A typical eZ Publish installation comes with the following set of top level nodes:

• Content
• Media
• Users
• Setup
• Design

The top level nodes can not be deleted. However, they can be swapped with other nodes. The swap function can be used to change the type of a top level node. For example, the "Content" node references a folder object. By swapping it with another node which refers to a different kind of object, it is possible to change the type of the top level node itself. The following illustration shows the virtual root node and the standard top level nodes:

Top level nodes

Content

The actual contents of a site is placed under the "Content" node. This node is typically used for organizing folders, articles, information pages, etc. and thus defines the actual content structure of the site. A sitemap can be easily created by traversing the contents of this top level node. The default identification number of the "Content" node is 2. The contents of this node can be viewed by selecting the "Content structure" tab in the administration interface. By default, this node references a "Folder" object.

Media

The "Media" node is typically used for storing and organizing information that is frequently used by the nodes located below the "Content" node. It usually contains images, animations, documents and other files. For example, it can be used to create an image gallery containing images that are used in different news articles. The default identification number of the "Media" node is 43. The contents of this node can be viewed by selecting the "Media library" tab in the administration interface. By default, this node references a "Folder" object.

Users

The built-in multi-user solution makes use of the native content structure of eZ publish. An actual user is just an instance of a class that contains the "User account" datatype. The user nodes are organized within "User group" nodes below the "Users" top level node. In other words, this node contains the actual users and user groups. The default identification number of the "Users" node is 5. The contents of this node can be viewed by selecting the "User accounts" tab in the administration interface. By default, this node references a "User group" object.

Setup

The "Setup" node contains miscellaneous nodes related to configuration and is used internally. The default identification number of the "Setup" node is 48. By default, this node references a "Folder" object.

Design

The "Design" node contains miscellaneous nodes related to design issues and is used internally. The default identification number of the "Design" node is 58. By default, this node references a "Folder" object.