Release planning: May 2024
New releases for both the Pitchfork theme and the Pitchfork Blocks plugin are now available. Apply both the theme and plugin updates simultaneously for best results.
New releases for both the Pitchfork theme and the Pitchfork Blocks plugin are now available. Site engineers are encouraged to apply both the theme and plugin update to your websites simultaneously as features that are now within the theme help support some of the new blocks introduced by the block plugin.
Updates
- Pitchfork v2.2 · Release Notes
- Pitchfork Blocks v2.1 · Release Notes
Supporting documentation
- New collection: https://comm.engineering.asu.edu/pitchfork/doc-category/patterns/
- New: https://comm.engineering.asu.edu/pitchfork/docs/pitchfork-cards/
- New: https://comm.engineering.asu.edu/pitchfork/docs/button/#data-layer
Updated Unity Design System packages
unity-bootstrap-packagefrom 1.9.4 ➡️ 1.9.15 (latest)component-headerfrom 2.2.3 ➡️ 2.2.5 (latest)
Things to know
The latest version of Pitchfork Blocks introduces a new set of blocks for the editor which change the way that the card component behaves.
- Cards now allow users to type content directly into the component in most cases.
- Cards use inner blocks to deliver features unique to certain card types like event information or card tags.
- Patterns are now available within the pattern library to deploy cards configured for specific purposes like degree programs, events or displaying links to stories.
The change to the way that cards work within the block editor also paves the way to use them in different contexts. One of the most important changes this release offers is that cards can now be used within a typical query loop block pattern in the editor. That allows for an easy way to update a page within your site based on items published within your post feed or other custom post type.
- To deploy a query loop using cards on your site, look for a pattern within the library called 3-Across with Query Loop,
- Other query patterns available within the pattern library as well. Check out the post column layout patterns for other ideas.
This update also officially deprecates the older version of the card block.
- Pages with older versions of cards will still display correctly.
- Within the block editor, you will see a pink highlight applied to cards using the older style.
- It is recommended that you recreate deprecated cards using the newer blocks as you encounter them in your day-to-day.
Other notable changes include:
- A change in the way that the underlying data layer treats
core/buttonsbeing used as calls-to-action. - A new block called the
acf/hero-postallows users to create a standard page hero based on content from a selected post.
Additional Notes
The version 6.3 update to the Advanced Custom Fields plugin has enabled a long overdue feature within ACF blocks called block validation. Blocks will now validate that certain fields are present and set correctly in order for a page or post to publish correctly.
This new feature has caused some friction with our end users who are now unable to make content changes elsewhere on the page while blocks are in an “invalid” state.
- Our next release of Pitchfork Blocks will address several of these issues concerning block validation.
- If you encounter a block that appears valid or set but still triggers a block warning for invalid options, please report the bug on our contact form.