Expose Dictionary items in Sitecore Experience Editor

Expose Dictionary items in Sitecore Experience Editor

I frequently make heavy use of Dictionary items in my content architecture for chrome content that does not often need to be updated and that may need translated versions so we can cut down the number of managed data fields a content author needs to see on a daily basis. Currently, it is not easy to know where Dictionary items may have been used on a page. New content authors are often unaware that certain values are editable and even experienced content authors have to search for an item in the Dictionary tree, hoping that items were clearly named and organized. Sometimes, certain roles don’t even have access to this folder at all.

Making the items more explicit in Experience Editor solves this problem!

In collaboration with fellow Sitecore MVP Mark Stiles, we have created a method for allowing Dictionary items to be identified and edited without leaving Experience Editor.

1. Add new option to the View tab for “Show Dictionary items”

2. When “Show Dictionary items” in selected, display a Dictionary icon linked to the corresponding Dictionary item

3. When clicking on a Dictionary item value, reveal a custom experience button that allows access to a modal where the Dictionary item can be edited without having to leave Experience Editor.

This has had an immediate impact on content authoring for the sites we have used this method on so far, reducing the number steps takes to complete the task.

If you are interested in adding this feature to your solution see the GitHub and Marketplace module.

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