Contributor Data Files and Native Documents

The content of Site Studio Web sites is stored in either of two file types: contributor data files or native documents. These content files are stored on the content server, and they are the files that contributors interact with when adding or editing Web site content. You, as the site designer, decide which of these (or both) are used for a particular Web site.

The content files for a Web site (contributor data files or native documents) are initially selected (or created) by the designer or contributor, and modified by the contributor. Contributors may be able to switch the content file associated with a contribution region if the designer has specifically allowed this in the placeholder definition associated with that region.

When a web page displays site content in a contribution region, it displays the content through a region template and region definition, which define where and how each named part of a content file displays within the page. You can assign a unique contributor data file or native document to contribution regions, or assign the same file many times, depending on whether you want to reuse specific content on your site. You choose the name and metadata for the content file when you first create it and check it into the content server. The names that you use for content files may be useful when managing these files on your site. Also, the names that you choose may depend on how often you are reusing content. More information on how to best name site assets is in Efficient Web Site Planning.

Contributor Data Files

Contributor data files are XML files that are created by Site Studio. Each contributor data file is associated with one (and only one) region definition that defines its 'content class' in terms of its constituent elements (see Region Templates and Region Definitions). For example, if a region definition comprises four elements called Title, Subtitle, Body_Text, and Image, then all contributor data files associated with that region definition contain these same four elements. Each element in the contributor data file can be edited in accordance with the element definition associated with that element in the region definition (see Elements and Element Definitions). The element definitions specify the editing options that are available to contributors when they edit an element in a contributor data file. Some elements may be set up to be plain text only with very limited formatting capability, while others might be WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), which generally offers a much broader editing experience.

The content of contributor data files can easily be reused on a Web site; that is, it can be displayed in different locations on a site, either completely or partially (different elements), depending on where it is used. It is worth noting that when contributors edit a contributor data file, they see all its elements in the Contributor editor, even if only some elements are actually displayed in the contribution region being edited. The other elements may be used elsewhere on the Web site, so editing that information may affect other pages on the site.

See the Site Studio Contributor Guide for more information on working with contributor data files.

Native Documents

Native documents are files that are created using familiar third-party applications such as Microsoft Word. They are converted to HTML format using Dynamic Converter so that they are viewable on the Web site. Dynamic Converter uses conversion rules and templates to decide how to convert a native document. Native documents are edited using their associated application (for example, Microsoft Word for '.doc' files).

The content of native documents can also be reused on a Web site, although native documents are generally not as flexible in their reusability as contributor data files. Contrary to contributor data files, native documents are not necessarily segmented into small, reusable chunks of information; their structure is often much more "free-flowing." That said, judicious use of styles and other formatting features in Microsoft Word may overcome some reusability drawbacks of native documents. One important benefit of using native documents is that most contributors are already quite familiar with, say, Microsoft Word, which makes this application an easy and convenient editing environment for the site content.

See Working With Native Documents for more information on native documents.