Lesson 3.1: Adding, moving and removing blocks #

Blocks are the building pieces of a layout. This lesson teaches the hand movements of the editor: add a block, select it, drag it, duplicate it and delete it. The next lessons cover what goes into each block.

At a glance #

Learning objectives #

After this lesson, learners can:

• open Add a block and find a block type in its group;
• drag a block type into a zone at the right place;
• select a block and see its properties in the Content and Design tabs;
• move a block within a zone and to another zone;
• duplicate, revert and delete a block from its menu.

Trainer's notes #

How to present it #

Sources: The layouts editor and A tour of the administration: the layouts editor.

1. Add a block (4 minutes). The plus button at the top left, Add a block, opens Block types in groups: Basic (Title, Text, Button / Link, Rich text, Image, Markdown ...), Components, Listing, Gallery, Containers and Placeholders. Drag a type into a zone, to the place where it should go.
2. Selecting (2 minutes). Click a block: it is outlined in blue, and its properties appear on the right in two tabs, Content (what it shows) and Design (how it looks). Changes show in the block at once.
3. Moving (3 minutes). Drag a block by its header bar to another place, in the same zone or another one.
4. The block menu (4 minutes). The menu with three dots on a block has Duplicate block (the copy is inserted after the original, with its settings: Block successfully duplicated.) and Delete block (Are you sure you want to delete the block? This cannot be undone.). Some blocks also offer Revert block, which returns a block to its published version.
5. Drafts (2 minutes). All of this happens in the draft; the site is unchanged until the layout is published.

Common questions #

Can I undo a deleted block? Not inside the draft. If the layout was published before, Discard throws away the whole draft, or Revert block returns a changed block to its published version where offered.

Why can I not drop a block into a zone? The zone may be linked to a shared layout (red dashed border, hatched blocks): its blocks come from elsewhere (module 5).

Is there a limit on blocks per zone? Not a documented one; keep pages readable.

Pitfalls #

• Dropping in the wrong place. Watch the drop marker before releasing the mouse.
• Deleting instead of duplicating. The two entries are next to each other; the confirmation helps.
• Working in a shared layout by mistake. Make sure the name at the top is your own layout.

Hands-on exercise #

Use the training installation and your course layout Training - <your first name>.

1. Open Layouts > Layouts and press Open on your course layout.
2. Press Add a block. Read the groups of Block types.
3. Drag a Title block into the zone MAIN.
4. Drag a Text block into MAIN, below the title.
5. Click the Title block and read its Content and Design tabs. Type a title in the content field.
6. Drag the Text block above the Title block, then back below it.
7. Drag the Title block into the zone POST_HEADER.
8. Open the menu with three dots on the Text block and choose Duplicate block. Read the message.
9. Delete the duplicate with Delete block; read the question and confirm.
10. Open the menu with three dots at the top and choose Save draft and close.

Expected result #

• The draft of the learner's layout has a Title block in POST_HEADER and a Text block in MAIN.
• The learner saw Block successfully duplicated. and the delete question.
• The site is unchanged (nothing was published).
• The trainer checks by opening one learner's layout on the projector.

Quiz #

1. Name four groups of Add a block.
2. What do the Content and Design tabs of a selected block hold?
3. How do you move a block to another zone?
4. True or false: a deleted block can be brought back with undo inside the draft.
5. What does Revert block do?

Further reading #

• The layouts editor: adding and changing blocks.
• A tour of the administration: the same steps with pictures.

Related pages #

• Module 3: Blocks
• Exponential Layouts: course overview
• Trainers: start here
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.