Blocks have always been a part of Drupal and have always been a very limiting way of putting content on your site. Just to make it a usable system, contributed modules were almost always required. Drupal 8 has come a long way and has added much needed functionality to the core block system.
In this presentation we will cover what is new when it comes to the block system in Drupal 8 and the advantages that it offers.
What is different?
- Custom blocks, and blocks in general, can be used more than once
- A block title is now an on/off check box instead of having to use <none>
- A block can be placed in more than one region
- You can create "block types" much like content types
- The UI is easier to use with new blocks now in a sidebar instead of at the bottom
- This sidebar UI allows for dynamic filtering to make it even easier to find a block
- Configurations of block types and layout are now in code
- Blocks are plugins
To learn more about blocks, refer to our Blocks topic page.
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title: Blocks topic
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Additional resources
How to download the core software or a distribution from the web site.
How to make a copy of a live site for development purposes.
How to update the core software using the administrative interface or Drush.
How to manually download and upload a module or theme.
Layouts
TopicA layout can describe how various components are arranged on various levels—from an entire page from the header to the footer, to just the “middle” where the dynamic content goes, to individual components. It can apply to templates for managed content or one-off designs for landing pages.