The layout builder is 'where the magic happens'. Here you create your content using the WYSIWYG builder along with the many free widgets and plugins available. You should already have a layout set up, if not click here to find out how to set one up.
A layout is built up of pages, zones and playlist items.
A 'Layout' can have an unlimited amount of 'Pages'.
A 'Page' can have an unlimited amount of 'Zones'.
A 'Zone' can have an unlimited amount of playlist items (creating a playlist).
A playlist item is your content types (text, media, widgets, plugins etc).
(Use the further reading links at the bottom, for further explanations)
The builder is split into three main areas, two sidebars and the main layout display. The left hand sidebar is where you can add, edit & delete pages and zones as well as select which page or zone you want to edit. The right hand sidebar is where you edit your zone and its playlist. The main display is where you see what your page looks like whilst building it, where you can use the drag & drop feature to move and resize zones.
When you first enter the builder, your layout will consist of one page and one zone, which can be edited or deleted.
The page is the checkered area which is displayed in the orientation and has dimensions, in pixels, that correspond to the resolution chosen in the bar at the top of the screen. Here you can also add a background, either an image or colour, to the page, apply a grid to help with positioning zones, zoom in and out of the page as well as hiding/ showing the two sidebars.
The zone is the area represented by the bordered box with 8 circles, used to resize the zone. The dimensions and position of this zone can also be edited in the 'Zone Options' displayed in the right hand side bar. Here you can also edit the zones name, for your reference, apply a background, border, shadow and an animation. To edit the zones playlist, click 'Edit Zone Playlist'.
When you select the 'Edit Zone Playlist' button you will theoretically enter the zone and see its playlist. As mentioned before a playlist is created when playlist items have been chosen to show in this zone. A playlist can have a mixture of an unlimited amount of playlist items. The playlist items available are:
Text - A text item allows you to write and format text
Media - Can select media files from your media library
Playlist - Enter a pre-configured global playlist
Widget - Select a widget, which you can then format and customise
Plugin - Select a plugin, which you can then format and customise
(Use the further reading links at the bottom, for further explanations)
Once a playlist item has been selected, it will be entered into the playlist. You can then re-order this playlist by dragging and dropping. The playlist will play from top to bottom, meaning the top item will be shown first etc.
Individual playlist items can be edited by clicking either the setting on the playlist item or the pencil icon and choosing the setting from there. Multiple playlist items can be selected and any setting edited will be applied to the playlist items selected.
The settings that can be customised are:
Timing - How long the playlist item plays for before moving onto the next one (if you have one playlist item in your zone this will play continuously)
Conditional Play - Apply rules to schedule the playlist item to play, will only show when all the rules set are matched
Sizing - How the media item will fit inside of the zone
Animation - How the playlist item enters the zone
Triggers - Apply triggers to trigger an action
Interactivity - Apply interactions to perform an action
Tags - Add and remove tags
(To find out more about these settings, click here)
Once you have created your playlist, click 'Finish Editing Playlist' or the 'X' in the top right hand corner to go back to the overall view of the builder, from here you can save your layout. If you forget to save or press the 'Cancel' button there is an autosave feature, which will prompt you if you want to restore the layout from the autosave the next time you enter the builder. If you choose to 'Ignore', it will restore the layout to the last saved version.
To save your layout, click 'Save Changes' in the top right hand corner of the screen. Here you will be asked what you want to do after the save:
Save & Preview - Save the layout and preview how the layout will look before publishing it to your device(s).
Save & Exit - Save the layout and be taken back to the layouts section of your account.
Save & Continue editing - Save the layout, but stay in the builder to continue editing.
Save & Publish - Save the layout and then select the channel(s), that shows this layout, to publish. (will only show channels that have previously been published with this layout)
