A prototype allows you to save the settings of an asset, and then reuse that asset throughout the site while maintaining those settings. This is useful if multiple deployments of an asset are used on the site with the same security or display settings. Content will appear the same as the original asset, but unlike a shortcut, you can easily alter the content in a prototype independently.

In this example, a prototype will be made from an existing asset on the WebGUI demo site. This example will show a prototype of the “Welcome” article on the demo homepage.

1. Click on the Edit button of the asset toolbar of the asset you would like to prototype.

2. The edit screen will open for that asset.

3. If you’d like, change the content of the asset; however, this is not necessary. Commonly, prototypes are used to pre-configure templates or security privileges. You want to make sure these settings are set at what you want them to be in the prototype.

4. Open the Metadata tab.

5. Set the “Make prototype?” toggle to Yes.
   
   

6. Click save.

7. When you return to the site, look in the New Content menu of the Admin Bar to locate the title of your prototype (this will be the title of the asset, in this example “Welcome”). There may be a Prototypes category in the New Content menu where all prototypes will be listed. The icon indicating the asset type will also be displayed to the left of the prototype name. Be careful: if you give your prototype the same title as an existing WebGUI asset, the prototype will replace that asset.

8. Navigate to the page on which you’d like to add your prototype.

9. Click on the Prototype title, just as you would any other asset.

10. The add screen for the prototype will open (this will mimic the add screen for the asset type).
    
    

11. Enter a new title and change any other asset settings, just as you would any asset.

12. When you are done, click save. The prototype will display on the page.
    
    

The prototype will mimic the original asset from which it was made. Any properties, display settings, security settings or metadata will be maintained in the prototype. In this example, you can see that the content is identical to the demo homepage’s “Welcome” article; the title has simply been changed to that of the prototype as was shown in the previous steps. Now, other users may select this prototype for use anywhere on the site.