# Article Sidebar Choose what shows in the column beside each blog post and each project, and in what order. Source: https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/plugins/article-sidebar/ Every website has this screen. Only an Admin user can open it. Each [blog post](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/content/posts/) and each [project](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/content/projects/) has its own page. On a computer, that page has a narrow column down the left side, beside the words. That column is the sidebar. This screen decides what goes in it, and in what order. Each thing you add is called a module. A list of recent posts is a module. So is the search box. Go to **Plugins**, open the **Site Layout** group, and click **Article Sidebar**. ## What shows before you change anything You do not have to touch this screen. Until someone saves it, every post and project shows two modules: 1. **On this page**: a list of the headings in the post, as links. It only shows when the post has two or more headings. 2. **Written by**: the team member you picked as the author, with their photo. It only shows when the post has an author. ## What always stays at the top The sidebar starts with a few details you cannot move or remove. A post shows its date and how long it takes to read. A project shows its client and year. Both show their categories and tags. Your modules come after those. ## Two tabs, one for each kind of page The screen has two tabs: **Blog posts** and **Projects**. Each tab is its own list. Posts and projects can have different sidebars. If your website does not have the blog, the **Blog posts** tab says **The blog is not turned on for this site, so this sidebar shows nowhere yet.** The **Projects** tab says the same if your website has no portfolio. You can still set it up for later. **Save** saves both tabs at once. ## The modules | Module | What it shows | | --- | --- | | **On this page** | The post's headings, as links. Needs two or more headings. | | **Written by** | The author you picked on the post, with their photo. | | **Recent posts** or **Recent projects** | Your newest ones, leaving out the one being read. | | **Categories** | Each category, with how many posts it holds. | | **Tags** | Your most used tags, with how many posts carry each one. | | **Archive** | One link for each month, newest first. Each opens that month's posts. Blog posts only. | | **Search** | Your site's search box. Only if search is on. See [Site search](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/plugins/site-search/). | | **Newsletter** | Your newsletter signup. Only if an email company is set up on the [Newsletter](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/plugins/newsletter/) screen. | | **Text** | A few words of your own, with a link if you want one. | A module with nothing to show stays hidden. A post with no author shows no **Written by**, and nothing looks broken. Each module has a **?** beside its name. Hover over it to read what the module does. ## Adding a module 1. Click the tab you want: **Blog posts** or **Projects**. 2. Find the row that starts with **Add…** under the list. 3. Click the module's name. It joins the bottom of the list. 4. Set its options, if it has any. See below. 5. Move it where you want it. See the next part. **Warning** There is no draft. The moment you click **Save**, every post or project on your website shows the new sidebar, on the next page a visitor opens. 6. Click **Save**, at the top or the bottom of the screen. You see **Sidebar saved.** If nothing changed, you see **No changes to save.** Until you save, the screen says **Unsaved changes** next to the top **Save** button. You can add each module once, except **Text**. You can add as many **Text** modules as you like. A button that is grayed out is already in the list. The sidebar holds 12 modules at most. ## Module options Some modules have a slider. | Module | Slider | Range | Starts at | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Recent posts** | **Posts listed** | 1 to 10 | 5 | | **Recent projects** | **Projects listed** | 1 to 10 | 5 | | **Tags** | **Tags shown** | 1 to 30 | 15 | | **Archive** | **Months listed** | 1 to 24 | 12 | A **Text** module has four boxes: - **Heading**: a small heading above the words. - **Text**: your words. A blank line starts a new paragraph. - **Link text**: the words of a link under the text, such as "Book a visit". - **Link address**: where the link goes. A page on your site starts with a slash, such as `/contact`. A full address starts with `https://`. A link needs both its text and its address. Fill in only one, and the module shows a message in red. The screen will not save until you fix it. It reminds you to check both tabs. ## Changing the order The sidebar shows modules from top to bottom, in the order of the list. - Drag a module by its grip, the dotted handle at the left of its name. - Or use the **↑** and **↓** arrows on its row. Click **Save** when the order is right. ## Removing a module Click **Remove** on the module's row. It leaves the list. Nothing changes on your website until you click **Save**. Take every module away, and the list says **No modules: the sidebar shows only the fixed details above them.** Save that, and the sidebar shows only the details at the top, such as the date and the tags. ## Going back to the start Click **Reset to default** under the list. Your browser asks you to confirm. The tab goes back to **On this page** and **Written by**. That only changes the tab you are on. Nothing changes on your website until you click **Save**. ## On a phone A phone has no room for a sidebar. Your modules show under the post instead. **On this page** and **Written by** are left out there. A phone already shows the list of headings above the post, and the author's name and an "About the author" box with the post. ## Comments are not here Comments show under the post, not in the sidebar. You turn them on for posts or projects, and you approve them, somewhere else. [Comments](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/manage/comments/) shows you how.