What is OpenCms?

OpenCms is a professional Content Management System. It is written in the java programming language and the standard edition is open source software. This means that the source code can be viewed by anyone. The German organisation Alcakon Software GmbH, who is responsible for the largest part of the code base, coordinates changes to the source code. They also sell two extensions to OpenCms, OpenCms Enterprise Extensions and OpenCms Cluster Package, which are aimed at the needs of large organisations. The extensions concern additional management functionality, performance improvements and connectivity with other corporate systems, like an LDAP server for authenticating users. These extensions however are not open source and they are not for free.

Creating your own module

OpenCms is an extensible CMS. It supports extensions through a mechanism of modules. A module can be exported and imported in order to distribute it to other OpenCms installations. You manage your modules in the Administration view of the workplace. This article explains how to set up a new module in your workplace.

Creating your own OpenCms document types

In OpenCms, you usualy create your content documents in the workplace. You choose the type of content you want to create, E.g. a 'Page with free text' or an 'Article' (a subtype of 'Structured content'). The subtypes of 'Structured content' are meant for documents with structured information. E.g. the subtype 'Article' contains the following fields: title, teaser text, article text, release date and author. In the JSP template that you write to show an Article, you can address the fields individually and show them on the webpage. In this article I will discuss how you can create and use your own subtype of 'Structured content'.

Coming Soon

The following article(s) are in preparation and will be published on this website when finished:

• Article about creating your own ContentCollector