Predefined blocks

predefinedBlocks replaces the Content field with a block editor: heading, text and images, table, list, video, wrapper/accordion and chunk/snippet/HTML. Developers restyle each block with a Fenom template in the theme; the rendered HTML is saved into content, so search and teasers keep working.

Requires pdoTools 3. Not for templates that use ContentBlocks.

All blocks have been fully tested and are functional.

Install pdoTools 3 first (required, block templates use Fenom).

Install predefinedBlocks and tick the templates that should use the block editor in the install form.

Choose the front-end styles: Plugin CSS (works without Bootstrap) or Bootstrap (your theme already loads Bootstrap 5.3).

Open a page with that template, click Add block and save.

To add your own sections, create custom block types: see Custom blocks in the documentation.

Documentation: https://modx.tend.si/predefined-blocks

Beta release. Changes since 0.2.0-beta (see changelog.txt in the package for details).

New

• Layouts and sections (template property pb.layout, file layouts/<name>.tpl): sections are tabs in the editor, the whole layout is rendered into the page content.
• Template properties pb.blocks and pb.custom_types (blocks and custom types offered on a template), pb.image_max_width, pb.frontend_css / pb.frontend_js. Useful for e-mail templates.
• Custom blocks: images are resized ({$image.src}, header options size and ratio), repeater fields, new field types file and files (documents with upload, library picker and sorting).
• Image uploads go through the media source; SVG uploads from the editor are refused.
• Table header options "first column" and "first row and first column".
• Accessibility: warning for skipped heading levels, move buttons for images and files, labels for block buttons.

Fixed

• Security: rich text is sanitized on save and on render; stricter checks for links and embeds.
• Shared blocks (clones): an edit made meanwhile on another page is no longer overwritten; conflicts are reported.
• Database errors while saving are detected and nothing is saved halfway.
• The block editor opens when creating a new resource; "Duplicate with children" copies the blocks of child pages.
• Clear cache re-renders only out-of-date pages and stops before the time limit.
• Installer works on MySQL 8; absolute custom paths on Windows; TinyMCE autoresize in Firefox.