> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.instantcampaign.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Blocks and layout
> Add, arrange and style content blocks, build multi-column layouts, reuse snippets and add your own CSS.
Every email in the builder is a stack of blocks: headings, text, images, buttons, columns and more. This page covers what each block does and how to arrange and style them.
## Add a block
There are three ways to add a block:
* **Click** a block in the left panel to add it at the end of the email.
* **Drag** a block from the left panel onto the canvas and drop it where you want it.
* **Use the + button** that appears between blocks on the canvas. It opens a picker where you can **Search blocks & snippets...** and insert the block at that spot.
The **Search blocks** box matches both names and descriptions, so typing "discount" finds **QR Code** and "gap" finds **Spacer**.
## Block types
| Block | Use it for |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| **Heading** | A title or section header |
| **Text** | A paragraph of plain copy |
| **Rich Text** | Formatted copy with bold, links and lists |
| **Button** | A call to action people click |
| **Hyperlink** | A text link on its own line |
| Block | Use it for |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Image** | A picture, logo or illustration |
| **Hero Banner** | A full-width image with text over it |
| **Avatar** | A small round photo, for a sender or author |
| **YouTube Video** | A video thumbnail that opens YouTube |
| **Social Media** | A row of icons linking to your profiles |
| Block | Use it for |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Columns** | Side-by-side content that stacks on phones |
| **Container** | A group of blocks with a shared background |
| **Divider** | A horizontal line between sections |
| **Spacer** | Empty vertical space |
This group is collapsed until you open it (or search for one of its blocks).
| Block | Use it for |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **HTML** | Your own HTML, pasted or written here |
| **Item List** | Products from an order or cart, one per row |
| **Repeater** | Repeats blocks once for each item in your data |
| **View Online** | A link to each recipient's own copy of the email in a browser (`{{view_in_browser_url}}`) |
| **QR Code** | A scannable code for a link or discount |
**Item List** and **Repeater** are explained in [Dynamic lists](/guides/email-and-templates/dynamic-lists).
Two more groups appear only when they apply:
* **AMP Interactive**: shown when AMP is on for the template. See [AMP email](/guides/email-and-templates/amp-email).
* **Shopify**: **Product Grid** and **Product Card**, shown when your Shopify store is connected. Use **Import from Shopify** in the block's settings to pick products.
## Select, move and edit blocks
Click a block to select it. The **Inspect** tab on the right shows its settings. Next to the selected block you'll find controls to **Move up**, **Move down**, **Duplicate**, **Copy block**, **Save as snippet**, **Paste block below** and **Delete**. You can also drag a block by its handle to move it.
To edit text, double-click a Text, Heading, Button or Hyperlink block and type on the canvas. For Rich Text, double-clicking also turns on the **Formatting** controls in the Inspect panel (bold, lists, links, alignment, and font, size and color for the selected text).
### Designed rich-text blocks
Some templates, including many library templates, use Rich Text blocks that hold a designed layout such as an offer card, a stats row or a footer. Double-clicking these won't give you a text cursor. Instead, the Inspect panel shows two tabs:
* **Content**: every piece of text in the block as its own field. Changing a field changes only that text and keeps the layout as designed.
* **HTML**: the block's markup, for changing its structure or styles. The merge-tag picker is available here too.
## Whole-email settings
Click **Email Layout Settings** at the bottom of the left panel, or click an empty part of the canvas, to open the **Styles** tab. It controls the backdrop color, canvas color, canvas border, default font family and default text color.
The Styles tab also has:
* **Apply Brand Colors**: applies your workspace brand colors and font to the blocks.
* **Quick Check**: a checklist of common email problems. See [Previews and test sends](/guides/email-and-templates/testing-and-previews#quick-check).
* **Email stylesheet**: CSS for the whole email (see [Custom CSS](#custom-css) below).
## Columns
Add a **Columns** block, then set **Column Count** and **Column Layout** (for example 50/50 or 33/67), **Column Gap (px)** and **Content Alignment**. Drop blocks into each column.
**Stack columns on mobile** is on by default, so columns sit one above the other on a phone. Stacking works even in email apps that ignore stylesheets, such as the Gmail app on iOS.
## Snippets and layouts
Snippets are saved blocks you can reuse in any template. They're shared with your whole team.
* **Save a snippet:** select a block, click **Save as snippet**, give it a name and click **Save snippet**.
* **Insert a snippet:** click **Snippets Library** in the left panel, or search for it in the **+** picker. The library has **Pre-built** snippets, **My Snippets**, and ready-made column **Layouts**. Drag a snippet onto the canvas or click to insert it.
## Layers
The **Layers** tab shows every block as a tree. Use it to select a block that's hard to click on the canvas, such as one nested inside a column, or to move and delete blocks.
## Custom CSS
Every block except the compliance footer has an **Advanced** section at the bottom of its Inspect panel:
* **CSS class**: a class name you can target from the email stylesheet.
* **Style override**: inline CSS applied to a wrapper around the block.
The **Email stylesheet** in the Styles tab is for rules that must apply to the whole email, such as media queries and hover styles.
Gmail's mobile apps remove stylesheets. Anything that must look right everywhere belongs in a block's own settings or its **Style override**, because inline styles work in every email client.
## The compliance footer
Every email ends with a footer showing your company name and address, a line explaining why the recipient got the email, and **Manage preferences** and **Unsubscribe** links. You can restyle this block but you can't edit its text or remove it. It's required for GDPR and CAN-SPAM compliance.
## Troubleshooting
Type what the block does into **Search blocks**. Blocks under **Advanced blocks** are hidden until you open that group or search.
It's probably a designed Rich Text block. Edit its text in the **Content** tab of the Inspect panel.
Rules in the **Email stylesheet** are removed by Gmail's mobile apps. Move the style into the block's **Style override**.