How to Check Components in Classic or Touch UI in AEM

Are you an AEM developer or content author struggling to understand how to check components in the Classic or Touch UI? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, ensuring you can effectively manage and maintain your AEM components.

Introduction

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a powerful content management system that allows you to create, manage, and deliver digital experiences across various channels. One of the key features of AEM is its ability to use components, which are reusable building blocks that can be combined to create pages, templates, and other content. However, with the introduction of the Touch UI in AEM 6.0, the process of checking components has changed slightly. In this article, we’ll cover both the Classic and Touch UI approaches, ensuring you’re equipped to handle any AEM version.

Key Takeaways

• Learn how to check components in both the Classic and Touch UI of AEM.
• Understand the differences between the two interfaces and when to use each one.
• Discover the various tools and techniques for inspecting and troubleshooting components.
• Gain insights into best practices for component development and maintenance.
• Explore advanced topics like component inheritance, overlays, and client-side libraries.

Understanding AEM Components

Before we dive into the specifics of checking components, it’s essential to understand what components are and how they work in AEM. Components are the building blocks of AEM pages and templates. They can range from simple elements like text and images to complex, interactive features like carousels and forms. AEM provides a wide range of out-of-the-box components, but you can also create custom components to meet your specific needs.

Checking Components in the Classic UI

The Classic UI has been a staple of AEM for many years and is still widely used by developers and content authors. To check components in the Classic UI, follow these steps:

1. Open the AEM instance and navigate to the page or template you want to inspect.
2. Switch to the “Design” mode by clicking the “Design” button in the top-right corner of the page.
3. Hover over the component you want to inspect, and a tooltip will appear displaying the component’s path and other relevant information.
4. Right-click on the component and select “Edit” to open the component’s dialog and modify its properties.
5. If you need to inspect the component’s code, switch to the “Edit” mode and click the “Open” button next to the component’s path in the component tree.

Checking Components in the Touch UI

The Touch UI, introduced in AEM 6.0, offers a more modern and streamlined interface for working with components. Here’s how to check components in the Touch UI:

1. Open the AEM instance and navigate to the page or template you want to inspect.
2. Click the “Edit” button in the top-right corner of the page to enter the edit mode.
3. Hover over the component you want to inspect, and a tooltip will appear displaying the component’s path and other relevant information.
4. Click the component to open the component toolbar, which provides options for editing, configuring, and managing the component.
5. To inspect the component’s code, click the “Open” button in the component toolbar, which will open the component’s source code in a new tab.

Advanced Component Inspection

In addition to the basic component inspection methods, AEM provides several advanced tools and techniques for troubleshooting and debugging components. These include:

• Component Inheritance: AEM components can inherit properties and functionality from parent components, making it essential to understand the component hierarchy when inspecting or modifying components.
• Component Overlays: AEM allows you to overlay components with custom implementations, which can be useful for extending or modifying existing components without modifying the original code.
• Client-side Libraries: Many AEM components rely on client-side libraries (CSS and JavaScript) for their functionality. Inspecting and understanding these libraries can be crucial when troubleshooting component issues.
• Developer Tools: Both the Classic and Touch UI provide developer tools that can help you inspect and debug components, including the Component Browser, Component Hierarchy, and Component Overlay Viewer.

Best Practices for Component Development

To ensure your AEM components are well-designed, maintainable, and performant, it’s essential to follow best practices for component development. These include:

• Modular Design: Break down your components into smaller, reusable modules that can be easily combined and maintained.
• Separation of Concerns: Separate the presentation logic (HTML, CSS) from the business logic (Java, JavaScript) to improve code organization and maintainability.
• Proper Documentation: Document your components thoroughly, including their purpose, functionality, and any dependencies or requirements.
• Testing: Implement comprehensive unit and integration tests to ensure your components function as expected and catch any regressions early in the development process.
• Performance Optimization: Optimize your components for performance by minimizing resource usage, leveraging caching mechanisms, and following best practices for client-side rendering.

Conclusion

Checking and inspecting components is a crucial aspect of AEM development and content management. By understanding the processes for both the Classic and Touch UI, as well as advanced techniques like component inheritance and overlays, you’ll be better equipped to maintain and troubleshoot your AEM components. Remember to follow best practices for component development to ensure your components are well-designed, maintainable, and performant.

If you’re new to AEM or looking to deepen your understanding of component development, consider exploring additional resources, such as official Adobe documentation, online tutorials, and community forums. Continuously learning and staying up-to-date with the latest AEM features and best practices will help you become a more proficient and effective AEM developer or content author.