This synchronized release of Layouts 1.0 and Views 1.7 focuses on usability. We recently rebuilt our own site using Layouts and Views and have reached a number of conclusions about what can be improved. All this is going into the upcoming release.

This page includes features that appear in the current development versions. As we progress towards the final production versions, we will be listing new features here.

To download these versions, go to your Toolset account and then Downloads. Scroll to the bottom and get Views Beta and Layouts Beta.

Layouts 1.0

Layouts 1.0 will be the first commercial release of Layouts plugin. This means complete compatibility with all Toolset plugins, as well as with WPML. It also means that we recommend Layouts for production sites.

Main new features in Layouts 1.0

  • Forms Cell – create Toolset forms inside layouts and edit them directly from the layout editor
  • Comments Cell – displays the standard WordPress comments section, with options to customize how comments appear
  • Improvements to Image Box cell – useful when you need to display simple images, without the hassle of going through a visual editor cell
  • Improvements to Menu cell – lets you control the appearance of the menu with orientation and depth
  • Complete WPML compatibility – this is provided via the new String Translation package, which is now part of WPML plugin
  • More complete Bootstrap rendering capabilities
  • Import / export allowing to reuse Layouts and move them between sites – we will be using this for reference sites based on Layouts
  • Easier content editing – Layouts makes it much easier for users to understand what to edit to update Layouts-based content

Layouts 1.0 update for Nov-11-2014

  • Views cells merged into one.
  • New save process.
  • New previews based on new Graphic design.
  • Improved Responsive Menu Cell.
  • Improved interactions in create-post.page.
  • Possibility to create a Layout for newly created post directly before saving.

Views 1.7

Views 1.7 removes friction and aims to make the learning curve a lot smoother. We’ve identified recurring usability issues, as they appear in our support forum, and made product changes to address them.

  • Improved the workflow for inserting a parametric search – now, inserting a parametric search will not require reading any documentation. Views will guide you through the steps needed, starting with the search box and ending with displaying the results.
  • Improved the parametric search settings section – instead of offering an array of disconnected options, users now see several pre-set search configurations. Custom settings are still possible, but are left to more advanced users.
  • Streamlined Views editing – less ‘update’ buttons and actions to accomplish to set up a View
  • Added a custom callback to be executed before the AJAX request of a parametric search – we already had callbacks executed before and after loading the new results.

Views 1.7 update for Nov-11-2014

  • Improved query filters section of a View: better styles, better performance.
  • Added a new mode to the filter by taxonomy parent.
  • Improved integration with Layouts, so now you can create Views with any purpose.