simohell's sandbox: Content Prototypes

Many sites require a lot of similar or nearly identical content. Traditional approaches to user needs have been field default values - that has very limited possibilities - and cloning existing content to be modified.

Content Prototypes provides a powerful middle road approach to mass producing content. While cloning content is a simple enough approach it requires the correct choice of source and careful editing of the changes not to include unintentionally duplicated values. Using a content prototype has a predefined sources of cloning values and frequently changing values are left blank. Thus required fields trigger notifications if not edited whereas cloning would use old content if mistakenly left unedited.

• Allows combination of default values and blank fields
• Can be chosen and changed on edit form
• Unchanged field values can be updated to match the updates in the prototype

Content Prototypes is intended as a content creator UX enhancement for sites such as commercial training providers. Such companies sell course-products that have same basic content but varying locations and trainers and different dates for each product. Courses with a prototype may also have specialisation for audience or themes that can be edited in. Content Prototypes allows easily maintainable default content within a content creation process that mitigates user error compared to full cloning.

Note: This is not related to the term "content prototype" used in content-first design approach. I could have user "content templates" instead, but in Drupal the word template has a very strong connection to theming and it is not used in the same context as with office document templates.