Editing Page Content

Once your page is created (either new or as part of a launch or live copy) you can edit the content to make the updates you require.

Content is added using components (appropriate to the content type) that can be dragged onto the page. These can then be edited in place, moved, or deleted.

For authoring AEM content for Edge Delivery Services, click here.

Page Toolbar

The page toolbar offers access to the appropriate functionality, dependent on the page configuration.

The toolbar offers access to numerous options. Depending on your current context and configuration, some options may not be available.

• Toggle Side Panel

  This opens/closes the side panel, which holds the Asset Browser, Component Browser, and Content Tree.

  

• Page Information

  Provides access to the Page Information menu including page details and actions that can be taken on the page including viewing and editing page information, viewing page properties, and publishing/unpublishing the page.

  

• Emulator

  Toggles the emulator toolbar, which is used to emulate the look-and-feel of the page on another device. This is automatically toggled in layout mode.

  

• ContextHub

  Opens the ContextHub. Only available in Preview mode.

  

• Page Title

  This is purely informational.

  

• Mode Selector

  Displays the current mode and lets you select another mode such as edit, layout, timewarp, or targeting.

  

• Preview

  Enables preview mode. This displays the page as it will appear when published.

  

• Annotate

  Lets you add annotations to the page when reviewing a page. After the first annotation, the icon will switch to a number indicating the number of annotations on the page.

  

Status Notification

If a page is part of a workflow or multiple workflows, this information is shown in a notification bar at the top of the screen when editing the page.

The notification lists the workflow that is running against the page. If the user is involved in the current workflow step, options to affect the workflow status and get more information about the workflow are also available such as:

• Complete - Opens the Complete Work Item dialog
• Delegate - Opens the Complete Work Item dialog
• View details - Opens the Details window of the workflow

Completing and delegating workflow steps via the notification bar works as it does when participating in workflows from the Notification inbox.

If the page is subject to multiple workflows, the number of workflows is displayed at the right end of the notification along with arrow buttons to allow you to scroll through the workflows.

Component Placeholder

The component placeholder is an indicator to show where a component is positioned when you drop it - above the component you are currently hovering over.

• When adding a new component to the page (dragging from the component browser):

  

• When moving an existing component:

  

Inserting a Component

Inserting a Component from the Components Browser

You can add a new component by using the component browser. The component placeholder shows you where the component is positioned:

1. Make sure that your page is in Edit mode.
2. Open the component browser.
3. Drag the required component to the required position.
4. Edit the component.

Inserting a Component from the Paragraph System

You can add a new component by using the Drag components here box of the paragraph system:

1. Make sure that your page is in Edit mode.

2. There are two ways to select and add a new component from the paragraph system:

   • Select the Insert Component option (+) from either the toolbar of an existing component or the Drag components here box.

     

   • If you are on a desktop device you can double-click on the Drag components here box.

   • The Insert New Component dialog will open to allow you to select your required component:

     

3. The selected component is added to the bottom of the page. Edit the component as required.

Inserting a Component using the Assets Browser

You can also add a new component to the page by dragging an asset from the assets browser. This will automatically create a new component of the appropriate type (and containing the asset).

This behavior can be configured for your installation. See Configuring a Paragraph System so that Dragging an Asset Creates a Component Instance for further details.

To create a component by dragging one of the above asset types:

1. Make sure that your page is in Edit mode.

2. Open the asset browser.

3. Drag the required asset to the required position. The component placeholder shows you where the component is positioned.

   A component, appropriate for the asset type, is created at the required location - it contains the selected asset.

4. Edit the component if required.

If when browsing the assets you find that you need to make a quick change to an asset, you can start the asset editor directly from the browser by clicking the edit icon next to the asset’s name.

Component Toolbar

Selecting a component will open the toolbar. This provides access to various actions that can be performed on the component.

The actual actions available to the user are shown as appropriate and not all actions may be described here.

• Edit

  Dependent on the component type, this lets you edit the content of the component. Often a toolbar is provided.

  

• Configure

  Dependent on the component type, this lets you edit and configure the properties of the component. Often a dialog is opened.

  

• Copy

  This will copy the component to the clipboard. After the paste action, the original component will remain.

  

• Cut

  This will copy the component to the clipboard. After the paste action, the original component is removed.

  

• Delete

  This will delete the component from the page with your confirmation.

  

• Insert component

  This opens the dialog to add a new component.

  

• Paste

  This will paste the component from the clipboard to the page. Whether the original remains, depends on whether you used copy or cut.

  • You can paste to the same page or to a different page.
  • The pasted item is pasted above the item where you select the paste action.
  • The Pate action will only be shown if there is content on the clipboard.

  

  NOTE

  If you paste to a different page that was already open before the cut/copy operation, you must refresh the page to see the pasted content.

• Group

  This lets you select multiple components at once. The same can be achieved on a desktop device by a Control+Click or Command+Click.

  

• Parent

  This lets you select the parent component of the selected component.

  

• Layout

  This lets you modify the layout of the selected component. This only applies to the selected component and does not activate the Layout mode for the entire page.

  

• Convert to an experience fragment variation

  This lets you create a new experience fragment from the selected component or add it to an existing experience fragment.

  

Edit Content

There are two methods of adding and/or editing content in components:

• Open the component dialog for editing.
• Drag and drop an asset from the assets browser to directly add content.

Component Edit Dialog

You can open a component to edit the content using the Edit (pencil) icon of the component toolbar.

The exact edit options will depend on the component. For some components all actions will only be available in full screen mode. For example:

• Text component

  

• Image component

  

  NOTE

  Editing does not work on an empty image component.

  You must drag or upload an image to the component before you can start to edit it.

• Image component - full screen

  Entering full screen mode for the image component allows for more space to edit the image and showing extra editing options such as Launch Map and Reset Zoom. In addition, full screen allows for crop presets to be selected.

  

• Components constructed from more than one basic component first ask you to confirm which set of edit options you want:

Drag and Drop Assets into Component

For specific component types (such as images) you can drag-and-drop assets from the asset browser directly into the component to update the content.

Edit Content in Full Screen Mode

For all components the full screen mode can be accessed with (and exited from):

For example, the Text component:

Moving a Component

To move a paragraph component:

1. Select the paragraph to be moved with either tap-and-hold or click-and-hold.

2. Drag the paragraph to the new location. AEM indicates where the paragraph can be deposited. Drop it in your desired location.

   

3. Your paragraph is moved.

Edit Component Layout

Instead of repeatedly switching from edit to layout mode to adjust a component, you can select the Layout action for a component to change that component’s layout and save time by not having to leave the edit mode.

1. When in Edit mode of the sites console, selecting a component reveals the component’s toolbar.

   

   Click or tap the Layout action to adjust the layout of the component.

   

2. Once the Layout action is selected:

   • The resizing handles for the component display.
   • The emulator toolbar is shown at the top of the screen.
   • Layout actions instead of the standard edit actions show on the component toolbar.

   

   You can now modify the layout of the component as you would in layout mode.

3. After making the necessary layout changes, click the Close button in the component action menu to stop modifying the layout of the component. The component’s toolbar returns to its normal edit state.

   

Inherited Components

Inheritance is the mechanism where content can be automatically pushed from one component to another. Inherited components can be the product of various scenarios, including:

• Multi site management
• Launches (when based on live copy).

You can cancel (then re-enable) the inheritance. Depending on the component, this can be available from the component toolbar, if the component is on a page that is part of a live copy or launch (based on a live copy).

For example:

• Cancel Inheritance

  

• Re-enable Inheritance (if inheritance is already cancelled)

  

• Rollout action is also available in the blueprint or Live Copy source

  

Editing the Page Template

You can easily switch to the template editor by selecting Edit Template in the Page Information menu.

You can easily see which template the page is based on when selecting the page in either Column view or List view.

Live Copy Status

The Live Copy Status page mode allows you a quick overview of the live copy status and which components are/are not inherited:

• Green border: Inherited
• Pink border: Inheritance has been cancelled

For example:

Adding Annotations

Annotations allow reviewers and other authors to provide feedback on your content. They are often used for review and validation purposes.

Previewing Pages

There are two options for previewing a page:

• Preview Mode - a quick, in-place preview
• View as Published - a full preview that opens the page in a new tab

Preview Mode

When editing content you can preview the page using the preview mode. This mode:

• Hides various edit mechanisms to give you a quick view of how the page will appear on publish.
• Lets you use links to navigate.
• Does not refresh the page content.

When authoring, the preview mode is available using the icon at the top right of the page editor:

View as Published

The View as Published option is available from the Page Information menu. This opens the page in a new tab, refreshes the content and shows the page exactly as it will appear in the publish environment.

Locking a Page

AEM lets you lock a page, so that no one else can edit the contents. This locking is useful when you are making numerous edits to one specific page, or when you need to freeze a page for a short while.

A page can be locked from either:

• Sites console

  1. Select the page with selection mode.

  2. Select the lock icon.

     

• Page Editor

  1. Select the Page Information icon to open the menu.
  2. Select the Lock Page option.

Once locked the console view information is updated and when editing a lock symbol is shown in the toolbar.

Unlocking a Page

Unlocking a page is very similar to locking the page. Once the page is locked the lock options are replaced by unlock actions.

The Page Information menu lists Unlock as an option and the Lock icon in the sites console is replaced by an Unlock icon.

Undoing and Redoing Page Edits

The following icons allow you to undo or redo an action. These are shown in the toolbar when appropriate:

Undoing and Redoing Page Edits - The Theory

AEM stores a history of actions that you perform and the sequence in which you performed them so that you can undo multiple actions in the order that you performed them and redo them to re-apply one or more of the actions if necessary.

If an element on the content page is selected (such as a text component), then the undo and redo command applies to the selected item.

The behavior of the undo and redo commands is similar to that in other software. Use the commands to restore the recent state of your web page as you make decisions about content. For example, if you move a text paragraph to a different location on the page, you can use the undo command to move the paragraph back. If you then decide that the previous position was better, use the redo command to “undo the undo”.

For example, you can:

• Redo actions as long as you have not made a page edit since you used undo.
• Undo a maximum of 20 edit actions (default setting).
• Also use Keyboard shortcuts for undo and redo.

You can use undo and redo for the following types of page changes:

• Adding, editing, removing, and moving paragraphs
• In-place editing of paragraph content
• Copying, cutting, and pasting items within a page

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