Children display

Children display lists the pages under the page it is on, as links. Add a page beneath it, rename one or move one away, and the list follows by itself, so the front page of a section never needs updating by hand.

It is the easiest way to give a section its own table of contents. Most section pages on this site start with one; the Live content page, one level up, lists the pages in this section with it.

Insert it

Type the command at the start of a line, or after a space, and press Enter. When the list shows more than one block, use the arrow keys or click the one you want. Or choose + on the toolbar: live content blocks are at the end, under Live content. With text selected, the + menu puts the block in place of that text, so click on an empty line first.

It starts with its usual settings: one level, in tree order.

Each setting, and when to use it

A Children display always starts at the page it is on. This page has nothing under it, so a block here has nothing to list, and says so. This is the real block:

That is also what you see if you add one to a page before writing the pages that go under it. The settings:

Depth 1 (the default)

Only the pages directly under this one. Right for most section pages: a short list of what the section holds.

Depth 2 or 3

Their sub-pages too, nested under each one, up to three levels. Use it on the front page of a section that is several levels deep, so readers can jump straight to a page two levels down.

Sort by Tree order (the default)

The same order as the page tree beside the page, which you set by dragging pages in it. Use it whenever the order means something, such as steps or chapters.

Sort by Title

A to Z. Use it for a list people scan for a name, such as a glossary, a list of products or a page per team member.

Sort by Recently updated

The most recently changed page first. Use it for a folder of meeting notes or reports, where the newest is the one people want.

Changing and removing it

While you are editing, click the block. It gets a colored outline, and a small box opens above it with the block’s name and its settings. A change shows in the block straight away; readers see it once you publish or update the page.

• Depth: how many levels to show, from 1 to 3. 1 unless you change it.

• Sort by: Tree order, Title or Recently updated. Tree order unless you change it.

A page someone cannot see is left out of their list, together with everything under it.

To remove the block, click it and press Delete or Backspace. Only the block goes: the pages, files or tasks it showed are not touched.

Good practice

• Put it near the top of a section’s front page, after a sentence that says what the section is for.

• Give pages titles that work in a list. The list shows titles only, so “Meeting notes, March 3” helps more than “Notes”.

• Stay shallow. Depth 1 or 2 reads well; at 3, a big section becomes a wall of links.

Related

• Page tree can start at the top of the space and go six levels deep.

• Recently updated lists what changed, from the whole space or from here down.

• The page tree and reordering: how to change the tree order.

• How live content works: what every live content block has in common, such as who sees what, and what happens in an export.