the Lunar Resort, and you’d like all your shop’s assets to display when an asset is clicked. You’ll need to define relationships between your content, so when an asset is clicked, its related assets are displayed alongside the clicked asset. For this example, create a blog entry explaining your gift shop’s new apparel and a photo of the moon, just so consumers are aware that you offer the only gift shop on a desolate rock orbiting the Earth!

Lastly, begin creating a web content article describing your shop. Once you’ve given your article a title and some content, open the Related Assets dropdown menu. Click Select and choose Blogs Entry and select the blog you created. Click Select again and choose Basic Document and select the photo of the moon. Click Publish to publish your web content article.

Now that those assets are created, you’ll want to relate the blog entry and photo to your web content article. Navigate to your article in Site Administration → ContentWeb Content.

You’ve now defined relationship with your three assets. Click the Add icon (Add) at the top of your page in the Control Menu and select Applications and add the Related Assets and Asset Publisher applications to the page. Wait a minute; there aren’t any assets displayed in the related assets application. Why? You cannot see any related assets until you select an asset in the Asset Publisher.

Figure 1: Select an asset in the Asset Publisher to see its related assets displayed in the Related Assets application.

Figure 1: Select an asset in the Asset Publisher to see its related assets displayed in the Related Assets application.

Once you select an asset, its related assets are displayed in the Related Assets app, as in the image above. If you want to get even more detailed with how your related assets are displayed, you can place two Related Assets applications on the page and name one Related Blogs and the other Related Photos. To change the name of an application’s title, click the application’s Options icon and select Look and Feel Configuration. Select the Use Custom Title checkbox and provide the custom title.

Figure 2: Related Assets applications can be configured to display specific content.

Figure 2: Related Assets applications can be configured to display specific content.

Next, you’ll learn how to use Liferay DXP’s Geolocation feature in your assets.

« Organizing Content with Tags and CategoriesGeolocating Assets »
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