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Guidance notes

Here are some written instructions on how to make 'stacks' in the CMS.

Stacks are simply collections of blocks, that are made and edited in the back-end so that we can display them all at once.

One of the more common uses of stacks is inside accordions, meaning that you can display a whole range of blocks in them.

You can expand the screenshots by clicking on them. Tips are given in italics. 

These notes assume you are already logged into the CMS.

Making a stack

  • Go to 'Stacks and Blocks' in the Dashboard.
  • If you are creating a stack to go inside an accordion, click into the 'Accordion Content' folder.
Screenshot of the 'Accordion Content' folder in the list of stacks on the Stacks and Blocks page
  • To create the stack, click 'New Stack' and give your stack a name - then click 'Add Stack'.
    • At this point, you can also make sub-folders to organise your stacks as necessary.
Screenshot highlighting the 'New Stack' button
  • Go into your new stack and click the 'Add' button to add blocks. You will get access to all of your usual blocks in the same way that you do on pages.
    • Warning: the main block that you shouldn't use in stacks is the Form - it won't submit properly.
Screenshot of the 'Add' and 'Add block' options while inside a stack
  • Whenever you make any changes in a stack, you must click the green 'Publish Changes' button in the top-right of the stack in order for it to be visible to users.
Screenshot highlighting the 'Publish changes' button inside an edited stack

Editing a stack

  • Go to 'Stacks and Blocks' in the Dashboard.
  • Navigate to the stack that you would like to edit.
Screenshot showing the list of existing stacks inside the 'Accordion content' folder and highlighting an example stack to click on and edit
  • Click on the blocks individually to edit them.
  • Whenever you make any changes in a stack, you must click the green 'Publish Changes' button in the top-right of the stack in order for it to be visible to users.

Using a stack inside an accordion

  • Follow the instructions above to make your stack initially.
  • Add or edit a 'Single Accordion' block on a page.
  • Within the editing of the accordion block, set the 'Content Type' dropdown to 'Stack'.
  • The box where you enter content will then be replaced with a dropdown of all stacks inside the 'Accordion Content' folder.
  • Use this dropdown to select the name of the correct stack.
Screenshot of the 'Single Accordion' edit form, where 'Stack' has been selected and the correct stack to show in the accordion identified in the dropdown box
  • Save the changes to your accordion and publish or save the page.
  • The accordion will then contain all of the blocks in the stack. Whenever you edit or update the stack, the accordion will update automatically.