DMS Document option disappearing from New menu on folder in Ektron 9

Question

Ektron 9 - steps to trigger issue ... we think:

• Create new content folder
• Edit folder properties
  • Smart Forms tab - untick inherit, and remove "Blank HTML"

The "new" menu on the folder now:

• Does not show DMS Document as a menu item
• Does not show Smart Form list as a pull-out sub menu.

Question

• How do I get "Blank HTML" back into the smart form tab property in the folder
• Why is this happening
• Help!!

[Edited] Workaround

eGandalf gave the simple answer via Twitter (previously I had attempted a workaround of putting inheritance back on then resetting the tree): toggle the "Require Smart Forms" checkbox on the "Smart Forms" tab and the Blank HTML option will come back.

Answer 1

This is by design. When you remove the HTML option, note that it checks the "Require Smart Form" box (and, reciprocally, checking the Require Smart Form box removes the HTML option). That means that all other types, including PageBuilder, DMS documents, or HTML are now forbidden in this folder.

As a best practice, you shouldn't be mixing types in a folder anyway. A lot of people do, but that doesn't make it any more valid. If you've got a folder for Press Releases and you have a Press Release Smart Form, you shouldn't have any other type of content in that folder. The less you mix types, the less filtering you have to do either with the API or post-request via LINQ. As a result, you'll have a more consistently performing site.

In situations like this, where I want the DMS assets and the Smart Form content to a) both be searchable, b) both be managed by the same user/group and c) there's a strong connection between the two (e.g., Whitepaper information Smart Form + PDF asset download), I'll create a child folder and allow DMS assets there. In the Case Study example, the folder structure may look like this:

• Content
  • Case Studies (Smart Form only)
    • Downloads (DMS Allowed)

In contrast, if I don't want the DMS assets to be independently searchable, I'll remove them from the Content folder entirely and place them in a separate, root-level, non-searchable folder called Resources or Downloads.

Answer 2

Because Blank HTML is a default (and ID 0), you might have to reassign it in the database.

My guess is that removing the Blank HTML option impacts DMS retrieval in the workarea specifically.

In this case, I'd reach out to support, I've never actually needed/wanted to do this.

Edit:

I dug a bit more to try and give you something to try.

You'll need to reinsert an xml_id into folder_to_xml_tbl.

insert into folder_to_xml_tbl VALUES(your_folder_id, 0, 1);

Answer 3

Ektron support have replied:

Hi ,

Engineering have advised that DMS documents are unstructured. By forcing all content to be structured content, it disallows raw html as well as dms assets and only allows documents with structure to be created

In any reply please include the case number in the subject line.

To open a new case email uksupport@ektron.com or use the support request form at http://www.ektron.com/Resources/Support/Contact/