---
schema_version: "1"
id: 0fe6a92834e20c3509822c99a04014d388fa0c41dd36871e047e156bf05c57eb
title: ContentArea()
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/marketing-cloud/ampscript/references/content/mc-ampscript-reference-content-area.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/marketing/marketing-cloud-ampscript/references/mc-ampscript-content/mc-ampscript-reference-content-area.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: cfaf763fdd5b657dcbb6ef7d9d7f5517fa3cb6a37afb13e2b9fd240c294a5e05
products:
  - AMPscript for Marketing Cloud
  - Marketing Cloud
---
# ContentArea()

Returns content from a classic content area.

**note:** This function retrieves classic content areas, which are [no longer supported in Marketing Cloud Engagement](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=000381233&type=1). As a result, this function doesn't retrieve any content and shouldn’t be used. This documentation is retained for historical purposes.

To retrieve content blocks created in Content Builder, use the [ContentBlockById() function](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/marketing/marketing-cloud-ampscript/references/mc-ampscript-content/mc-ampscript-reference-content-block-by-id.md).

## Availability

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>Marketing Cloud Engagement</td>
    <td>✅ Yes</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Marketing Cloud Next</td>
    <td>❌ No</td>
  </tr>
</table>

## Syntax

`ContentArea(contentAreaId, impressionRegionName, boolErrorOnMissingContentArea, errorMessage, statusCode)`

The `ContentArea()` function has five parameters:

- `contentAreaId` (string or number): Required. The ID of the content area to retrieve.
- `impressionRegionName` (string): The name of the impression region to associate with the content area.
- `boolErrorOnMissingContentArea` (boolean): Determines whether the function returns an error when the system can’t locate the specified content area or returns an invalid content area. A value of `true` returns an error. Defaults to `true`.
- `errorMessage` (string): Default content to return if an error occurs. Defaults to an empty string.
- `statusCode` (number): An output variable that contains the exit code of the function. A value of `0` indicates the function found the content area and successfully rendered the content. A value of `-1` indicates either no content or an invalid content area.