Moving and Renaming Pages

Shift to a new parent folder, change their URL, or reorder lists and navigation.

Only a PUBLISHER should move or rename pages that have been activated

If a non-publisher moves a published page, it will only be moved in author and not in the live version of that page. Further, any references TO that page on other published pages will not be updated.

Moving an activated (published) page is immediately reflected on your live website

Be very careful to consider the full impact and ensure your Site Manager is aware of your changes.

Be very careful moving pages that are referenced by published pages

When you move a page, any live pages that reference it must be republished so their references do not break. This can be handled automatically by the UBCMS if you have permissions to publish these related pages BUT in the process you may republish a page that is being modified and not ready to be republished.

Republishing conceals last modification details

When you publish (or republish) a page, previous modification details are reset (e.g. in reports). If you move a parent with lots of children, consider first running a Page Report to capture last modification user and timestamp details.

On this page:

Last reviewed: October 13, 2022

Overview

UBCMS pages have a name and a descriptive title. The title is usually changed in the page's Properties but can also be adjusted when a page is renamed or moved. (Renaming is simply moving a page to a new name in the same location.) Both Authors and Publishers can move pages.  

  • UNPUBLISHED PAGES
    • Non-publishers and Publishers can move any page that is not activated without negative impact. The UBCMS will automatically adjust any references in the Author environment.
  • PUBLISHED PAGES
    • Non-publishers should NOT move an activated page even if they are permitted to do so by the UBCMS -- the page will only be moved in author and not in the published site. The published version will now be orphaned, references will still map onto this original page, and intervention will be needed.
    • Publishers can move any page that is activated without negative impact provided they reactivate the moved page and any pages that reference the moved page.

Change a Page's Title

The Title is a descriptive label, displayed at the top of the browser window, in site navigation, in search and list returns, and by title components on that page.

Change a page's Title by editing its Properties.  

  1. In the Sites Console, select the page and then click the Properties tool in the Command Menu that is revealed at the top of the screen.
  2. Edit the Title field and click Save & Close.
  3. Re-activate the page if it is published.

Page Titles can also be changed when a page is moved--see below -- but if you just wish to change the Title, do that in Properties.

Change a Page's Name

The Name is the file name, the unique identification used to identify the page in the UBCMS. It shows in the page's URL and is used by any links to that page.  

To rename a page, you must "move" it to a new page name. In the process, you can also change its Title, and view if it has been referenced by other pages.

This process is detailed in the next section, Move a Page in the UBCMS.

Note: If you are moving it to a new name in the same location, you must manually provide the new name -- the UBCMS will not allow you to complete the process until you do.

Move a Page in the UBCMS

Pages can be 'moved' to a new name under the same parent in the Author environment, or they can be relocated to a different parent.

You can only move a page under an existing parent page. If that parent page does not yet exist, you will have to create it first – see Creating a New Page.

The natural order of child pages under their parent appears in your site's navigation and in lists of pages. Moving a page will not change this order--instead, see the section below 'Change Page Order in Site Navigation'.

Be very careful moving pages that are published or linked from published pages.

See the section below 'Be Careful Not to Break Other Pages'.

Remember to check the Republish checkboxes

When you move a page that is published, or referenced by published pages, a list is provided of these related pages. Don't forget to select all that need to be Republished, including the page you are moving.

Change Page Order in Site Navigation and Lists (Reorder)

The UBCMS builds your site's navigation automatically, using the phsyical order of child pages listed underneath each parent, as shown in the Sites console.

By default, all child pages are displayed (left sidebar, dropdown, etc). In your live site only published pages are shown, but in Author you will see ALL pages (never published, published or unpublished).

To change the existing order of child pages under a parent page, just drag and drop a page up/down the List View (i.e. within the same 'folder') by dragging the 'domino' icon drag handle located at the right end of the page title (it looks like two vertical rows of dots). There is no request for confirmation.

This is not the same as simply changing the way pages are displayed in the Sites Console, which is known as the sort order. (Read more about How to Sort Displayed Pages.)

When you change the order of published pages, you must republish the adjusted page so its new position is replicated to the live website.

To hide a page from the navigation, adjust its Properties. There’s a setting called Navigation Options with options to 'Hide in Mobile Navigation' and another to 'Hide in Left Navigation.'

To change the label applied to a page, change its Title in Properties (described above under Change a Page's Title). You can also specifically change its title in just the site navigation--see Properties and Navigation Title.

You can also change the image that appears in a list by embedding an image in the Properties' Image tab, and change the default teaser descriptive text by adding different text into the Properties' Description box (adding a blank space is like adding a blank in alt text).

Best Practices for Page Names

The page name becomes part of the URL, and is also used in SEO. When naming a page or a folder that will contain pages, it is important to use machine readable as well as intuitive language. Separate words with hyphens and do not use spaces, underscores or special characters. For example, if you are creating a folder titled "Our Images," use "our-images" as the title.

WARNING: Read first to avoid creating issues with other pages

Moving, deleting or unpublishing live pages will impact your public site, changing your navigation, updating (or breaking) links, and removing content from your pages.

1. Important Considerations

BEFORE you move or delete a UBCMS page, please consider these points then use the following tools and action tree to resolve any issues.

  • Permissions: The UBCMS will only allow you to reactivate the moved/deleted page and any referenced pages if you have the correct permissions.
  • Collateral Impact: Is the page you wish to move/delete 'referenced' (linked to, or used as Shared Content) by other pages on your site or other UBCMS sites?
    • Plan ahead for these impacts, especially with the Page Reference Report (see more below). The Move and Delete tools will also surface references, but only those you yourself can see.
  • Hidden References: The UBCMS will not warn you about every reference!
    • The move and delete tools will not warn you about references from pages or assets you yourself cannot view in the UBCMS.
    • The move and delete tools will not warn you about references for lists built through tags or advanced queries.
    • The Reference Page Report will warn you that these references exist -- see more below.
  • Server Redirects: Unlike Vanity URLs and redirect pages that are built in the UBCMS, server redirects are hard coded outside the UBCMS and will break if a page is moved. Be sure to contact us if you move a page that is the target of a server redirect.
  • Absolute URLs: Links built using the complete URL ("http://..." instead of a reference created using the Chooser tool) cannot be adjusted by the UBCMS and will need to be updated manually by an Author.

2. Check For Page References

Page references may be UBCMS internal links (built using the Finder tool) or pages that physically include your content either through a list component or a Shared Content reference.

Use the Reference Page Report (login required) to list UBCMS pages that reference your page. This shows you information about almost all references to your page and is the primary tool to use.

Build a new Reference Page Report then set:  

  • Root path - Provide one or more relative paths within the UBCMS to your content you believe to be referenced.

The results will display references to your specified page(s) including each reference's Source Page Title and Source Page Path.

References will include:

  • components where the page is in the link setting (e.g. Title, Call to Action)
  • links within the text of components (e.g. Body Text, Callout, Flex Module, Button, header/footer elements)
  • lists where the page is directly mentioned (curated links, lists by child pages or tags where the page is the parent path)

References will NOT include: 

  • lists where the page is included because of a tag or advanced query or because it is a child of the parent path

Note: To retain privacy for other sites, only partial information is shown for pages that are not visible to you based on your permissions.

  • Source Page Title will state "-- you do not have access to view this page -- ".
  • Source Page Path will show only the start of the path; e.g. "/content/www/...".

3. Know Your Site's Publication Status

The Page Report (login required) provides a comprehensive report of an entire site, including each page's publication status. Knowing which pages are live (and may be impacted by your changes) will lessen the possibility of any surprises after your actions.

4. Action Decision Tree

Based on your page reference research, use the following suggestions to ensure no sites are damaged by your changes.

  • If you manage the impacted pages:
    • Use the check box in the Move/Delete process to (re)activate them.
    • Be aware that some links will not automatically be updated by the UBCMS.
  • If others on your team manage the impacted pages:
    • Ask if their pages are in a state where you can (re)activate them. They may be working on content that is not ready to publish.
    • Make them aware that when you move your page  links that are not automatically updated by the UBCMS will break.
  • If the impacted pages are managed by another unit:

Restrictions

Non Publishers should NOT move a published page.

Authors who are not also Publishers should resist the temptation to move a published page. They are permitted to do so by the UBCMS, but the page will only be moved in author and will not be moved in the live (published) site. The published version of that page will now be orphaned, and intervention will be needed to remove it from your live site, or to make future changes. Also, any links TO that page from other live pages will now be broken.

'no rights to replicate'

While moving a page, if you encounter an error message that says 'Warn: no rights to replicate', you are attempting to activate content for which you do not have publisher permissions. > Read more about this 'no rights to replicate' Known Issue

Watch a Training Video

Training opportunities are available

> Learn more about building UBCMS pages.

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