4.5 Product Guide

Here’s an overview of each new, key feature and general improvements included in version 4.5.

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Favorites 4.5 Demo.mp4

In an effort to make type selection easier, faster, and more intuitive, editors now have the ability to “favorite” the things they most often select from dropdown menus and filters. This feature exists on a per-user basis and will bubble up those types/selections to the top of their respective lists. As a result, the “Recently Used” function/section will no longer be used.

Features

• Users are able to favorite content types in the Quick Start widget by clicking the star icon that appears when hovering over the content type cards in the Quick Start widget
  
  • Once favorited, the star icon is filled in and remains visible
    
    • Content types can be unfavorited by clicking the filled star icon
  • Items will appear at the front of the Quick Start list the next time the user visits the dashboard or once the page is refreshed
• Users are able to favorite content types in the Create New dropdown by clicking the star icon that appears when hovering over the content type in the Create New dropdown list
  
  • Once favorited, the star icon is filled in and remains visible
    
    • Content types can be unfavorited by clicking the filled star icon
  • Items will appear at the top of the list the next time the user opens the dropdown
• Users are able to favorite content types in the Any Content Type filter by clicking the star icon that appears when hovering over the content type in the Any Content Type filter dropdown list
  
  • Once favorited, the star icon is filled in and remains visible
    
    • Content types can be unfavorited by clicking the filled star icon
  • Items will appear at the top of the list the next time the user opens the dropdown

• Users are able to favorite content (i.e. authors, sections, tags, etc…) from any combo input field with a quick search dropdown by clicking the star icon that appears when hovering over the content in the quick search dropdown
  
  • Once favorited, the star icon is filled in and remains visible
    
    • Content can be unfavorited by clicking the filled star icon
  • Items will appear at the top of the list the next time the user opens the dropdown
• Users are able to favorite individual content (i.e. authors, sections, tags, etc…) in search filters by clicking the star icon that appears when hovering over the content in the filter dropdown list
  
  • Once favorited, the star icon is filled in and remains visible
    
    • Content can be unfavorited by clicking the filled star icon
  • Items will appear at the top of the list the next time the user opens the dropdown

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Favoriting content types & Adding, removing, or "favoriting" items in Quick Start

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Convert and Copy Modules 4.5 Demo.mp4

Users can now convert a shared module into an embedded module or convert an embedded module into a shared module. We have also introduced the ability to copy an embedded module within the same page or list.

Features

• Shared modules can be displayed as embedded modules. Users can edit values directly on the page and on save both the page and the module will be saved. De-couple the @Embedded annotation from the in-line editing display.
• Embedded modules can be converted to shared modules by clicking on some action that will automatically convert the embedded module to a shared module.
• Embedded modules can be copied by clicking on some action that will automatically create a copy of the embedded module within the same form / items list field
• To account for unnamed / multiple copies of modules we should add a timestamp and the action that was taken to the names
  
  • For copied modules with Titles - The Module Title (Copy - Localized Date)
  • For converted modules with Titles - The Module Title (Converted - Localized Date)
  • For copied modules without Titles - Untitled (Copy - Localized Date)
  • For converted modules without Titles - Untitled (Converted - Localized Date)

Released: 4.5.4
Documentation: Copying a Module & Converting modules

Play Now

Authorship Widget 4.5 Demo.mp4

This new analytics widget was designed for editors and authors to view content creation volume and engagement metrics grouped by a field such as content type, publish user, etc... and it fills a reporting niche that isn’t easily met by other reporting capabilities.

Features

• Leverage the groupby capability through a pre-canned widget (quick) or through the report widget builder (more reporting fields)
• Group results by: publish user, author, section, tag, and content type
  
  • Group results by one or two categories
• Can be used to report Brightspot Analytics metrics or Google Analytics metrics
• Can click on the index value to view the underlying content contributing to the values being reported in an paginatable overlay

Release: 4.5.3
Documentation: Configuring the Authorship widget

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Custom Search Widget 4.5 Demo.mp4

The Search Widget provides users with a way to display a custom-set module with configurable fields. Users can configure the search query of the widget (the results shown), as well as the fields that are displayed (e.g. Calendar Date, Owner, Publish Date, Publish User, and many more).

Features

• Once saved, the Search Widget will appear on the dashboard displaying results for the defined Query with columns for each field selected in Display Fields.
• If more than 10 results are displayed, pagination will be available.
• Clicking any result will take you to the corresponding edit page.

Released: 4.2.20
Documentation: Standard dashboard and widgets

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ECTs 4.5 Demo.mp4

Editorial Content Types are a new capability that were introduced to Brightspot in 4.2 and continue to be improved in 4.5. Editorial Content Types (ECTs for short) are available in the CMS via Admin > Content Types. ECTs give editorial users the ability to create content types within the CMS UI, leveraging the same set of fields that are available to back-end engineers using Java.

Features

• Pre-Requisite: A user will need to have created the Site in order to create the corresponding Microsite Content Types (MCTs)
• A user will use the CMS Site Switcher to view / edit the MCTs that are available, or to create new
• A user should be able to create a MCT using the same set of fields behaviors as ECTs; and in the future, if we add a functionality to the ECTs, it should automatically be available in MCTs
• A user should be able to edit an existing MCT, and created objects of this type would remain as is, and the new field would display, devoid of data
• A user should be able to delete an existing MCT, and any created objects of this type would no longer be discoverable via CMS search

Other CMS behaviors:

• A MCT should be available for association with Workflows and Permissions.
• A MCT should be available as a search/content type filter on any site it is associated with. Any Workflow steps associated with a MCT should be available in the visibility filters.
• A MCT should be available in the Notifications system so that a user can set up a publish subscription (for example) for a MCT.
• A MCT should be available in Assignment Desk for associations between the content objects and assignments.
• When a user is creating content in a Site, they should only see MCTs associated with that site.
• A user will be able to see the content types that exist for a certain site by using the Site Switcher. This means if an admin user wants to manage MCTs for Site 1, they will need to be working in Site 1. MCTs will not be shared between sites.
• A user should be able to copy a MCT (this is how you will share MCTs between sites)

Released: 4.5
Documentation: Site-specific editorial content types

Administrators now have a more straight-forward way to set the import settings for Google Analytics, allowing them to define the import frequency by hour and by day, and providing the ability to set a custom import frequency using Cron Expressions.

The Google Analytics integration also now includes more metrics that are sortable and accessible in search-, site-, and asset-level reporting, like page views, unique page views, sessions, and bounce rate. Additionally users can now choose to import, display, and view site- and page-level event metrics for Google Analytics.

Features

• Brightspot Users are able to view Site Level Analytics Data using Dashboard Report Widget(s)
• Brightspot Users are able to view the analytics data for common Site Analytics Data Points
• Brightspot Users are able to view Page Level Analytics Data using the Content Edit Analytics Widget(s)
• Brightspot Users are able to view Page Level Analytics Data when searching for content using search fields and adding columns for Page Level Analytics Data Points

Released: 4.2.20
Documentation: Google Analytics & CMS Analytics

The Google Vision integration leverages AI & ML technologies to identify objects within an image that can be used as additional metadata for searchability. This integration can be used in tandem with other recognition services or independently and serves as a viable alternative to AWS Rekognition.

Features

• Identifies and returns keywords for recognized landmarks, text, logos, and objects within an image. 
• Identifies faces to set focal points automatically on images.
• Can be used as a source of data for the suggestions widget to provide Section and Tags suggestions
• Improves the CMS’s search by leveraging keywords to improve search results

    api project(':google-storage')
    api project(':image-recognition')
    api project(':image-recognition-google')

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Google Vision

Editorial teams can now get the same Brightspot notifications features delivered via Microsoft Teams. This new integration will support the same set of subscriptions currently supported in Brightspot -- including conversation mentions, workflow notifications, and publish notifications.

Features

• Receive CMS activity notifications via a Microsoft Teams message
• Ability to enable plugin at the Global and Site level
• Ability to select Teams as the delivery method for new/existing Subscriptions
• Ability to select Teams as the delivery method for new/existing Shared Subscriptions

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Adding a Microsoft app & Configuring Microsoft Teams

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Post-Publish Actions 4.5 Demo.mp4

Post-publish actions provide a way to present next step to Brightspot users once they have published content. Next steps can be presented inside of a pop-up directly over the content edit page in order to save users the time of navigating from their current edit page to another page in the CMS to take the same actions.

Features

• Displays a pop-up after content has been published on top of that content’s edit page
  
  • Developers can configure post-publish pop-up to display messages, fields, and/or widgets
    
    • Users can interact with widgets and edit fields directly in pop-up to perform actions that traditionally would require navigating to another page or area of the CMS
• Brightspot users can choose whether they want post-publish actions to be enabled or disabled globally, per site, and per user
• Brightspot users can choose whether they want post-publish actions to be displayed automatically globally, per site, and per user
• Brightspot users can choose to open post-publish actions at any time using the more menu in content edit form - publishing tools

Code Block A:

public class Article extends Placeable
...

@Override
default List<PlaceableTarget> getPlaceableTargets() {
    List<PlaceableTarget> targets = new ArrayList<>();

    targets.add(Query.from(Homepage.class)
        .where("cms.site.owner = ?", WebRequest.getCurrent().as(ToolRequest.class).getCurrentSite())
        .first());

    if (this instanceof Sectionable) {
        targets.add(as(SectionableData.class).getSection());
    }

    if (this instanceof Taggable) {
        targets.addAll(as(TaggableData.class).getTags());
    }

    return targets;
}

Code Block B:

import com.psddev.cms.ui.content.place.GroupedPlace;
import com.psddev.cms.ui.content.place.Place;
import com.psddev.cms.ui.content.place.Placeable;
import com.psddev.cms.ui.content.place.PlaceableTarget;
...
    
@Override
    public List<Place> getPlaceableTargetPlaces(Placeable content) {
        return Arrays.asList(
            new GroupedPlace(content, this, "Lead", getLead()),
            new GroupedPlace(content, this, "Contents", getContents())
        );
	}

Released: 4.5.3
Documentation: Post-publishing actions

Play Now

Pre-Publish Actions 4.5 Demo.mp4

Pre-publish actions provide the ability to present Brightspot users with reminders, suggestions, and actions before content is published in the CMS.

Features

• Displays a pop-up before content is published once user clicks the Publish button
  
  • Developers can configure pre-publish pop-up to display messages and/or editable fields
    
    • User can edit these fields directly within the pop-up and have those changes applied to the content before publishing the content, without ever leaving the pop-up and returning to the underlying edit form
• Pre-publish actions can be configured to only display based on set criteria or conditions
• Brightspot users can choose whether they want pre-publish actions to be enabled or disabled globally, per site, and per user
• Brightspot users can choose whether they want pre-publish actions to be displayed automatically globally, per site, and per user
• Brightspot users can choose to open pre-publish actions at any time using the more menu in content edit form - publishing tools

implements com.psddev.cms.ui.content.Suggestible
...
    @Override
    public List<String> getSuggestibleFields() {
        return Stream.of(
            "seo.title",
            "seo.description",
            "pagePromotable.promoTitle",
            "pagePromotable.promoDescription",
            "pagePromotable.promoImage",
            "shareable.shareTitle",
            "shareable.shareDescription",
            "shareable.shareImage"
        ).collect(Collectors.toList());
    }

Released: 4.5.4
Documentation: Pre-publishing actions

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Preview to Edit 4.5 Demo.mp4

Preview to Edit provides an alternate way of navigating content edit pages by using the preview to deep link into specific areas for editing.

Features

• Allows user to navigate an edit page by clicking on any field value rendered in the preview window
• Allows user to navigate an edit page by clicking on any embedded module rendered in the preview window
• Allows user to navigate an edit page by clicking on any shared module rendered in the preview window
  
  • First click will navigate the user to the location in the edit page where that module has been added
  • Second click will open the corresponding edit form for that shared module
• Allows user to navigate an edit page by clicking on enhancements in preview to anchor to enhancement in the a rich text field of an edit form
• In order to navigate through nested edit forms, the user must click through each level in preview
  
  • For example, on a section page the first click will anchor to the Contents field and the second click will anchor to a module within the Contents field
• When user clicks on modules in preview, a shortcut menu is displayed containing anchor links to the tabs within that module

Released: 4.5.5
Documentation: Preview to Edit

Play Now

Production Guides 4.5 Demo.mp4

Production Guides are used to display helpful, contextual information to Brightspot Users as they navigate the CMS Areas and Content Edit Pages. Guides will include information for Content Types, Areas, Widgets, and Fields.

Features

• Permissions
  
  • Permissions for editing the production guide fields are managed in the
    Role object, under the UI dropdown.
• Shared Fields
  
  • Fields that are shared across content types data modeling share production guides.
    
    • These fields also have the ability to inherit / or replace what came from the shared field.
• Contextual Navigation
  
  • View helpful documentation without leaving the context of the content edit forms, utilizing the contextual navigation in order to find help on specific fields quickly.

Released: 4.5.3
Documentation: Accessing Production Guides

Play Now

Board View 4.5 Demo.mp4

Board view lives directly within Search. Board view groups search results by a field. For example, you can view articles by default statuses (archived, draft, revision, scheduled, published) or by workflow status if a workflow has been set up. With minimal dev work, additional Group By options can be added for any content type fields. Some field types even support drag and drop between columns.

Features

• In Search, users have the ability to switch to the Board view for supported content types (see configuration notes below for how to add the board view to your other content types!)
• Users can select from multiple options in the “Group” filter dropdown to change how the columns are grouped in Board View
• Users can drag and drop content between Columns to update the grouped field, this will add a revision to the Content’s revision history
• Users can scroll horizontally and vertically to view more content in the Board
• Users can use Sorts to sort the order presented in each Column
• Users can also make use of the Global Filters to help filter down results in the Board

@ToolUi.FieldDisplayPreview({
    "headline",
    "subHeadline",
    "authorable.authors",
    "sectionable.section",
    "taggable.tags",
    "cms.content.updateDate",
    "cms.content.updateUser" })

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Understanding Search Panel Views

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Search Summary 4.5 Demo.mp4

Users can select fields to add to the Label column giving Users a way to view more information in List view from a glance, without having to click into each individual piece of content to view fields.

Features

• Users can customize content summary areas in List View for all content types, showing more information directly at a glance within Search
• Users can select, enable, and disable fields to display in the summary area or as columns (or a combination of both!)
• Users' selections persist for each different content type, so they can set up different summaries for different content types
• Users can reorder the display order of fields in the summary area (by drag and dropping the fields)

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Adding fields to search results

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The Shelf 4.5 Demo.mp4

The Shelf provides Brightspot users with a persistent location on the edit page where they can find and add things faster by simply dragging and dropping content from the shelf into fields on the content edit page.

Features

• Expand and collapse the Shelf on any supported content type
  
  • Expand/collapse state is sticky and will be retained per user
• Browse Recent Activity to find recently updated and created content
  
  • Filter Recent Activity by Content Type, User, Role, and/or Status
  • Note: Recent Activity will only display content updated in the past 30 days
• Browse Saved Searches created by user to find specific content
• Drag and drop a single piece of content from the Shelf into any supported field for that content type
• Select, drag and drop multiple pieces of content from the Shelf into any supported field for that content type
• Open the Quick View popup for an asset in the Shelf to view additional information

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Working with The Shelf

Play Now

Users and Roles 4.5 Demo.mp4

Administrators now have the ability to assign multiple roles and site-specific roles to Brightspot users.

A new Permissions field allows admins to select from three options Full Access, Roles, and Site Specific Roles.

Full Access is the default option and provides admin access to all sites, areas, and content types.

Roles allows admins to assign one or more roles to a user and permissions across these roles are combined, allowing administrators to provide users with additional permissions without needing to create additional roles.

Site-Specific Roles allows admins to manage site access from the user edit page rather than the role itself so instead of creating multiple roles with similar permissions for each site, admins can now create a single role and specify the site access at the user level.

Released: 4.5.0
Documentation: Assigning site-specific roles

Styleguide Presets allows users to save their configurations as preset options that can be selected in the CMS for any site using the theme. Presets can be created in Styleguide at both the theme and the individual template level and then selected in the CMS in the Overrides tab of the Theme edit page and the Styles tab of the Content Type edit page respectively.

Features

Theme Presets

• Users can preview how different configurations of a Theme will render on the front end across all the different templates available in Styleguide
• Users can create one to many Theme presets in Styleguide
  
  • Users can rename Theme presets in Styleguide
  • Users can delete Theme presets in Styleguide
• Users can select Theme presets, created in Styleguide, when updating the Theme in the CMS from the Presets field located on the Overrides tab

Template Presets

• Users can preview how different configurations of a Template will render on the front end in Styleguide
• Users can create one to many Template presets in Styleguide
  
  • Users can rename Template presets in Styleguide
  • Users can delete Template presets in Styleguide
• Users can select Template presets, created in Styleguide, when publishing content, pages, and modules in the CMS from the Presets field located on the Styles tab.

Released: 4.5.7
Documentation: Styleguide presets

Styleguide users can enable an inspect tool and click on visual elements in the Styleguide, to see more information about that element such as the template name, the path used to construct the template, image size used, colors and more.

Features

• A new inspect toggle can be turned on to enable tool tips
• When clicking on included templates, Styleguide will show their template path and name as well as any template ancestry
• When clicking on included templates, Styleguide will show what image size is being used
• When clicking on included templates, Styleguide will show the field name it is associated to in the data
• When clicking on included templates, Styleguide will show a list of styles with any values set in template override popup
  

Released: 4.5.0

Date Picker: NOW shortcut
Users now have a quick way to jump back to the present by clicking a new “Now” button that appears between the “Clear” and “Set” buttons.

Expand All for Lists
Lists of embedded content types now have an expand all and collapse all control that expands and collapses all items in a list. Expand and collapse behavior for galleries has also been improved.

Field Guide Notes: Improvement
With the addition of Production Guides, Field Guide Notes for editors are no longer being supported. The ? icon will only display for users with a Developer role and the For Editors tab has been removed. For users with a Developer role the tools popup will still display the For Developers tab.

Getty Image Search: Filters
Integrated Search for Getty Images will now display a number of additional filters, including age, number of people, hex value, and more.

Getty Image Search: Sorting
For Getty integrated search results, a date created field is now associated with each retrieved asset. Getty's "sort by newest" feature sorts by the date the asset was submitted, not the date it was created. With the date created field in Brightspot, editors can sort by newest date created or newest date submitted.

Image Recognition: Improvements
Improved the display of Image Recognition tags and moved them to a more intuitive location, under the Advanced menu of the image itself.

Module Picker: Search
The module picker now has a search field for quickly finding a specific module or style.

Rich-Text Editor: Support for Instagram Reels
Users can now embed Instagram Reels by copying and pasting the Reel's URL inside the rich-text editor.

Schedule Publish: Merge or Replace
Added ability for editors to specify whether changes made to an existing bulk schedule are automatically merged into the schedule or not. If selecting "Do not merge updates," any changes will be live exactly upon publish instead of being held in the schedule for a future publish.

Search: External Content Type Tabs Removed
In a move to better streamline operations, integration tabs have been moved into the Content Type filter in search, becoming more aligned with how editors are already searching for content.

Search: Print Results
Editors now have the ability to print search results in CMS search.

Search: Saved Search Improvement
Saved searches now remember the editor's selected tab and exposed fields. For example, an editor saves a search MySearch while in board view and showing only the label field. The next time the editor runs MySearch, the results will be in board view and showing only the label field.

Search: Select/Hide Fields Improvement
The new experience for selecting and hiding search fields and filters is clearer and more simplified, as users may now drag and drop the fields and filters within the pop-up menu.

Search: Sticky Expand/Collapse States
The Recent Searches and Saved Searches widgets retain their open/close setting after closing the search panel. For example, an editor closes the search panel with the Recent Searches widget open; the next time the editor opens the search panel, the Recent Searches widget opens automatically.

Share Image Popup: Copy URL button
The Share Image popup now includes a copy URL button, providing an easy way to copy in one click.

Shared Preview Link Management
For security, users who have Shared Preview links may want to curtail access to these preview links. Users can set expiration dates on Shared Preview links and then view and remove Shared Preview links using the new menu item in their Profile dropdown.

Sites: Subcategories
Site categories now have subcategories, allowing for better categorization of sites.

Sites: Search & Filter
Search, filters and pagination have been added to the Sites widget to make it easier for users to locate the site they need. Editors can now quickly search for sites via site categories after accessing Sites & Settings in the CMS, much like they are already able to do with the site switcher.

Suggestions: Display Fields in Order
The Suggestions widget now displays field-specific suggestions in the same order as the corresponding content edit form. For example, a content edit form has a field for Sections followed by a field for Tags. The Suggestions widget displays a cluster for suggested sections followed by a cluster for suggested tags.

Users & Roles: Site-Specific Roles
Administrators can now create site-specific roles for users. The Roles field in Users & Roles has been replaced with a Permissions dropdown field, where administrators can designate roles accordingly.

For more information on version 4.5, please visit 4.5 release notes.
For additional support, visit the Brightspot Developer Portal.