Text

To add paragraph text to the Text component, simply add it to the textbox under 'Content'. You can also style this text with different options in the edit toolbar.

Headings are the main tool for breaking up and organizing your written content and tagging your content for accessibility.

Make sure that when you are tagging headings, you are using the Heading 1 (H1) to Heading 6 (H6) range of heading options. The 'Heading (small)', 'Heading (medium)' and 'Heading (large)' options, as well as all the 'Secondary heading' options, will simply style the size of your text, not tag it as an actual heading.

Learn more on how to tag headings and use correct heading levels to create accessible content.

Add a heading

To add headings to your content in the Text component:

1. Select the 'Formats' dropdown from the editing toolbar
2. Choose the appropriate heading level, from Heading 1 (H1) to Heading 6 (H6)
3. Add your text, which will now be tagged as a heading. After you hit the enter key, the new line will be returned to regular text

Change regular text to a heading and vice versa

To tag existing text as a heading:

1. Highlight or click on the line of text you want to change
2. Select the 'Formats' dropdown from the editing toolbar
3. Choose the appropriate heading level, from Heading 1 (H1) to Heading 6 (H6)

If you want to remove the heading tag from text and change it to regular paragraph text:

1. Highlight or click on the line of heading text
2. Select the 'Formats' dropdown from the editing toolbar
3. Select the heading level that is being tagged to remove the heading formatting. For example, if you have highlighted a Heading 2, select the Heading 2 option to un-tag the text

You can use bulleted and numbered lists to help break up and organize your content, create a hotspot on your page and provide instructions.

Add a bulleted list

To add a bulleted list to your Text component, select the 'Bullet list' option from the editing toolbar. You can choose from different bullet styles by selecting the arrow dropdown on the 'Bullet list' button.

Add a numbered list

To add a numbered list to your Text component, select the 'Numbered list' option from the editing toolbar. You can choose from different number styles by selecting the arrow dropdown on the 'Numbered list' button.

Hyperlinks are a great tool to help move users through your website and connect them to the information and tasks they are looking for. Learn how to add accessible hyperlinks to the Text component to link users to other pages on your website, documents or external websites.

You can add tables to your Govstack page using the Text component. Tables are best reserved for displaying tabular, complex data in a simple way.

Tables should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Tables should not replace content that can appear in regular paragraph or point form (bullet) layouts. It's important to follow best practices to create accessible tables.

Add a table

To add a table in the text box of the Text component:

1. Select the 'Table' button in the editing toolbar
2. Hover over the 'Table' option in the dropdown, and select how many rows and columns you want the table to have
3. Fill in the content for the header and data cells, ensuring there are no blank or merged cells

Tag the header cells

After you create your table and add data to it, you need to tag the header cells and define the scope for those header cells.

To tag a cell as a header cell and define its scope:

1. Click on the header cell
2. Select the 'Table' option in the editing toolbar, which will bring up the table dropdown
3. In the table dropdown, hover over 'Cell' and then select 'Cell Properties'
4. Next to 'Cell type', open the dropdown menu and select 'Header cell'
5. Next to 'Scope', select 'Row' or 'Column' based on whether the heading cell is related to data cells in its row or column
6. Select 'Ok' to finalize the change

Set column widths

Table columns will automatically size to the content. For example, columns with more information become wider than columns with less information.

To customize the width of a column:

1. Click on the first cell of the column you wish to size
2. Select the 'Table' option in the editing toolbar, which will bring up the table dropdown
3. In the table dropdown, hover over 'Cell' and then select 'Cell Properties'
4. Enter the width of the column in the 'Width' field (the number should be a percentage of the of the width of the table)
5. Select 'Ok' to finalize the change

You only need to set the width of one cell in a column. This will automatically set the width of all cells in the column.

Add or remove a row or column

You can add and remove rows and columns using the table editing bar that appears below the table. This bar gives you the option to add a row or column before or after a line or delete a row or column.

You can add images to your content either with the Gallery component or in the Text component itself. Learn how to add an image directly into a Text component.

In the editing toolbar, you can use the 'Formats' dropdown to format the size and appearance of your text. While Heading 1 (H1) to Heading 6 (H6) formats are used for tagging headings on a page, you can use any of the other text styles to change the look of paragraph text, such as:

• Formatting quotes with italics
• Using larger text to create a visual hotspot on the page

You can add indents to your content by selecting the 'Increase indent' button or remove indents by selecting the 'Decrease indent' button.

To add a subscript to your text, select the 'Subscript' button. To add superscript, select the 'Superscript' button. When you continue adding text, it will appear as either subscript or superscript text.

To turn off subscript or superscript, you need to unselect the 'Subscript' or 'Superscript' button on the editing toolbar.

If you need to add special characters to your content, you can do so by selecting the 'Special character' button and choosing a character.

These settings will be available only if the component is contained within a split component.

You can set the alignment of the text within your component using these settings. The options are left, center, or right.

If no option is selected the default setting is right alignment.

Best Practices: Text content should be left aligned wherever possible. This is the most accessible alignment option.

These settings will be available only if the component is contained within a split component.

Using the 'Column Width' sliders you can set the width of the component in split components. The slider allows for column widths from 1 to 12. A minimum width of 2 is recommended.

The total width settings for 'Split Section 1' and 'Split Section 2' should equal 12. If the sum of 'Split Section 1' and 'Split Section 2' is greater than 12, your split content will appear on two rows.

Separate options are available for desktop and tablet size screens. On mobile screens split components switch to a single column.

You can customize the content colours of the component using the colours that are part of your website design. Depending on your website design, you can add a coloured background behind the component to create a hot spot on the page. 

Colour options

The colour options are based on the design of your website. You may be able to change the design colours depending on your Govstack plan. To get access to the website design features, speak with your GHD Digital Account Executive.

If you'd like, you can add an image to the background of your component. To do this, you need to:

1. Select the "+" icon next to the "Background image" field
2. This will open the 'Media' folder
3. From here, choose the folder that contains the image you'd like to add
4. Select the image you'd like to insert
5. Press the "Select" button 

Please note

Background images ignore the focal point and cropping information added to your image in the media tab. Instead they use the settings provided under "Background image options".

Adding an image behind text can cause colour contrast issues for users with low vision or colour blindness. You should only add an image behind text if it meets the colour contrast ratio requirements associated with accessibility legislation in your region.

Background images do not use alternative text and are not called out for those using screen readers. Make sure that background images do not contain information critical to understanding the meaning or context of your content.

You can also set a few options for a background image, including the placement of the image, size of the image and whether or not the image repeats. 

Image Size

These settings replace the cropping and sizing settings added in the media section image editor.

Cover - The image will stretch to fill the available space. This is the most popular option for a single image background.

Full-Width - The image stretches to fill the full width of the available space. Depending on the characteristics of the image this may result in gaps at the top and bottom of the component.

Auto - The image displays at it's actual size. This may leave gaps around the edges of your component.

Repeat - The background image with tile vertically and horizontally. Use a smaller image or a tiling image for best results.

Repeat Horizontal - As repeat but the background image tiles in a single row.

Repeat Vertical - As repeat but the background image tiles in a single column.

Image Placement

This setting replaces the focal point setting added in the media section image editor.

Select the origin point of your background image. The image will fill the space behind your component starting from the selected point. You may need to experiment to find the best contrast and focal point position for each image.

This setting only applies if you are using a page with a 'Full' page layout. Typically, full page layouts are reserved for the home page of your website or any landing pages you've created.

You can add animation to the component by selecting the 'Animate' toggle. Once the 'Animate' toggle is selected, you'll have the option to customize the:

• Animation style
• Animation delay (seconds)
• Animation duration (seconds)

From the 'Animation style' dropdown menu, select the type of animation you'd like to add to the accordion. There are a variety of different animation options in the following categories:

• Attention Seekers
• Bouncing Entrances
• Fading Entrances
• Flippers
• Light Speed
• Rotating Entrances
• Sliding Entrances
• Zoom Entrances
• Specials

We recommend testing out a variety of animation styles to select the one you like the most. 

Please note

Animation styles can cause accessibility issues for some users visiting your website. For example, some users may experience motion sickness when viewing animated elements on your website.

Using the 'Animation delay' slider select the time in seconds that you'd like to delay the animation. 

Please note

Animation delay can cause accessibility issues for some users visiting your website. Certain animation styles and delays can combine to make your animated component invisible to screen readers. Please test your animations to make sure they are accessible.

You can select how long you'd like the animation to last on the component by using the 'Animation duration' slider. Select the number of seconds you'd like the animation to continue on the public website. 

In the 'Name' field you can give a unique name to the component. This will make it easier to differentiate between components, both on your page as well as in your clipboard.

You can create an anchor link that will link a user directly to the top of this component. 

When linking to this page add the anchor to the "Anchor / querystring" field in the "Select link" dialogue box. The link will then jump to the top of the target component rather than to the top of the page.

Note that anchor names are case sensitive. For best results use lowercase characters, numbers, and dashes only. Avoid spaces and special characters.

In the 'Custom classes' field, you can add any custom CSS classes you may have. Custom CSS classes can be found in the Design node under the 'CSS' tab in the backend of Govstack. 

If you'd like to add more than one custom class, you'll need to leave a space between each class. 

Please note

Depending on your Govstack plan, you may not be able to access the Design node in the backend. If you'd like to be able to add custom CSS and get access to the website design, contact your GHD Digital Account Executive.

We cannot guarantee that future updates to Govstack will not break or negatively impact custom CSS.

You can select additional styles to the component, including:

• Spacing
• Visibility
• Design

Spacing

You can remove the spacing around the component by selecting one of the following options:

• Remove spacing
• Remove spacing top only
• Remove spacing bottom only

Visibility

You can customize the visibility of the component. Select one of the following options:

• Hide on all screens
• Hide on extra small screens
• Hide on small screens
• Hide on medium screens
• Hide on large screens
• Hide on extra large screens

Design

Select one of the following options if you'd like to customize the design of the component:

• Show shadows - this will add a shadow effect to the component. Note that by default most Govstack websites do not have shadows. You can add these in the Design node
• Sticky - the component will stay on the screen even as users scroll down the page

Turn on the 'Hide from website' toggle if you'd like to hide this component from the web page.