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Square Orb Documentation

Global vs. Local Overrides

Square Orb provides a flexible two-tier configuration system that balances brand-wide design uniformity with page-by-page creative freedom.

The Configuration Hierarchy

Square Orb resolves gallery styling through a three-level priority structure:

graph TD
    A[Global Presentation Defaults<br/>Configured in Square Orb Admin] --> B[Local Block Overrides<br/>Configured in Gutenberg Sidebar]
    B --> C[Rendered Gallery]
    D[Master Override Switch<br/>Enforce Global Uniformity] -.->|Bypasses Local Overrides| C

1. Global Presentation Defaults (Baseline)

Configured under Square Orb > Presentation Defaults in your WordPress admin dashboard. These settings dictate how any newly placed gallery block looks and behaves by default, including:

  • Gallery layout (Grid, Masonry, Justified, Carousel, Map)
  • Column counts and grid spacing
  • Heading tags and typography sources
  • Lightbox overlay color, border framing, and animation transitions
  • Pagination buttons and colors

2. Local Canvas Overrides (Per-Block Customization)

When editing a specific page or post in Gutenberg, you can adjust settings directly in the Square Orb Canvas block sidebar.

  • Visual Indicator: Any setting altered from the global default displays a (Local Override) tag next to its label in the block editor. Settings mirroring global defaults display (Global Default).
  • Individual Flexibility: This allows a photography portfolio to feature a dynamic masonry layout on one page, a touch carousel on a product page, and an interactive map on a travel post.

3. The Master Override Switch (Global Enforcement)

Located at the top of the Presentation Defaults tab under Master Override Switch:

  • When Enabled: Enforces site-wide uniformity by forcing every gallery container on your site to inherit the central Global Presentation Defaults, ignoring all local block style overrides.
  • Editor Notice: In Gutenberg, the block settings sidebar displays a “Master Lock Override Active” notification, preventing conflicting style modifications.
  • Content Exception: Content-level attributes—namely your selected media images, video URLs, and custom Heading Text—remain completely independent per block and are never locked out.

Resetting Block Overrides

If you have customized a gallery block locally and want to return it to the current site-wide defaults:

  1. Select the Square Orb Canvas block in the WordPress editor.
  2. Scroll to the Reset Options panel in the block settings sidebar.
  3. Click Clear Canvas Overrides.
  4. All local style attributes will be cleared, immediately restoring global inheritance.