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Containers

Containers in dotCMS perform two functions.  First, they act like server-side include files and can be used to place reusable HTML elements across templates and pages.  A good use of this type of container function is for things such as global headers and footers, main menu bars/navigation and other site wide-type content. 

Second, containers can define where content (from the Content Repository) can placed on a template, how that content should be formatted and whether that content can be edited through the inline editing mode.

Containers can control the the fields from the contentlets that will display on a webpage, the quantity contentlets that can display, and how that content will display.  Website administrators can prepare containers to display dynamic content or to allow content contributors to create/re-use content in that container on an HTML page in a user-friendly way.

The following documentation sections illustrate how to create these different types of containers and how to re-use them on templates.