Preview CMS Content Externally from the CMS Environment

Purpose

This article explains how to Preview content outside of the CMS environment, based on the Publishing Target, by way of a query string. This can be useful for clients who wish to view the page without it being wrapped within the CMS window.

Requirements

1. Must have access to the filesystem where CMS is located.

2. Must be signed into CMS in your browser.

Step-by-Step

Instructions are broken up into two sections: Basic Steps and Optional Steps. The Optional Steps will allow a client to Preview an xID on a specific Publishing Target when there is more than one, while the Basic Steps will allow a Preview when there is only one Publishing Target.

When there is one Publishing Target:

I. Basic steps

1. Sign into CMS.

2. After authenticating, open a new browser tab or window.

3. Within your new tab or window, browse to the xID of the Page that you wish to preview:

%CMS Site Root%/DSSPreview/xID.xml

For example, if you want to view Page x15 and your CMS address is:

http://mycms.ingeniux.com/

then your external preview window will be:

http://mycms.ingeniux.com/DSSPreview/x15.xml

When there are multiple Publishing Targets:

There are two tasks to perform in order to realize a Preview on a specific Publishing Target. First, the ID of the Publishing Target must be found, and second, a query string must be added to URL being Previewed.

II. Determine the Publishing Target ID

1. Find the following file:

%site root%\xml\publishingTargets.xml

2. Open the file in a text editor and search for the following string:

PublishingTarget ID=

3. Note the ID number listed for the desired Publishing Target.

III. Run the query

1. Add the following query to the URL:

?PubTgt=n

2. Replace 'n' wtih the ID as determined under section I. For example, to view Publishing Target 3, the query is:

http://mycms.ingeniux.com/DssPreview/x15.xml?PubTgt=3

Additional Information

1. Only pages that are checked in can be viewed.

2. This process does not utilize the URL Map.

3. The version of the page displayed is the same as what is specified in the Published Target.