Reactive-Resume/docs/guides/managing-sections.mdx

---
title: "Managing sections"
description: "Add, hide, rename, reorder and remove resume sections in Write mode, create custom sections, and control how each section prints."
---

A section is one block of your resume, such as Experience, Education or Skills. In **Write** mode you add the sections you need, put them in the order you want them printed, and choose how each one looks on the page. This guide covers everything you can do with a whole section. To work with the entries inside a section, see [Editing entries](/guides/editing-entries).

## Where your sections live

Open a resume and select **Write** in the editor bar. Below the Basics card is the **Sections · print order** list. It shows every section that has content, in the order it prints: page by page, and within each page the main column first, then the sidebar.

<Frame caption="The Sections · print order list with page and sidebar dividers">
  <img src="/images/guides/managing-sections/outline-print-order.webp" alt="The Sections list in Write mode, showing Page 1 with Summary, Education and Experience, a Sidebar divider above Profiles and Skills, and Page 2 with Experience and Awards. Each row has a drag handle, an entry count, an eye icon, a chevron and a three-dot menu." />
</Frame>

Each row has, from left to right:

- A **drag handle** to reorder the section.
- The section **title**. Select it, or the chevron, to open the section and see its entries.
- The number of **entries** in the section.
- The **eye** icon, which hides or shows the section on the page.
- The **⋯** menu with the rest of the section's options.

Dividers mark where a new page starts (**Page 2**, **Page 3**) and, on templates with two columns, where the **Sidebar** begins. Built-in sections without any content aren't listed; they wait in **Add section** until you need them.

## Add a section

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Add section">
    Scroll to the bottom of the sections list and select **Add section**. The menu lists every built-in section you aren't using yet.

    On a brand-new blank resume you also see shortcuts for the sections most resumes have: **Experience**, **Education**, **Skills** and **Summary**. Select one to add it straight away.

    <Frame caption="A blank resume suggests the most common sections">
      <img src="/images/guides/managing-sections/start-suggestions.webp" alt="The empty sections list on a blank resume, with buttons for Experience, Education, Skills and Summary, an Import it link, and the Add section button below." />
    </Frame>
  </Step>
  <Step title="Choose a section">
    Select the section you want. It appears in its usual place in the layout (Skills, for example, goes in the sidebar on two-column templates) with one empty entry, already open and ready to type into. The Summary opens as a single text box instead.
  </Step>
</Steps>

A new entry stays a **Draft** until you fill in its main field, such as the company for a job or the school for a degree. Drafts are saved but don't print. See [Editing entries](/guides/editing-entries) for the fields each section has.

## Create a custom section

Use a custom section when none of the built-in names fits, or when you want a second section of the same kind, such as "Earlier Experience" or "Teaching".

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Custom section menu">
    Select **Add section**, then **Custom section**. The menu asks **What goes in it?**
  </Step>
  <Step title="Pick the kind of entries">
    Choose the type whose fields you want: Experience, Education, Projects, Skills, Languages, Interests, Awards, Certifications, Publications, Volunteer, References, Profiles, or Summary for a block of free text.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Rename it">
    The new section is added at the end of your last page and takes the type's name. Open its **⋯** menu and select **Rename…** to give it your own title.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="Add section, with the Custom section types open">
  <img src="/images/guides/managing-sections/add-section-menu.webp" alt="The Add section menu listing built-in sections in two columns, and the Custom section submenu open beside it under the heading What goes in it?, listing thirteen section types." />
</Frame>

<Note>
  Once every built-in section is in use, **Add section** lists the custom section types directly.
</Note>

## Hide or show a section

Select the **eye** icon on a section's row. A hidden section's title is struck through in the list and it disappears from the page, but its content stays in the resume. Hidden sections aren't printed, downloaded or shared. Select the eye again to bring the section back.

To hide a single entry instead of the whole section, use **Hide from page** in the entry's menu. See [Editing entries](/guides/editing-entries#hide-an-entry-from-the-page).

## Reorder sections

The list order is the print order, so moving a row moves the section on the page. You can:

- **Drag** a row by its handle.
- Select the section's title and press <kbd>⌥ Option</kbd> + <kbd>↑</kbd> or <kbd>↓</kbd> (<kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>↑</kbd> or <kbd>↓</kbd> on Windows and Linux).
- Open the **⋯** menu and select **Move up** or **Move down**.

Moving a section past a divider moves it onto that page or column. For example, dragging a section below the **Sidebar** divider puts it in the sidebar. To change the columns, sidebar width or number of pages themselves, see [Arranging the layout](/guides/arranging-the-layout).

## Section options

Open a section's **⋯** menu to see everything else you can do with it.

<Frame caption="The ⋯ menu for the Skills section">
  <img src="/images/guides/managing-sections/section-options-menu.webp" alt="The options menu for the Skills section, listing Add entry, Move up, Move down, Rename…, Icon…, Show heading (checked), Columns, Keyword layout, Keep on one page, Start on a new page and Clear section." />
</Frame>

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Add entry** | Adds an empty entry at the end of the section. Not shown for the built-in Summary. |
| **Sort by date** | Experience and Education only. Puts current entries first, then the rest from the most recent end date back. Entries without a start date, or whose end comes before the start, stay at the end, and a message names them. |
| **Move up** / **Move down** | Moves the section one place in the print order. |
| **Rename…** | Changes the title printed above the section. Leave the name empty to go back to the original title. |
| **Icon…** | Picks the icon shown next to the section title, on templates that show section icons. |
| **Show heading** | Clear it to print the section without its title. |
| **Columns** | Splits the section's entries into 1 to 6 columns. Skills also offers **1 column, inline**, which runs the skills together on one line. |
| **Keyword layout** | Skills only. Prints each skill's keywords **Inline** or as a **Bulleted list**. |
| **Keep on one page** | Stops the section from being split across two pages. |
| **Start on a new page** | Always starts the section at the top of a new page. |
| **Clear section** | Built-in sections: removes all entries (or the Summary text). |
| **Delete section** | Custom sections: removes the section and its entries. |

<Frame caption="Renaming a section">
  <img src="/images/guides/managing-sections/rename-section-dialog.webp" alt="A dialog titled What do you want to rename this section to?, with the hint Leave empty to reset the title to the original, the name Earlier Experience typed in, and Cancel and Confirm buttons." />
</Frame>

## Remove a section

Open the section's **⋯** menu and select **Clear section** (built-in sections) or **Delete section** (custom sections). A message confirms the change with an **Undo** button, in case you didn't mean it. A cleared built-in section leaves the list and goes back into **Add section**, so you can add it again later.

<Tip>
  If you only want a section off the page for now, hide it with the eye icon instead. Hiding keeps everything you wrote.
</Tip>

You can also undo any section change with <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>Z</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>Z</kbd> on Windows and Linux) while no text field is focused, or go back further from **History**. See [Undoing changes and version history](/guides/undoing-changes-and-version-history).

## Related guides

- [Editing entries](/guides/editing-entries): add, duplicate, move and hide the entries inside a section.
- [Entering dates](/guides/entering-dates): how dates are typed, checked and printed.
- [Arranging the layout](/guides/arranging-the-layout): columns, sidebar, pages, and moving sections between pages.
- [Fitting content on a page](/guides/fitting-content-on-a-page): what to do when your resume runs long.