What is an ‘Custom Override’?

We are able to configure the look-and-feel of your Intranet via various application settings – we’ve done our best to outline these within the “Your Intranet Theme” section of this site. If you’d like to change something about your intranet, and we do not have the available settings to make that change for you, we may explore the route of applying a ‘custom override’.

A ‘custom override’ is how we refer to any piece of custom code (usually CSS) which we’d potentially inject into your intranet, in order to force something on your intranet to look a certain way (for example, to change the styling or to hide it completely). We’re not always able to do this, but in the instances where we explore adding a custom override, we will discuss this with you along with any implications.

There are a few important things to keep in mind when considering a custom override. These include:

• Potential inconsistent experience: Interact cannot take custom overrides into account when testing new product releases, therefore the customisation may be impacted or reverted when a new Interact release is sent out. We will not be able to warn you of this beforehand.
• Future maintenance is not guaranteed: If your custom override is impacted by new product release, we can review this via a Support ticket and try to re-instate the achieved effect – however, we can not guarantee that the custom override can be re-applied.
• Limited scope of control: Any custom CSS added will usually only affect the web version of the Interact platform – it is typically unable to impact the Mobile App or other communication channels, such as emails sent out from the intranet.
• Potential impact on accessibility: The accessibility of your intranet may be impacted by any custom CSS you may add. A user who navigates the intranet using a screenreader, for example, could be impacted if you use CSS to try to add/hide/change/re-order elements on a page.
• Lack of translation: If content is added via CSS or JavaScript, this text will not translate like other content on the intranet

With that in mind, our general recommendation is to avoid proceeding with custom overrides so as to ensure a more stable, accessible experience for your users. We will discuss any instance of a potential custom override with you, on a case-by-case basis.