Layout Design Changes
New to this? What the instructions mean
Click means select with your mouse (or tap on a touch screen). Row menu means the small actions menu beside an item in a list. Drop-down means a box you click to choose an option. Drag and drop means hold the mouse button on an item, move it, then release.
CMS is your online screen-control system. Display means a managed screen. Publish makes a layout ready to play. Schedule chooses the screens and times.
Some buttons depend on your version and permissions. If your screen looks different, ask your administrator or get help.
Change an existing layout without replacing its live design until you are ready.
Check the layout name carefully. Publishing an update can affect all screens already scheduled to use that layout.
1. Open an editable copy
- Go to Layouts under Design.
- Find the layout and open its actions menu.
- Choose Design.
- If the published layout is locked for editing, click Checkout. This creates an editable draft. If it is already a draft, edit it directly.
2. Make and review your changes
- Click the item you want to change.
- Use the properties panel to adjust its available settings, or the toolbox to add content.
- Click the background and use Play to preview the layout.
- Check the entire design before publishing.
3. Put the update live
- Open the editor’s options menu.
- Select Publish.
- Leave Publish Now selected for an immediate update, or untick it to choose a publish date.
- Complete the publish form.
- Allow the player to collect the change, then check the display.
Changed your mind? Discard Draft abandons the draft changes and returns to the published version. Use it only when you want to lose those unpublished edits.
The published layout reflects your changes and the scheduled screen updates after collecting them.
Something not working?
A publish date controls when a draft becomes published; it does not replace a schedule. Your administrator may also have enabled automatic publishing of drafts — check this before relying on a draft remaining unpublished. Button names can vary between versions. If you cannot see an option, check with your administrator. For a screen that has not updated, follow the troubleshooting checklist.
More detail, screenshots and advanced options
From time to time, Layouts may need design changes/updates to keep content fresh and relevant. Screen Moove will continue to show the Published Layout design already in Display Schedules allowing Users to make important changes to a checked out draft version of the Layout. Only approved changes will overwrite the existing design once a User selects to Publish.
Layouts that are in a Draft status are simply edited by using the row menu and selecting Design to open the Layout Editor.
Selecting Design for a Published Layout will show that it is locked for editing.
- Click View to see all the components of the Layout in a read only mode.
- Click Checkout to create a draft of the Layout to enable editing.
Once a Layout has been “checked out”, a copy of the Layout is made in a draft status. This draft Layout will not reflect any changes to the published version. Any Display schedules will continue to show the Published version of this Layout allowing Users to take their time with any design changes that need to be made.
Layouts can also be “checked out” from the row menu ahead of a User needing to make design changes. Select the ‘auto submit’ checkbox to send the form automatically without the additional approval window every time Checkout is selected!
Layout Lock
To prevent multiple Users making edits to the same Layout concurrently, the Layout will lock.
The Layout will remain locked to other Users for the time specified in the lock message. The Layout can be unlocked by the current User by using the Options menu and selecting Unlock. Once unlocked, the current user will be redirected back to the Layouts grid.
To revert the Layout back to it’s original published state, use the Options menu and select Discard Draft.
Publish options
To make the changes permanent and overwrite the existing Published Layout, select Publish.
Layouts can be published straight away using the Publish Now checkbox, or unticking this options provides the User to set a date and time as a Publish Date.
Setting a Publish Date is not an alternative to creating an event in a schedule!
Once published the CMS will update a Layout change so that the approved design changes will be shown on Displays.
Further Reading
FAQ’s
Can I remove the automatic submission of Checkout forms?
Forms which have been enabled to ‘auto submit’ can be viewed and managed from the User Profile settings
Can I set Layouts to automatically Publish?
There is a default setting which can be set to automatically Publish all Draft Layouts 30 minutes after the last User edit. This is found in the Settings page under the Administration section of the main CMS menu.
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