Composer settings
Use the Composer Settings page to configure and customize your Composer app to suit your needs.
Composer settings
The Composer settings section contains settings specific to the Composer application.
Content elements
The Content elements section lets you enable or disable items in the Composer editor when creating or editing a story. The settings you define here affect the content elements, or base elements, that are available in the Content elements menu in the editor.
Adding a custom embed
A custom embed is a customized content element option that you add to the Composer UI. For example, common custom embeds include podcasts, audio players, and third-party video providers. Custom embeds require prior configuration to ensure they render properly. Before you add a custom embed on the Composer Settings page, see Configuring custom embeds in Composer.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Content elements section, click Add a custom embed. the Add custom embed window opens.
Complete the following fields:
Custom embed name - enter the name for your customer embed.
Display type - enter the type of custom embed, for example, podcast.
Search iFrame URL - enter the Search pane URL you configured when you created your custom embed.
View iFrame URL - enter the View pane URL you configured when you created your custom embed.
Edit iFrame URL - enter the Edit pane URL you configured when you created your custom embed.
Icon - select the icon you want to appear in the Composer editor for your users to add this element to a story.
Click Add. The custom embed now appears in the Element list.
Enabling or disabling content
You can enable or disable content elements to be available in the Compose tab.
You don’t adjust the styling of these elements in settings; you only make them available for use. To actually adjust how these elements appear, you can either configure them in Themes or edit your own front-end rendering pattern to identify these content elements.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
Select or clear the following check boxes as necessary:
Paragraph - allows users to create paragraph elements. Paragraphs do not allow for soft returns.
Heading - allows users to create headings. Composer supports six levels of headings.
Image - allows users to insert images. Users can select images only from Photo Center. See Uploading an image to Photo Center.
Social media embed - lets users link to a post to add an oEmbed from one of Composer’s supported oEmbed providers, such as Facebook. For more details about this element, see Supported oEmbeds in Arc XP.
Gallery - allows users to create an image gallery. Users can select only galleries stored in Photo Center.
Video - allows users to insert videos. Users can select videos only from Video Center. See Uploading a video to Video Center.
HTML - allows users to insert an HTML embed. HTML embeds preview inline in the Composer editor. For example, you can play a YouTube video without leaving the Compose tab.
Block quote - allows users to style content as a quote, like an excerpt from a document or book. This block quote can contain line breaks, unlike the legacy block quote. Users can optionally add a citation.
List - allows users to add a bulleted or numbered list. Composer supports five levels of indents.
Table - allows users to create tables with an optional header row. After users add a table, they can insert or remove rows and columns, as needed.
Block quote (legacy) - This content element is no longer supported. We recommend using the Block quote element instead.
Interstitial link - allows users to add a URL that is a standalone content element so that you can target it by front-end code for particular styling. For example, you might bold and italicizes the text so that it stands out from regular paragraphs. This signals to readers that the links are for related reading because the presentation is standardized. See Composer Link Options.
Link list - allows users to render a combination of links and associated images. See Composer Link Options.
Code - allows users to add code snippets. Composer supports markdown, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and SQL.
Correction - allows users to add a correct to a story that’s specified as either a correction or a classification.
Pull quote - allows a user to elevate a quote from the story that’s styled differently from other text in the story to give it emphasis. The user can also optionally add a citation.
Rating - allows a user to configure and add various types of ratings to add to stories.
Divider - allows a user to add a divider to a story, which is typically a line between sections.
Click Save.
Annotations
Annotations let you connect text in a story to other content or data that you’ve created. Use JSON to create an annotation type to then annotate text in your stories.
Creating or editing annotation types
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Annotations section, click New annotation type. The Add a new annotation type window opens. To edit an existing annotation, click the gear icon.
Complete the following fields:
Name - enter the name of your annotation. What you enter here is how you select the annotation from the editor.
Link to JSON - enter the JSON link to the destination content.
Click Add. The annotationt ype now appears in the list.
ANS overrides
The ANS overrides setting lets you redefine the owner of a story. Every article appears with an owner, for example, wires or Composer, and you can provide your own owner name, if you prefer.
In the Owner Name field, enter what you want to populate in the owner.name property in all documents created and edited in Composer for your organization.
Preview
The Preview section lets you define a preview URL for your Composer content. Complete the following fields, as needed:
Preview URL - enter a preview URL for the PageBuilder instance that you want to use for previewing these stories.
PageBuilder preview domain - enter an internal domain you want to use for PageBuilder preview in multi-site instances.
Hyperlink defaults
The Hyperlink defaults section lets you define the default behavior for hyperlinks in your Composer stories.
Open in a new tab - select this option to have hyperlinks automatically open in a new tab when readers click them.
Add
nofollow- select this option to have search engines ignore the link.Add
sponsored- select this option to specify to search engines that links are sponsored.Opt out of strict URL dependencies - select this option to not require
https://orhttp://prepend URLs in order for them to be hyperlinks.Enable auto-generated links - select this option to have links that you type automatically generate hyperlinks. For example, if you type
example.com, it would become a clickable link.
Article body count configuration
The Article body count configuration section lets you define a recommended article length. These settings are usually used for only print.
Defining the default count configuration
Completing the default count configuration section applies these settings to all your websites. To define separate count configurations per website, see Defining custom count configurations.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Article body count configuration section, click Default and complete the following fields:
Words per line - select this option to define the words per line.
Words per line - enter the number of lines each story should contain per line.
Inches per line - enter the length, in inches, each line should be.
Characters per line - select this option to define the characters per line.
Characters per line - enter the number of characters each story should contain per line.
Lines per inch - enter the length, in inches, each line should be.
Click Save.
Defining a custom count configuration per website
You can define custom counts per website.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Article body count configuration section, click Custom.
Click Add Custom. The Add custom count configuration window opens.
Complete the following fields:
Select a website - choose a website to find a count configuration for.
Words per line - select this option to define the words per line.
Words per line - enter the number of lines each story should contain per line.
Inches per line - enter the length, in inches, each line should be.
Characters per line - select this option to define the characters per line.
Characters per line - enter the number of characters each story should contain per line.
Lines per inch - enter the length, in inches, each line should be.
Click Add. The custom count configuration appears on the Settings page.
To edit, click the gear icon. Or click the trashcan icon to delete.
Link display types
The Link display types section lets you add IDs for link lists and single links that you can then reference in code to render how you want.
Adding a link display type
You can define display types for link lists or single links.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Link display types section, choose either Link list or Single link.
Click Add display type. The Add link display type window opens.
Complete the following fields:
Name - enter a name for the display type.
ID - enter a unique ID for the display type. Your developer will have to use this ID so choose an ID that’s easy to reference.
Click Add. The display type now appears in the Link display types section.
Click Save.
Site Service
The Site Service section lets you configure the list of sections a user can choose from when creating a story.
Hierarchy Name - enter the name of the site hierarchy that you want Composer to use in the “Hierarchy Name” field. This will be the site hierarchy that’s used everywhere in Composer, from search and filtering to picking which section to publish the story to.
Paywall - choose whether to have the system define the paywall based on the story metadata or whether to force a user to select a paywall. Site Service offers the ability to set a default paywall status for a section. Enabling this Composer configuration pulls the default paywall status from Site Service and uses that as the paywall status value, depending on the story’s primary section.
Search
The Search section lets you define how your story cards appear in the Composer search page.
Display slug in search - select this check box to display the slug, if present, on the Composer story card.
Display budget line in search - select this check box to display the internal budget set for the story, if present, on the Composer story card.
Time
The Time section lets you review your time zone setting and configure planned and scheduled quick-pick times. Quick-pick times are options available to your users when they’re configuring a story. Instead of manually setting the time, they can choose from options you configure here.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Time section, click Configure for either of the following options:
Set planning publish quick pick times - lets you set an available option for planned publish times. Planned publish times are the date and time you intend the story to be published; not when the story is actually published.
Set scheduled publish quick pick times - lets you set an available option for scheduled publish times. Scheduled publish times are the date and you time the story is actually published.
Set the relative date, meaning days from today. For example, if you want the quick button to always be today’s date at the time a user selects it, enter 0 in this field.
Enter the time in a 24-hour time format. For example, enter 18:00 as 6:00 PM.
Click Update time.
Click Save on the page.
To view your updates, go to a story to see the updated buttons for these fields. (You may have to clear your browser cache to see the changes.)
The Timezone for displaying dates & times field displays the time zone configured in your account. You edit this field in Global Settings.
Default search filters
The Default search filters section lets you define which system the search results within Composer come from. Particularly with the rate at which wire stories are imported, it can be difficult to find the stories created in Composer or elsewhere. To assist in your searching, enter a default source system value (source.system) that automatically filters search results for your users who go to the index page. This field is case sensitive, so enter Composer, for example, as composer.
Complete the following fields:
Source - enter the search filter sources. The most common sources are composer, which indicates a story was created in Composer, and arc i/o, which means the story is from an Arc I/O wire. You can also define your previous or other CMSes in this section.
Apply default time selection to search filter - select this checkbox to set a default time to search filters.
Author edit
The Author edit section lets you determine whether your users can override the Author field in Composer and what information about an author is shown.
Complete the following fields:
Allow Author Service overrides - select this check box to allow your users to change the author information for a single story. Composer pulls information from the author service, but you can override that information on a story in the Author field. With this setting enabled, users can change the value of the byline, first name, last name, email, image, URL, role, or Twitter handle.
Additional info to show in author field - optionally, enter additional author service fields you want to appear next to the author’s name. For example, to add the role next to the author’s name, enter role in this field.
WebSked
The WebSked section lets you disable the WebSked integration in Composer. Composer and WebSked contain several integrations: viewing and editing workflows statuses, viewing and creating pitches and tasks, and supporting collections. Select the Disable WebSked integration checkbox to make these options unavailable to your users.
Media metadata
The Media metadata section lets you configure the editable fields for multimedia (images, galleries, and videos) based on what you plan to expose on the frontend of your downstream platforms. You can also select the fields you want to enable vanity overrides for.
Configuring media metadata fields
You can choose the fields you want to make available to your user. If you disable a field, the field appears in the Composer UI but is unavailable to edit.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click the Settings tab.
In the Media metadata section, complete the following fields:
Images
Caption - allow users to define an image caption.
Subtitle - allow users to define an image subtitle.
Link URL - allow users to link an image.
Photographer - allow users to overwrite the photographer name.
Credit - allow users to overwrite the image credit.
Videos
Title - allow users to define a video title
Blurb - allow users to define a video description
Tease - allow users to enter a statement that persuades a user to watch the video
Galleries
Title - allow users to define a gallery title
Description - allow users to define a gallery description
Click Save.
Lock settings
The Lock settings section lets you define how long a user can be idle before they lose the lock on the story they’re editing.
Complete the following fields:
Max Idle Time - enter the number of minutes the user can have a story locked with no activity.
Note
This requires the user to have an active connection to the server to maintain lock.
Max Idle Time Warning - enter the number of minutes until a yellow no-activity message appears to the user warning them they’re about to lose the lock.
Featured media
The Featured media section lets you configure promo items keys (where featured media Composer users select in Composer write to in ANS) and also whether Composer users can select images, videos, galleries, or HTML for each key. For more information about featured media, see the Documentation For Configuration And Technical Details.
Composer comes with two default keys: basic and lead_art. You can configure which types of media are allowed for each key.
Each key has a list of allowed types in a types array. For instance, the basic key can contain video, image, and raw_html, but the lead_art key can contain only image and raw_html. The system uses a distinct set of types to build the media type drop-down menu on the Featured Media tab.
The basic key is required because the system uses it as a default if no other keys exist.
From the Featured media section, click Configure. The Featured media window opens.
Complete the following fields:
Media type(s) - select the media types you want to allow for this key. You can select more than one type.
Media key - enter a name for this media key. For example, lead_art or gallery.
Click Add option. The new media keys appear in the window.
Optionally, select the Required to publish checkbox to make the key required.
Click Apply.
Text Content
The Text Content section lets you configure the system to remove empty paragraph content elements when you save a story. If you don’t enable this setting, empty paragraphs—intentional or accidental—appear in your published content.
Select the Remove empty paragraphs in content checkbox to configure Composer to remove empty paragraphs when you save a story.
Story unsaved changes
The Story unsaved changes section lets you configure Composer to issue a warning message when you navigate away from a story with unsaved changes. Select the Show a warning when navigating away from a story that has unsaved changes checkbox to enable this setting.
Proofreader settings
The Proofreader settings section lets you configure proofreading integrations with Tansa or ProLexis. These integrations power your Composer editor’s proofreading feedback, checking spelling, punctuation, style, and grammar.
Proofreading works on only body copy.
Note
If you don’t need Tansa or ProLexis, select the Tansa option and leave the corresponding fields blank.
Configuring Tansa as your proofreader integration
Use these steps to configure Tansa.
From the Proofreading settings section, select the Tansa option.
Complete the following fields:
Tansa company/customer ID - enter the license key that Tansa provided you.
Global user ID - optionally, enter your user ID
Client Tansa URL - enter the base URL for your Tansa site.
Click Save on the page.
Mapping a website to a Tansa dictionary
You can map a website to a Tansa dictionary. By doing so, you configure Tansa to apply to only a specific website within Arc XP. This is particularly helpful if a website requires certain wording considerations, for example, a website based in the UK.
Before following this procedure, confirm the following items are in place in your Tansa environment:
A user group to correspond to your website
A non-system user associated with the dictionary you want to use. Ensure the user is also associated with the previous user group
After you confirm your Tansa environment is properly configured, use these steps to map websites to Tansa dictionaries.
In the Proofreader settings section, click Add Dictionary.
Complete the following fields:
Website - select the website you want to map a dictionary to.
Tansa user ID - enter the Tansa username of the user you want associated with this website.
Click Save on the page.
Configuring ProLexis as your proofreader integration
Use these steps to configure ProLexis.
In the Proofreader settings section, select the ProLexis option.
Complete the following fields:
ProLexis API key - enter the API key from your ProLexis account.
ProLexis URL - enter the ProLexis URL from your account
Click Save on the page.
Story tabs
The Story tabs section lets you allow your users to access all Composer tabs without completing all required fields on the Planning tab. Otherwise, users must first complete the required Planning tab fields before moving on to the Composer, Meta, and Featured Image tabs. Select the checkbox to allow users to access all tabs without first completing required fields.
Print system integration
The Print system integration section lets you allow users to send stories to print. Complete the following fields:
Display the send to print button on the Composer editor page - select this checkbox to display the print button in the Composer editor. You use the button to manually trigger the latest version of the story to send to your print pipeline.
URL path for print integration - enter the URL path for your print integration. Composer sends the latest saved version of the story to this endpoint when a user clicks Send to Print in Composer.
Enable Snowball integration
The Enable Snowball integration section lets you use a custom stock quote recommender that suggests stocks to add to the story. If you select the Display the Snowball stock quote recommendation button on the Composer editor meta page checkbox, the stock recommender appears below the stock symbol field that you enabled on the Planning or Meta tab and scans your story for recommendations.
Disable editor plugins
The Disable editor plugins section lets you disable the typograph and scroll plugin from the Composer editor. We do not recommend disabling these plugins, and you should disable these plugins for only troubleshooting issues with the editor and body text.
Complete the following fields:
Disable typograph plugin - select this checkbox to disable the typograph plugin. The typograph plugin replaces quotes with smart quotes and removes double spaces.
Disable scroll plugin - select this checkbox to disable the scroll plugin. The scroll plugin automatically moves the editor to your cursor location. For instance, if you under text in a paragraph above or below, the scroll plugin scrolls the editor to that change.
Kickers/Labels
The Kickers/Labels section lets you create and manage custom fields for Composer. Labels, sometimes called kickers, represent categories that you apply to a story. Users select a label from a fixed set that you configure here, or you can also allow for free entry. For example, to celebrate certain months, you might want to label relevant stories as Women’s History Month, Black History Month, Pride Month, and so on in an overline above the headline. To do that, you could create a label type of Overlines that contain labels for Women's History Month, Black History Month, Pride Month, and so on, and apply those labels to your stories.
Creating and editing labels
Before you create labels, be sure you have a plan of how you want to use labels in your published content.
In the Kickers/Labels section, click new New label type. A window opens.
Enter a name for the label type in the field.
Click OK. The label type is added to Composer.
Optionally, select the Allow free entry check box to allow users to define their own values in this label type.
Click New label. A new row appears.
Complete the following fields:
Text - enter the name of the label.
URL - optionally, enter a URL associated with the label.
Display - select this check box to have the label appear on your website when the criteria for the label is met. If you clear this check box, the label still appears as an option for your users, but the system doesn’t display the label on your website.
Click Save.
After you configure your labels, you must add the Kickers/labels field to either the Planning or Meta tab. See Managing ANS meta field configuration.
ANS meta field configuration
The ANS meta field configuration section contains settings specific to the Planning, Circulate, and Meta tabs in Composer. Review the following sections:
Planning options - this section displays the fields that appear on the Planning tab in Composer. You can reorder or configure the settings for each field.
Circulate options - this section displays configuration settings for the Circulation tab in Composer.
Meta options - this section displays the fields that appear on the Meta tab in Composer. You can reorder of configure the settings for each fields.
Available option list - this section displays the available fields in Composer. To display the fields to your users, drag and drop the field on either the Planning options or Meta options section.
Composer fields
The following fields are available for you place on either the Planning or Meta tabs for your users. For most fields, you can configure the settings for that field to make it required to save or publish a story. Some fields contain additional configuration settings.
View Composer fields
Because the order in which fields appear is customizable, we list the fields here in alphabetical order. You can add and change the order of the fields however best fits your organizational need so how they appear in your Settings page may vary and are specifically configured to the environment you set them on. Additionally, this list provides a description of the intended use of the field; however, because you can customize fields through ANS, your organization may use the field for something different.
Note
For any fields that appear is a drop-down menu that users can add options to, users must being typing text into the field. If not matching option exists, an Add link appears where users can add a new value.
Address - lets users enter an address that you can display as part of the story.
Author selection - lets users select the authors who are contributing to the story. Authors who have an author profile in the Arc XP system appear in Composer as Staff, which is simply a designation in Composer indicating that the user has a saved author profile. We encourage your administrator to use the Author Service Role field to designate employment titles. If you need to add additional authors, click Add a guest and enter their information. Click Add me to add yourself. Note that Add me works only if your account has a profile in Author Service. Click Add guest to locally define a guest author.
Budget line - lets users designate a budget line when proposing stories to their editors. You likely use this field if you have a heavy planning process.
Comments - let’s users configure comments on the story, including enabling or disabling comments, displaying comments, and requiring moderation.
Copyright - lets users add copyright details for the story.
Corrections - lets users note changes to the story, both corrections and clarifications.
Created date - lets users review the date the story was first saved.
Creditline (legacy) - lets users specify a persona, organization, or entity that should be credited for a piece of content.
Description - lets users enter a brief summary of the story. You can expose this description to your readers on your live site using Themes. How you use the description is up to you.
Display date - lets users review the date that appears on the story for your readers.
Distributor - lets users set the distributor of the story.
Editor note - lets editors enter notes to story authors.
First publish date - lets users review the date the story was first published to your website.
Kickers/labels - lets your users add kickers and labels that apply to the story. See the Kickers/Labels section.
Language - lets users enter the story language. You can configure this field to use a picklist or allow free text.
Last updated - lets users review the date that someone last saved changes to this story.
Latitude & longitude - lets users enter the latitude and longitude details for a story location.
Location description - lets users enter a description of the location. You can use this field to add a phrase or description if an address or latitude and longitude is too specific for your purposes.
Media planning - lets users choose a media type that you intend to be present in a story.
Ownership status (legacy) - lets users view the original source for the story.
Paywall status - lets users review the paywall status, which indicates what level of access to this article the system enforces for your paywall. For example, subscribers only, free, and so on.
Planned character count - for planning purposes, lets users enter the character length you expect for this story. What you enter here does not limit the length of the story. This field is primarily used for print stories.
Planned inch count - for planning purposes, lets users enter the desired inch length you expect for this story. This is primarily used for print stories.
Planned line count - for planning purposes, lets users enter the desires line count.
Planned ready time - lets users define a date and time when the story should be ready to publish. This field is for internal tracking through WebSked and does not schedule a publish date.
Planned word count - for planning purposes, lets users define the word count you expect for this story. What you enter here does not limit the length of the story. This field is primarily used for print stories.
Primary website - lets users choose the primary website for the story. For single-site organizations, this field pre-populates with your site name. For multi-site organizations, users choose the primary website for your content. If you want to circulate your content to additional websites, you can do that on the Circulate tab.
Publish date - lets users view the timestamp for when the story was last published.
Redirect URL - lets users define a redirect URL if a reader accesses this story.
SEO Keywords - lets users review the keywords associated with this article. You can use SEO keywords (instead of the headline) to generate the URL or as the page meta data.
Slug - lets users define a slug, or short name, for the story.
Source system - lets users view the source of the story, which is either Composer or an external source.
Source type (legacy) - lets users view the source of the story, which is either Composer or an external source. This is read-only field.
Sponsored content - lets users review whether this story is considered sponsored content. This binary field displays yes or no.
Stock symbols - lets users choose the stock symbols that relate to the story.
Story tags - lets users review the tags associated with this story. Story tags are often used to render front-end queries. We recommend you set up tags in the Tags API, and then configure those tags in Global Settings. You can enter tags in one of two ways:
enable this database for Global Tags. Then, in Composer, the type ahead search finds the available tags.
enter free text tags to categorize stories.
Subtype - lets users review the story subtype. This field is most often used to correspond to a PageBuilder template for how the story should render on the front end. For example, if the subtype is Sports, a PageBuilder template renders the story as a sports story.
Syndication - lets users define syndication for the story.
Website URL - lets users review the URL for the story. Composer creates the canonical URL for your article when you publish the article. If the headline changes and you need to correct the URL—for example, your original headline stated that three people were injured in an accident, but now that number is four—you can click Regenerate to create a new URL string and a redirect from the original URL.
Working headline - lets users enter a headline to let your team know what this story is about. You can change the headline later. To set a max character width for this field, click the gear icon, select the Enable max characters checkbox, and enter a numeral to define the character limit.
If you have the Arc Intelligence license, this field displays an AI icon that lets you generate and choose from several headline and subheadline options. See Using field-level AI in Composer to learn more.
Managing Headline Settings in Composer
Headline settings allow you to tailor your headlines for different platforms. By effectively managing these settings, you can enhance your content's visibility across various channels while maintaining consistency across all media. Follow these steps to adjust the settings:
Open Composer and navigate to the Settings page.
In the ANS meta field configuration section, find the Working headline field and click the gear icon.
In the Working headline section, enable or disable the following platforms.
Mobile
Native
Print
Web
Tablet
Meta label
For each headline type, optionally set a maximum character limit. This ensures that headlines stay within the desired length for each platform.
Click Save.
Configuring fields for the Planning or Meta tabs
You can configure a variety of settings for the fields that display on the Planning or Meta tab.
Navigate to the Composer app.
Click Settings.
In the ANS meta field configuration section, click the gear icon next to the field you want to edit. The field configuration window opens.
Complete the following fields. The available options may vary by field.
Required to save - select this checkbox to make this field required to save changes to a story.
Required to publish - select this checkbox to make this field required to publish a story.
Enable max characters - select this checkbox to set a maximum character limit on the field.
Set max characters - enter a number to define the maximum character limit.
Picklist preview - select the option from the drop down that you want to appear as a preview in the pick list.
Edit picklist - click this option to navigate to the pick list editor where you can change the options available in the pick list.
Click Save on the page.
Base paths for websites
The Base paths for websites section lets you set up story preview. After you publish a story in Composer, you can configure a button to direct users to the live article page. The button appears as a globe icon in the top toolbar. The preview takes you to the website that is the primary website for that story.