Drupal comes with a lot of options. For some users, all those options can be overwhelming.

One of our members asked for our advice on cleaning up the content form so that only the essential options remained.

Here are three steps to clean up your Drupal content form:

Step #1. Remove the Overlay

The overlay / lightbox that contain the Drupal admin screens can be confusing for users because it radically changes the look and feel of the screen Removing the overlay is the easiest change of all. Simply go to Modules and uncheck the box next to the Overlay module:

You can also control who sees the overlay on a more granular basis via People > Permissions > Overlay.

Step #2. Remove the options underneath the content By default, the Drupal content form provides several options. These may confuse ordinary users.

One way to disable these options is with the Jammer module: https://drupal.org/project/jammer. Install Jammer and enable the Jammer module. Check at least the "Content Form Jammer" box.

Go to Configuration > Jammer

You'll be able to remove options from different content types:

One thing to note about Jammer is that it does not work for the default admin account (User 1). You will need another account to test it in action. If you do have problems removing all the options, go to People > Permissions and check the Jammer options on that screen:

Step #3. Improve the Layout Often if you create a long content form, it can be hard for users to navigate:

There are several modules that can re-design the content form, but we recommend Display Suite for beginners. Install and enable Display Suite. Make sure to check the "Display Suite Forms" box.

Go to Structure > Display Suite

Click Manage form next to the content type you want to control.

At the bottom of the screen, select a layout.

Click Save.

You'll now be able to drag-and-drop your fields into your new layout.

You can find out more about Display Suite in our full video class. At this end of this process, you should have a content form that takes up less space and contains less clutter: