The core of the fhm_-extension-package. It adds 3 new doktypes (role, tray, menu) to the backend and supports a whole new way of organizing articles in menu lists (publishing places / erscheinungsorte).

CMS backend structures of large institutions such as a university pose special problems. Frontend structure (menu tree) and backend structure are both huge and deep and very different. An external visitor of our university website is probably not really interested or, even more likely, doesn´t even know to which of several faculties a certain course of studies belongs. But editors, working inside these organizational structures expect them to be replicated inside the CMS.

fhm_tray solves this problem by introducing roles and trays as a kind of glue. Image 1 shows the backend menu tree (3 levels deep) which is also the structure that frontend users navigate. It is structured in a visitor-friendly way.

Image 2 shows a second backend structure that replicates the internal organizational structure of our institution. But only Admins and certain high level editors have to (and are allowed to) use  this unwieldy structure. The typical editor only gets to see something resembling Image 3.

Every editor sees his specific set of roles (eg. Assistant generative Design, documentation of fhm_-extensions, etc.). Roles can be shared between several editors if they share the real life task as well. When a new editor is appointed Assistant generative Design he inherits the backend Role as well. In short, every editor sees only his current web-relevant roles in the backend, not the whole structure, 99% of which is irrelevant to him.

Inside a role are one or more trays. A tray is akin to its real life deskdwelling relative. You can put “articles” (pages with content elements) inside trays. These articles will automatically show up (be published to) at one or more locations in the frontend menu tree. Locations are specified (by privileged “super”users) in the tray itself.

After some initial setup work editors do not have to contend with huge and complicated backend structures but only see the parts relevant to their work. The same article can be published in several locations in the frontend without actually duplicating it in the backend.