Child

A child, in Jahia, is a content item placed under a parent item in the content repository tree, the store where Jahia keeps all its content. The Academy glossary compares the parent to a branch and the child to a leaf. A sub-page, a text dropped into an area or an item stored in a folder are thus the children of the page or folder that holds them.

Definition and how it works

The parent-child relationship is not just a technical detail. It explains why moving a content item takes everything beneath it along. It also explains why the address of a content item depends on where it sits. The path of a content item is the sequence of its parents’ system names (their technical names), for example /sites/mysite/home/about. For pages and content displayed as full pages, that path is also the URL unless a vanity URL is set.

Technically, each content item is a node, meaning a point in the tree, in a JCR repository (the Java content storage standard Jahia is built on). It is identified by a unique identifier and by its path. A node can have zero to many children. A child can therefore be a parent too. The "leaf" in the image is not necessarily at the end of the tree. When the items placed under another one can be ordered, Content Editor shows a dedicated section for their order.

Academy documentation: understanding content structures

Child vs content reference: the differences

A content item has a single place in the tree, so a single parent. To show it elsewhere, you do not add a second parent but use a reference.

Position in the tree and related terms
Term	How it differs
Content reference	A reference is a content item that points to another item located elsewhere in the tree. The source remains the child of its original parent. The reference is the child of the place where it is added.
Content folder	A folder is a parent meant to store content outside pages. The items it holds are its children, just like the items on a page.
Content item	Content item names the object itself. "Child" does not describe the object but its position relative to another one.

Child in practice

During a redesign, a team moves the "Careers" section under "Company". Every sub-page and every content item placed in their areas follows automatically, since they sit under the section. The path of each page does change, though. Without a vanity URL, the public address changes too, so redirects need to be planned.

Links in rich text fields survive the move, because Jahia stores the technical identifier of the target content in addition to its path.

Frequently asked questions

Does moving a page in Jahia also move its content and sub-pages?

Yes. Sub-pages and the content placed in the page’s areas are its children in the repository tree, so they follow the move. The path of each one changes, because it is built from the names of its parents. For pages without a vanity URL, the public address therefore changes as well, which means redirects should be planned ahead.

Can the same content item have two parents?

A content item has only one parent, since it occupies a single place in the tree. To display it in several places without duplicating it, you add a content reference wherever it is needed. The reference points to the source, which stays unique. Any change to the source then shows wherever it is referenced.

Can a child content item have children of its own?

As many levels deep as the structure requires. A node can have zero to many children. A sub-page thus carries its own sub-pages and the content placed in its areas. The "leaf" in the image is therefore not necessarily at the end of the tree. In practice, moving a content item means moving the whole branch it carries, at every level.