Configure components fields
Content modeling in Design Studio lets teams define the structure, fields, and rules behind their components before those components are used on pages. By modeling components upfront, you ensure consistent data definitions, improve reuse across sites, and enable faster component creation workflows.
When you create a content model in Design Studio, you define the structure and type of data that a component can use by adding fields. Each field represents a specific type of content and includes configurable properties such as settings, validation rules, and default values.
After adding fields, configure them in the Content tab by defining the name, type, helper text, and other settings. Using the right field types ensures that components capture data in a structured and predictable way. This in turn provides a better authoring experience with clear inputs and guidance, support reuse of components across pages and sites, and let your teams iterate quickly without breaking consistency.
Fields that belong to inherited models cannot be modified because they follow the configuration of the base model.
Each field includes configuration options that help define its behavior and authoring experience:
- Settings - Lets you configure field-specific options, such as selecting a subtype when available.
- Helper text - Displays guidance below the field to help authors understand what content to enter.
- Validation - Defines rules that control what values are allowed and whether the field can be saved.
- Default values - Provides the starting value that appears before the field is populated. This also acts as a fallback if no value is entered.
Some fields also include a source folder, where you define where the field retrieves its values, either by specifying a path or a query.
If you want to automate components fields management or integrate it with external systems, see the Content Types API documentation.
Configure a field
Design Studio provides a set of built-in field types to model component data:
- Text - For written content.
- Short text - Suitable for titles, labels, tags, and email addresses.
- Long text - Suitable for longer content such as paragraphs or articles.
- Rich text - When formatted content is required, such as text with headings, links, or styling.
- Number - For numeric values.
- Number - Supports values with decimals.
- Integer - Supports whole numbers only.
- Boolean - For true or false values, such as toggles or checkboxes. Useful for enabling or disabling features.
- Date time - To capture temporal data.
- Date - Select a calendar date without time.
- Datetime - Select a date with a specific time.
- Link - To reference content or external resources.
- General link - Links to internal pages, external URLs, or media.
- Droplink - Select a single item from a tree structure.
- Droptree - Select a single item from a hierarchical tree.
- Media - To manage assets.
- Image: Upload or select a single image file.
- File: Upload or select any file type.
- Select - To provide predefined options for selection.
For fields that retrieve values from existing content, you can define a source folder. This determines where the field pulls its selectable values from, either by specifying a path to a content location, or by using a query to dynamically resolve items.
- Checklist - Select multiple options using checkboxes.
- Droplist - Select a single option from a list.
- Multilist - Select multiple items from a list.
- Multilist with search - Select multiple items from a searchable list.
- Multiroot treelist - Select or create multiple tag-like values.
- Treelist - Select multiple items from a hierarchical tree.