Edit Tool

The Edit section is the panel that opens automatically whenever you click on an editable Element on a page of your website. It lets you change content that already exists on the pages of your website directly, including text, images, buttons, links, and other properties.

How to Use the Edit Tool

The Edit tool can always be found in the left-side menu when working inside any website template you've opened. The quickest and easiest way to open the edit options for any Element on your site is by simply clicking on the Element directly inside the Builder's viewer:

Doing so will automatically navigate you to the Edit tool and will open all the available edit options for that particular Element on the left-hand side. Any changes you make to the Element within that left-side menu will automatically appear in the viewer in real-time.

Basic vs. Advanced

For any Element that you click on, the edit panel will offer two types of edit options: Basic or Advanced.

A selected Element will always default to showing its Basic settings first. These are simple, cleaner adjustments to make to your Element, and they vary based on what the Element is.

For example, clicking on an image Element will open Basic settings that allow you to replace the image, add Alt Text, add a hyperlink, or adjust the image's width, height, border, and a few other simple options.

Toggling to the Advanced tab will open even more editing options for that Element. These are considered more nuanced changes that can give your selected Element more personalized variety, but they can be more complex to understand and use if you're a less experienced website builder.

Using a combination of both Basic and Advanced settings can be a great way to truly customize each piece of your website as much or as little as you'd like. However, it's important to keep in mind that the provided Basic settings, when utilized in-hand with your Style settings, can often make for the quickest and easiest method of making your website personalized to you and your author brand.

Override Theme Settings

When you click on some types of Elements to edit them, a checkbox option will appear at the top of the Edit menu asking if you'd like to "Override Theme Settings?"

This option appears only for those Elements that are directly affected by your Style settings. This includes Elements such as headings, colors, and buttons. It does not include images. To learn more about Style settings, visit this article.

If you would like to edit an Element that already has Style settings applied to it independently of those automatic Style settings, you will need to check the override box in order to not only agree to override those settings, but to also enable access to the Element's Edit options. So if at any time you click an Element, and no edit options seem to appear even under Basic options, just check the override box to access them.

Do note that as long as that box is checked, that specific Element will no longer be affected by any universal changes you make under Style. If at anytime you would like your Style settings for that Element to be reapplied, simply uncheck the box. Just note that any independent changes you may have previously made to the Element will all be removed.

Tips

Don't delete, just update. If you want to completely change the content of an Element, such as replacing a template image or updating text, you don't have to delete that Element from your Builder to do so. Instead, simply click on the Element, ignore the trash can icon that appears when clicked, and instead focus your attention on the left-side Edit menu. There is where you can make all necessary changes to your selected Element rather than attempting to completely remove and replace the Element as a whole. This is a great way to utilize the pre-built templates available in The Bookshelf and customize them with ease.

Click carefully. The Edit menu changes based on which Element you've clicked on. If the edit options in the left-side menu don't seem to match the Element you've clicked on, it could be because you haven't quite clicked where you think you have. You'll know which Element is selected when you a blue border remains on the Element after being clicked, and the name of the Element type appears in the right upper corner of your selection. If you're having trouble selecting a specific Element, using the Outline tool to select the one you want instead can help. Learn more about Outline here.

Preview as you go. If at anytime you'd like to see what your most recent edits to the page would look like for a real visitor to your site, click on the eye icon button in the upper right corner of the Builder to open a preview page of your website. This will show all the recent edits you've made across your site, even if you haven't published them live yet. Just don't forget that if you like the edits you've made and want them to appear on your actual site, you do need to click the "Make Live" button in the upper right corner.

The Edit tool gives you the freedom and flexibility to customize individual Elements, whether its their design or their content, across your website as much or as little as you'd like. Be sure to click through various types of Elements to explore what editing options each one offers, and if you need any help achieving just the right touch, feel free to reach out to our team at support@thebookshelf.io.