Hi @liquidedge,
I wanted to chime in here with some additional thoughts. As part of the responsive styling release, we removed the distinction of “Advanced Mode” when we added more organization to the controls. Also, we’ve deprecated some of the more complicated elements and replaced them with versions that are simpler to use.
You’re right, some of those permissions you’ve pointed out don’t work properly anymore. This is a known issue that we’re working to resolve. Regretfully, in Cornerstone’s current form, it isn’t possible to lock down the editing access. These limitations are not being overlooked. For our next major release, we’re working on a new “Variables” system that will let you define what content can be edited directly in the builder.
The best thing you can do at the moment is use Advanced Custom Fields and plug fields into your design with our Dynamic Content feature. For more simple sites, a good pattern is creating a single “Options Page” in ACF (https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/options-page/) You define all the potential content that will be changed across the site, and your client gets a single dashboard screen where they can easily adjust things like phone numbers, addresses, taglines, etc. If the site is more multidimensional, you may need to add fields to individual pages.
That being said, we are working on solving these concerns natively with the upcoming variables system. It will be very flexible, but here’s a simple use case:
- You design a hero section
- You add a variable called “cta-text”
- You reference that variable anywhere in the section, perhaps in a button or headline element
- You “lock” the section
When the page is edited by the client, they can click the Section, but the only thing they see is a text input. In a way, it will be like you’re creating your own elements and defining what controls are exposed. Much like ACF, but natively in Cornerstone. This will give you very granular control over what clients can and can’t do with specific designs. It will also be something you can leverage yourself to make reusable design patterns. Elements at any level can have variables associated with them, and they can access variables from parent elements. Any element can be locked as well. The end result is the ability to create macro elements that are built of several different smaller parts.
I don’t have an ETA on when this will be available yet, but it’s something we’re actively developing right now. Hopefully in the meantime you’ll be able to get something working with ACF
