Shared layouts and zone linking
A layout is made of zones, and a zone either holds its own blocks or is linked to a zone of a shared layout. A linked zone shows the blocks of the shared zone. Change the shared zone once and every linked page changes.
Contents
- The shared layouts of the site
- Who links to what
- What linking means for editing
- See the links
- Common surprises
The shared layouts of the site
Layouts > Shared layouts lists the layouts that other layouts link to:
| Shared layout | Type | Zones and blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Header / Footer | layout_2 | header: template blocks header and breadcrumb; footer: template block footer; post_header, main, pre_footer: empty |
| Prefooter | layout_1 | main: a Column (background secondary) with a Title "Most popular articles" and a List (view Grid, 3 columns) of three hand-picked articles |
The Starter shared layouts belong to another theme of the installation.
Who links to what
On the Fit & Healthy site (published layouts, from the database):
| Layouts | header | pre_footer | footer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full / Article, Full / Recipe | Header / Footer: header | Prefooter: main | Header / Footer: footer |
| Default Layout, Full / Topic, Full / Video, Full / Article (Plain), the five Landing pages (Running, Fitness, Healthy Eating, Home, Video), Showcase, the six Bold Agency layouts | Header / Footer: header | own (empty) | Header / Footer: footer |
So the Prefooter shows only on articles and recipes. Adding a block to it changes those two page types and no others.
What linking means for editing
- Blocks of a linked zone are not the page layout's blocks. The editor shows the zone as linked; its blocks are edited by opening the shared layout itself (Layouts > Shared layouts > Header / Footer).
- A shared layout is edited like any layout: open it, change it in a draft, Publish layout. Every linked page shows the published version.
- Linking is set per zone, in the editor of the page layout. A zone can be unlinked to give one page type its own blocks.
See the links
In the console, exp:layouts list shows the column Links to:
$ ./console exp:layouts list
ID Identifier Name Status Shared Rules Links to
2 fd0aa7af77a85a03bf1080018f5db1dc Header / Footer published shared 0
7 d14c82715a0c5f1da1e6df4d0b77e638 Prefooter published shared 0
...
21 84f28edc38d2524da1e1d720de5942ba Full / Article published 1 fd0aa7af77a85a03bf1080018f5db1dc, d14c82715a0c5f1da1e6df4d0b77e638
...
29 df2a8cde629658cc80f2fe59cefa77e9 Landing Page / Home published 2 fd0aa7af77a85a03bf1080018f5db1dcThe links are stored per zone as linked_layout_id plus linked_zone_identifier; both are needed.
Common surprises
| What you see | Why | Do |
|---|---|---|
You added a block to the page layout's header zone and it is not shown | The zone is linked; the page shows the shared zone | Add it to Header / Footer, or unlink the zone |
| A block added to Prefooter shows on articles but not on landing pages | Only Full / Article and Full / Recipe link pre_footer | Link the other layouts' pre_footer, or add the block there |
| The header menu is not in the editor | The header is a template block; the menu is in menu.ini | Add a header menu item |
| You changed Header / Footer and nothing changed | The draft is not published yet | Publish layout |
More cases: Why doesn't my change appear?
Related pages
- How the header is built
- The layouts editor
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
Become an Exponential Partner
Partners share their information, provide funding, contribute back and develop the products with us, and that is how Exponential grows. A partner website and dashboard are planned for mid-2027: please become a partner today to speed up our growth rate and land new features faster.