If a component does NOT appear in the Sidekick, how could an AEM author cause it to appear?

A component not appearing in the Sidekick can often be resolved by switching to Design mode and adding the component to the paragraph system. When authors are in Design mode, they can access and manage components that are available for use on that page or template. By adding a specific component to the paragraph system, it becomes available for authors to use when creating or editing content within the AEM authoring interface. This ensures that content creators have access to the necessary tools to populate the content structure as intended, thereby making it accessible in the Sidekick for current and future edits.

This approach is typically more practical than contacting a developer, which can introduce delays, especially if the required functionality is already present but just not activated or visible from the user’s perspective. Switching to Preview mode would not enable any new components; it merely allows the content authors to see how the components will appear once published. Editing the Client Context cloud pertains to the targeting and personalization aspects of content and does not directly influence component availability in the Sidekick.