What are blocks, and where do they go?

Contents that can display in different regions of your theme on all, or only specified, pages.  Blocks can be composed of of text, images, links, and other standard HTML. They can also be used to embed codes for widgets from outside sources like YouTube, or Facebook.

Some blocks are automatically created by the system, while others are added manually.

Items that can be found as blocks are listed below:

• Default Blocks: In the system, these are generated for all sites and include blocks like 'Indie Next List,' 'Event Calendar,' 'Search Form,' & 'View Mobile Version.'
• Menu Blocks: Any time a new menu is created, a block will also appear in the 'Disabled' section.
• New Module Blocks: Some features that are activated upon request contain blocks. For example, 'Nice Menus,' 'Fivestar,' or the 'Wishlist.'
• User Generated Blocks: New content blocks that are created by admins.
• View Blocks: When creating a view, the user is given the option to export the view as a block.  This is an advanced feature.

Regions & the Disabled Section

Go to Site Building > Blocks > List. This is where you will see the list of available blocks, as well as the regions where blocks can 'live.'

Block Regions are labeled and highlighted for each theme. Each theme has different regions.

Below is an example of some of the regions in the 0 Point theme:

A list of unassigned content is in the 'Disabled' section towards the bottom of the page.
Items can be placed into a region in two different ways:

• Selecting a region from the dropdown menu.
• Dragging the block using the crosshairs.

Remember to save the blocks at the bottom of the page in order for your change to take effect.  Blocks can be moved between regions, and do not necessarily need to come from the 'Disabled' section.

Adding New Blocks

Go to Site Building > Blocks > Add.Fill in the 'Block Specific Settings,' and use the body to add the content you would like to display in the block.

Generally, you can skip over the sections on 'User & Role Specific Visibility Settings.'

However, the Role Specific can be handy if you want to leave notes for other staff members, like a staff schedule, or a to-do list.

Also, if you want your customers to sign up for an account before accessing certain information, you can restrict blocks to Authenticated users.

Page Specific Visibility Settings

This section will control what pages the block will display on.  In order to notate which pages are applicable, it is important to know the 'Path' of the page.

The path of the page is the portion of the address after '.com/'.  For example, with http://mybookstore.indiebound.com/staff-picks the 'path' of that page is staff-picks.

By default, the text field is populated with 'Secure Pages.' These pages are encypted, and should not have outside content visible.

Here, select whether you want the block to be visible or hidden on certain pages, and then set the appropriate paths.

• If you want the block on all pages, clear out the pages in box.  If you have any content pulling from an outside site, leave these settings as is.
• If you want the block on the front page replace the exisiting pages with <front>.
• Wildcards can be used.  For example, if you want a block on all book listings use book*, or for events event*.

Then, save your block, it will now appear in the 'Disabled' section.  The system will then push you back to the main block list. Locate the block, and move it to the region of your choice.  Scroll to the bottom, and save blocks.

If you ever need to go back to make modifcations, simply click the 'Configure' link to the right of the block.