Built-in property types

5 min

Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) content is built up by models with properties that store and present data. You can use many built-in property types in your models and create your own.

You can use most property types as instance or list properties. Some types are list types themselves; those cannot be modeled as lists.

Common property types

What you want to create	Solution	Editing experience
Plain short text – Control the allowed length with the StringLength attribute. Use a custom tag to control the containing tag, such as using an H1 for the main header for the page.	String property	One row input
Plain long text – Control the allowed length with the StringLength attribute.	String property with UIHint.Textarea	Text area
HTML	XHtmlString property	A TinyMCE HTML editor
Integer value – Controls other rendering, such as the number of items in a list. Control the min and max values with the Range attribute.	Int property	A number slider
Date and time – Control the min and max values with the Range attribute.	DateTime property	A date and time picker
Double – Control the min and max values with the Range attribute.	Double property	Check editor
Boolean	Boolean property	Checkbox
Page type – Filter items in a list, and so on.	PageType property
BLOB – Hold binary data (such as an image). Route to a BLOB with pattern <Url to content>/BlobPropertyName.	Blob property

Note See also Properties in the CMS 12 user guide.

Work with other content

To refer to existing content, use the Link or LinkCollection to create internal or external links.

Use Link or LinkCollection to create internal or external links.

Use ContentArea to display content from other content.

Use ContentReference, ContentReferenceList, or Url to link to a single content item of a specified type.

Use the AllowedTypes attribute to restrict the kinds of links that can be added to a property (with some limitations).

A content reference combined with UIHint lets editors select different entities, such as a block, media item, block folder, or media folder.

The editing experience for a ContentArea is user-friendly and designed to empower content editors to create dynamic and engaging digital experiences without requiring extensive technical knowledge. Editors can drag and drop blocks, media, or pages into the content area and reorder or personalize them with ease.

Use a content reference with many UI hints to select different entities in CMS, such as a block, a media item, a block folder, or a media folder.

What you want to create	Solution	Editing experience
Link to a page	`PageReference` property	Content picker with drag and drop support
_Link to a media file of any type_ – Link to any file in the media repository. Use `ContentReference` instead to use standard content rendering. (Mostly for backward compatibility.)	`ContentReference` property with `UIHint.MediaFile`	Content picker with drag and drop support
_Link to an image_ – Lets an editor select content in the media repository by implementing IContentImage.	`ContentReference` property with `UIHint.Image`	Content picker with drag and drop support
_Link to a video_* – Lets an editor select content in the media repository by implementing `IContentVideo`.	`ContentReference` property with `UIHint.Video`	Content picker with drag and drop support
_Link to a media file_* with the possibility to append information in the URL – Each link can be an item inside Optimizely CMS, such as pages, media, and external URLs. Use URL instead of `ContentReference` to add information, such as query string parameters to control size.	`Url` property with `UIHint.MediaFile` or `UIHint.Image` or `UIHint.Video`	Content picker with drag and drop support
Content area	`ContentArea` property
URL	`Url` property	Link dialog with drag-and-drop support
_Link to multiple external and/or internal resources_ – Does not support `AllowedTypesAttribute`.	`LinkItemCollection` property	Link collection editor with drag-and-drop support
_Link to external or internal resource_* – Does not support `AllowedTypesAttribute`.	`LinkItem` property * _Note:_* Available in CMS 12.11.0 and later.	Link editor with drag-and-drop support
_Link to multiple internal pages, media files, or other content types_* – Supports `AllowedTypesAttribute`.	`ContentReferenceList` property	Content picker with drag and drop support

Select predefined values

You can use the following solutions to create drop-down lists and check box lists:

What you want to create	Solution	Editing experience
Select a single item from a relatively short list of options	String/Int property with SelectOne attribute	Link to implementation page
Select several items from a relatively short list of options	String/Int property with SelectMany attribute	Link to implementation page
Select a single item from a relatively long list of options. – Use with caution because the auto-suggestion editor creates requests to the server.	String/Int property with AutoSuggestion attribute	Link to implementation page

Validation attributes

CMS supports the following validation attributes that are part of the .NET:

Range

StringLength

RegularExpression

EmailAttribute

You can create custom attributes that implement either ValidationAttribute. See Write custom attributes.