Displayable Name
The displayable name, in Jahia, is the label that identifies a content item in the interfaces. Contributors read it when they browse content in jContent, follow a breadcrumb, run a report or use a picker. A good displayable name is recognizable straight away in a list. A poor one forces people to open each item to find out what it contains.
Definition and how it works
Jahia derives the displayable name from other fields. It looks first for the item’s title (jcr:title, added by the mix:title mixin, a set of properties attached to the type), then for the property the developer set as primary in the content type definition, and finally falls back on the system name, a technical identifier.
The system name is the internal identifier of a content item, unique within its location. It accepts 32 characters by default. The sequence of the parents’ system names forms the content’s path, which also serves as the address of pages without a vanity URL. When a content item with a title is created, Content Editor automatically aligns the system name with that title (lower case, with dashes replacing spaces and special characters).
Academy documentation: system names, display names and titles
Related terms: Vanity URL · Content item · Content type definition · Content Type · Content Repository · Content Editor
Resources that cover this term
Displayable name vs system name: the differences
A content item carries several names that play different roles. Mixing them up leads people to change a URL while thinking they are changing a label.
| Term | How it differs |
|---|---|
| System name | The system name is the internal identifier, which makes up the path and, for a page, the URL. The displayable name is a label meant for people, with no effect on the address. |
| Title (jcr:title) | The title is a property of the content item, which can be shown to visitors. When it exists, it also serves as the displayable name in the interfaces. |
| Vanity URL | A vanity URL replaces the path-based address with a chosen one. It changes neither the displayable name nor the system name. |
Displayable name in practice
In a folder of customer testimonials, jContent shows a list of unreadable system names, because the "Testimonial" type has no title and no primary property. The integrator sets the "Customer name" property as primary in the definition. The list now shows readable names, as do the content pickers.
This setting is decided when the content type is designed. It costs one line in the definition and saves time on every search.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some content items appear under a technical name in jContent?
A content item appears under a technical name when its type sets no property as primary and has no title. Jahia then shows the system name, the item’s internal identifier. The fix is up to the developer: designate in the definition the property that should serve as the displayable name, such as a name, a heading or a product reference.
Does changing a content item’s title change its URL?
Not automatically for existing content. The system name is only aligned with the title at creation. Afterwards, the Copy Title button in Content Editor copies the title into the system name, but changing the system name of a published page changes its URL and can break external links. A redirect or a vanity URL should then be planned.
Is the displayable name visible to site visitors?
The displayable name is a label for the Jahia interfaces, not text on the site. What visitors see depends on the view that renders the content. When the displayable name comes from the title, the same value appears on the site whenever the view displays that title. A purely internal primary property, by contrast, can remain invisible to visitors.