UI extensibility

As every user has different needs, the Front Matter extension allows you to extend the UI with your own custom elements and components which can be used in the Front Matter dashboards and the panel.

The approach we choose, is to let you register a JavaScript file which will be loaded in the dashboard and panel.

Extensibility points

Front Matter CMS allows you to extend the UI in the following places:

• Content dashboard

  • Image
  • Footer
  • Draft status
  • Date
  • Title
  • Description
  • Tags

• Panel

  • Custom panel view
  • Custom fields

Registering a custom UI extension

To start, you will need to create a JavaScript. To make it easier, you need to make use of the @frontmatter/extensibility dependency which makes all the necessary functions available.

Once you have created the JavaScript file, you can register your UI script in the frontMatter.extensibility.scripts setting as follows:

The extensibility framework options

Development mode

To enable development mode, you can use the enableDevelopmentMode function. This will allow you to reload the webview and open the developer tools without the need to reload Visual Studio Code.

Once the development mode is enabled, you will see the developer bar at the top of the webview.

Registering a card image

To register a custom card image, you can use the registerCardImage function. This functionality allows you to register your own image/element on the content card.

• The filePath parameter contains the path to the file which is being rendered in the card.
• The metadata parameter contains the metadata (front matter) of the file which is being rendered in the card.
  • On this metadata object, you can find the fmPreviewImage property which contains the webview URL of the current project. You can use this property to render your own image located in the project.

Example of a custom image rendering:

Example of using the fmPreviewImage property:

Registering a card footer

To register a custom card footer, you can use the registerCardFooter function. This functionality allows you to register your own footer/element which will be rendered at the bottom of the content.

Example of a custom footer rendering:

Registering a panel view

To register a custom panel view, you can use the registerPanelView function. This functionality allows you to register your own panel view which will be rendered in the panel.

Example of a custom panel view rendering:

Registering a custom field

To register a custom field, you can use the registerCustomField function. This functionality allows you to register your own custom field which can be used when editing the front matter.

The custom field requires a bit more work, as it comes with a change handler for the field value updates. To make it easier, it is recommended to use for instance a library like lit to create your custom field.

Once this script has been registered, you can use the customField type in your content-type. Register it as follows:

Example of a custom field rendering: