About Native Documents

In Site Studio, you can assign a contributor data file or a native document to a contribution region, and individual contributors can add and edit contributor data files and native documents on the Web site.

A contributor data file is generated by Site Studio. It is an XML file that is designed to be edited using the Contributor application. As an XML file, it is in a web-ready format that can be easily pulled into a web page (similar to the way an include file can be pulled into another web page).

A native document, on the other hand, is generated by a third-party application (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on) and is generally introduced by you or a contributor. The document, in its original state, cannot be viewed on a web page so it is converted into a web page (using Dynamic Converter) when the server delivers the page to the browser.

Unlike contributor data files, native documents do not require the Contributor for editing. The converted document displays in the placeholder as the page is displayed, and the appropriate application (Microsoft Word, and so on) is loaded when the contributor edits the data.