Document Types

    The first step in any Umbraco site is to create a Document Type. A Document Type is a data container in Umbraco where you can add Properties (data fields/attributes) to input data. Each Property has a Data Type like text string, number, or rich text body. Umbraco outputs the input data using Templates.

    These are some of the most common properties you would add to a Document Type:

    • Page title
    • Sub Heading
    • Body Text
    • Meta Title
    • Meta Description

    Creating a Document Type

    To create a Document Type:

    1. Go to Settings.

    2. Select the ... next to the Document Types in the Settings tree. Creating a Document Type

    3. Select Document Type with Template.

      Using folders can help you organise your Document Types.

    4. Enter a Name for the Document Type. Let's call it HomePage. You'll notice that an Alias is automatically created.

    5. Enter the Description. For example: This is our homepage template. The description helps to identify the correct Document Type when creating new Content Nodes in the Content Section.

    6. Click Save. Our new Document Type is now visible as a new item under Document Types. Name your Document Type

    Customizing the Document Type

    Adding icons

    With the help of icons, you can identify different Document Types in the Content Tree. To add an icon:

    1. Select the icon placeholder next to the document name. The Select Icon dialog appears on the right-side of the website. Adding an Icon to Document Type
    2. Browse through the icon list and selct the icon of your choice.
    3. Click Submit.

    Setting Permissions

    To create a Document Type at the root of the Content Tree:

    1. Go to the Permissions tab. Allow Homepage Document Type As Root

    2. Toggle the Allow as root button.

      If your Document Types do not have the Allow as root checked, you will not be able to create any content on your site.

    3. Click Save.

    Adding Properties

    To add properties to your Document Type, follow these steps:

    1. Go to the Design tab.

    2. Select Add Group and enter a name for the group. For this tutorial, we will call it Content. Document Types - Adding Our First Content Group

    3. Select Add property. The Property Settings dialog opens.

    4. Enter a Name. For example: Page Title.

    5. Enter a Description. For example: The main title of the page (e.g. Welcome to Widgets Ltd.). Creating our PageTitle Property

    6. Select Select Editor and select the Data Type of your choice. We'll add text in the search box and select the Textstring Data Type. Selecting Textstring Data Type

    7. Click Submit.

      Remember to come back and explore the list of Data Types later.

    8. Repeat Steps 3 to 7 using the specification below:

      Name Body Text
      Group Content
      Alias bodyText
      Description The main content of the page.
      Data Type Richtext Editor

    9. Select Add Group to create a new group called Footer. Repeat Steps 3 to 7 using the specification below:

      Name Footer Text
      Group Footer
      Alias footerText
      Description Copyright notice for the footer.
      Data Type Textstring

    10. Your Document Type should now look like this: Homepage Document Type with Properties

    11. Click Save.

    We’ve now created our first Document Type. Umbraco takes the data from an instance of the Document Type (also called as Content Node) and merges it with a Template – we’ll create our template next.

    Prev: Getting Started                   Next: Creating Your First Template and Content Node