Edit links | Kontent.ai Learn

Content creators sometimes need to correct errors or typos when they see them on preview of your website or app. Add edit buttons to your app to let your content creators quickly edit content in Kontent.ai.To make the authoring experience even better, set up automatic refresh for preview to see the latest changes without any hassle.

Automatically create edit links in web apps

Use the Smart Link SDK

in your preview environment so that your web apps automatically create clickable regions on your pages. Clicking the regions will open a specific content item in Kontent.ai. These regions are based on annotations in your HTML code. You need to annotate the HTML with data attributes so the Smart Link SDK knows where the content comes from.

Set up your web app for smart links

To create a smart edit link to a content item in Kontent.ai, the Smart link SDK needs to know several things, such as your environment ID (formerly called project ID), language, and content item ID. You can also provide details about specific elements or components within a content item in your HTML code. For example, you can annotate your HTML code like so:

In your website’s <body>, specify the environment ID using data-kontent-project-id="1d50a0f7-9033-48f3-a96e-7771c73f9683" and language using data-kontent-language-codename="en-US".
In a <div>, specify the content item ID using data-kontent-item-id="af858748-f48a-4169-9b35-b10c9d3984ef".
(Optional) In a <p>, specify the codename of an element using data-kontent-element-codename="body".

When you initialize the Smart link SDK, it looks at these data attributes and uses them to create a URL such as

https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/1d50a0f7-9033-48f3-a96e-7771c73f9683/variant-codename/default/item/af858748-f48a-4169-9b35-b10c9d3984ef/element/body

. You can also specify identifiers for content components using data-kontent-component-id so that your content creators can enjoy an even better editing experience. For more specific steps and examples, check out the Smart Link SDK usage instructions

Set up your web app for Add buttons

The

Add buttons in Web Spotlight can be set up in a similar way to smart links:

Provide your environment ID, language, and content item ID.
Specify the element, either a rich text or a linked items element, by using data-kontent-element-codename.
Use data-kontent-add-button to allow rendering of the Add button.
(Optional) Use data-kontent-add-button-render-position to specify the exact location of the Add button on preview.
Define where to add the new content.
- For a fixed position within the element, use data-kontent-add-button-insert-position=start|end.
- For a relative position, use data-kontent-add-button-insert-position=before|after accompanied by data-kontent-item-id or data-kontent-component-id that specifies a linked item or a component before or after which you want to add new content.

For more specific steps and examples, check out the Smart link SDK usage instructions

Manually create edit links in native apps

In native apps that don't return HTML, you need to construct the edit links manually. The edit links are based on a pattern with variables that you fill in based on what content your app displays on preview.

Create links to content items

To create edit links for specific content items, construct your links using the following URL pattern.

URL pattern: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID>/variant-codename/<LANGUAGE_CODENAME>/item/<ITEM_ID>
- Replace YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID, LANGUAGE_CODENAME, and ITEM_ID with the actual values from your project.
Example URL: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/8d20758c-d74c-4f59-ae04-ee928c0816b7/variant-codename/en-US/item/4d4dc14d-8c7c-471f-b797-c6694c604964

Create links to elements in content items

To create edit links to specific elements within items, extend the URL pattern for a content item above with information about the specific element.

URL pattern: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID>/variant-codename/<LANGUAGE_CODENAME>/item/<ITEM_ID>/element/<ELEMENT_CODENAME>
- Replace YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID, LANGUAGE_CODENAME, ITEM_ID, and ELEMENT_CODENAME with the actual values from your project.
Example URL: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/8d20758c-d74c-4f59-ae04-ee928c0816b7/variant-codename/en-US/item/4d4dc14d-8c7c-471f-b797-c6694c604964/element/related_articles

Interactive example

Create links to nested content items

You can also link to a content item nested in a linked items or rich text element in another item. The structure of the linked relationship will be reflected in Kontent.ai in the breadcrumbs for easy navigation.

Automatically refresh preview in Web Spotlight

Automatic refresh in Web Spotlight makes live editing easier for content creators. Whenever a content change is propagated to Delivery Preview API, you can have the Smart Link SDK update the content preview for you. For your web apps to support automatic refresh for content preview, make sure that your preview environment:

Uses the Smart Link SDK version 2.2.0 or newer.
Sets the X-KC-Wait-For-Loading-New-Content header to true when fetching data from the Delivery Preview API.

If these conditions are met, Web Spotlight will wait for your changes to be ready via the Delivery Preview API, and after that, the preview will be refreshed automatically. If you want the changes to show instantly in your preview, we recommend implementing Live preview.

Implement a custom refresh handler

In some cases, refreshing the page might not be enough. For example, if you use a static site generator for your preview, you need to trigger the rebuild of the page before refreshing it. Or maybe you don’t want to refresh the entire page when a single item has been updated and would rather re-render only the affected place in the UI. That's why the Smart Link SDK supports the custom refresh handler, which allows you to specify how your web page reacts to refresh events received from Web Spotlight.

For more information about implementing your custom refresh handler, check out the Smart Link SDK usage instructions

Instant content preview in Web Spotlight

With Web Spotlight live preview, you can set up your app so that it instantly reacts to content changes. This real-time feedback leads to a better editing experience for content creators.

Compared to automatic refresh, the live preview doesn’t rely on updates in the Delivery Preview API. Instead, it propagates content changes from Kontent.ai to your app immediately. For your web app to support the live preview, make sure that your preview environment:

Uses the Smart Link SDK version 3.2.0 or newer.
Contains custom logic to perform content updates based on messages from iframe communication. You need to define how your app responds to the update messages. Learn how to set up the live preview with Smart Link SDK.

Once you adjust your web app, the live preview becomes automatically available in Web Spotlight. Smart Link SDK detects the upcoming update messages and triggers your custom logic to handle the changes in the live preview.

Supported elements in live preview

Live preview works for the following elements: asset, date & time, linked items, multiple choice, number, rich text, subpage, taxonomy, text, and URL slugs. The live preview only returns codenames for linked items and subpages elements. You can re-fetch the content of the linked items via Delivery Preview API. Rich text with linked items is also returned only as codenames in the live preview. However, the content of the components will return as usual, as they’re part of the rich text.

Automatically create edit links in web apps

Use the Smart Link SDK

Set up your web app for smart links

In your website’s <body>, specify the environment ID using data-kontent-project-id="1d50a0f7-9033-48f3-a96e-7771c73f9683" and language using data-kontent-language-codename="en-US".
In a <div>, specify the content item ID using data-kontent-item-id="af858748-f48a-4169-9b35-b10c9d3984ef".
(Optional) In a <p>, specify the codename of an element using data-kontent-element-codename="body".

When you initialize the Smart link SDK, it looks at these data attributes and uses them to create a URL such as

https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/1d50a0f7-9033-48f3-a96e-7771c73f9683/variant-codename/default/item/af858748-f48a-4169-9b35-b10c9d3984ef/element/body

Set up your web app for Add buttons

The

Add buttons in Web Spotlight can be set up in a similar way to smart links:

Provide your environment ID, language, and content item ID.
Specify the element, either a rich text or a linked items element, by using data-kontent-element-codename.
Use data-kontent-add-button to allow rendering of the Add button.
(Optional) Use data-kontent-add-button-render-position to specify the exact location of the Add button on preview.
Define where to add the new content.
- For a fixed position within the element, use data-kontent-add-button-insert-position=start|end.
- For a relative position, use data-kontent-add-button-insert-position=before|after accompanied by data-kontent-item-id or data-kontent-component-id that specifies a linked item or a component before or after which you want to add new content.

For more specific steps and examples, check out the Smart link SDK usage instructions

Manually create edit links in native apps

Create links to content items

To create edit links for specific content items, construct your links using the following URL pattern.

URL pattern: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID>/variant-codename/<LANGUAGE_CODENAME>/item/<ITEM_ID>
- Replace YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID, LANGUAGE_CODENAME, and ITEM_ID with the actual values from your project.
Example URL: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/8d20758c-d74c-4f59-ae04-ee928c0816b7/variant-codename/en-US/item/4d4dc14d-8c7c-471f-b797-c6694c604964

Create links to elements in content items

To create edit links to specific elements within items, extend the URL pattern for a content item above with information about the specific element.

URL pattern: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID>/variant-codename/<LANGUAGE_CODENAME>/item/<ITEM_ID>/element/<ELEMENT_CODENAME>
- Replace YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID, LANGUAGE_CODENAME, ITEM_ID, and ELEMENT_CODENAME with the actual values from your project.
Example URL: https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/8d20758c-d74c-4f59-ae04-ee928c0816b7/variant-codename/en-US/item/4d4dc14d-8c7c-471f-b797-c6694c604964/element/related_articles

Interactive example

Create links to nested content items

Automatically refresh preview in Web Spotlight

Uses the Smart Link SDK version 2.2.0 or newer.
Sets the X-KC-Wait-For-Loading-New-Content header to true when fetching data from the Delivery Preview API.

Implement a custom refresh handler

For more information about implementing your custom refresh handler, check out the Smart Link SDK usage instructions

Instant content preview in Web Spotlight

With Web Spotlight live preview, you can set up your app so that it instantly reacts to content changes. This real-time feedback leads to a better editing experience for content creators.

Uses the Smart Link SDK version 3.2.0 or newer.
Contains custom logic to perform content updates based on messages from iframe communication. You need to define how your app responds to the update messages. Learn how to set up the live preview with Smart Link SDK.

Supported elements in live preview

# Pattern
https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT_ID>/variant-codename/<LANGUAGE_CODENAME>/item/<ITEM_ID>/element/<ELEMENT_CODENAME>/item/<NESTED_ITEM_ID>/element/<ELEMENT_CODENAME>

# Example
https://app.kontent.ai/goto/edit-item/project/8d20758c-d74c-4f59-ae04-ee928c0816b7/variant-codename/en-US/item/4d4dc14d-8c7c-471f-b797-c6694c604964/element/related_articles/item/29b82988-fb9e-4327-a34b-b568cfaa39e9/body

// Tip: Find more about JS/TS SDKs at https://kontent.ai/learn/javascript
import KontentSmartLink, { KontentSmartLinkEvent } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link';

const sdk = KontentSmartLink.initialize({ ... });

sdk.on(
  KontentSmartLinkEvent.Refresh,
  (data, metadata, originalRefresh) => {
    // Custom refresh logic goes here
    // ...
    originalRefresh(); // If you want to refresh the page at the end
  }
);

Explore your path to mastery

With Web Spotlight, you can set up edit links on any part of your content, such as headings, tables, embedded content, and text.

Make sure you render the data attributes and edit links only in preview environment. In most cases, you want to display the edit links only in a preview environment that your editors can access. You can also use them in production – it's up to you to limit their visibility according to your needs.

No edit links for content componentsYou can't link directly to elements nested in content components. You can only link to the highest-level rich text element in which the component is nested.

The

Changes are ready status in Web Spotlight is displayed when the changes are available in the Delivery Preview API, not when the preview page has already been refreshed. If your custom refresh handler takes some time to finish, make sure to inform your users by displaying a loader or message inside the preview.