Override Text Content in a Library-Sourced Structural Block

Override Text Content in a Library-Sourced Structural Block#

When you add a section, subsection, or unit from a content library to your course, the content is linked to its source library. In most cases, you cannot edit library-sourced content directly in a course — but text components are an exception. You can override the text content of any text component within a library-sourced structural block to customize it for your course, without unlinking the rest of the block from the library.

For information about overriding a standalone library-sourced text component (one that is not nested inside a library-sourced section, subsection, or unit), see Override Text Content in a Library-Referenced Component.

Note

Text content overrides within structural blocks are available starting with the Verawood release of the Open edX platform.

Prerequisites#

Before you begin, ensure that you have:

A course open in Studio.
A section, subsection, or unit that was added to the course from a content library, containing at least one text component.

Override Text Content Within a Structural Block#

In Studio, open the unit that contains the library-sourced text component you want to customize. The unit may itself be library-sourced, or it may be a course unit that contains a library-sourced section or subsection.
Locate the text component. It will display an Edit button even though it is part of a library-sourced block.
Select Edit to open the text editor.
Make your changes to the text content.
Select Save to save the override.

The text component now displays your customized content in the course. The original content in the source library is not affected.

Note

Once you save an override, there is no indicator in the current release that marks the component as locally overridden. This is planned for a future release.

How Text Overrides Interact with Syncing#

Overriding the text content of a component within a structural block changes how that component is handled during future syncs. The following rules apply.

Overridden components are excluded from content syncs. When you sync the structural block or any of its parents, the overridden text component is ignored. Its content is never updated from the library, even if a newer version has been published.
Position changes are still applied. If the component is moved up or down within the structural block in the source library, its position in your course is updated when you sync, but its content remains unchanged.
Deleted components are still removed. If the component is deleted in the source library and you accept that sync on its parent block, the component is removed from your course even if it had a local override.
Other components in the block sync normally. Overriding one text component does not affect your ability to sync updates to the rest of the structural block.

Important

Unlike standalone text component overrides, syncing a structural block does not give you a choice to keep or drop individual text overrides. Overridden components are always excluded from the sync automatically.

Review Date	Working Group Reviewer	Release	Test situation
2026-04-08	sarina	Verawood	Pass