Terminology

An introduction to the terminology of MODx

MODx is a very flexible web content management system. It can be configured in a variety of ways.

For new users MODx may appear to have some confusing terminology.

As an editor there are two ways to publish content:

• in the main Content Area,
  
• in other areas called Template Variables
  
  (traditionally side blocks, but they can be placed anywhere on the webpage).

There are two other important feature of MODx that you you need know about:

• Chunks - these are re-usable pieces of HTML content. You can place a Chunk in the main content area or in a template variable. For example, you could put your contact details into a Chunk and then you can publish them in different places on the your website without re-typing the details.
• Snippets- these are small functional items, such as menus and search bars. These can be published in the template, a document's main content area, a chunk or in a template variable.

A Chunk or Snippet can be placed directly into the template by your web developer, or inserted by you into the Content Area or a Template Variable.

This is how it all fits together:

• The template contains the main framework of the webpage. Your web developer may choose to have content that appears on every page in the site. In this example the header and logo are fixed in the template.
• The template contains the Content Area, identified in pink, and inserted into the template with the syntax [content]. This content is taken from the Document as edited in the Manager.
• The template also contains MODx tags that insert Snippets. In this example there are two menu Snippets, identified in blue and inserted with the following syntax [[SnippetName]]
• The template contains Template Variables that allow the Editor to insert text, images and other content items outside of the main Content Area. These are identified in green and are inserted in the template with the following syntax [TemplateVariableName]
• The Editor can insert pre-set pieces of text or html into the Content Area or a Template Variable by using Chunks. In this example there are two Chunks identified in red. Chunks are inserted by the editor by typing into the Content Area or a Template Variable space.