Part 2: how do they do it so fast?
We are Umbraco experts. But since we are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year, we thought it would be fun to share exactly 15 Umbraco life hacks with you.
Lifehack 6: Quick search
Want to quickly make changes to a specific page? Don't feel like navigating through your folder structure? Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+space.
This will bring up a search bar where you can type your search query or the name of the page you're looking for. Click on the result and you can start making changes right away.
Lifehack 7: Right-click
You can use the action menu in the top right to perform one of the displayed actions. But did you know that you can also open this menu in another way?
You can do this by right-clicking on one of your existing pages in the tree structure on the left.
This way you can copy, delete, sort, and so on even faster.
Isn't that handy? This option is used internally much more often than clicking on the action button.
Lifehack 8: Copying blocks
Filling in content is a lot of work. A lot of work indeed. Usually, you don't do it all at once, so you may not notice how much time you're spending on it. Do you ever catch yourself adding the same content multiple times? For example, a block where someone can sign up for the newsletter. It appears in multiple places, right? You can create and fill in the block each time. But what we usually do is copy and paste the block.
Go to the page with the block to be copied (in the example, this block is called "Link card"). Copy the block by clicking on the copy icon.
Next, you will receive a notification that the copy has been added to your clipboard.
Now, go to the page where you want the block to appear. Click on "Add content" and select the copied element. The content block will now be added.
Lifehack 9: Umbraco and Microsoft
Writing content is often done first in draft, not directly in your CMS. You might use Word for this. To give your content some structure, you add headings, divide paragraphs, and make text bold to indicate what's important. After a while, your content is ready, and you go to place it on your website.
Copying from a Word document is always a bit nerve-wracking. What if the sentences jump around, the formatting changes, and you spend the rest of the day fixing everything? And what's especially annoying is that hidden styling can come along which you don't immediately see, but which does affect how your text looks. Sigh... I should have typed it directly in the CMS.
Well, not with Umbraco and Microsoft being so close, because this works flawlessly. Umbraco recognises styling such as headings, paragraphs, and bold text, and unnecessary styling is neatly cleaned up. So you can copy and paste without any worries.
Lifehack 10: Mobile first?
As a content editor, you know how important it is to have a good mobile version of your website. The handy 'pocket computer' is an indispensable tool in daily life. But content filling is usually done via desktop.
While working on desktop, you can check how your website will look on mobile devices with the handy preview function of Umbraco. Even better, you can test your page on multiple screen sizes. Check how your page is displayed on mobile or tablet, make necessary adjustments, and ensure the ultimate experience for your visitors.
In summary, save yourself time! Use these handy features to work faster and get more done. Efficiency at its finest! In the next part, part 3: Pro Umbraco, you will learn even more ways to get the most out of your Umbraco CMS.
To be continued...
