# Place and arrange widgets on the stage

The scene editor shows your scene on a stage in the middle. Add text, images, videos, and app widgets from the bar on the left, then move, resize, and stack them until the scene looks right.

> **Type:** guide
> **For:** anyone who designs a scene
> **Prerequisite:** the Owner or Manager role. App widgets need the installed app, and media must be **Ready** in the library.
> **Where in the portal:** **Scenes** › open a scene

## The editor at a glance

| Area | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Stage | A live preview of the scene in its real format. You place and move widgets here and drag the dividers between zones. Below it, the sequence strip shows what the selected zone plays. |
| **Insert and settings** bar | **Text**, **Media**, **Apps**, **Elements**, **Zones**, and **Settings**. |
| **Layers** | All widgets in their stacking order. Drag an entry to reorder it, or remove it. |
| Toolbar on a widget | For an app widget, the **Template** and **Colors**. For every widget, the gear icon **Settings**, **Replace**, **Duplicate**, **Position**, and **Delete**. |
| Header | **Preview**, **Save**, and **Publish**, plus **Versions**, the **Stage format**, zoom, **Undo**, and **Redo**. |
| Status line | Below the stage: whether the scene has issues, how many zones and free widgets it has, and its ratio. |

![The scene editor with an open scene: the stage as a live preview (1), the Insert and settings bar with Text, Media, Apps, Elements, Zones, and Settings (2), the open Layers panel with all widgets of the scene (3), the header with Preview, Save, and Publish (4), and the status line with the issue count and stage format (5)](/content/bilder/69b9e0ca-editor-areas.png)

## Steps

### Add a widget

1. In the bar, open **Text**, **Media**, **Apps**, or **Elements** for **Shapes** and **Graphics**.
2. Drag the widget onto the stage. For an app widget, a click on its tile works too, and for text there is **Add text box**.
3. The new widget is selected. The gear icon on it opens its settings, see [Configure widgets: template, preview, and fields](/content/configure-widgets).

For images and videos, click **Choose from library**. A document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or Excel) becomes a Document widget, see [Place a document (PDF) in a scene](/content/place-document). **Replace** swaps the content of a widget and keeps its position and size.

![The open Apps area next to the stage: the Apps heading of the flyout (1), the Search widgets field (2), and the Time & countdown category with its widget tiles (3)](/content/bilder/e274c4d4-editor-insert-widget.png)

### Drop a widget into a zone

1. Drag an app widget over a zone. The editor shows where it can land.
2. Drop it in the middle to replace what the zone plays. Drop it on an edge to split the zone, and the new part plays the app.
3. With a zone selected, an image, video, or document goes into that zone, at the end of its own sequence. Text and shapes always stay free.

Without a fitting zone, a new widget lands in the middle of the stage.

### Move, resize, and align

1. Drag a widget to move it. Drag a handle of its frame to resize it. Hold **Shift** to keep the aspect ratio.
2. Widgets snap to a grid, to the edges and center of the stage, and to other widgets.
3. For exact values, click **Position** on the toolbar and enter **Width**, **Height**, **X**, and **Y**. **Align to page** places the widget left, center, right, top, middle, or bottom.

You don't move or resize a zone this way. A zone changes through its dividers, see [Configure a scene: format, zones, transitions](/content/configure-scene).

### Copy and stack

- Hold **Shift** or **Ctrl** and click to select several widgets.
- **Copy**, **Paste**, and **Duplicate** create copies slightly offset from the original.
- When widgets overlap, the order in **Layers** decides what is on top. Drag an entry, or use **Bring forward**, **Send backward**, **Bring to front**, or **Send to back** under **Position** › **Arrange**.

### Format text

Select a text box and type on the stage. **Text styles** offers **Heading**, **Subheading**, and **Body text**. The toolbar above the text sets the font, size, weight, colors, alignment, and line spacing.

## Keyboard shortcuts

These work on the stage, not while you type in a field.

| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Move the selection by 1 pixel |
| Shift + arrow key | Move the selection by 8 pixels |
| Del or Backspace | Delete the selection |
| Ctrl/Cmd + Z, Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z | Undo, redo |
| Ctrl/Cmd + C, V, D | Copy, paste, duplicate |
| Ctrl/Cmd + S | Save |

## Check the result

The widget appears in **Layers** at the expected place. The editor shows **Unsaved changes** and, after saving, **All changes saved**. To see the scene as the display will show it, click **Preview**.

## If something goes wrong

| Symptom | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| An app's widget is missing under **Apps** | The app isn't installed, needs your consent to new permissions, or isn't included in your package. | Install or enable the app, then reopen the editor. |
| A zone can't be moved | Zones change only through their dividers. | Drag the divider, see [Configure a scene: format, zones, transitions](/content/configure-scene). |
| An image is missing under **Choose from library** | It hasn't finished processing. | Wait until it shows **Ready** in the library. |
| A widget is hidden behind another | The stacking order. | Click **Bring forward**, or drag it up in **Layers**. |

## Related

- [Configure widgets: template, preview, and fields](/content/configure-widgets)
- [Configure a scene: format, zones, transitions](/content/configure-scene)
- [Save, publish, versions, and conflicts](/content/save-and-publish)