Managing Composer settings

Use the Settings page in Arc XP Composer to configure your Composer experience for content creators and editors.

Composer settings are available at Composer > Settings and are arranged in sections. Each section provides different sets of options, text fields, and controls.

Composer settings help you configure several Composer features:

  • Content elements - Enable or disable specific content types like images, videos, galleries, tables, or HTML blocks.
  • User experience - Set lock duration for story editing sessions, manage story tab access requirements, and set up proofreaders.
  • Media and publishing controls - Configure featured media requirements, set up print system integrations, and manage paywall status settings.
  • Metadata and organization - Configure kickers and labels for content categorization, set up distributor configurations, and establish default search filters.
  • Feature management - Enable or disable Composer functionalities according to your workflow and user access policies.

Scenario: Setting up Composer for your newsroom

Before your newsroom starts drafting stories, you need to configure Composer’s Settings page to match your team’s workflow and publishing requirements.

You start by navigating to Composer > Settings, where you customize the Arc XP Native Specification (ANS) meta field configuration. For fields like Working headline and Slug, you enable character limits to help maintain clean URLs and consistent formatting across the site. You also mark fields like Primary website, Author selection, and Language as required for publishing, ensuring that every story includes critical metadata.

Next, you configure the Picklist options for Language, Media planning, and Kickers/labels, so reporters can choose from consistent and predefined values instead of entering free text. This helps standardize content tagging and downstream automation.

Finally, you set up the Base paths for websites. You add your publication’s homepage URL and set it as the default. Now, when your reporters start writing, they see a globe icon in the Composer toolbar that links directly to the live article page for their story.

Many more settings exist, but these key settings let your reporters get started in Composer.

Procedures

Enabling Composer 2.0 internal notes

Internal memo notes provide a space for general notes about an article, such as embargo dates or editorial requests. These notes help keep important context visible to the editorial team and are accessible in WebSked.

To enable Composer 2.0 internal notes, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the Enable Composer 2.0 section, turn on the toggle control.
  3. Click Save.

See Collaborating within Composer for more details on internal notes.

Choosing Content elements

The Content elements section controls which items show as in-line toolbar shortcuts in the Composer tab.

To choose content elements, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the Content elements section, select the checkbox for each element you want to appear in the Compose tab toolbar.
  3. Click Save.

See Getting started with ANS to learn more about content elements.

Content elements list

The following list shows the default content elements (in alphabetical order) you can choose in Composer. When you select an item, you enable it in the editor.

Block quote - Lets users 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. 

Block quote (legacy) - This content element is no longer supported. We recommend using the Block quote element instead. 

Code - Lets users add code snippets. Composer supports markdown, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and SQL.

Correction - Lets users add a correction or clarification to a story. 

Divider - Lets a user add a divider to a story, which is typically a line between sections.

Gallery - Lets users create an image gallery. Users can select only galleries stored in Arc XP Photo Center. 

Heading - Lets users create headings. Composer supports six levels of headings. 

HTML - Lets users 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.

Image - Lets users insert images. Users can select images only from Photo Center. See Uploading an image to Photo Center. 

Interstitial link - Lets users 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 italicize 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 - Lets users render a combination of links and associated images. See Composer Link Options.

List - Lets users add a bulleted or numbered list. Composer supports five levels of indents. 

Paragraph - Lets users create paragraph elements. Paragraphs do not allow for soft returns. 

Pull quote - Lets a user 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 - Lets a user configure and add various types of ratings to add to stories.

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.

Table - Lets users create tables with an optional header row. After users add a table, they can insert or remove rows and columns, as needed. 

Video - Lets users insert videos. Users can select videos only from Arc XP Video Center. See Uploading a video to Video Center. 

After you finish selecting content elements, click Save.

Adding a custom embed

You can add custom embeds to the Composer UI. Common custom embeds include podcasts, audio players, and third-party video providers. Custom embeds require developers to build an Admin UI and perform other configurations.

Follow the Technical specifications for custom embeds in Composer. This page explains the process of building the Admin UI and setting additional configurations for your custom embed.

To add a custom embed to the Composer UI, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Content elements section, click the Add custom embed link. The Add custom embed window opens.

  3. Complete the following fields:

    • Custom embed name - Enter the name for your custom 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.

  4. Click Add. The custom embed appears in the Content elements list.

  5. Click Save.

Adding annotation types

Use annotations to connect text in a story to other content or data that you have created. Use JSON to create an annotation type you can use in your stories.

To create or edit annotation types, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Annotations section, click the + New annotation type link. The Add a new annotation type window opens.

  3. 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.

  4. Click Add.

  5. Click Save.

See Composer text annotations for more details.

Setting ANS overrides

Use ANS overrides to redefine the owner of a story. Every article’s ANS schema contains an owner property (like wires or Composer).

To set ANS overrides, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the ANS overrides section, write the name of the new article’s owner in the Owner name text field.
  3. Click Save.

See Getting started with ANS to learn more about the article ANS schema.

Setting the preview URL

The Preview section lets you set a custom preview URL and the PageBuilder preview domain (optional, blank by default). The preview button in Composer shows the unpublished story at the specified preview URL.

To set the preview URL, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the Preview section, enter your custom URL in the Preview URL text field.
  3. Click Save.

See How to set up Composer preview for PageBuilder or headlessly for more details.

Configuring hyperlinks

The Hyperlink defaults section lets you modify the behavior of hyperlinks in your website, like opening in a new tab or enabling auto-generated links.

To configure hyperlink options, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Hyperlink defaults section, select the checkbox for each option you want to enable:

    • 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 create hyperlinks from URLs that don’t start with https:// or http://.
    • Enable auto-generated links - Select this option to have links that you type automatically generate hyperlinks. For example, if you type example.com, it becomes a clickable link.

  3. Click Save.

See Link options inside of Composer for more details.

Configuring article body count

The Article body count configuration section lets you define a recommended article length (usually used for print). The default configuration applies the settings to all of your websites. If you want specific configurations per website, you must add custom configurations.

To set the default configuration for article body count, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Article body count configuration section, click the Default tab and complete the following fields:

    • Words per line - Select this radio button to define the words per line.

      • Words per line - Enter the number of words per line.
      • Inches per line - Enter the length, in inches, each line should be.

    • Characters per line - Select this radio button to define the characters per line.

      • Characters per line - Enter the number of characters per line.
      • Lines per inch - Enter the number of lines per inch.

  3. Click Save.

To add a custom configuration for article body count, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the Article body count configuration section, click the Custom tab.
  3. Click Add custom. The Add custom count configuration window opens.
  4. From the drop-down menu, select the website you want to apply the configuration to.
  5. Complete the rest of the fields as in Step 2 from the default configuration procedure.
  6. Click Save.

Adding 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.

To add display types for link lists or a single link, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Link display types section, click the Link list or the Single Link tab.

  3. Click the Add display type button. The Add link display type window opens.

  4. Complete the following fields:

    • Name - Enter a name for the display type.
    • ID - Enter a unique ID for the display type. Developers use this ID, so choose an ID that is easy to reference.

  5. Click Add. The display type appears in the Link display types section.

  6. Click Save.

See How to use link lists content element in Composer for more details.

Configuring Site Service

The Site Service section lets you configure the list of sections a user can choose from when creating a story.

To configure Site Service, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Site Service section, complete the following fields:

    • Hierarchy Name - The Hierarchy Name is the one that is created in Site Service and is used everywhere in Composer, from search and filtering to picking which section to publish the story to. See Configuring website navigation for more details.
    • Paywall - Choose whether to have the system define the paywall based on the story metadata or force a user to select a paywall.

  3. Click Save.

Configuring search

The Search section lets you define how your story cards appear in the Composer search page. 

To configure search, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Search section, complete the following fields:

    • Display slug in search - Select this checkbox to display the slug, if present, on the Composer story card.
    • Display budget line in search - Select this checkbox to display the internal budget set for the story, if present, on the Composer story card.

  3. Click Save.

Configuring publishing times

The Time section lets you configure planned and scheduled quick-pick times. Quick-pick times are options available to your users when they are configuring a story. Instead of manually setting the time, they can choose from options you configure here.

To configure planned and scheduled quick-pick times, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Time section, click the Configure button for the following options:

    • Set planning publish quick pick times - Sets the quick-pick options 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 - Sets the quick-pick options for scheduled publish times. Scheduled publish times are the date and time the story is actually published.

  3. Set the relative date in the first field (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.

  4. Enter the time in a 24-hour time format. For example, enter 6:00 PM as 18:00.

  5. Click the Update time button.

  6. Click Save.

Configuring default search filters

The Default search filters section lets you define which system the search results within Composer come from.

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.

To configure default search filters, 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 CMSs in this section.
  • Apply default time selection to search filter - Select this checkbox to set a default time to search filters.

After you finish completing the fields, click Save.

Configuring Author edit

The Author edit section determines if users can override the Author field in Composer and what information about an author is shown in Composer.

To configure Author edit settings, complete the following fields:

  • Allow Author Service overrides - Select this checkbox to allow 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 - Optional. 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.

After you finish completing the fields, click Save.

Disabling WebSked integration

If users in your organization do not have access to both Composer and WebSked, you must disable the WebSked integration to avoid issues with user permissions.

To disable WebSked Integration, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.
  2. In the WebSked section, select the Disable WebSked integration checkbox.
  3. Click Save.

See Permissions for more details on how users access Arc XP applications.

Editing media metadata

The Media metadata section lets you select the fields users can view and override when adding images, videos, and galleries to their stories. When users override these fields, it affects only the metadata of the media in the story, not the metadata of the original media. See Overriding media metadata in Composer for more details.

To edit media metadata fields, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Media metadata section, select the checkbox for each field you want users to see and override:

    • Images

      • Caption - Lets users define an image caption.
      • Subtitle - Lets users define an image subtitle.
      • Link URL - Lets users link an image.
      • Photographer - Lets users overwrite the photographer name.
      • Credit - Lets users overwrite the image credit.
      • Alt-text - Lets users overwrite the image alt-text.

    • Videos

      • Title - Lets users define a video title.
      • Blurb - Lets users define a video description.
      • Tease - Lets users enter a statement that persuades a user to watch the video.

    • Galleries

      • Title - Lets users define a gallery title.
      • Description - Lets users define a gallery description.

  3. Click Save.

Configuring 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 are editing.

To configure lock settings, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Lock settings section, complete the following fields:

    • Max Idle Time - Enter the number of minutes the user can have a story locked with no activity.

      This setting requires the user to have an active connection to the server to maintain the lock.

    • Max Idle Time Warning - Enter the number of minutes until a yellow no-activity message appears to the user warning them they are about to lose the lock.

  3. Click Save.

Configuring featured media

The Featured media section lets you configure promo items keys (which are written to the ANS) and also whether Composer users can select images, videos, galleries, or HTML for each key.

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.

To configure featured media, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Featured media section, click Configure button. The Featured media window opens.

  3. 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.

  4. Click the Add option button. The media keys appear in the window.

  5. Optionally, select the Required to publish checkbox to make the key required.

  6. Click Apply.

  7. Click Save.

See Determining featured media keys and types for more details.

Configuring 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 select the Remove empty paragraphs in content checkbox, empty paragraphs—intentional or accidental—appear in your published content.

If you’re using French in your website, select the Convert quotations to chevrons (French language only) checkbox.

Configuring story unsaved changes

Select the checkbox in this section to show a warning when the user navigates away from a story that has unsaved changes.

Configuring proofreader settings

The Proofreader settings section lets you configure proofreading integrations with Tansa or ProLexis. These integrations check spelling, punctuation, style, and grammar. 

Configuring Tansa

To configure the Tansa proofreader, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Proofreader settings section, click the Tansa radio button.

  3. Complete the following fields:

    • Tansa company/customer ID - Enter the license key that Tansa provided you.
    • Global user ID (optional) - Enter your user ID.
    • Client Tansa URL - Enter your Tansa site’s base URL.

  4. Click Save.

If you want a Tansa dictionary to apply to a specific website, you must map the website to a Tansa dictionary. This is useful when considering localisms.

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.

To map a Tansa dictionary to a website, complete the following:

  1. In the Dictionary Mapping section of the Proofreader settings section, click the Add dictionary button.

  2. Complete the following fields:

    • Website - Select the website you want to map a dictionary to.
    • Tansa User ID - Enter the Tansa username you want to associate with the website.

  3. Click Save.

Configuring ProLexis

To configure the ProLexis proofreader integration, complete the following:

  1. In the Proofreader settings section, click the ProLexis radio button.

  2. Complete the following fields:

    • ProLexis API key - Enter the API key from your ProLexis account.
    • ProLexis URL - Enter the ProLexis URL from your account.

  3. Click Save.

See Setting up proofreader integrations in Composer for more details.

Configuring story tabs

The Story tabs section lets you grant users access to all Composer tabs without completing all required fields on the Planning tab. If you clear the checkbox in this section, users must first complete the required Planning tab fields before moving on to the Composer, Meta, and Featured Image tabs.

Configuring print system integration

The Print system integration section lets users send stories to print.

To configure the print system integration, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Print system integration section, 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 print button to manually trigger the latest version of the story to send to your print pipeline.
    • Custom Print Integration - Select this radio button to use your custom print integration and 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.
    • IFX Print Integration - Select this radio button to use the IFX Print Integration.

  3. Click Save.

See Arc XP print integration and How to set up send to print functionality in Composer for more details.

Enabling 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.

Disabling editor plugins

The Disable editor plugins section lets you disable the typograph and scroll plugins in the Composer editor.

To disable editor plugins, complete the following:

  • 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 undo a change in a paragraph above or below your cursor, the scroll plugin scrolls the editor to that change.

After you finish, click Save.

Creating kickers and labels

The Kickers/Labels section lets you create and manage custom fields for Composer. Kickers, sometimes called labels, are open-ended custom fields that you apply to a story. You can use them for a short label in an overline above the headline or for any other text you want to attach to a story. Users select a value from a fixed set that you configure here, or you can allow free entry. For example, to celebrate certain months, you might label relevant stories as “Women’s History Month,” “Black History Month,” “Pride Month,” and so on in an overline above the headline.

To create a label, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Kickers/Labels section, click the New label type button. A window opens.

  3. Enter a name for the label type in the field.

  4. Click the OK button. The label type is added to Composer.

  5. Optional. Select the Allow free entry checkbox to allow users to define their own values in this label type.

  6. Click the + New label button to add a new label row.

  7. Complete the following fields:

    • Text - Enter the name of the label.
    • URL - Optional. Enter a URL associated with the label.
    • Display - Select this checkbox to have the label appear on your website when the criteria for the label are met. If you clear this checkbox, the label still appears as an option for your users, but the system does not display the label on your website.

  8. Click Save.

Configuring ANS meta fields

The ANS meta field configuration section contains settings for the Planning, Circulate, and Meta tabs in Composer. In another section, you can drag and drop available fields to the options sections. The following is an overview of the sections under the ANS meta field configuration section:

  • 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 or configure the settings for each field.

After you finish configuring ANS meta fields, click Save.

Available option list

The Available option list 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.

  • Address - Lets users enter an address that appears 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 how Composer indicates that the user has a saved author profile. Administrators must use the Author Service Role field to designate employment titles. To add a guest author who doesn’t have an author profile, click Add guest and enter their information. To add yourself, click Add me. Add me works only if your account has a profile in Author Service.

  • Budget line - Lets users designate a budget line when proposing stories to their editors. This is recommended for heavy planning processes.

  • Comments - Lets 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 add notes 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 person, 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.

    If you have the Arc Intelligence license, this field displays an AI icon that lets you generate and choose from several description options. See Using field-level AI in Composer for more details.

  • Display date - Lets users review the date that appears on the story and is visible to your readers.

  • Distributor - Lets users set the distributor of the story.

  • Editor note - Lets editors enter notes to story authors.

  • External canonical URL - Lets authors attribute content back to its original source. When populated, the external canonical URL is reflected in the <head> of the page in the <link rel="canonical"> tag. This is useful when your organization syndicates or licenses third-party content and wants to ensure proper SEO treatment and avoid penalties for duplicated content.

  • First publish date - Lets users review the date the story was first published to your website.

  • Kickers/labels - Lets users add kickers and labels that apply to the story.

  • 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 the story.

  • Latitude & longitude - Lets users enter the latitude and longitude details for the 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 are too specific for your purposes.

  • Media planning - Lets users choose a media type intended for the story.

  • Ownership status (legacy) - Lets users view the original source of the story.

  • Paywall status - Lets users review the paywall status, which indicates the access level to this article according to your paywall. For example, “subscribers only” or “free.”

  • Planned character count - For planning purposes, lets users enter the character length expected for the story. What you enter here does not limit the length of the story. This field is primarily used for print.

  • Planned inch count - For planning purposes, lets users enter the desired inch length expected for the story. This field is primarily used for print.

  • Planned line count - For planning purposes, lets users enter the expected line count.

  • Planned ready time - Lets users define a date and time when the story must 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 expected for this story. What you enter here does not limit the length of the story. This field is primarily used for print.

  • Primary website - Lets users choose the primary website for the story. For single-site organizations, this field prepopulates with the site name. For multi-site organizations, users choose the primary website for the content. If you want to circulate content to additional websites, you can do that on the Circulate tab.

  • Publish date - Lets users view the timestamp when the story was last published.

  • Redirect URL - Lets users define the URL that readers are redirected to when they access the story.

  • SEO Keywords - Lets users review the keywords associated with the story. You can use SEO keywords (instead of the headline) to generate the URL or use them as page metadata.

    If you have the Arc Intelligence license, this field displays an AI icon that lets you generate and choose from several keyword options. See Using field-level AI in Composer for more details.

  • 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 a read-only field.

  • Sponsored content - Lets users indicate whether the story is 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 the story. Story tags are used to render front-end queries. We recommend setting up tags in the Tags API and then configuring those tags in Global Settings. You can enter tags in one of two ways:

    • Enable this database for Global Tags. Then, in Composer, the typeahead search finds the available tags.
    • Enter free text tags to categorize stories.

    If you have the Arc Intelligence license, this field displays an AI icon that lets you generate and choose from several tag options. See Using field-level AI in Composer for more details.

  • Subtype - Lets users review the story subtype. This field is most often used to correspond to an Arc XP PageBuilder Editor template for how the story should render on the front end. For example, if the subtype is Sports, a PageBuilder Editor 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 the story when you publish it. 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 the Regenerate button 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 maximum character limit for this field, click the gear icon, select the Enable max characters checkbox, and enter a number to define the 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 for more details.

Configuring fields for the Planning or Meta tabs

To configure the fields for the Planning or Meta tabs, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the ANS meta field configuration section, click the gear icon next to the field you want to edit. The field configuration window opens.

  3. Complete the following fields. The available options 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 menu that you want to appear as a preview in the picklist.
    • Edit picklist - Click this option to navigate to the picklist editor where you can change the options available in the picklist.

  4. Click Save.

Configuring Base paths for websites

The Base paths for websites section lets you configure story preview functionality. After configuring this setting, users see a globe icon in the top toolbar that directs them to the live article page when clicked. This preview button takes users to the primary website associated with that story.

To configure base paths for websites, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to Composer > Settings.

  2. In the Base paths for websites section, complete the following:

    1. Add a website from the drop-down menu.
    2. Enter the base path for the website. For example, https://www.example.com.

  3. Set the default website by selecting the radio button next to the website name.

  4. Click Save.

After you configure the base paths, users can access the live article page directly from Composer using the globe icon.

In this section