Tell us what you are trying to do?
I just want to make sure it's safe to continue to use views inside of Blocks b/c it seems (by removing tons of the documentation) you are trying to phase it out and ultimately will stop developing/improving it. If that is the case my team needs to switch to ACF (which I'd rather not do).
Toolset views is an amazing way to quickly develop more complex solutions without having to write all the functions, filters, loops, etc. It has massive value as a tool for developers who are creating custom solutions, but I don't get the impression that the TS team sees its value like we do. I just don't want to continue to develop on something that will not be getting improved or is going to have all of its documentation totally destroyed (more than it already has been).
What are your long-term plans for views inside of the Blocks plugin? How large is your user base that is still using views instead of the limited Blocks builder?
Thank you!
Hello Benjamin and thank you for contacting the Toolset support.
Views will continue to work within the Toolset Blocks. In fact, you can still use all the views shortcodes inside our block "Fields&Text", and inside other WordPress core blocks such as the Classic block, and the shortcode block.
With our transition to the new WordPress editor, we are also committing to support views in a maintenance mode only. We won't be adding new features to it. But we'll fix any bugs that may arise. The Toolset Layouts plugin is also in maintenance mode.
Blocks do not offer, yet, all the features that views offer. It's not yet possible to create users and taxonomies views. Not all the blocks are customizable as much as their corresponding shortcodes.
I am confident that we will be supporting shorting the views shortcodes as long as WordPress is supporting shortcodes. But, I can't really tell when exactly we'll retire Views, and I can't tell any stats about the real usage of views-vs-blocks.
When we'll do, I am sure we'll announce it a large enough period, to let our users migrate, before shutting it.
In fact, you can always switch to a full legacy editor setup in Toolset->Settings->General(tab)->Editing experience.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Yes, I've been activating blocks and using the views experience inside of that. I'm more wondering if you'll continue to improve the views "experience" inside of blocks? Blocks will never be good enough for custom projects as it will always be extremely limited in design (as are all Gutenberg blocks). I also use the views API and filters often. Are you saying you're going to eventually get away from advanced functionality and only focus on the limited functionality that would be available in the Blocks editor?
It sounds like I need to move to ACF b/c we do a lot of custom/advanced "stuff" which is way beyond what the Blocks editor will ever be capable of. If you have no plans to expand on Toolset Maps (in views experience) and Toolset Views "experience" then I'd like to move away from Toolset as it will not have very much value as a basic blocks editor and with limited customization.
I should note the things that make Toolset valuable to me is (almost) full design control, quick access to create filters, AJAX filtering/sorting, maps plugin with design control, and the loop editor with all the functions like wpv-item and all of its indexes and padding options.
The Gutenberg editor is still in its infancy, and I can agree that it is not as stable as many users would expect. But it is heading toward and it will be improved over time. In fact, the upcoming WordPress release will include the "Full Site Editing" experience, that is being added in Gutenberg.
All the Toolset features valuable to you will remain. We'll always be supporting our API, our filters, Our features. But, we are following the strategic decision of using Blocks. We are still supporting our legacy editor and it is not something that we will drop any time soon. In fact, we are still offering the views shortcodes inside the "Fields&Text" block. And you can use the Views filters and shortcodes with the block-based views/templates.
I am sorry, we don't have a clear roadmap of when anything will be retired or dropped. But, I am sure, you can continue to use Toolset the way you do for a long time 🙂
Thank you for your feedback.
