Managing Chapters & Pages

Chapters and pages are the organizational building blocks of your lab’s instructional content. Pages contain the actual markdown content that learners read, while chapters group related pages together for easier navigation through complex labs.

Simple Labs: Pages Without Chapters

For straightforward labs with just a few steps, you can use pages directly without creating chapters. Default chapter is still visible when running the lab and in the Progress drawer.

This approach works well for:

Quick tutorials with fewer steps
Single-concept demonstrations
Labs where all content follows a single linear path

Structured Labs: Using Chapters

For more complex labs, organizing pages into chapters provides clear structure and helps learners navigate through different learning modules or topics.

This approach works well for:

Multi-module training programs
Labs covering multiple related topics
Complex workflows with distinct phases

Creating Content

Adding Pages and Chapters

Use the + button in the Instructions sidebar to create new content.

Options:

Chapter: Creates a new chapter to group related pages
Page: Creates a new page in one of the following locations:
- If you have no chapters: as a standalone page
- If a chapter is selected: within that chapter
- If no chapter is selected: within the last chapter

Managing Chapters

Expanding and Collapsing

Click the arrow icon next to a chapter name to toggle its visibility. This helps keep your sidebar organized when working with labs that have many pages.

Click the ⋮ menu next to any chapter to access management options.

Available actions:

Add page: Creates a new page within this chapter
Rename: Change the chapter’s title
Delete: Remove the chapter and all pages within it

Reordering Chapters

To change the order of chapters, click and drag the handle on the left side of the chapter name. Drop it in the desired position to reorder.

Managing Pages

Selecting Pages

Click on any page in the sidebar to select it for editing. The editor panel will display the page’s markdown content, and you can begin making changes.

Click the ⋮ menu next to any page to access management options.

Available actions:

Rename: Change the page title
Delete: Remove the page

Reordering Pages

To change the order of pages within a chapter, click and drag the handle on the left side of the page name. Drop it in the desired position to reorder.

Deleting Chapters and Pages

When you delete a chapter, it removes the chapter and all pages within it. When you delete a page, it removes that specific page and its content.

Important notes:

Deletions happen immediately, like other structural changes, without requiring “Add changes”
A confirmation dialog appears before the delete is applied, since it cannot be undone afterward
After publishing other changes, you can still revert through version control if needed

Best Practices

Logical Grouping: Organize related content into chapters that represent clear learning modules or topics. Each chapter should have a cohesive theme.
Clear Names: Use descriptive, concise names that indicate the content’s purpose. Remember these are internal identifiers. You can set display titles separately.
Progressive Structure: Order pages from foundational to advanced concepts. Learners typically work through pages sequentially.

Summary

Chapters and pages give you flexible control over how learners navigate your lab content. You can start simple with standalone pages and add chapter organization when your lab grows in complexity, or plan your chapter structure from the beginning for complex multi-module labs.

Key points:

Choose between standalone pages (simple labs) or chapter-organized pages (complex labs)
Once you create a chapter, all pages must belong to a chapter
The + button creates new chapters and pages
Chapter and page management (rename, delete, reorder, move) happens immediately
The ⋮ menu provides access to all management options
Collapsing chapters helps manage visual complexity in the editor

Next Steps

Ready to write content? See Using the Markdown Editor to learn about the editor interface and formatting tools.