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Class ContentReference

Contains information to reference ContentData instances.

Inheritance
System.Object
ContentReference
PageReference
Implements
System.IComparable
System.IComparable<ContentReference>
System.IEquatable<ContentReference>
Namespace: EPiServer.Core
Assembly: EPiServer.dll
Version: 12.0.3
Syntax
public class ContentReference : Object, IComparable, IReadOnly<ContentReference>, IReadOnly, IComparable<ContentReference>, IEquatable<ContentReference>

Constructors

ContentReference()

Initializes a new instance of the ContentReference class.

Declaration
public ContentReference()

ContentReference(Int32)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content ID.

ContentReference(Int32, Boolean)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id and any available version. If no version is published the most recently saved will be loaded.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID, bool getPublishedOrLatest)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content id to set
System.Boolean getPublishedOrLatest

If the most recently saved should be loaded if no version is published.

ContentReference(Int32, Int32)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id and working version.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID, int versionID)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content ID.
System.Int32 versionID

The version ID.

ContentReference(Int32, Int32, String)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id, working version and providerName.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID, int versionID, string providerName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content id to set
System.Int32 versionID

The version to set
System.String providerName

The name of the provider

ContentReference(Int32, Int32, String, Boolean)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id, working version and remote site.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID, int versionID, string providerName, bool getPublishedOrLatest)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content ID to set.
System.Int32 versionID

The version ID to set.
System.String providerName

Name of the provider.
System.Boolean getPublishedOrLatest

This parameter is not used, see remarks

ContentReference(Int32, String)

Initialize a new ContentReference with content id and providerName.

Declaration
public ContentReference(int contentID, string providerName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int32 contentID

The content id to set
System.String providerName

Name of the provider.

ContentReference(String)

Initialize a new ContentReference from a string in the format contentID[_workID[_providerName]] or - throws EPiServerException on invalid argument

Declaration
public ContentReference(string complexReference)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String complexReference

The string containing content information
Exceptions
Type Condition
EPiServerException

Thrown if the string cannot be parsed as a valid ContentReference.

Fields

EmptyReference

Returns an empty ContentReference.

Declaration
public static readonly ContentReference EmptyReference
Field Value
Type Description
ContentReference

SelfReference

Returns a ContentReference that references the current Content.

Declaration
public static readonly ContentReference SelfReference
Field Value
Type Description
ContentReference

Properties

GetPublishedOrLatest

Indicates if the ContentReference references a specific version or may be used to load the latest version.

Declaration
public bool GetPublishedOrLatest { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

true if the latest should be loaded; otherwise, false.
Remarks

This property only returns true if the ContentReference object was created via the ContentReference(Int32, Boolean) constructor. Typically, that constructor is used when you want to load the latest version a ContentData regardless if it's published or not. When GetPublishedOrLatest is set then the loading will not take fallback or replacement language settings into account.

When a ContentReference with GetPublishedOrLatest is set to true is passed to IContentLoader the returned IContent object will be, in order of preference:

If GetPublishedOrLatest is set to true, any value assigned to WorkID will be ignored. This setting is mainly used internally from edit of content and should be used with care since it might bypass cache.

GlobalBlockFolder

Gets or sets the global block folder.

Declaration
public static ContentReference GlobalBlockFolder { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
ContentReference

ID

The id number of a ContentData instance.

Declaration
public int ID { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Int32
Remarks

The content ID is a database assigned number and the only function is to provide a unique identification of a content instance within the current site.

IsExternalProvider

Check if this reference is towards an external content provider.

Declaration
public bool IsExternalProvider { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

True if it is a content provider.
Remarks

A ContentReference can point to an external provider as indicated by the ProviderName property.

IsReadOnly

Indicates if the ContentReference is read-only.

Declaration
public bool IsReadOnly { get; protected set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

ProviderName

A string that identifies a a provider that serves the content. For content served by default provider this value is null.

Declaration
public string ProviderName { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

True if it is a extern reference.
Remarks

To see if the ContentReference is extern, use the IsExternProvider method rather than looking at the ProviderName.

Exceptions
Type Condition
System.NotSupportedException

Thrown if the instance is read-only.

RootPage

Gets a PageReference to the root page.

Declaration
public static PageReference RootPage { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
PageReference

The root page.
Remarks

This property is null until the application has been initialized.

SiteBlockFolder

Gets or sets the site specific block folder.

Declaration
public static ContentReference SiteBlockFolder { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
ContentReference

StartPage

Gets a PageReference to the start page. If start page is not configured, this property returns an empty PageReference. This property is null until the application has been initialized.

Declaration
public static PageReference StartPage { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
PageReference

WasteBasket

Gets a PageReference to the wastebasket page.

Declaration
public static PageReference WasteBasket { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
PageReference
Remarks

This property is null until the application has been initialized.

WorkID

The version id of a ContentData instance.

Declaration
public int WorkID { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Int32
Remarks

This is an internal representation of ContentData versions. I e it is not a sequential version number for the content, but can contain any value. The only guarantee is that if content version A is created before content version B, then A.WorkID < B.WorkID

Methods

CompareTo(ContentReference)

Compares the instance to another provided ContentReference.

Declaration
public virtual int CompareTo(ContentReference other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference other

The other ContentReference instance to compare against.
Returns
Type Description
System.Int32

Zero if both instances are considered equal, Greater than zero if this instance is greater than the provided, Less than zero if the provided instance is greater than this instance.

CompareTo(Object)

Compares the instance to the given object.

Declaration
public virtual int CompareTo(object x)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Object x

The object to compare against.
Returns
Type Description
System.Int32

Zero if both instances are considered equal, Greater than zero if this instance is greater than the provided, Less than zero if the provided instance is greater than this instance.
Exceptions
Type Condition
System.ArgumentException

Thrown if x is not of type ContentReference.

CompareToIgnoreWorkID(ContentReference)

Compares two ContentReference but ignores WorkID.

Declaration
public virtual bool CompareToIgnoreWorkID(ContentReference contentReference)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference contentReference

The content reference.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

Will return true if ID and ProviderName are the same, otherwise false.

Copy()

Creates a copy of current instance

Declaration
public ContentReference Copy()
Returns
Type Description
ContentReference

A copy

CreateWritableClone()

Creates a writable copy of the current ContentReference instance.

Declaration
public ContentReference CreateWritableClone()
Returns
Type Description
ContentReference

A writable copy of the current ContentReference instance.

Equals(ContentReference)

Indicates whether the current ContentReference is equal to another ContentReference.

Declaration
public virtual bool Equals(ContentReference other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference other

A ContentReference to compare with this object.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

true if the current object is equal to the other parameter; otherwise, false.

Equals(ContentReference, Boolean)

Indicates whether the current ContentReference is equal to another ContentReference.

Declaration
public virtual bool Equals(ContentReference other, bool ignoreVersion)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference other

A ContentReference to compare with this object.
System.Boolean ignoreVersion

Indicates if version information should be excluded from the comparison.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

true if the current object is considered equal to the other parameter; otherwise, false.

Equals(Object)

Returns true if the objects o is equal with the instance of the ContentReference.

Declaration
public override bool Equals(object o)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Object o

The o.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

GetHashCode()

Serves as a hash function for a particular type.

Declaration
public override int GetHashCode()
Returns
Type Description
System.Int32

A hash code for the current System.Object.

IsNullOrEmpty(ContentReference)

Determines whether the specified content link is null or empty.

Declaration
public static bool IsNullOrEmpty(ContentReference contentLink)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference contentLink

The content link.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

true if content link is null or empty; otherwise, false.

MakeReadOnly()

Changes the ContentReference into a read-only object.

Declaration
public virtual void MakeReadOnly()
Remarks

After calling this method, any attempt to modify this instance or any contained object will generate a System.NotSupportedException. I e the semantics is "deep read-only".

Note! After setting an object to read-only it is not possible to revert back to read-write mode. You will have to call the CreateWritableClone method to get a copy that can be modified.

Parse(String)

Parses the specified string to a ContentReference instance.

Declaration
public static ContentReference Parse(string s)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String s

The string that should be parsed.
Returns
Type Description
ContentReference

A ContentReference instance if the string could be parsed; otherwise an exception in thrown.

ThrowIfReadOnly()

Utility method that, when called, throws a System.NotSupportedException indicating that the ContentReference has been set as read-only.

Declaration
protected void ThrowIfReadOnly()
Remarks

This method is used internally by other ContentReference methods to standardize the exception thrown when trying to modify a ContentReference set as read-only.

ToString()

Returns a System.String that represents the current System.Object. The return value can be be a string like "Digit[_Digit[_String]]" or "-"

Declaration
public override string ToString()
Returns
Type Description
System.String

A System.String that represents the current System.Object. The ContentReference format can be a string like "Digit[_Digit[_String]]", "-" or String.Empty

TryParse(String, out ContentReference)

Tries the parse.

Declaration
public static bool TryParse(string complexReference, out ContentReference result)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String complexReference

The complex reference.
ContentReference result

The result.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

Operators

Equality(ContentReference, ContentReference)

Implements the operator ==.

Declaration
public static bool operator ==(ContentReference x, ContentReference y)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference x

The x.
ContentReference y

The y.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

Returns true if x.ID == y.ID and x.WorkID == y.WorkID and x.ProviderName == y.ProviderName otherwise false

Inequality(ContentReference, ContentReference)

Implements the operator !=.

Declaration
public static bool operator !=(ContentReference x, ContentReference y)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ContentReference x

The x.
ContentReference y

The y.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

The result of the operator.

Explicit Interface Implementations

IReadOnly.CreateWritableClone()

Declaration
object IReadOnly.CreateWritableClone()
Returns
Type Description
System.Object

Implements

System.IComparable
System.IComparable<>
System.IEquatable<>

Extension Methods