Connecting a widget to data means it shows a stored value instead of text you typed. Change the value once and every connected widget updates.
Where data can come from
- Business Info: name, phone, email, address, logo, hours and more.
- Business Text: reusable blocks of text, such as an About blurb.
- This page's collection row: on a dynamic page, or inside a Dynamic Repeater.
- Collection item: a chosen row of any collection, on any page. For example, row 1 of "Header Images" for a page hero.
- Blog post: in a blog post layout, the post's own details (title, image, date and so on) come first. See Blog.
Connect a whole widget
- Select the widget (or a column or section), open More (⋯) on its floating toolbar and click Connect to Data. Once something is connected, it says Manage Connection.
- Each property that can be connected gets its own dropdown, grouped as BUSINESS INFO, BUSINESS TEXT, COLLECTIONS (on a dynamic page or in a Dynamic Repeater) and Collection item. Only fields of the matching kind are offered: pictures for an image, links for a link. Pick Not connected to remove a connection.
- What each element can connect:
- Text: Connect Text to.
- Image: Connect Image to and Connect Alt text to.
- Button: Connect Link to and Connect Button text to.
- Video: Connect Video to and Connect Poster image to.
- HTML Embed: Connect Content to.
- Photo Gallery: Connect Images to. Media Slider: Connect Slides to.
- Map: Connect Location to.
- Section, Column, Inner Column: Connect Background to (an image).
- Pick a field. It's applied straight away. For a chosen row, go to Collection item > collection > row (Row 1, Row 2 …) > field.
- Click Done.
When a widget is connected, its toolbar shows a link icon ("Connected to data — click to manage"). Click it to manage the connection. To change the value, edit it at the source: Business Info, Business Text or the collection row.
Put data inside a sentence
In a Text widget, click the Connect to data button in the text toolbar, or type {{{. Use Search fields to find one, then pick it. The list has Business Info, Business Text (as one line), this page's item fields and Collection item. This inserts the value (for example the business name) as one word or phrase that takes the sentence's style. The same works in Accordion and other item descriptions.
Examples
- One phone number everywhere: connect the header button's Connect Link to and Connect Button text to to the Business Info phone. When the number changes, the button follows.
- Service page heroes: on the Services dynamic page, connect the hero section's Connect Background to to the "Hero Image" field. Every service gets its own background.
- A sentence that names the business: type "Welcome to {{{" in a Text widget and pick Business name.
- A gallery per project: in a Projects collection with an Image gallery field, connect a Photo Gallery's Connect Images to to it on the dynamic page.
Limits and what it can't do
- Only the elements listed above can be connected. Other widgets don't show Connect to Data.
- Header, footer, mobile menu and Free Layout boxes can't be connected (their widgets can).
- COLLECTIONS fields (this page's row) only show on a dynamic page or inside a Dynamic Repeater. Elsewhere use Collection item to pick a fixed row.
- A connected value is edited at its source, not in the widget.
- The right-click menu's Connect to Data is not available yet; use the floating toolbar's More menu.
Who can use it
- Agency team members with the Mount Olympus tool.
- Client people need Dynamic pages & Connect to Data. Without Editor, they get a Connect to Data button straight on the widget toolbar for widgets that aren't connected yet.
Troubleshooting
- I don't see Connect to Data: that widget can't be connected (see the list above), or you don't have the permission.
- "No compatible data sources yet": there's nothing of the right kind to connect, for example no image fields. Add it in Business Info, Business Text or a collection first.
- "Nothing to connect yet. Add Business Info, Business Text or a collection first." in a Text widget: the site has no data yet. Fill in Business Info first.
- "This collection has no visible rows yet": add a row to the collection, or show a hidden one.
- The widget shows old text: it's not connected, or it's connected to a different field. Click the link icon ("Connected to data — click to manage") to check.
- A connected widget looks empty on one item page: that row's cell is empty. Fill it in, or use Hide this section when [field] is empty (see Collections and dynamic pages).
Good to know
- Container backgrounds can connect to an image field.
- On dynamic pages, the page's SEO fields can connect to collection fields too. See Collections and dynamic pages.