Defining the Extended Functional Scope of SmartEdit's Advanced Edit Mode

As you already know, Basic Edit mode only allows us to add components to page content slots. Advanced Edit mode supports all features of the Basic Edit mode–and beyond. The most outstanding one is the permission to use shared content slots now.

The following image shows how to enter the Advanced Edit mode:

Compared to SmartEdit’s Basic Edit mode, the Advanced Edit mode adds functionality and page information. For example, it shows the names of the content slots and also the page structure. That way, web content managers may perform targeted synchronizations of components and slots, instead of synchronizing the whole page or catalog version–which is also supported.

In addition, Laura can access and switch between already existing saved versions of the current page.

The next image shows SmartEdit’s Advanced Edit mode UI, highlighting the elements we just talked about:

Let’s cover some basics regarding the previous screenshot:

When Laura clicks on the Page Structure button, she can manage the page content using a tree structure, which makes complex pages easier to handle.

Let’s pick an example. The following image shows the structure of the home page, listing all slots from the SiteContext down to the Footer. With the SiteLogoSlot expanded, it also shows the contained Site Logo Component:

As seen on the previous image, all page and shared content slots are listed with their contained components, which can be edited, cloned, synchronized, or deleted from right there. Such a compact structural overview reduces the need to scroll long pages.

The Sync button opens the Sync panel and allows Laura to synchronize specifically the page content slots of a page with their contained components. Laura can either synchronize all of them or just her selection of slots from here but only if the page is in state Ready to Sync.

Note that only page slots are listed here and are selectable. SmartEdit conveniently marks all modified slots visually and shows the time stamp of the last sync date. Let’s have a look:

SmartEdit’s Advanced Edit mode provides more technical details than Basic Edit mode. Laura just has to move her mouse pointer across the page elements to reveal those details. That way, Laura can easily identify all content slots as they are surrounded by a dotted line and labeled by name. She can see even blank content slots and hidden components.

Conclusion:

SmartEdit’s Advanced Edit mode provides powerful tools that come with greater responsibility–especially when editing shared content slots which might affect many pages. This mode is typically suited for users with some prior SmartEdit experience.