Using the Console

Introduction

The Bloomreach Experience Manager Console application exposes a number of low level repository operations for use by developers and administrators. By default it is mapped to the path /console relative to the cms context root. For local development this means it is accessible at http://localhost:8080/cms/console/.

Logging In

Log in to the Console application as any user with admin privileges.

Within the same browser session, you can only log into the CMS and Console applications at the same time using the same user account. If you are logged in to one application and log into the other within the same browser session using a different user account, you will be logged out from the first application. If you need to log in to both applications at the same time using two different user accounts, you must use two different browser sessions (for example by using incognito windows).

Browsing and Viewing Content

You can browse and view the repository content using the tree on the left. Once you have selected a node you can view and edit the details in the form on the right.

Saving Changes

In general when you make changes to the content using the console, the changes are not immediately saved, but remain as transient state in your session and will not be persisted until you explicitly hit the Write changes to repository button in the upper right corner. When you have outstanding changes, you will see this button highlighted in red. If you change your mind and want to flush the changes in your session use the "Reset" button next to it.

Basic Operations

Basic operations include adding, deleting, copying, moving, and renaming nodes, and adding a property to a node are available from the main menu bar as well as from the context menu that you can access by right-clicking on a node in the browse tree.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Some of the aforementioned functions have mappings to keyboard shortcuts. You can even browse the tree using the arrow keys. The question mark ('?') main menu item shows a dialog that lists the available bindings.

Advanced Operations

The very top bar of the page lists a number of advanced operations. The most important ones include importing and exporting system view XML or YAML, importing and 'exporting' (viewing) compact node type definitions (CNDs), and resetting a node to its bootstrap content.

YAML Export and Binary Properties

Nodes with binary properties (images etc.) must be downloaded as a ZIP file, since the YAML format expects these resources to be loaded from separate files that must be packaged together with the YAML.

Deep Linking to a Node

It is possible to deep link to a specific node in the repository using either the path or the uuid request parameter as follows:

https://localhost:8080/console/?path=/content/documents/hippogogreen/about/about

https://localhost:8080/console/?uuid=c9f06d11-8a4f-44d7-a517-fa0ace60c147

When browsing the node tree in the Console, the URL is automatically updated to have the path parameter set to the currently selected node.