EPiServer 7 for new editors: Dude, where's my button?
Web editors who used previous versions of EPiServer CMS will find the CMS 7 user interface familiar, but a few common buttons and features are harder to find than before.
To keep the workspace in CMS 7 as clean as possible, EPiServer have emphasized common editing tasks, while more advanced tasks are hidden away. Some features also had to be relocated when the right-click menu was removed - and some features were simply discontinued.
Note: Some of the features that are not visible in the new UI, can still be found in legacy edit mode. Expect these (and legacy edit mode) to be permanently gone in the next version of EPiServer, though.
First add a few helpful gadgets
Some of the features described here require that you add the following gadgets to the page tree pane:
- The built-in Versions gadget. To add this, click the 'cogweheel' (Settings) icon at the top of the page tree pane, then Add Gadgets:
- The Languages gadget (read more at http://webhelp.episerver.com/addons/languages/). Install this via the Add-On store, do a site restart, then select the gadget from the Add Gadgets dialog.
Recycle bin
In CMS 6, the Recycle Bin was found in the page tree:
In CMS 7, click the 'cogwheel' (Settings) icon in the bottom-right of the page tree pane and select “View Trash” to see deleted pages and blocks:
Dynamic properties
In CMS 6, Dynamic Properties could be found under the 'building blocks' icon in the tools menu:
In CMS 7, the tool menu icon is gone. Instead, you’ll find Dynamic Properties as a dropdown option when editing a page in forms edit mode:
Page versions list
In CMS 6, there was a dedicated tab in edit mode which listed all drafts and published versions:
In CMS 7, you can find the versions list using the Versions gadget in the page tree pane:
Comparing page versions
In CMS 6, you could compare the property values or rendered markup of any two versions of a page (even in different languages) in ‘side-by-side’, ‘changed fields’ or ‘changes in markup’ mode:
In CMS 7, the advanced compare options are removed (the Editor's Manual needs a bit of revisioning on that chapter).
However, using the Languages gadget, you can still compare two language versions of a page by clicking the “Compare with [language]” option in the language context menu - although only property values will be compared, not the rendered markup:
Access rights for a page
In CMS 6, you could set access rights either via the ‘key’ icon in the tools menu, or right-clicking a page and selecting Access Rights:
In CMS 7, you can set access rights by editing a page in forms edit mode and clicking the “Visible to [users/roles]” link, which opens the Access Rights dialog.
Favorite pages
In CMS 6, you could right-click a page and add it to your Favorites (typically a collection of often-used pages):
In CMS 7, the Favorites feature is removed.
(It is still possible to Favorite files in the file manager, but the legacy file manager will be replaced by the new Asset Manager in the upcoming EPiServer 7.5.)
Page visit statistics
In CMS 6, there was a Statistics tab in edit mode which showed the number of page visits for the current page:
In CMS 7, this feature is removed. Use the Google Analytics dashboard gadget instead (installed via Add-On Store).
Show page tree in another language
In CMS 6, a dropdownlist below the page tree would let you see the page tree in another language:
In CMS 7, click the "Sites" menu item in the navigation pane to see a list of the languages that are activated for your site:
Or use the Languages gadget in the page tree pane to switch between page tree languages:
Combine this with the “Show content not in [Current Language]” to see untranslated pages in italics in the page tree:
View current page in another language
In CMS 6, a dropdownlist on the right hand side would let you switch between language versions of the current page:
In CMS 7, this functionality is now found by clicking the ‘eye’ icon (Toggle view settings). By clicking the language code (e.g. “EN”) you can choose which language to see the current page in: