Managing models

Managing models

This article explains how to create a model in Prepr, including how to manage settings and add fields.


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Create a model

Use the Schema Editor to create different models. You can create models from scratch, create a model using an existing template or import an model. When you create a model from scratch, you can choose to create a Multi-item model or a Single-item model.

When someone else is working on the same schema, for example, they add a new model or delete an existing model, you'll see those changes in real-time within the schema editor.

Multi-item model

In most cases, you will create multi-item models. These are models for which you allow content editors to create multiple content items.

To create a multi-item model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Then, click the + Add model button.
  3. Click Start from scratch.
  4. Click Multi-item model and click Next.
  5. Name and describe your model as follows and click Next.
General fieldsDescription
NameChoose a unique name for the model
Singular nameThis value is important for making requests with the GraphQL API. When you create a new model, this value is auto-generated as follows: PascalCase version of the model name, stripped of all non-alphanumeric characters. For example, the model name News article generates NewsArticle.
Plural nameThis value is the same as the Singular name, except that the auto-generated value is the plural of the Singular name, for example, the model name 'News article' generates NewsArticles.
DescriptionFill in a description to help editors manage content by showing the purpose of this model.
Disable deletion of content itemsEnable this toggle when you don't want content editors to delete these content items, for example, App configuration
  1. Choose additional options and click Save. Check out Manage settings for more details.

Add-model

Single-item model

In some cases, you want to allow the content editor to only be able to create one content item for a model, for example, for app configuration settings such as the app name or company info.

To create a single-item model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Then, click the + Add model button.
  3. Click Start from scratch.
  4. Click Single-item model and Next.
  5. Name and describe your model as follows and click Next:
General fieldsDescription
NameChoose a unique name for the model
Singular nameThis value is important for making requests with the GraphQL API. When you create a new model, this value is auto-generated as follows: PascalCase version of the model name, stripped of all non-alphanumeric characters. For example, the model name News article generates NewsArticle.
DescriptionFill in a description to help editors manage content by showing the purpose of this model.
Disable deletion of content itemsEnable this toggle when you don't want content editors to delete these content items, for example, App configuration
  1. Choose additional options and click Save. Check out Manage settings for more details.

Add-single-item-model

You can easily identify a single-item model in your list of models by looking for this icon.

Model template

It's possible to create a model by using a template instead of creating an empty model. You can choose one of the following templates: Page, Blog, Live stream, Navigation, or App config. For more details on how to model these patterns, check out the Example patterns doc.

To create a model from a template, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Then, click the + Add model button.
  3. Click Select a template.
  4. Choose a template, for example, Page.
  5. Review the model and fields and click Confirm.

Add-template-model

Edit or delete a model

To edit a model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.

  2. Click the model that you want to update from the list of models on the left and apply your changes.

example-model

When someone else is editing the same model that you are working on, for example, they change the order of the fields, you will be notified about those changes. In this case, you need to click to apply those changes to your model.

To delete a model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click the model that you want to delete from the list of models on the left.
  3. Click the button at the top of the model.
  4. Click Delete.

delete-model

Manage settings

To change settings for a model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click the model from the list of models on the left.
  3. At the top of the model, click Settings to open the setting options for a model.

The following settings are available:

  • Click the General tab to edit the names and description for the model.

    Model general settings

    General fieldsDescription
    NameA unique name for the model
    Singular nameThis value is important for making requests with the GraphQL API. When you create a new model, this value is auto-generated as follows: PascalCase version of the model name, stripped of all non-alphanumeric characters. For example, the model name News article generates NewsArticle.
    Plural nameThe auto-generated value is the plural of the Singular name, for example, the model name 'News article' generates NewsArticles.
    DescriptionA description to help editors manage content by showing the purpose of this model.
    Disable deletion of content itemsEnable this toggle when you don't want content editors to delete these content items, for example, App configuration

  • Click the Sidebar tab to configure options in the sidebar of content items.

    Model sidebar settings

    Sidebar optionsDescription
    WorkflowThis option is enabled by default. When you disable this setting, the Workflow stage and Assignee won't show up on the sidebar. Disable workflow for items that don't require collaboration with other content editors such as menu items or categories.
    SchedulingThis option is enabled by default and allows content items to be scheduled for publishing or archiving. When you disable this setting, the Scheduling details won't show up on the sidebar and the content item will be scheduled at the creation time automatically.
    SEO scoreThis option is enabled by default and allows content editors to check how well the content performs for search engines. For more details, check out the Optimizing content items for search engines doc.
    Engagement insightsWhen you enable this setting, the content editor can see and analyze engagement on content items.
    CommentingWhen you enable this setting, the content editor can see and make comments for the purpose of reviewing content items.
    VersioningWhen you enable this setting, Prepr keeps track of all the changes in a content item. It allows a content editor to revert to a previous version when needed and to view the revision history. For more details, check out the Versioning doc.

  • Click the Preview tab to add URLs to let content editors preview content items. For more details on these settings, check out the Preview content items doc.

Add review URLs

Add fields to a model

To add fields to your model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click the model that you want to update from the list of models on the left.
  3. Drag and drop the desired field type, for example, Text, from the list on the right into your model.

For a complete list and all the specs, check out Prepr field types.

Let's look at some basic settings that are common across all field types.

  1. Using Text as an example, fill the General settings as follows:
General fieldsDescription
NameThe field label shown in the content editing interface.
IDThe value of this field is automatically generated. The technical ID of this field that is used, for example, to retrieve content through the API.

For more details on the other Text settings, check out the Text field type.

  1. Click the Appearance tab to set the appearance options for the field.
Appearance fieldsDescription
Help textAn instruction to help content editors. Make instructions clearer by making text bold, italic, or bolditalic. Use the following standard Markdown syntax:
*. and _ (italic)
** and __ (bold)
*** and ___ (bolditalic).
Show in preview (deprecated)Enable this option to make the field visible in the preview , which can be accessed using the Preview button in the sidebar of the content item editing interface.

Note: From April 24th, 2023, the Preview button is no longer available for new Prepr accounts created after this date. To review your content before publishing, please set up a review URL on a model. Learn more
Disable editingActivate this option if you don't want a content editor to edit this field. For example, when this field is only supposed to be edited through an API request.
  1. Click the Validation tab to set up validation rules for the field.

Enable This field is required if this is a mandatory field. The validation only triggers when a content item is set to the Done stage. For more details, check out the Workflow stages doc.

For more details on the other Text validation options, check out the text field type.

Add-model-fields

⚠️

Making changes to fields for a model that is already filled with content could lead to unexpected query results. For example, when you change or delete fields, then the existing content doesn't show up in the query results. Also, when you change existing field names, update your API queries accordingly.

Add sections

Use sections to determine the display of the fields in your content item. It allows you to organize the view of a content item for your content editors and is useful for grouping topics. For example, separate the metadata from the content such as a group of SEO fields versus article content.

To add a section, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click the model from the list of models on the left.
  3. Click the + Section button. Fill in a name and description (optional) to save the section.
  4. Drag the section above the fields that you want to group.

Add-section

See an example of a Metadata section in the content item below:

sections in content item

Add columns

You can also use columns to determine the display of the fields in your content item. Columns are used to divide component fields into a maximum of six columns. This is useful when you use several smaller fields, such as short text fields, list, color, or boolean fields. With columns, you can display those fields next to each other.

To add columns, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click the model from the list of models on the left.
  3. Click the + Columns button.
  4. Drag the column element above the fields that you want divided into columns.
  5. Choose the number of columns that you want those fields to be grouped into.

add-columns

See an example of social account fields organized into columns below:

columns in content item

Exceptions

  • A dynamic content editor field and a stack field will always be visible as one-column fields.
  • Screen resolutions smaller than 1024 restricts fields to one column.

Sections and columns do not affect the API output of your content items.

View system fields

System fields are system-generated and read-only fields that provide information about the content. For example, the CreatedOn field is the date when the content was created. Enable the Show system fields toggle to see the list of system fields that are available on a model.

Use the API ID on the right of the field to query the values for these fields in your API request. Click the icon to see more information about the field. Check out the GraphQL API reference docs for more details.

view system fields

Organize models into folders

When you have dozens of models, folders make it easy to find related models. For example, when you have multiple models which are used as sections of a page.

Click the Add folder link and enter a name for the new folder. Select the models that you want to include in the new folder. Click the Add folder button.

Schema folder

To add or remove models from an existing folder, click the button next to the folder name and select Edit. You can then select or deselect the models that you want to add or remove.

You can also delete the folder by selecting Delete. The folder structure will be removed and the included models will return to the alphabetical list of models.

Export and import a model

Use the export and import if you only need a couple of models copied from one environment to another. For example, export a model from your staging environment and import the model into your production environment.

To sync a schema with models, components, enumerations and remote sources from another environment then follow the process detailed in the Sync schema doc instead.

To share the same models across multiple environments, for example when an organization has different brands, but needs content in separate environments, you can create a shared schema as detailed in the Shared schemas doc.

To export a model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Click a model from the list of models on the left.
  3. Click the button at the top of the model.
  4. Click Export model to download a JSON file of the model. export-model

To import a model, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Schema tab to open the Schema Editor.
  2. Then, click the + Add model button.
  3. Click Or import a model.
  4. Choose the JSON file of the model that you want to import. When you import a model, the settings are also copied across. import-model

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