Drupal's field system provides us with a flexible system of adding different types of discrete data to content types. This enables us to create rich content models. The Field API allows us to define these distinct field types by creating a new plugin. These plugins specify a FieldType attribute. In this tutorial, we'll look at these attributes in detail. We'll look at the implementations of field types from Drupal core. Also, we'll see what a new custom field type would look like.

By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:

• Understand how field type definitions are created and exposed to Drupal
• Identify the various field types provided by Drupal core
• Understand the requirements for providing a specification for a new field type

Once we've explored the various field types provided by Drupal core, the next component of the Field API to explore is field widgets. Field widgets define how the data structure of the field is displayed on an edit form. When content editors interact with your field type they will be doing so via the field widget you provide. In this tutorial, we'll take a look at the field widgets provided by Drupal core, the plugin type required to define our own custom widget and how we can define multiple widget options for a single field type.

By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:

• Understand where field widgets fit into the overall Field API
• Implement a custom field widget to support a particular field type

In their simplest form layout plugins in Drupal Layout Builder define the part of the content output that can't be changed. For example a three column layout will consist of three equal columns every time an editor decides to use it as the layout section. The editor can place whatever they want into the three columns. But they can not change the overall layout. This restricts editorial capabilities of using layout plugins since in real life a three column layout may need to consist of a wider middle column and narrower side columns, allow for column headings, or other customizations.

This flexibility is accomplished by creating, and exposing, configuration options for layout plugins in Drupal's Layout Builder. In more advanced cases, we can take this flexibility further by exposing an interface editors to dynamically define layout plugins.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to use custom PHP classes in the layout plugin annotation
• Learn what annotations properties can be used for custom layout declaration
• Define the concept of derivatives and outline scenarios for using them
• How to declare static single layouts using YAML format

By the end of this tutorial you'll learn advanced ways of declaring configurable custom layout plugins.

When building with Layout Builder, the list of blocks available for a site administrator to place in a layout can grow and become overwhelming to navigate. This is especially true when you've got a lot of different modules enabled, as each can add new blocks. As well, complex configurations may require site admins to create more and more custom blocks. Some blocks, like certain Views, or default core blocks like "Who's online", are not meant to be used within the Layout Builder. These blocks can clutter the UI and also impact the performance of Layout Builder UI. The contributed module Block List Override is designed to help solve this problem.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn what the Block List Override module does
• Install and configure the module to improve the user experience when creating layouts

By the end of this tutorial you should know how to use the Block List Override module to improve the UX of the Layout Builder interface.

Layout plugins can be dynamically generated based on configuration using plugin derivatives. This allows developers to provide Drupal site administrators with a UI for creating new layout plugins, or to automatically register layout plugins based on the environment.

This is useful in situations where it's not enough to define a set of pre-configured layouts to use in the Layout Builder. Instead, you need to empower editors to declare their own new layout plugins without writing any code. Derivatives could also be used in scenarios where the layouts that should be made available depend on configuration set elsewhere in the module. Or, you might have a scenario where you want to have multiple different 2-column layouts, and for those layouts to have different names, so that they can be themed differently depending on which one is used.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Create a user interface that allows editors to dynamically define layouts via configuration.
• Learn how to set up a plugin deriver that creates layout plugins based on configuration.
• Create custom dynamic layout plugins with variable numbers of columns.

By the end of this tutorial you'll know how to declare dynamic custom layout plugins using derivatives.

When defining new layout plugins for Drupal you can add custom CSS and JavaScript via asset libraries. This allows for the creation of layouts with complex structures and interactive elements. Those elements might include grids, tabs, and accordions. Drupal allows you to attach custom CSS and JavaScript directly to a layout plugin, or via the layout's Twig template file.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Define a custom asset library with JavaScript and CSS functionality
• Attach the asset library to the custom layout plugin
• Transform a multicolumn layout into tabs

By the end of this tutorial you should know how to attach custom CSS and JavaScript to a layout plugin to add interactivity and styling.

When building a site using Drupal's Layout Builder, it's a good idea to keep the number of layout plugins manageable. In many cases it's better to create a single layout plugin that can be re-used rather than duplicate a layout multiple times to accommodate minor variations. One way to do this is to provide editors with configuration options that will change the output when a layout is used.

For example, imagine you need to provide variations of a 3-column layout where the columns are different widths. You could define a new layout for each variation. Or you could define a single layout with a configuration option that allows a user to choose the column widths. The latter approach reduces code duplication, and makes the codebase easier to maintain.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to declare advance layout plugins with configurable settings in the Drupal Layout Builder
• Extend the LayoutDefault class and create a custom settings form that editors will see when using a layout
• Use the provided configuration values in the layout's Twig template file to modify the layout when it is rendered

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to expose layout-related settings to editors, allowing for more flexibility in custom layout plugins.

Access control for the Media entities in Drupal works in much the same way as any other content entity. The module provides fine-grained control over create, update, and delete operations, while providing only basic control over who can view Media assets. The thinking is that there are too many possible permutations of how an application may want to restrict read access to content. Therefore, rather than try and pick one setting and add it to core, it's left entirely up to the site administrator and contributed modules.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Look at the different permissions provided by the Media module for controlling access to Media entity operations
• Discuss some common misconceptions about file permissions that can lead to potentially exposing private data

By the end of this tutorial you should know how to configure access control for Media entities, and explain how access control relates to files attached to a Media entity attached to a Node.

Drupal media entities are fieldable entities, which means that you can add any custom fields you want to your Media types. These fields can be used for collecting additional metadata about a resource, categorizing and organizing resources so they're easier to find in a large media library, or for displaying information like a photo credit or transcript for a video. The possibilities are endless once you know how to add, and optionally display, fields in Drupal.

Some example use cases for adding fields to Media types:

• Collect, and display, a credit to go along with a photo. This could also be a date, a location, or any other metadata.
• Store resource width and height dimensions as custom fields so they can be referenced by display logic in the theme layer.
• Use Taxonomy reference fields to add tags or categories to help keep a large library organized.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to add fields to a Media type
• Verify our new custom field is working

By the end of this tutorial you'll know how to add custom fields to any Media type.

The most common way to use Drupal's Media items is to add fields to content types, allowing the Media entities to be associated with one or more pieces of content. For example, adding a cover image to an article, or embedding a set of YouTube videos into a tutorial. This is accomplished by adding a Media field to the content type in question.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Explain what the different Media field-specific configuration options do
• Add a Media field to the existing Article content type
• Explain what the different field-specific configuration options do
• Confirm that it worked by verifying that the form for adding an article has the new field

By the end of this tutorial you'll know how to add a Media field to any content type, or any other fieldable entity, in order to allow Media items to be associated with the content.

Media entities in Drupal are content entities, and can be administered like most other Drupal content entities. In most cases you'll likely add new Media entities via the Media Library widget when creating a new content entity like an Article. However, it's possible to add them to the library without having to attach them to a piece of content. You may also want to update an existing Media entity, or just search the library to see whether something already exists.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn what a Media entity is in Drupal
• Get an overview of the main Media management page
• Learn how to add, edit, and delete, Media entities
• Learn how to bulk edit Media entities in Drupal

By the end of this tutorial you'll know how to perform basic find, add, edit, and delete operations to manage the Media entities in your library.

Drupal site administrators can create new media entity types, with their own unique configurations and sets of associated fields. Different media types can be configured with different field names, permissions, moderation workflows, and display settings, making it possible to create truly custom content administration experiences. The process is similar to creating a node content type like articles or events with one major distinction: every media type inherits from a specific media source plugin. The source plugin provides domain-specific knowledge about the kind of resource being represented. For example, the Remote video source plugin used with the default Remote video media type knows how to consume and display videos from YouTube and Vimeo given only their URL.

Drupal core comes with a couple of common media source plugins, and contributed modules and custom code can add to this list, increasing the different media providers with which Drupal can integrate.

In this tutorial we'll learn how to:

• Install a contributed module that provides a new media source plugin.
• Create a new media type.

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to explain how source plugins relate to media types, and create a new media type.

The Drupal Media Library and Media ecosystem can be integrated with any third-party media provider by defining new media source plugins. Media types (Media entity bundles) have an important distinction compared to other content entity types like nodes. Every media type inherits from a specific media source plugin. The source plugin provides domain-specific knowledge about the kind of resource being represented. For example, media types dealing with images know how to validate file extensions and render <img> tags. Media types dealing with remotely hosted videos might know how to retrieve thumbnails from a remote API, and display an HTML video player and transcript.

In this tutorial we'll learn how to:

• Define a new source plugin
• Integrate a third-party API via its existing PHP library

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to create a new source plugin that exposes any third-party media resources you want to integrate with Drupal.

If the Media assets you want to use in your library support oEmbed, then you might be able to use them with a minimal custom code. Before you go down the path of creating a custom media source plugin try this approach first.

oEmbed is a standard way of allowing third party sites to embed an asset represented by a URL. The Remote Video source in core uses the oEmbed features of YouTube and Vimeo. When you paste a link into a Slack channel, and it displays a pretty card preview, or an embedded video or Spotify playlist, that's oEmbed in action. Does the Media you want to embed have a canonical URL? If so, paste it into the tool here and see if it displays oEmbed info in the results.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to enable additional oEmbed providers as Media sources
• Use the contributed oEmbed Providers module for compatible providers
• Demonstrate how to create a custom oEmbed media source plugin to further customize the results

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to embed any oEmbed-compatible content as Media assets in Drupal.

When using the Drupal Media Library to browse for available Media entities to attach to your content, the interface that you see inside the modal window is created using Views. This means you can change it for your specific use-case. This is most useful when you want to expose filters for custom fields to allow users to more easily locate content in your library. As your library of media grows, you can create powerful application-specific ways for content authors to segment the list and find their assets.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to edit the Views used by the Drupal Media Library browser
• Add a new exposed filter for the custom tags field on some media entities
• Demonstrate how this change affects the user interface for locating and selecting media

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to customize the View used by the Media Library to add new filters and make other use-case specific changes.

Media Source plugins in Drupal have a powerful feature, called field mapping, that allows an administrator to configure a Media entity type to automatically populate the value of custom fields based on metadata retrieved from the source content. For example, you can add a creator field to the Remote Video Media type, which can use YouTube as a source. When a content author adds a new Remote Video entity they can provide a URL for the YouTube video. Then the source plugin can extract the creator's name from the YouTube API and use that data to populate a custom field. This saves the content author from having to do that work themselves.

In this tutorial we'll learn:

• How to discover what source metadata is available
• How to configure a Drupal Media type to automatically populate custom fields

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to add a custom field to a Media type on your Drupal site and automatically populate it with data retrieved from the source content.

One of the most powerful features of Drupal's Media Library is that it enables content authors to re-use media entities. Have a favorite image that you like to use with all blog posts about a specific topic? Or a default icon you want to use for a tutorial unless an alternative is provided? The Media Library can accommodate this without requiring you to keep a copy of the image locally and then attach it to every node where it's needed.

This can lead to a potential issue when an editor deletes an image, thinking they've also deleted all the content that used it. If they missed a post referencing the now deleted image, what happens when there is no image to show?

The contributed Entity Usage module provides a mechanism for tracking relationships between entities. This is essential functionality when working with a library of reusable media entities because it helps ensure that media entities attached to content are not deleted.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Discuss the use case for the Entity Usage module
• Learn how to configure Entity Usage to keep track of relationships between media entities and nodes that reference them
• Prevent media items from being deleted if they are in use somewhere on the site

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to explain what the Entity Usage module does, and how to use it to solve common problems related to deleting items from a large Media library.

A commonly asked question is, "How do you add images to the body of a content item in Drupal?" You can allow users to embed images, videos, or any other media into a field configured with a WYSIWYG editor, such as CKEditor. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to enable Drupal’s Insert Media button for CKEditor, and configure the corresponding text format so that it can render embedded Media entities.

Content authors can then use the Media Library to select images (or other media) to embed into the page.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Learn how to enable the Insert Media button for CKEditor
• Demonstrate how to insert media into the body of a content item (or any other field configured to use CKEditor)

By the end of this tutorial you should know how to configure Drupal to allow content authors to embed images in content items.

Drupal's media management tools, the Media and Media Library modules, provide content authors with drag-and-drop media and asset handling, full WYSIWYG editor integration, and a library of reusable media assets. There's minimal configuration required to get started, but full control via Drupal's standard Entity and Field systems for those who need it.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Provide an introduction to the media system in Drupal and its use-cases
• Explain the Drupal core features that the Media system is built on
• Link to other tutorials that will go into much more depth on these topics

By the end of this tutorial you should know what role the Media and Media Library core modules fill and know whether or not you'll want to make use of them on your project.

Media entities are standard Drupal fieldable content entities. For the most part, they function, and are managed, in the same way as Nodes. So if you've previously created content in Drupal, much of working with Media entities should be familiar -- with some notable exceptions related to the connections between Media types and the media resources they represent.

In this tutorial we'll:

• Get an overview of Media entities, Media types, and Media fields in Drupal
• Point to other tutorials that go into more depth on individual topics
• Learn some basic terminology and concepts related to the Media system in Drupal

By the end of this tutorial you'll have an overview of the pieces that make up the Media system in Drupal core.