Folders and Their Contents

Folders and Information Architecture

Folders and Collections are two of your most important tools for setting up your site's Information Architecture and keeping it under control. Plone provides you with a number of handy tools for managing folders and the items that live in them.

Folder Display Options

Using the Display menu, you can set up a Folder to be viewed in several ways. Experiment with these to see which is the best display option for your Folder's content.

Folder Display: Summary View

The default view for Folders is Folder Summary View. It lists the Title and Description of each item, with a Read More... link leading to the item. When you are logged in, you also see who created the Folder (in this case, by admin), when it was last modified, and can view its History.

Folder Display: Summary View on Images Folder

In a Folder containing images,  Folder Summary View displays an image Thumbnail in addition to the Title, Description, and  link.

Folder Display: All Content

The All Content Folder display shows each item along with its content. This can be handy if, for instance, you have a multi-page set of instructions and you want to give users the option of viewing or printing all the instructions at once.

Folder Display: Tabular View

Tabular View arranges Folder items in a table. As a logged-in user, you see the Author and Date Modified in addition to the Title and Content Type.

Folder Display: Thumbnail View

Thumbnail View can be used for any Folder, but it is especially useful for Folders containing Images. It's an efficient display of Image Thumbnails with their Titles. Both Thumbnail and Title are linked to the Image Item.

Folder Display: Standard View

Standard View shows logged-in users the linked Title, Author, Description, and Modification Date of each Item. Nonlogged-in users see the linked Title and the Description.

Folder Display: Select a Content Item as Default View

It's common to set a Default page for a Folder so that website visitors see this page when they arrive at the Folder—rather than viewing a listing of the Folder's contents. These Default pages are also called Landing pages, or Index pages.

...Select a content item as default view allows you to select a Page or other Content Item as a Folder's Default View.

Folder Display: Select Default Item

Select the Item in the Folder—for instance, a landing Page you have created there—that best serves as the Default View.

Folder Display: Default View Serves as an Index Page

When users navigate to this Folder, they will view this Item rather than a listing of the Folder's contents.

Editing the Default View Vs. Editing the Folder

One caveat about Folder Default Views: Be careful what you're editing!

Click the Edit tab on a Folder that has a Default View, and you will be greeted with a message warning that you are about to edit the Default View, not the Container. If you want to edit the Folder itself, follow the go here link in this message.

Folder Contents View

Use a Folder's Contents tab to see Folder's Contents View:

Folder Contents View: What You Can See

The Folder Contents View provides a handy list of all the contents in a Folder:

Folder Contents View: What You Can Do

Even better, in Folder Contents View, you can perform a number of useful tasks:

• Click Show all items to see all contents on one screen.
• Select a few items. Or Select: All.
• Reorder items.
• Batch handling: Copy, Cut, Rename, Paste, Delete, Change State.
• Traverse Levels.

Folder Contents View: Show All Items

If you want to see everything in a Folder that contains many Items, use the numbered tabs or the Show all items link at the bottom of the Folder Contents listing. Another way to see a Folder Contents listing of all Items is to place @@folder_contents?show_all=true after the Folder's URL. For instance:

http://127.0.0.1:8080/chickadees/breeds/@@folder_contents?show_all=true

Folder Contents View: Select All

Use the Select: All link when you need to make changes to all the Items in Folder Contents View.

Folder Contents View: Reorder

You can reorder Items using the slider column along the left side of Folder Contents View. Click next to the Item you want to move, and a slider crossbar will appear. You can now slide the Item up or down in the list.

Folder Contents View: Batch Handling

Check the boxes next to multiple Items that you want to modify. You can now Copy, Cut, Rename, Paste, Delete, or change the  State of these items.

Folder Contents View: Traverse Levels

You can also Copy/Cut and Paste Items from Folder to Folder. You can traverse from Folder to Folder staying in Folder Contents View by using the Up one level link.

Folder Contents View: Rename

Folder Contents View: Rename

Folder Contents View: Rename

Folder Contents View: Change State

Folder Contents View: Change State

Folder Contents View: Change State

Restricting Content Types in a Folder

By default, you can add any Content Type to a Folder. Restricting this is a simple and effective way to control what content gets created where on your site.

To do this, select the Restrictions choice in the Add new... menu:

Choose The Types You Want to Restrict

To choose the types you want to restrict from your folder, select Specify types manually, and then unselect the types you want to restrict.

You also have the option to allow certain types to be added under a More... submenu.

Restriction Simplifies, Adds Control

In addition to providing more control, restricting items that can be added to a folder simplifies the interface and can help prevent content-provider confusion.

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