problem with per theme block config
Hi, so I finally discovered that on 4.7 blocks config will be different per theme. it seems the idea is that since we can't guarantee which regions will be provided by which theme we can have a global block config. trying to provide flexibility is fine by me but most websites will still limit themselves to one or two sidebars and this new feature makes life very difficult. first of all I can't imagine explaining to users why they have to repeat block config everytime they change a theme. with blogs and forums and other such websites people might change themes alot, but it's even worse if changing the theme is a rare thing since they're bound to forget that there are extra steps involved. even worse sometimes one has to try different themes to see how the block configuration affects them, for instance some themes barf on large tables (like the event calender) in the sidebars. now instead of just flipping themes, I have an longish extra step per theme. (does this also include rewriting visibility rules?). I usually develop a website on some stock theme and then work with a designer to come with a design, we might have different versions of the design for the client to choose from, I usually allow the designer to access my development server and change the theme, not I have to either explain to the designer all about blocks or be present whenever she changes themes. also I'm building a small blogging server based on drupal, users are not allowed to change block config at all but they are allowed to change themes. I prepare a drupal install with a specific arrangement of blocks all using a stock theme, then I make a copy of the database whenever we create a new blog, now if the blogger changes themes the block config is lost and all the stuff I enabled to make the bloggers life easier are lost. so the point I'm trying to make is in order to offer a more flexible way of themeing we broke usability for the most common uses. is it too late to fix this? can't we have a way to set global blocks config which makes some assumptions about regions? cheers, Alaa -- Alaa: Husband of the Grand Waragi Master http://www.manalaa.net
so I finally discovered that on 4.7 blocks config will be different per theme. it seems the idea is that since we can't guarantee which regions will be provided by which theme we can have a global block config.
Indeed. It has been many months.
is it too late to fix this? can't we have a way to set global blocks config which makes some assumptions about regions?
Well, the first step is to read up on the issue which created regions and then submit a patch. It will be considered for 4.8. Also make sure to discuss with AdrianR who gave a presentation on a unified UI which integrated current theme admin and block admin.
participants (2)
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Alaa Abd El Fattah -
Moshe Weitzman