Drupal - Modify Content

Drupal - Modify Content

In this chapter, we’ll learn how to modify existing content in Drupal. You can edit any content item you’ve previously created, such as Articles, Basic Pages, Blog Posts, or any other custom content types.

Follow these steps to modify content:

Step 1: Navigate to the Content Overview

In the administration toolbar, click ‘Manage’, then select ‘Content’ (this usually takes you to /admin/content).

Step 2: Find the Content to Modify

The content overview page lists all content items. To find the specific piece of content you want to edit, use the filters at the top:

• Title: Enter part of the content’s title.
• Content type: Select the type of content (e.g., ‘Article’, ‘Basic page’).
• Published status: Choose ‘Published’, ‘Unpublished’, or ‘Any’.
• Promoted status: (Promoted to front page) Choose ‘Promoted’, ‘Not promoted’, or ‘Any’.
• Sticky status: (Sticky at top of lists) Choose ‘Sticky’, ‘Not sticky’, or ‘Any’.
• Language: If your site is multilingual.

For example, if you want to modify an ‘About Us’ page (which is likely a ‘Basic page’ content type), you could filter by its title or select ‘Basic page’ from the ‘Content type’ dropdown.

Click the ‘Filter’ button to apply your criteria.

Step 3: Open the Content for Editing

Once you’ve located the content item in the list, click the ‘Edit’ link in its ‘Operations’ column. Alternatively, if you are viewing the content item on the front-end of your site (and are logged in with sufficient permissions), you will often see an ‘Edit’ tab or button.

Step 4: Modify the Content Fields

The content editing form will appear, pre-filled with the existing content. This is the same form used when creating the content.

Make your desired changes to any of the fields, such as:

• Title
• Body (using the WYSIWYG editor)
• Tags or other taxonomy terms
• Images or other media fields

Step 5: Adjust Settings (Optional)

You can also modify settings typically found in the sidebar or in tabs at the bottom of the form:

• Menu settings: Change if or where it appears in a menu.
• URL alias: Modify the custom path for the content.
• Comment settings: Open or close comments.
• Authoring information: Change the author or authored date.
• Publishing options: Change its published status, promotion to front page, or stickiness.

Step 6: Provide a Revision Log Message (Recommended)

Drupal supports content revisions, meaning it can store previous versions of your content. When making changes, it’s good practice to briefly describe your modifications in the ‘Revision log message’ field (often found under ‘Publishing options’ or in its own tab). For example: ‘Updated contact information and fixed typos.’

This helps track changes over time and allows you to revert to older versions if needed.

Step 7: Save the Changes

Once you’ve finished making all your modifications, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the ‘Save’ button.

Drupal will save your changes and typically display a confirmation message, such as ‘[Content type] [Content Title] has been updated.’ You will usually be redirected to view the updated content.