Customize a Layout Template

---

At a glance

Customizing a layout template changes how the Shifts screen looks and behaves for every shift time that template covers. The primary tasks are renaming sections and positions, adding or removing positions, setting visual size, and saving changes through Save All followed by Update Layout (or Update All Layouts). This article walks through each with a single-pass workflow you can follow end to end.

Before you start

1. You need Manager, Director, or Operator permission by default. Exact assignment is controlled by your store's Customization Rubric.
2. Confirm no other leader is actively editing the Layout Editor. Concurrent editing can cause both writers' changes to be lost. Coordinate before opening the editor.
3. Know which template you want to customize. Stores typically have a small number of templates (four to six is common) that each cover multiple shift times. Changing a template changes every shift time that template is active on.
4. Read Understand the Layout Editor first if you are new to templates, sections, positions, and the Save All / Update Layout model. This article assumes that vocabulary.
5. Estimated time: five to twenty minutes depending on the scope of changes. Larger restructures should be staged in a quiet period (after close, before open) when there is no active shift running the template.

Steps

1. From the Shifts screen, tap Layout Editor in the action bar (top of the Shifts screen, second from right before + Create Shift). The Layout Editor opens for the current area.
2. Choose FOH or BOH using the toggle at the top. Layouts are area-specific; FOH and BOH have separate Setups. Changes made in one area do not carry over to the other.
3. Select the template you want to customize from the template dropdown at the top. If you are unsure which template is running at a given time, check the Existing Setups view in the template panel.
4. Make your changes. The right-column panel shows settings for whatever you have selected.

To select a section and open section-level controls: click the area header (the section title row). not the body of the section. Clicking the body selects positions within it. The section panel provides 7 controls: Insert Before, Move Up, Insert After, Add Position, Rotating Buddies, Move Down, Delete.

To select a position and open position-level controls: click the position card title.

Specific tasks:

• Rename a section. Click the area header. In the right column, edit the title.
• Rename a position. Click the position card. In the right column, edit the Title field.
• Add a new section. Click an existing area header. In the section panel, press Insert Before or Insert After to add a new section above or below.
• Add a new position. Click the area header of the section the position should belong to. In the section panel, press Add Position. The new position auto-fills with defaults: title "Chicken" (with a chick emoji), a rotating system-generated ID, Width 1, Height 1, Max Number 3. Rename and adjust immediately. Note: positions are NOT lockable. there is no right-click context menu or lock gesture on position cards.
• Move a section. Click the area header. In the section panel, press Move Up or Move Down.
• Move a position. Click the position card. In the position panel, use Move Up, Move Down, Left, or Right.
• Resize a position. Click the position card. In the position panel, adjust Width and Height.
• Set minimum or maximum for a position. Click the position card. In the position panel, set Max Number and Min Number. A Min Number of 1 or more will flag the position with a red triangle on the card and red dots on the area-header row on the Shifts screen when it is under-filled.
• Make a position invisible (preserves space, no assignment). Click the position card. Check Invisible in the position panel.
• Hide a position entirely (others flow together). Click the position card. Check Render in the position panel.
• Delete a position. Click the position card. Press Delete in the position panel.
• Press Save All to commit your changes to the template record. Save All becomes active (turns blue) as soon as any change is recorded. If Save All is grayed out, no change has been detected yet. Validation: Save All is blocked if two positions within the template share the same ID or title. The error renders inline on the canvas with a red border around the colliding position cards, making duplicates easy to spot. Rename one of the duplicates. including any Invisible positions, which count even though they do not appear on the Shifts screen. and Save All again.
• Press Update Layout in the shift time dropdown to apply changes to the current layout, or Update All Layouts to apply to every layout using this template. Without Update, running shifts keep showing the previous version.
• When you next open the Shifts screen after a Layout Editor change, a sync confirmation modal may appear. Press Confirm to apply the template changes to today's live layout; press Cancel to defer.
• You should now see the Shifts screen reflecting the updated template at the relevant shift time. If changes do not appear, refresh the browser. If multiple shift times use the template and only some updated, use Update All Layouts to cover the rest.

Video

Video coming soon.

Common gotchas

I made changes, pressed Save All, and left the page. My changes did not appear on the Shifts screen.

Save All saves to the template; it does not push to running shifts. You need Update Layout or Update All Layouts to apply the change to the Shifts runtime. Return to the Layout Editor, load the template, and press Update Layout in the shift time dropdown.

I got an inline red-border error when trying to save.

Two or more positions within the template share the same name or ID. The colliding position cards are highlighted with a red border on the canvas. Find the duplicates (check Invisible positions too, since they count even though they do not show on the running Shifts screen) and rename one. Save All again.

I pressed Insert Before on a section but nothing happened.

Make sure you selected the area header (the section title row) before pressing Insert Before. not a position card within the section. When a position is selected, the right column shows position-level controls (Move Up, Move Down, Left, Right) rather than section-level controls (Insert Before, Insert After, Add Position). Click the area header to get the section panel.

A team member was assigned to a position and I deleted the position. What happens to them?

Deleting a position does not update the Shifts runtime until you click Update Layout. When Update Layout fires, team members assigned to the deleted position are removed from the layout for that time slot (they stay on the roster, but not placed). Plan layout deletions for quiet periods, or reassign the team member before updating.

I want to add breathing room between sections without adding a working position.

Add a position to the section, then check Invisible on it. The space is preserved; no one can be assigned to it. This is the right tool for visual spacing. Note that Invisible positions still count toward the duplicate-name validation. name them distinctively.

I want to hide a position temporarily but might bring it back.

Check Render on the position. Other positions flow together as if it does not exist, but the position record is preserved. Uncheck Render when you want it back. This is safer than deleting and re-creating.

I resized a position and now my template width looks wrong.

Position width is independent of template width. If the template itself needs to be wider (more positions per row) or narrower, adjust the Width field in the template panel (deselect all positions to see the template panel). See Manage Layout Templates.

The Manage Template panel is not showing in the right column.

Manage Template is template-level; it only appears when no section or position is selected. Click an empty area of the canvas to deselect everything.

I changed a template and now another shift time looks wrong too.

Templates are assigned to multiple shift times. Changes to a template apply to every time that template covers. If you want different layouts at different times, create a separate template and assign it to the specific active time. See Manage Layout Templates.

Two leaders were in the Layout Editor at the same time and my changes disappeared.

Concurrent editing is not supported. The Layout Editor is a single-writer surface; when two people save at roughly the same time, one overwrites the other. Coordinate before opening it.

I added a position and it shows "Chicken" as the title.

That is the auto-fill default title for new positions. Rename it in the Title field of the position panel before saving. If you saved without renaming, you will get a duplicate-name error if you add another position without renaming that one first (two positions named "Chicken" will trigger the red-border validation).

Related articles

1. Understand the Layout Editor (Reference)
2. Configure Data Interactions for a Position (How-To). Auto Schedule Priority, Associated Permission, HotSchedules Job Title, Associated Training Position.
3. Manage Layout Templates (How-To). Template-level settings like Width, Active Days of the Week, disabling Auto Schedule or Checklist Associations.
4. Associate a Checklist with a Position (How-To)
5. Troubleshoot Layout Editor Save Issues (Troubleshooting)
6. Understand the Shifts Screen (Reference). Customized templates appear here at runtime.
7. Request a Permission Change (How-To). Use this if you need Layout Editor access and do not have it.

Still stuck

If customization changes are not saving, Save All is throwing errors you cannot resolve, or Update Layout is not pushing changes to the Shifts screen, submit a support ticket and include:

1. Your store number.
2. The template name you were customizing.
3. A screenshot of the Layout Editor showing the affected template and any error messages.
4. Whether you pressed Save All and then Update Layout or Update All Layouts.
5. What you expected versus what happened.

Support typically responds within one business day.

---

Pre-publish checklist status

48 cbb4b66c-d248-4984-b567-96b48b2dcd58 complete All seven sections filled.

49 b72f854b-050a-4c43-9be6-be88fa4ed6d1 complete Final step is a confirmation step.

50 9fff853f-faa0-4d41-87a5-78bd5660ec03 complete No em dashes, no hedge words, permission-based role references.

51 ecf8e4d2-2468-4a1a-9cfc-9b8553a1900e complete No real identifying data.

52 febbbd00-39ad-4e0c-9114-c9f27c6109dd complete Phase 2 Core slot 22.

53 634569e0-5fd6-4fee-9253-f349433987f3 complete Turn 39: stale "Coming soon" labels removed from Related items 4 and 5.

54 d3ac987c-afb4-4e99-80a7-a9bd5e03ba50 complete v2 2026-05-05: Area header click clarified (section controls require clicking the title row, not body). Add Position defaults documented (Chicken emoji title, rotating ID, W1/H1/Max3). ID+title collision validation documented (inline error + red border). Layout Editor entry point resolved (action bar on Shifts screen). Position locking confirmed absent (no right-click or lock gesture). Source: F-04, F-13, F-14.

55 e883870f-3c64-4090-96dd-a16ab0fc4857 incomplete UI verified against Production (full pass).

56 484b3f19-ebb3-4fc8-a3af-13eee91ccf03 incomplete Screenshots at decision points.

57 497c5ec9-0ca7-43a9-b438-2aa47d31c158 incomplete Related article links activated.

58 d9ec929c-1196-4d1a-a89f-cfec2b15f1bb incomplete Primary search term tested in HubSpot KB search.

59 2eb4abfc-009f-4329-94cc-1c9480bda18c incomplete Reviewed by Jared and Kevin.

Source

Existing kb.oneclickapp.com Layout Editor article. v2 corrections sourced from the 2026-05-02 clickthrough log (store 99997), findings F-04, F-13, F-14.