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We have added a new field type to the existing list as per our requirement and this new field is to store some link fetched from a third party provider. This is somewhat similar to external link but here when the link button is clicked, we are taking the users to the provider page and fetch the info. There are no intermediate popups here like in external link.

This we did by making the necessary customizations in the anquilla Framework for both fied designer and field builder but unfortunately we are not able to save the schema with this new field type. We are not even able to receive any kind of error message to look further. When saved the schema with this new field type, the schema is saving without this new field added.

We suspect this is due to the issue of source XML not being generated for this new field type.We even tried adding in source editor but were of no use. Is there anything we missing here? Could anyone suggest is it even possible this way or any other available GUI extensions can be used to achieve this?

Newly added field type

Source XML not getting updated with newly added field

It would be a great help if anyone could let us know about this. Thanks much!

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I would recommend a very different approach. Instead of modifying the UI, you could create an ECL (External Content Library) connector to connect to this third party provider. When you use ECL, items in the third-party system are exposed as folders with multimedia components in them. These components act as 'stubs', each stub representing an item in the external system. This allows you to link to external items as if they were created in Tridion. Some of the advantages:

  • You can determine per field whether or not you want to allow a link to this type of item
  • You can use Where Used functionality to see where the third-party item is used in Tridion
  • You can preview the items with a custom image
  • You can use search (if you implement that in the ECL connector)
  • etc

Here is a good starting point if you want to start developing your own ECL connector: https://velmuruganarjunan.wordpress.com/2019/02/09/using-flicker-ecl-connector-integration-with-sdl-tridion-sites-9-0/

If you are on Tridion 9.1 or higher, it is also possible (and probably better) to create a Tridion Integration Framework connector instead. Functionally, these are quite similar to ECL connectors. See https://community.rws.com/product-groups/tridion/tridion-sites/b/techweblog/posts/developing-connectors-using-the-new-tridion-integration-framework for more information.

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  • Thank you @Quirjin. Your suggestion really helps us put in some right direction. But however there are some open queries from our end and would like to hear back on the same. -Which field type to specify in schema level to store this ecl item in our database? -Should it be multimedia link? If yes, then how the linking will happen with the item present in external system? Does it creates a copy of item in our CMS db when linked ?
    – Hari Rompicharla
    Commented Jul 27, 2022 at 21:16
  • When you use ECL, you will create an 'ECL Stub Schema'. This is a multimedia schema. You can create multimedia link fields in other schemas and use this ECL Stub Schema as the target schema. When you link to an ECL item, or even when you simply view an item, a stub component is created in the Tridion DB. I suggest that you give it a try with the help of the blogs I suggested and /or example code (which you can find in the blog also). If you still have questions after that, just ask them separately on this forum.
    – Quirijn
    Commented Jul 29, 2022 at 13:10

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