Content Network Manager

The Content Network Manager is a graphical user interface tool that handles all administrative functions for the NXT 4 Online server. The Content Network Manager manipulates the Site Definition File (SDF) to create table of contents (TOC) hierarchies, enable content retrieval and display, create content indexing, and manage content links to other NXT 4 servers. The Content Network Manager communicates with the NXT 4 server, whether locally or remotely, using a standard TCP/IP and HTTP (or HTTPS) connection. Figure 1 shows schematic Content Network Manager functionality.

Note:

When you use some features of Content Network Manager (for example, adding a collection to a site), you must select files through the standard file selection dialog box. Note that the files that are displayed in the window are located on the NXT server, not on the computer where you run Content Network Manager. Also, note that you can access only files that are available for a user account that runs the NXT server. Typically, this user account is Network Service account.

Figure 1. Content Network Manager Functionality

Site Definition File

The SDF is an XML document that contains key information for each node on your NXT 4 site and for your site in general. The SDF is an XML representation of the hierarchical structure displayed in the Content Network Manager. The SDF is site specific: for every site on your server, there is a separate SDF.

The Content Network Manager provides the interface you need to view and alter the SDF. You do not need to stop and restart the web server when you make changes to the SDF through the Content Network Manager.

Site Definition Backup

The SDB is an XML document that represent a backup copy of a site that is deleted in Content Network Manager (CNMgr). CNMgr renames the site definition file (.sdf) into site definition backup (.sdb) when the site is deleted. For example, samplesite.sdf becomes samplesite.sdb. When you create a samplesite, CNMgr checks for a corresponding samplesite.sdb file, and if found, restores it and updates IDs.

Local or Remote Operation

You can access the Content Network Manager locally or from a remote location across the room or across the world. You can connect to and configure an NXT 4 site or sites locally or on a remote server by calling the server through the Server Connection window (see Figure 2), entering the IP address or host name, and entering a user name and password that has administrator privileges to the respective server.

Figure 2. Server Connection window

The server connection window appears when you start Content Network Manager from Start menu, double-click a Content Network Manager icon or click the Connect Server button ConnectServer in the Content Network Manager interface.

Server name: The name of the local or remote server or its IP address.
Script name: The virtual directory path to NXT 4. The NXT/Gateway.dll value is set up during initial installation. You need to modify this field if a different virtual directory has been set up.
User name: The name of a user with administrator rights.
Password: Password for the respective user name.
Advanced: Extra settings. In the Advanced window, you can customize proxy server or SSL connection.

Note: If you have enabled access control on the server, you must provide the user name and password of the user with administrative rights. The default installation creates a user named Administrator and the password for this user is set during the installation of NXT 4.

You can enter the information in these fields to connect to the desired server, or use the drop-down list under Server name field to select a recently used server.

Interface of Content Network Manager

Figure 2 shows the Content Network Manager user interface, which consists of three panes: the Server tree pane, the Child list pane, and the Toolbar pane.

Figure 3. Content Network Manager

The Server Tree Pane

The Server tree pane shows the objects hierarchical structure for a given site. Each object of the tree structure is called a node, whether it is a branch or a leaf object. Each node, except the Server node, represents an entry in the TOC of the site. The Content Network Manager server pane can display the following types of nodes:

Server node: The server to which you are connected. You see one server node at a time. The Server node contains all site nodes and handles all access control for the given server.
Site node: Contains all items or nodes within that site.
Folder node: Used to organize your content, similar to Windows Explorer.
Content collection node: Containers of indexed documents that are built with ccBuild.exe or Manage Content.
Syndicated site: Links to other NXT 4 sites.

You can move these nodes up or down to different places within the site hierarchy by dragging and dropping, or by using the Up Arrow () and Down Arrow () buttons in the Toolbar pane. You can also add or delete nodes similarly.

Although there are different node types, you see a consistent look throughout the table of contents of the site. You can search, browse, and navigate the entire site as one cohesive unit, although it might contain several different source node types, possibly even spanning several servers.

The Child List Pane

The Child list pane displays the name, online, and display status of each child of a selected parent.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar section consists of the Menu section and Buttons section.

Buttons

The Buttons section has the following buttons:

	The Connect Server button connects to a server to be managed.
	The Save or Apply Changes button commits changes made in the Content Network Manager to the Site Definition File (SDF). *
	The Refresh button refreshes the contents in your Content Network Manager server pane.
	The Properties button displays any selected site, folder, service or collection node properties. *
	The New Site button starts the process of creating a new site node in your Content Network Manager. *
	The New Folder button creates a new folder node to place content collections or syndications. *
	The Content Collections button creates or connects to an existing Content Collection. *
	The New content service button Creates a service that rebuilds and updates your library on schedule by using the file system content bridge.
	The New Syndication Link button creates a new Content Syndication Link to a remote NXT 4 site. *
	The Build content service button Rebuilds and updates your library that was created as content service.
	The Delete button deletes a selected site, folder, or content collection node from your Content Network Manager Server Pane. *
	The On/Offline button toggles online or offline a selected node in your Content Network Manager Server Pane. This button affects a parent node's children. *
	The Down Arrow button moves a node down within the same parent node (folder) and hierarchy level. **
	The Up Arrow button moves a node up within the same parent node (folder or site) and hierarchy level. **

* You can also access this function by right-clicking on a given node and selecting the equivalent function from the menu.

** In order to move a node up a level or to a different folder, use the drag and drop method.

Properties Window

The Properties window is not directly visible. To view the Properties window, select a node in the server tree pane, then click on the Properties button on the toolbar (you can also use the Action Menu Bar option, or right-click on the node and choose the properties option). The Properties window displays general information as well as other information specific to the node you select. The Content Network Manager retrieves these properties from the attributes in the SDF and INI file. Figure 4 shows a sample properties window for a folder node:

Figure 4. Properties window

Name: The name of the node and must be unique within the same node or hierarchy level (sibling nodes).
Title: The title of the node that displays in the site TOC and server tree pane for each given node.
ID: The ID of the node and must be a unique across all sites and all nodes of a given server.
Default Page: Enables you to associate a file with a folder, content collection, or content syndication node. When you type a file name into this field, NXT 4 turns the title of this node into a clickable link. So, when you click on the title (instead of the icon) of this node in the TOC on your site, NXT displays the respective file. Although you can browse to the file you want for this node, this field only accepts file name values, not path information. This means that you must place the file you want NXT to associate with a folder, content collection, or content syndication node in the templates directory for your site.
Content Type: Indicates the MIME-type of the Default Page (for example, text/html, application/msword, etc.).
Content Encoding: Enables you to change the way content is encoded for a given node. If this field is blank, then NXT 4 obtains this setting from your site properties.

The Content Network Manager requires three standard identifiers for every node: ID, Name, and Title. The labelling of these identifiers is left to your personal naming convention, that of your company, or the syntax limitations of your operating system.

Note: You cannot use forward slashes (/) and backslashes (\) in the names of files, folders, and collections. For the content services, the forbidden characters are: forward slash (/), backslash (\), colon (:), asterisk (*), question mark (?), quotation mark("), less than(<), greater than (>), and vertical bar (|).

Summary

The Content Network Manager is for online content deployment and allows you full access to the SDF and INI configuration files, providing an easy way to configure your NXT 4 server and its sites. The Content Network Manager allows you to add, move (within a respective site node), and delete nodes, as well as modify properties of those nodes (site node inclusive). You can access the Content Network Manager from a remote location, giving you the flexibility to configure a server from nearly anywhere.