Managing content item collections

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a content management system, a request for a content item collection, the request comprising a collection identifier of the content item collection;

retrieving, by the content management system, a plurality of content items associated with the content item collection based on the collection identifier, the collection identifier mapped to a plurality of content item identifiers associated with the plurality of content items;

providing for display, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising the plurality of content items, wherein the content item collection is provided for display in accordance with layout information stored by the content management system in association with the content item collection, the layout information associated with the display of the plurality of content items and metadata associated with the plurality of content items, wherein each content item identifier of the plurality of content item identifiers indicates a respective storage location of a portion of the metadata associated with a respective content item;

receiving, by the content management system, a second request to add a new content item to the content item collection, the request comprising a drag-and-drop operation of the new content item onto the content item collection that is presented; and

upon receiving the second request:

associating, by the content management system, a content item identifier associated with the new content item with the collection identifier, and

embedding, by the content management system, the new content item in the content item collection.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a further request for a second content item collection, the request comprising a second collection identifier of the second content item collection;

retrieving, by the content management system, a second plurality of content items associated with the second content item collection based on the second collection identifier, the second collection identifier mapped to a second plurality of content item identifiers associated with the plurality of content items; and

providing for display, by the content management system, the second content item collection comprising the second plurality of content items, wherein the second content item collection is provided for display in accordance with second layout information stored by the content management system in association with the second content item collection, wherein the second layout information is different from the layout information.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the content item collection can be presented in a first view or in a second view, wherein the first view is different from the second view.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first view comprises a set of graphical elements not included in the second view.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first view is a private view and wherein the second view is a public view.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first view comprises a graphical element enabling a user to rearrange the plurality of content items, and wherein the second view does not enable the user to rearrange the plurality of content items.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

in the first view, receiving, by the content management system, a further request to reposition the plurality of content items in the content item collection, the further request comprising a second drag-and-drop operation of at least one content item of the plurality of content items.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a further request for a full preview of at least one content item; and

based on the further request, providing for display, by the content management system, the full preview of the at least one content item.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the full preview of the at least one content item is a manipulable representation of the at least one content item, the manipulable representation configured to allow for navigation through the at least one content item.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a further request for a preview of at least one content item; and

based on the further request, providing for display, by the content management system, a partial preview of the at least one content item.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, input modifying the layout information of the content item collection, the layout information describing how each content item in the content item collection is presented.

12. A content management system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory having programming instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the content management system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a request for a content item collection, the request comprising a collection identifier of the content item collection;

retrieving, by the content management system, a plurality of content items associated with the content item collection based on the collection identifier, the collection identifier mapped to a plurality of content item identifiers associated with the plurality of content items;

providing for display, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising the plurality of content items, wherein the content item collection is provided for display in accordance with a first layout, the first layout defining the display of the plurality of content items and metadata associated with the plurality of content items, wherein each content item identifier of the plurality of content item identifiers indicates a respective storage location of a portion of the metadata associated a respective content item;

receiving, by the content management system, a second request to add a new content item to the content item collection, the request comprising a drag-and-drop operation of the new content item onto the content item collection that is presented; and

upon receiving the second request:

associating, by the content management system, a content item identifier associated with the new content item with the collection identifier, and

embedding, by the content management system, the new content item in the content item collection.

13. The content management system of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a further request for a second content item collection, the request comprising a second collection identifier of the second content item collection;

retrieving, by the content management system, a second plurality of content items associated with the second content item collection based on the second collection identifier, the second collection identifier mapped to a second plurality of content item identifiers associated with the plurality of content items; and

providing for display, by the content management system, the second content item collection comprising the second plurality of content items, wherein the second content item collection is provided for display in accordance with a second layout, wherein the second layout is different from the first layout.

14. The content management system of claim 12 , wherein the content item collection can be presented in a first view or in a second view, wherein the first view is different from the second view.

15. The content management system of claim 14 , wherein the first view comprises a set of graphical elements not included in the second view.

16. The content management system of claim 15 , wherein the first view comprises a graphical element enabling a user to rearrange the plurality of content items, and wherein the second view does not enable the user to rearrange the plurality of content items.

17. The content management system of claim 16 , further comprising:

in the first view, receiving, by the content management system, a further request to reposition the plurality of content items in the content item collection, the further request comprising a second drag-and-drop operation of at least one content item of the plurality of content items.

18. The content management system of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system a further request for a full preview of at least one content item; and

based on the further request, providing for display, by the content management system, the full preview of the at least one content item.

19. The content management system of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, input modifying the first layout of the content item collection.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or more sequences of instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a content management system to perform operations comprising:

providing for display, by the content management system, a content item collection comprising a plurality of content items associated with a collection identifier that uniquely identifies the content item collection, wherein the content item collection is provided for display in accordance with layout information stored by the content management system in association with the content item collection, the layout information associated with the display of the plurality of content items and metadata associated with the plurality of content items;

receiving, by the content management system, a request to add a new content item to the content item collection, the request comprising a drag-and-drop operation of the new content item onto the content item collection that is presented; and

upon receiving the request:

associating, by the content management system, a content item identifier associated with the new content item with the collection identifier, and

embedding, by the content management system, the new content item in the content item collection.