In the recent months, we’ve seen a spate of releases from one of the industry’s best-loved open-source CMSs. In this post, we’ll be looking at some of the best features of Umbraco 8.7, 8.9 and the very recent 8.9.1.
We’ll cover what they are, the problems they solve, and finally, what impacts they’ll have on editor experience – so let’s get on with it.
1. Umbraco 8.7’s Block List Editor
The Block List Editor is a list of blocks of content that can be added as a property to a content node. It can be configured to have multiple blocks available, giving the developer control over the configuration of how these blocks are displayed on the frontend, as well as how they are validated.
You can also define a minimum/maximum value to control how many blocks are allowed within the blocks list.
On top of that, there’s also an option to enable either Inline editing (like nested content, which allows you to edit the content directly), or, if preferred, editing in an overlay (as is currently the case with stacked content).
Plus, the Block List Editor allows the creation of element type directly from the configuration screen: this means that element types do not need to be created separately, saving you time and valuable screen real estate that would normally be occupied by a plethora of browser tabs.
For added flexibility, Umbraco has also provided the option for each block to be configured separately. This configuration ranges from the editor appearance (which allows you to choose how the block appears when accessed in the content section to editors) to the catalogue appearance (which allows you to choose how the catalogue and the block picker appear to editors.
2. Umbraco 8.7’s complex validation
This feature not only adds great validation for the Block List Editor, but also nested content.
Validation messages are now displayed anywhere within your document, irrespective of how your data structure has been modelled, along with a badge that will direct the content editor to their error.
Complex validation mainly varies from simple validation in that rather than the validation dealing with the property as a unit, it allows you to inform editors of the specifics that are invalid. In doing this, it simplifies the process of troubleshooting for content editors, allowing them to spend more time on getting their masterpieces from a draft to the finish line.
3. Umbraco 8.9’s improved login experience
Umbraco 8.9 boasts a much smoother experience for external login providers, allowing authentication into the Umbraco backoffice by external service providers like Active Directory, Google, Okta etc. You can also disable local logins and define redirects to let the external provider handle the login flow and create a seamless single sign-in experience.
In addition, 8.9 also brings in the option of hooking into the user invite workflow and integrating this with the external provider, making it possible to invite users from the backoffice and have external providers in charge of password creation.
4. Umbraco 8.9.1’s many bug fixes
The latest Umbraco release aims at fixing a few teething issues from all these shiny new features:
- Mandatory features in nested content are now marked as required
- The value for custom member properties can now be removed in the backoffice
- Member index now updates inline with member updates
- Deleting and creating items no longer causes loss of Block List data
All in all, these updates mark a real movement towards flexibility and ease of use – and that’s more than enough for Umbraco users to be excited about!
How we can help
If you’re reading this, it’s more than likely you’re an Umbraco user. But it’s less likely you’ve got an expert, full-stack 24/7 support team protecting your Umbraco application 24/7.
We work with both agencies and brands, providing full-stack Umbraco support to your end clients or to you directly.
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So if you’re looking to protect your revenue and reputation around the clock, just get in touch…it’s one more thing to be excited about!
