Start page / Template development / Forms / Input components / TEXT

CMS_INPUT_TEXT

Contents
for example
to the methods: String

CMS_INPUT_TEXT

This input component is provided for simple, single row text inputs, for example, page headings. Formatting of the output is specified via the template development and cannot be selected by the editor in this input component.

For information about transfer types which are supported for drag-and-drop please see also page Drag-and-drop.

name
Designator
Mandatory
allowEmpty
YesNo
Optional parameters
convertEntities
ConvertEntity
Optional parameters
editable
YesNo
Optional parameters
hFill
YesNo
Optional parameters
hidden
YesNo
Optional parameters
length
PositiveInteger
Optional parameters
maxInputLength
PositiveInteger
Optional parameters
noBreak
YesNo
Optional parameters
password
TextDisplayMode
Optional parameters
preset
Preset
Optional parameters
searchRelevancy
Relevancy
Optional parameters
singleLine
YesNo
Optional parameters
useLanguages
YesNo
Optional parameters
lang
LanguageAbbreviation
Mandatory
description
String
Optional parameters
label
String
Optional parameters

Parameter

The following table gives the parameters of the TEXT input component.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
name*Yes3.1DesignatorNone
allowEmptyNo3.0YesNoYES
convertEntitiesNo2.0ConvertEntityNONE
editableNo3.1YesNoYES
hFillNo2.0YesNoNO
hiddenNo4.0.44YesNoNO
lengthNo2.0PositiveIntegerNone
maxInputLengthNo2.0PositiveIntegerNone
noBreakNo2.0YesNoNO
passwordNo4.0TextDisplayModePLAIN
presetNo4.0PresetDEFAULT
searchRelevancyNo5.2.305RelevancyDEFAULT
singleLineNo4.0YesNoYES
useLanguagesNo2.0YesNoYES

name

The attribute "name" is the variable name of an input component with which the the result object of the input component can be used in the templates - with the help of $CMS_VALUE()$ - or the content can be output.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
name*Yes3.1DesignatorNone

allowEmpty

The "allowEmpty" parameter is used to specify whether a value has to be entered for an input value or not.

If allowEmpty="YES" input is not mandatory; however, it is if allowEmpty="NO".

Input components with allowEmpty="NO" are also called mandatory input components.

The default value for allowEmpty is YES.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
allowEmptyNo3.0YesNoYES

convertEntities

The "convertEntities" attribute is used to convert special characters entered in the input component for output in HTML characters.

There are three forms:

  • convertEntities="NONE" (standard)
  • convertEntities="STANDARD"
  • convertEntities="QUOTE"

With the NONE form, no conversion rules whatsoever are applied.

If STANDARD is given the conversion rules in the "convert" area of the selected conversion rule of the template set are applied.

The form QUOTE explicitly includes STANDARD too. However, the "quote" area of the conversion rule is also applied.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
convertEntitiesNo2.0ConvertEntityNONE

editable

The editable parameter can be used to specify whether editing of an input component is allowed or not.

Editing of the input component is possible if the parameter is omitted.

If NO (...editable="NO"...) is specified, editing of the input component is not possible.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
editableNo3.1YesNoYES

hFill

An input component is always displayed with a pre-defined width.

However, if the input component is to use the full available display width the parameter hFill must be given with the value YES .

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
hFillNo2.0YesNoNO

hidden

With the "hidden" parameter an input component can be hidden from the editor.

If hidden="YES" the input component is not visible for the editor, if hidden="NO" it is visible.

The default value for hidden is NO.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
hiddenNo4.0.44YesNoNO

length

The length parameter can be used to specify the width of the input component.

The parameter expects an integer value.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
lengthNo2.0PositiveIntegerNone

maxInputLength

The maxInputLength parameter can be used to limit the number of characters for input in an input component.

As a default, any number of characters can be entered in an input component.

If a value is specified with maxInputLength it is not possible to enter more than the given number of characters in the input component.

The parameter expects an integer value.

If the number of characters (i.e. the value of maxInputLength) is reduced later, and if characters had been already entered in the related input component, the characters will be reduced to the new number when switching to the edit mode, superfluous characters will be deleted and the input component will be treated as being modified.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
maxInputLengthNo2.0PositiveIntegerNone

noBreak

The noBreak parameter can be used to suppress automatic line break after an input component.

The noBreak parameter must be given with value "YES" (noBreak="YES") to suppress the automatic line break.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
noBreakNo2.0YesNoNO

password

As a default the characters in the TEXT input component are displayed in the same way as they were stored.

However, in the case of passwords display of the characters is not wanted.

Therefore, the password parameter enables each character to be masked by an asterisk (*) in the display.

In addition, it is also possible to store the value as encoded data.

The parameter allows the following values:

  • PLAIN: normal display of the characters (default)
  • HASH: mask the characters with an asterisk in the display; store the value in SHA base64encoded, e.g. {SHA}X9vI6CYAVVCmmkJqMOg+PQ/n+Fc=
  • HIDDEN: mask the characters with an asterisk in the display; store the value in plain text, e,g, MyUltraSecretPassword

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
passwordNo4.0TextDisplayModePLAIN

preset

Using the preset attribute the handling of default values in an input component can defined (see also chapter Default values). If preset="default" is set, the fall-back value defined in the form is used. If this value in the form is changed later on, these changes will be affect all usages of this default value in the input components maintained by the editor, as long as a value will be set manually in the input component. This is the default setting. If preset="copy" is set, the value entered by the editor is copied directly into the input component. Subsequent changes to the default value in the form do not have any effect on the usages of this default value in the input components maintained by the editor.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
presetNo4.0PresetDEFAULT

searchRelevancy

This parameter can be used for determining the weighting of content of this input component in search results (SiteArchitect: Global search (→Documentation FirstSpirit SiteArchitect), search in data sources | ContentCreator: search in report area). For example, using this parameter, template developers may specify that elements that contain a search term in a headline input component should be displayed more prominently in search results than elements that only contain the search term in a body text input component. Additionally, contents of individual input components may be configured so that they be ignored during indexing for search, which may increase indexing performance.
Input components may be configured with the following values to specify their contents' weight in search indexing:

  • none: The contents of an input component that is configured with this search relevancy value will not be indexed. Pages, sections, and datasets which contain contents in input components configured with this search relevancy value will not appear in search results if the search term only appears in these input components. Searching for contents of such input components using drag-and-drop will yield no results ("The field is not eligible for search, as it is marked non-relevant for searching."). Such fields are also marked accordingly in "Simple Search" in data sources ("Not eligible for searching.").
  • default: The input component's content receives default weight in the search index (default setting).
  • high: The contents of an input component that is configured with this search relevancy value will be displayed more prominently in search results (exception: search for datasets). This means that if a search term appears in both an element with an input component configured with high search relevancy and an element with an input component configured with default search relevancy, the element which contains the search term in a high-relevancy input component will be shown in a higher position in search results.

If the parameter is not specified for an input component, the component's contents will be indexed with a default weight (searchRelevancy="default").

Note: Header fields of snippets (tab Snippet in templates, "Label" field) are also indexed. If an input component is configured with a weighting none (searchRelevancy="none") but its value is included in the template's snippet header field, searching for the input component's value will cause the associated element to appear in search results

Changing the weighting setting of an input component in a template does not immediately affect existing elements based upon that template, and search results will continue to reflect the old weighting until elements based upon that template are modified (at which time they will be reindexed in the background). Alternatively, the entire project or parts of it may be reindexed via a schedule task or the FirstSpirit APIs, which does not require elements to be changed (see FirstSpirit Manual for Administrators, Chapter "Rebuild search index (→Documentation for Administrators)"). However, reindexing large numbers of elements is memory and CPU-intensive and should only be performed during a planned maintenance period!

For further information, see

  • interface GomSearchRelevancy (package de.espirit.firstspirit.access.store.templatestore.gom, FirstSpirit Access API)
  • interface SearchService (package de.espirit.firstspirit.access.search, FirstSpirit Access API)
  • interface QueryAgent (package de.espirit.firstspirit.agency, FirstSpirit Access API)

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
searchRelevancyNo5.2.305RelevancyDEFAULT

singleLine

The singleLine parameter can be used to specify whether an input component is to be displayed in one row (without frame) or not.

If the parameter is not given the input component is displayed in one row - without a frame.

If NO (...singleLine="NO"...) is specified the input component is displayed over two rows with a frame.

To ensure uniform layout of the input components it is advisable to enter the following for the input components which support this attribute (e.g. COMBOBOX, NUMBER, TEXT and TOGGLE) singleLine="NO".

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
singleLineNo4.0YesNoYES

useLanguages

The useLanguages parameter can be used to specify whether or not an input component is to store different or deviating values for different languages (multi-lingual maintenance).

If the parameter is not given, deviating values are stored for the different languages as a default.

If NO (...useLanguages="NO") is specified, one value is stored for all languages.

Available from FirstSpirit Version 5.2R5 useLanguages="YES" will potentially no longer be evaluated in FirstSpirit version 5.2R5 and higher. See also parameter forbidPolyglotDataHierarchy (FS_CATALOG).

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
useLanguagesNo2.0YesNoYES

LANGINFOSAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 4.0

Using the tag LANGINFOS language-dependent information can be defined for each input component, e.g. which title is to be used for the input component in the different project languages (parameter label), which tooltip is to be displayed (parameter description) etc. For reasons of clarity, definitions which are identical in multiple languages will be merged. For example,

<LANGINFOS> 
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="Datum"/>
<LANGINFO lang="DE" label="Datum"/>
<LANGINFO lang="EN" label="Datum"/>
</LANGINFOS>

will be merged to

 <LANGINFOS> 
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="Datum"/>
</LANGINFOS>

after saving.

Available from FirstSpirit Version 4.2R2 Up to and including FirstSpirit version 4.2R2 language definitions will be deleted only in the case if the values are identical in all languages (as in example above). Furthermore, only the parameters lang, description and label are taken into account when merging.

Available from FirstSpirit Version 4.2R4 Since FirstSpirit version 4.2R4 all parameters are taken into account (e.g. format and length). Furthermore, language definitions are also merged within LANGINFOS tags, if they are identical in at least two languages. For example,

<LANGINFOS> 
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="Date" format="dd.MM.yy"/>
<LANGINFO lang="DE" label="Date" format="dd.MM.yy"/>
<LANGINFO lang="EN" label="Date" format="MM/dd/yy"/>
</LANGINFOS>

will become

 <LANGINFOS> 
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="Date" format="dd.MM.yy"/>
<LANGINFO lang="EN" label="Date" format="MM/dd/yy"/>
</LANGINFOS>

after saving.

The definition for the fallback value (*) will not be deleted in any case. If there are two or more language definitions with identical values the first one will be maintained, the other will be deleted.

Available from FirstSpirit Version 4.2R2 IMPORTANT: Up to and including FirstSpirit version 4.2R2 at least one definition for the fallback labelling ("*") must be given:

<LANGINFOS>
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="TEXT"/>
</LANGINFOS>

Available from FirstSpirit Version 4.2R4 From FirstSpirit version 4.2R4 the fallback definition can be omitted. In this case, the language which is defined first will be used automatically as fallback value. For example,

<LANGINFOS>
<LANGINFO lang="EN" label="Date"/>
<LANGINFO lang="DE" label="Datum"/>
</LANGINFOS>

will become

 <LANGINFOS> 
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="Date"/>
<LANGINFO lang="DE" label="Datum"/>
</LANGINFOS>

after saving.

LANGINFOAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 3.1

The LANGINFO tag is used to give values or attributes for a language as well for use as fallback values.

In order to state values or attributes for a language it is necessary to give the abbreviation of the project language in the lang parameter:

...
<LANGINFO lang="DE".../>
...

Fallback values are given with the special language abbreviation * ("for all languages"):

...
<LANGINFO lang="*".../>
...

The lang parameter is a mandatory parameter.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
lang*Yes3.1LanguageAbbreviationNone
descriptionNo3.1StringNone
labelNo3.1StringNone

lang

The lang parameter is used to give the language abbreviation which is entered in the server properties see Language templates (→Documentation for Administrators)) to specify for which project languages the definitions are to apply, e.g. DE for German, EN for English, FR for French etc. The following characters can be used as often as required: -, _, 0-9 and A-Z. Lower case letters are transformed automatically into upper case letters after having saved the template. In addition * can be used for fallback values.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
lang*Yes3.1LanguageAbbreviationNone

description

The description parameter can be used to specify a description of how the input component is to be used and filled by the editor. The text defined here is displayed as a tooltip on mouse-over at the relevant input component.

The text should serve as a guide for the editor and be as short as possible, understandable and relevant. It should match the label (label parameter) and complement it appropriately.
Make sure to use terminology that the editor knows and expects.

Example:

...description="Please enter the text for the headline here (H1)."...

Tip: If you would like to know how to better support and guide editors when filling input components, take a look at the chapter on Rules and other parameters and functions of forms.

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
descriptionNo3.1StringNone

label

Use the label parameter to define the label of the input component.

Choose a label that is as short and meaningful as possible.
In combination with a relevant description (description parameter), you can help the editor to use the input component correctly and successfully.

Example:

... label="Headline (H1)" ...

ParameterMandatorySinceTypeDefault value
labelNo3.1StringNone
Key

PositiveInteger

Positive integer

Designator

Unique identifier of variable length; must start with a letter or underscore and may only contain the characters "A-Z", "a-z", "0-9" and "_", e.g. "fr_st_varName"

Relevancy

Definition of relevancy for search

NONEAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 5.2.305

Irrelevant

DEFAULTAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 5.2.305

Normal relevance

HIGHAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 5.2.305

High relevance

TextDisplayMode

Display mode of the input component

PLAINAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Display: Plain text; stored as: plain text

HASHAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Display: masked by asterisks; stored as: SHA base64encoded

HIDDENAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 3.1

Display: masked by asterisks; stored as: plain text

Preset

How to deal with default values

CopyAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 4.0

The value entered by the editor is copied directly into the input component, subsequent changes do not have any effect

DefaultAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 4.0

The fall-back value defined in the form is used, as long as a value will be set manually

String

A random character string

YesNo

Switch to apply an attribute or not

NOAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Do not apply attribute

YESAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Apply attribute

ConvertEntity

Switch with which to define the conversion rule

NONEAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Do not use any conversion rules

STANDARDAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.0

Use the conversion rules of the "convert" area

QUOTEAvailable from FirstSpirit Version 2.1

Use the conversion rules of the "convert" and "quote" area

LanguageAbbreviation

Language abbreviation, e.g. DE, EN, FR or * for return values

Example

An example of the input component TEXT:

<CMS_INPUT_TEXT useLanguages="YES" name="IDENTIFIER">
<LANGINFOS>
<LANGINFO lang="*" label="TEXT_FALLBACK" description="TEXT_FALLBACK"/>
<LANGINFO lang="DE" label="TEXT_DE" description="TEXT_DE"/>
<LANGINFO lang="EN" label="TEXT_EN" description="TEXT_EN"/>
</LANGINFOS>
</CMS_INPUT_TEXT>

Example of use in the template syntax

An example of the output of a TEXT input component.

$CMS_IF(!st_text.isEmpty)$
$CMS_VALUE(st_text)$
$CMS_END_IF$

© 2005 - 2024 Crownpeak Technology GmbH | All rights reserved. | FirstSpirit 2024.5 | Data privacy