Content And Layout

If you have previously mostly worked with a print document editor such as Microsoft Word or even an HTML editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, then one of the first things you will notice when you start Content Studio is that there is no Format menu. Content Studio is a pure content editor. It allows you to create, modify and publish content, but provides almost no direct control over the final appearance of the content.

This is a deliberate choice, based on the belief that the layout of web pages is the responsibility of web designers, not writers. For the same reason, Content Studio provides you with a very simple editing environment in which you can concentrate on content, and is definitely not a "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) editor. A preview function is available, however, that lets you see the article as it will appear when published on a number of different target device types. It's worth remembering, though, that the web is not like a printed newspaper or magazine and you cannot guarantee what your readers will actually see on every possible device.

Your publication designers may grant you some indirect control over certain aspects of the final layout. You might, for example, be able to choose the summary type used to display a particular article on a section page. In other cases, however, the publication may not allow such choices. You may also have some control over minor aspects of layout when editing articles: you will probably have options for highlighting text (bold/italic/underline) and creating lists of various types. You may also be able to insert headings within your articles. Exactly what those headings will look like on the published web pages, however, is outside your control.