References

Forms may use a $ref variable to pull in or include the configuration of another Cloud CMS form (or sub-section of a form). This capability is designed to be compatible with the use of $ref within JSON schema for pulling in alternate schemas or definitions.

$ref within schemas

Cloud CMS allows you to use the $ref variable within your schemas or definitions to pull in JSON schema blocks from other definitions on the same branch. This is typically done using a QName loader and generally takes on a form like this:

qname://{namespace}/{localName}

For more information on the use of references within Cloud CMS for definition support, please visit our page on Content Model References.

$ref within forms

Cloud CMS lets you insert a similar $ref variable into your form blocks to reference and pull in other form configuration. The form reference is slightly different in that it includes a Form Key, like this:

qname://{namespace}/{localName}/{formKey}

This structure tells Cloud CMS to load the form with key formKey for the definition with QName namespace:localName.

In the end, no matter whether you're working with definitions or forms, the $ref variable is available to help you achieve reuse of your existing JSON investments.