Types and Views 0.9.2 with WYSIWYG Editors and More

   Amir

Announcements

December 16, 2011
10

The major new feature in this release is the addition of WYSIWYG for custom fields. But, keep reading, there’s more good stuff.

WYSIWYG custom fields are now available. Go to Types and you’ll see the new WYSIWYG option for custom fields. These fields work exactly like the standard post body. You can edit them in either HTML or Visual mode. And, when you display WYSIWYG fields, shortcodes and other post elements get resolved.

This version also makes it easier to build complete sliders. We’ve added a ‘link’ mode to the ‘style’ attribute on the current page shortcode [wpv-pager-current-page style=”link”]. It displays the current page in a slider. When clicked, auto-transitioning sliders freeze and lets visitors read without interrupting. To use this, edit the pagination and tick the Include page selector links check box.

And, of course, both Types and Views run smooth now on WordPress 3.3.

Next Up for Views – Taxonomy Views

The next major addition to Views would be the ability to query and display taxonomy. If you’re building a listing site, of any sort, you probably need to display content by taxonomy. Views will allow you to query by posts (as it does today), or by taxonomy. Then, you can even create nested Views which first query taxonomy terms and then load posts that belong to them. We should have this working in about a week.

After that, our plan is to add post-reference fields. This will open a whole new paradigm for Types and Views, as we’re going to enable object relationships. I’ll need to write about this more as we get closer. Just keep in mind that we’re talking about more than just creating pointers from one post to the other. Your content will have the concept of relations between objects, with all the power that this brings.

Upcoming in Types – Data Migration from Other Plugins

This has been on our todo since day one, and we’re finally getting there. The next major step for Types will be the ability to seamlessly import configuration from other plugins. So, if you’re getting used to Types and Views and have other sites that you’d like to migrate to them, it’s going to be really easy to do.

How is it Working for You?

We know that it took a big leap of faith jumping on Views when it’s still in Beta and we appreciate each and every purchase you guys made. This helps not only in the money that we get, but also in showing us what people need and care for.

If you’ve already got live sites using Views, let us know. We’re going to start a showcase and would love to have your work displayed there.

 

Comments 10 Responses

  1. Glad to hear you’re working on data migration. Will this include being able to import repeatable fields / repeatable field groups created by Elliot’s ‘Advanced Custom Fields’? (I’m also pretty sure Pippin’s ‘Easy Content Types’ has recently introduced repeatables). Would definitely win you a whole bunch of new users!

    • Sure. As soon as Types and Views support repeatable fields we’ll also have import procedures from other plugins.

  2. Hi,
    Just came across Views – looks pretty interesting. I’ve used Drupal Views before and can say without a doubt, it’s a must have. As far as “how” these areas are created – while I can agree there’s not a standard way of building meta boxes and custom fields (there’s tons of plugins out there), I’m not sure if adding a new one to the mix is necessarily a good move. There’s definitely more popular staples around the web (as bob mentioned, Easy Content Types and Advanced Custom Fields), but it sounds like you’d not only control “how” our content is displayed, but how we even create it to begin with – which limits us based on the types of fields available. We should work with the tools that are available, not re-invent the wheel. I think the system as a whole should take a step back and try not to lock-down users to use your software to create post types/fields — allow them to reference them as needed (for example – providing a meta key/ID). Many theme developers like myself prefer to either create their own plugin to define them or place them directly in the theme.

    Views for WordPress is something I’ve personally dreamed of for quite some time, but there seems to be a few concerns that should be addressed or at least thought about.

    Future considerations would be to take out a page from Drupal Views in general. WordPress shortcodes are great and could be used in template files (much as how you can override Drupal Views templates by placing them in your theme), but using the WYSIWYG Editor for layouts can be an utter nightmare for some – and should be taken out of the equation to increase simplicity. Allow the database to do the work – styling should be done with CSS and template overrides where possible.

    Thanks!

    • Views works great with other plugins that create custom fields and not just with Types. We felt that as we enter a new field, we need some handle on plugins that create content as well as display it. Now that we have our own, we proudly say that Views is compatible with other plugins, but we can also cater to niche needs of our clients by implementing necessary functionality into Types.

      We’d be in an inconvenient situation if we have to refuse sensible requests, because they’re not in our code. With Types and Views, we can handle everything without compromise.

      Having said this, in the very near future, we’re going to add display hooks for custom fields created by Advanced Custom Fields and More Fields.

      And you’re right about the last point too. The next release of Views will include a RAW output mode for View Templates. Editing in the WP editor is somewhat of a nightmare, but we’ve handled it. The RAW output mode bypasses all the auto break and paragraph injections. You can edit your content in HTML mode and nothing will alter a single character.

      • Hi Amir,
        Appreciate the response. Your feedback definitely leaves me interested to see what’s next for Views – so I’ll definitely be checking in to see the progress. Front-end filters may also be something to look into (checkboxes, dropdowns, etc. that effect very specific fields; unless I’m missing some current feature on that) — again, just copy and paste Drupal Views 😉

        Quite a task you guys have set for yourselves, but it sounds like you’re thinking ahead towards the future. Thanks!

        • Views currently includes all these ‘front-end’ filters. This is why it works so nicely with Types. We’ll be adding similar filters for Advanced Custom Fields soon too. Then, when you insert those ACF fields using the V icon, to a Template or View, they will get displayed properly – email, like and email address, image like an image, etc. It’s already happening when you create custom fields with Types.

          • For anyone wtainng to upload files on the frontend, you’ll need to include the following code in order to have access to the wp_handle_upload() function: if ( ! function_exists( ‘wp_handle_upload’ ) ) require_once( ABSPATH . ‘wp-admin includes file.php’ ); Nov 10 ’11 at 17:27