Using the Content Item Editor

The content item editor is divided into two sections: the content editor and the sidebar widgets.

This feature is available on all plans.
Users with the view all content items or manage content items permission can view or edit a content item, respectively.

Content Editor

The content editor occupies the bulk of the page. You might not see the same layout as the one below because this can be customized using templates. Learn more about templates here.

To simplify things, we'll use the unedited default template for demonstration in this article.

The content editor is divided into three main sections: the tabs, action buttons, and the tab content sections. Let's take a quick look at them.

Tabs

This section displays all the available tabs for the content item. They help organize its information. For example, you can add a tab strictly for the content's text, then another tab can be for notes, guidelines, resources, etc. Tabs can be customized using templates.

The default template will have the Main Tab and the Example Tab along a hidden tab called CMS Fields.

Action Buttons

The section contains buttons that allow the currently assigned user(s) to perform various actions on the content item—things like submitting it to the next status, approving it, saving a version, etc. The available buttons will vary depending on the user's role and permissions and the item's current workflow status.

The export tools can also be found here by clicking the dropdown button next to the share button. They allow a user to export the content item as HTML or DOCX. If WordPress integration is set up, the option to publish it to WordPress will also be available. Learn more about WordPress integration here.

The share button generates a shareable link, similar to that of Google Docs. You have control over who can view and what the viewer can do with a shared content item. Learn more about shareable links here.

Another important button here is the save version button. This allows the user to create a version or a backup of the content item that can be viewed and restored at any time. You can also compare versions to see the changes between them. Learn more about versions here.

Tab Content

The tab content section will change depending on the content item's template configuration

By default, the first tab will be the "main content" tab and will have the following fields:

• The title widget, which is generally the article's <h1> tag
• The content widget, which is the article's body
• The files widget, which lets you add files to the article so that they can be inserted into the article body

You can add more tabs and fields by clicking the "customize template" link in the editor tabs section. Learn more about customizing templates here.

Sidebar

The sidebar has three tabs: Controls, Comments, and Versions.

Sidebar: Controls

The controls tab, as the name implies, contains the control widgets. Through these widgets, you can change the content item's workflow status, change assigned users, add deadlines, and more.

Let's have a more detailed look at all the available widgets here.

Item Details Widget

This widget holds the item's metadata. Adding a proper title, keywords, description, and categories makes it easier for your writers to understand what they need to write about. In addition to that, this will help you easily search and organize the content items page.

💡Note that apart from categories, nothing else is published or synced to WordPress from this widget when you use the "Publish to WP" feature.

Workflow Status Widget

This widget displays the item's workflow statuses, responsible people, and deadlines. The options available here will vary depending on various factors, such as the viewing user's role and permissions and the item's current status.

If you see the clipboard icon next to a user's name in this widget, it means they've left feedback or a message regarding the content item. Click on it to reveal it.

If you have the appropriate permission, you can click on a status to set it as the current status. You can also use the dropdown menu to do so.

Messages Widget

If you are responsible for at least one workflow status of a content item, users can message you regarding that content item. This widget will display that message.

💡Users with view communication report permission can see all messages.

Sidebar: Comments

All comments left on the content item are here. This also lets you add comments, reply to comments, and resolve or edit your comments.

💡Users with the manage comments permission can delete, edit, or resolve other user's comments.

Adding Comments

There are multiple ways to add comments. The first is via the comments tab by clicking the Add new comment button. You can mention other users by typing "@" followed by their name.

💡Our comment system can recognize links. You can add a link to your comment and it will automatically be converted to a hyperlink.

The second way to add a comment is by highlighting some text in the text editor and clicking the insert comment icon from the context menu that will appear.

You can also hover your mouse over the right edge of a field (like the title field) and the insert comment icon will appear.

Replying to Comments

To reply to a comment, click reply.

Editing and Deleting Your Comments

You can edit or delete your own comments by clicking the three-dot menu next to it.

💡Users with the manage comments permission will be able to modify and delete all comments.

Sidebar: Versions

You can access all the content item versions in the "Versions" tab. A version is created when you click the save version button in the action buttons section or whenever the content item changes status. The "current" version is automatically updated whenever anything changes on the content item. This way, you don't have to worry about losing your changes when working on a content item even if you forget to use the "save version" button.

💡The "current" version is automatically updated every time a change is made to the content item.

Save a version by clicking the "save version" button in the action buttons section. You can then rename it if you want. If you click on a version, you can preview its content. You can learn more about versions here.

Conclusion

You are now ready to start creating amazing content with your team! You might also want to check out the templates help article next.

If you have further questions, don't hesitate to shoot us a message at support@easycontent.io and we'll be more than happy to assist you!