A rich text property serves as the main body of a CMS article item. In addition to text, you can add images, videos, PDFs, tables, and more.
The rich text property included by default in CMS article items comes pre-named "Body" (Body/Contents).
Point: Rich text properties are only available on CMS items in article-type models.
Opening the rich text property editor
You can edit a rich text property from the CMS item's detail editing screen.
From the CMS dashboard, open the article-type model you want to edit.
In the CMS item list, hover over the title of an item.
Click the arrow button that appears to open the detail view for that article item's body.
Adding content to a rich text property
A rich text property isn't just for text—you can also add media elements like images, videos, and PDFs, as well as block elements like lists, tables, and tables of contents. Adding these to match your article's content helps you create well-organized, easy-to-read articles.
Click the [+] button on the left side inside the rich text property.
Choose the element you want to insert.
Image | Inserts an image into the rich text. For detailed settings and things to keep in mind, see Image settings below. |
Video | Inserts a video into the rich text. For detailed settings and things to keep in mind, see Video settings below. |
Inserts a PDF as a link in the rich text. For detailed settings and things to keep in mind, see PDF settings below. | |
Embed code | Inserts embed code from an external service (such as a social media post) into the rich text. |
Table | Inserts a table into the rich text. |
Bulleted list | Inserts a bulleted list into the body. |
Numbered list | Inserts a numbered list into the rich text. Numbers are added automatically. |
Heading | Inserts a subheading into the rich text. Using a proper heading structure helps with accessibility, SEO, and generating a table of contents. |
Quote | Inserts a quote block into the rich text. |
Divider | Inserts a horizontal line to separate sections in the rich text. |
Table of contents | Inserts a table of contents that's automatically generated from the headings, one per rich text property. If an article has multiple rich text properties, multiple tables of contents will be generated. |
Text formatting, Markdown, and inline styles
To change the format of text you've entered, click the icons on the left side of the rich text. Using headings and quotes appropriately makes even long articles easy to follow.
Note: About heading levels
In CMS articles, the article title is set as heading 1 (h1). So if you also use h1 inside the rich text (body), you'll end up with duplicate h1 tags on the page. We recommend starting headings in the body from h2.
For more on how duplicate heading levels can affect SEO, see SEO.
When you select part of the text, you can apply bold, italic, strikethrough, code, link, or comment styles.
Tip: Using Markdown
On the right side of the format menu, you'll see Markdown shortcuts like [## space]. Typing these directly in the editing area (for example, "## text") lets you change formatting without picking from the menu each time—a real time-saver. For more, check out our Markdown article.
Image settings
When you click an image inserted in the rich text, an image-specific settings menu appears in the upper right. You can set a link, alignment, and alt text to improve your article's quality and accessibility.
Link | Sets the URL the image will link to when clicked. |
Comment | Adds a note for yourself or a message for collaborators. |
ALT (alternative text) | Text that describes the image to search engines and screen readers. We recommend filling this in for SEO and accessibility. |
Align left / center / right | Alignment set on the CMS item's editing screen takes priority over the alignment settings in the design editor. |
Replace | Swap in a different image. |
Note: When moving images from other services
Pasting images from services like Google Docs can cause errors that prevent items from being saved. Instead of copying and pasting images, we recommend uploading them to Studio.Design.
When importing from other services like WordPress, you may see [Referencing external server]. If the external server becomes unreachable or the source image is deleted, the image will no longer display in Studio.Design. To prevent this, upload the image to Studio.Design and replace it.
Video settings
When you click a video inserted in the rich text, a settings menu opens in the upper right. You can adjust playback options and the poster image to give viewers the right experience for your article.
Comment | Adds a note for yourself or a message for collaborators. |
Align left / center / right | Alignment set on the CMS item's editing screen takes priority over the alignment settings in the design editor. |
Playback settings | Set whether the player is shown, autoplay, mute, loop, inline playback, and whether to disable PiP. |
Poster image | Sets the image to show before the video loads. If left blank, the first frame of the video will be shown. |
Replace | Upload or swap out the video. |
PDF settings
PDFs inserted into the rich text are treated as links. This is handy when you want to offer file downloads or link to a detailed document.
Link | Copy the PDF's URL, set it to open in a new tab, or tell search engines to ignore the link. |
Icon | Show or hide the icon that appears before the PDF link, or upload your own icon image. |
Comment | Adds a note for yourself or a message for collaborators. |
Replace | Upload or swap out the PDF. |
Adding a new rich text property
Add a new rich text property when you want to split the article body into separate sections.
For most articles, the default rich text property (Body) alone is plenty. Adding more rich text properties means each one needs to be linked to a box element, which makes management more complex. Only add them when your layout truly requires it.
Point: Even for articles with multiple headings and images, if all the content will be displayed inside a single box, you don't need to add extra rich text properties.
When to add a rich text property
Adding a rich text property lets you split your article content across multiple boxes in the editor. Use this when you want to place other elements in the middle of the body, or split the body across a layout. For example:
When you want to place a shared image or button (used across all articles in the same model) partway through the article body
When you want to lay out the article body in a side-by-side layout
How to add a rich text property
Open the detail editing screen for the CMS item.
At the bottom of the screen, click [Add rich text].
Note: Adding a rich text property applies to every CMS item in the same model.
Note: Tables of contents are generated separately
A table of contents is generated per rich text property. If you split your article body across multiple rich text properties, the table of contents will also be split, and you can't create a single combined table of contents that covers all the headings in the article.
Renaming a rich text property
You can change the label (property name) of a rich text property from the CMS item's detail editing screen.
Click the three-dot menu [...] next to the property name.
Click the pencil icon and edit the property name.
Deleting a rich text property
You can only delete rich text properties that were added later—not the default one.
Note: What happens when you delete a rich text property
Deleting a rich text property removes it—and everything entered into it—from every CMS item in the same model. This can't be undone.
Click the three-dot menu [...] next to the property name.
Choose [Delete].
* The default rich text property (named "Body") can't be deleted.
Read the warning in the pop-up carefully, then click the [Delete] button.
Designing the overall article appearance
You edit the content and structure of the body from the CMS item's detail editing screen in the CMS dashboard, and adjust the design (text color, background color, spacing, and so on) in the design editor.
In the design editor, create a dynamic page and link it to your CMS model.
Place boxes on the dynamic page and link them to the CMS properties set on each CMS item.
For more details, see these articles:
