Content Prepare Data trigger for Joomla

Overview

When it runs: When a content model loads item data into an object/array before a form is populated or an item is shown.

Plugins can normalize or enrich the in-memory record before bind/display; common in admin edit screens.

Each run also includes who was logged in at the time and what kind of item was involved — see audit_user and audit_type in Payload Fields below.

This trigger is active when Platform Events are turned on in Joomla (System → JOrchestrator) and matching flows are set to Active.

When this trigger fires, JOrchestrator starts the flow and passes the incoming event or request data to the next connected step. Configure filtering, payload shape, and security on the Design tab.

Why use this node

Content Prepare Data is a trigger in the Joomla Events › Content Events group. Triggers start a flow. They listen for an external signal — a CMS event, inbound HTTP call, payment notification, or schedule — and pass the incoming data to the first downstream step.

Typical reasons teams add Content Prepare Data to a flow:

Automate backend work when Joomla fires ContentPrepareData
Notify administrators or sync external systems on this CMS lifecycle event
Enrich or validate CMS data before it is persisted
Audit user, content, or extension activity without custom plugins

When it runs

When a content model loads item data into an object/array before a form is populated or an item is shown.

Example workflows

Common patterns on the canvas:

Content Prepare Data → Send Notification (admin alert)
Content Prepare Data → Insert Row (audit log)
Content Prepare Data → If → Send Email / Update Article

Good to know

General → Joomla context filter — com_content.article when loading article edit data.

Properties panel

The designer shows these tabs for this node:

Tab	Purpose
Info	Plain-language description and output payload fields for downstream steps
Design	Trigger configuration and payload schema

System (automatic — not edited by the user)

These fields are managed by the designer or runtime — you do not type into them directly:

Property key	Label	Type	Required	Visible when	Notes
`_nodeId`	Node ID	`node-id`	No	—	—

User-configured — General tab

Property key	Label	Type	Required	Visible when	Notes
`label`	Label	`text`	No	—	Node label
`contentContextFilter`	Joomla context filter	`content-context-filter`	No	—	Model data load — com_content.article when an article record is loaded into a form.

CMS site configuration (not on this node's properties panel)

Credentials, API keys, mailers, SMTP, and integration defaults are configured in the CMS plugin under Node Configuration, not per step on this node. Link the flow to a domain before testing CMS-backed fields.

Output payload fields

After this step runs, later nodes can reference these fields using placeholders such as {{content_prepare_data.context}}.

Field key	Type	Description
`context`	string	Joomla event context string.
`data.id`	number	Nested field "data.id" from this node's output payload.
`data.title`	string	Nested field "data.title" from this node's output payload.
`data.alias`	string	Nested field "data.alias" from this node's output payload.
`data.introtext`	string	Nested field "data.introtext" from this node's output payload.
`data.fulltext`	string	Nested field "data.fulltext" from this node's output payload.
`data.catid`	number	Nested field "data.catid" from this node's output payload.
`data.state`	number	Nested field "data.state" from this node's output payload.
`data.created`	string	Nested field "data.created" from this node's output payload.
`data.created_by`	number	Nested field "data.created_by" from this node's output payload.
`data.created_user_id`	number	Nested field "data.created_user_id" from this node's output payload.
`data.modified`	string	Nested field "data.modified" from this node's output payload.
`data.modified_by`	number	Nested field "data.modified_by" from this node's output payload.
`data.modified_user_id`	number	Nested field "data.modified_user_id" from this node's output payload.
`data.created_time`	string	Nested field "data.created_time" from this node's output payload.
`data.modified_time`	string	Nested field "data.modified_time" from this node's output payload.
`data.access`	number	Nested field "data.access" from this node's output payload.
`data.language`	string	Nested field "data.language" from this node's output payload.
`data.featured`	number	Nested field "data.featured" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.id`	number	Nested field "audit_user.id" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.username`	string	Nested field "audit_user.username" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.email`	string	Nested field "audit_user.email" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.name`	string	Nested field "audit_user.name" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.guest`	boolean	Nested field "audit_user.guest" from this node's output payload.
`audit_user.client`	string	Nested field "audit_user.client" from this node's output payload.
`audit_type`	string	What kind of item triggered the event — for example article, category, or user.

Related nodes

Other steps in the same area of the palette:

Content After Delete (event-onContentAfterDelete) — Joomla Events › Content Events
Content After Display (event-onContentAfterDisplay) — Joomla Events › Content Events
Content After Save (event-onContentAfterSave) — Joomla Events › Content Events
Content After Title (event-onContentAfterTitle) — Joomla Events › Content Events
Content Before Change State (event-onContentBeforeChangeState) — Joomla Events › Content Events

Content Prepare Data for Joomla