User Guide

Alternate-Language Custom Entry Fields in eeSiteKit

By default, ExpressionEngine installs three custom entry fields called Summery, Body and Extended text that eeSiteKit does not use. Depending on your situation, you may want to save, rename or delete these default fields.

Do not delete these default fields in a live website that is using them. If you have existing content that needs to be preserved in EE’s default custom entry fields, then you will need to rename these default fields to match the field titles eeSiteKit is expecting.

eeSiteKit is anticipating 3 custom entry fields. If you are setting up eeSiteKit in a brand new install of EE without existing content you wish to preserve, then you may delete the default the default custom entry group as detailed in the following instructions.

  1. Deleting Default Custom Entry Fields (only for new installs with no content to preserve)
    • In EE’s control panel, navigate to the Custom Channel Field area.
      Admin > Weblog Administration > Custom Channel Fields
    • Delete the “Default Field Group”.
    • Create a New Channel Field Group and name it “main”
    • Add/Edit Custom Fields

Creating Alternate-Language Custom Entry Fields

You’ll be creating four (4) custom entry fields for each alternate-language you are adding to your site. Please pay close attention to the “Field Name” format as it must be consistent with what eeSiteKit is expecting with the group_type_language pattern. Also, the language name must be exactly the same as the name of the alternate-language template name.

For this example, our alternate-language will be German.

  1. Create Entry Title Field
    • Create New Custom Field (big green button)
    • Field Name: main_title_german
    • Field Label: German Entry Title
    • Field Type: Text Input (128 Maxlength)
    • Default Text Formatting for This Field: none (Hide Formatting Menu)
    • Text Orientation: Left to Right
    • Is this a required field: No
    • Is field searchable?: No
    • Show this field by default?: No
    • Field display order: 1
    • Submit

  2. Create URL Title Field

    • Create New Custom Field (big green button)
    • Field Name: main_url_title_german
    • Field Label: German URL Title
    • Field Instructions: “separate-each-word-with-hyphens”
      (For example only; you’ll want to write instructions for the URL Title Field that your content publishers will understand.)
    • Field Type: Text Input (128 Maxlength)
    • Default Text Formatting for This Field: none (Hide Formatting Menu)
    • Text Orientation: Left to Right
    • Is this a required field: No
    • Is field searchable?: No
    • Show this field by default?: No
    • Field display order: 1
    • Submit

  3. Create Main Content Field

    • Create New Custom Field (big green button)
    • Field Name: main_content_german
    • Field Label: Main Content German
    • Field Type: Textarea (20 textarea rows)
    • Default Text Formatting for This Field: XHTML (Display Formatting Menu)
    • Text Orientation: Left to Right
    • Is this a required field: No
    • Is field searchable?: Yes
    • Show this field by default?: Yes
    • Field display order: 2
    • Submit

  4. Create Extended Content Field

    • Create New Custom Field (big green button)
    • Field Name: main_extended_german
    • Field Label: Extended Content German
    • Field Type: Textarea (20 textarea rows)
    • Default Text Formatting for This Field: XHTML (Display Formatting Menu)
    • Text Orientation: Left to Right
    • Is this a required field: No
    • Is field searchable?: Yes
    • Show this field by default?: No
    • Field display order: 3
    • Submit