The simplest way to access content in Velocity is through the use of one of three built-in ContentMap objects:
| Object | Use |
|---|---|
$dotPageContent | Accessing Page content |
$URLMapContent | Accessing URL-Mapped content |
$dotContentMap | Accessing any content in a container |
A ContentMap is the object type that results from a content pull. Accordingly, these pre-defined variables allow reference to the content object without the need to pass an identifier to a $dotcontent.find() call.
Because of their convenience and wide coverage, these objects should be considered the de facto standard way to access content in Velocity, replacing calls to $dotcontent in most use cases. However, there remain cases where the latter proves indispensable — for example, it can be used in association with the NavTool Viewtool to fetch menu items.
To access a field within the content object, call its variable as a property — e.g., $dotPageContent.title, $URLMapContent.host $dotContentMap.varName, and so on. All methods accessible by way of a standard content pull are available through these objects.
Methods
In addition to exposing the content object, ContentMaps also make available the following methods:
| Property/Method | Behavior |
|---|---|
identifier | Returns the full-length identifier of the contentlet. |
inode | Returns the full-length UUID of the contentlet's inode. |
get("varName") | Returns the field specified by varName; $dotContentMap.get('foo') is the same as using $dotContentMap.foo. As you will see below, get functions that do not take arguments can also be represented as properties by removing “get” and lowercasing the next letter. |
getRaw("varName") | Returns the unparsed data of the field specified by varName, including the raw text of any Velocity code. |
getShortyUrl() | Returns the identifier-based URI for the first file in a piece of content. Equivalent to the property .shortyUrl. |
getShorty() | Returns the short version of the content identifier. Equivalent to the property .shorty. |
getShortyInode() | Returns the short version of the content inode. Equivalent to .shortyInode. |
getShortyUrlInode() | Returns the inode-based URI for the first file in a piece of content. Equivalent to .shortyUrlInode. |
getUrlMap() | Returns the URLMap for a piece of content, if one exists. Equivalent to .urlMap. |
getStructure() | Returns structural metadata for the object. Equivalent to .structure. |
isLive() | Returns true or false. |
isWorking() | Returns true or false. |
isHTMLPage() | Returns true or false. |
getContentObject() | Returns the object with which this map is associated. Equivalent to .contentObject. |
toString() | Prints the entire object as a raw string; similar to getRaw(), but for the entire contentlet instead of a single field. |
getFieldVariables("varName") | Introduced in 22.09, this returns a map of key-value pairs representing the field's field variables, where varName is the system variable assigned to the field at its creation. |
