We are on the cusp of releasing our latest iteration of UT Drupal Kit: version 2.3. As with its predecessors, this release includes Drupal updates and also comes with a number of new features.
Highlights
- Security updates: Drupal 7.50 & contributed modules. Developers with existing Drupal Kit sites should follow UT Drupal Kit update steps as soon as possible.
- An events content type is available as a standalone download.
- Announcements can be displayed on the homepage or sitewide, with a variety of display options.
- Drupal Kit sites can now be installed on or migrated to Pantheon‘s hosting service.
- Twitter widget improvements: accessibility & retweet profile images.
- Blocks from any contributed module can be configured to be available in the drag-and-drop Page Builder tool.
- <object> and <param> tags (in addition to <script> and <iframe>) are now allowed to trusted content editors via the Blocks interface.
- Pathologic and View Unpublished modules added.
- A “Last Updated” timestamp can be displayed on a per-page basis.
Pantheon Compatibility
UT Drupal Kit 2.3 shifts from using the standard Drupal core codebase to using an optimized version provided by the hosting service Pantheon, called Drops 7. Developers can update and use UT Drupal Kit on any server infrastructure — e.g., UT Web — but they now have the flexibility to install on or migrate to the Pantheon platform. This change is primarily to make possible the upcoming Hosted CMS service, which will allow campus Drupal and WordPress developers to host sites on Pantheon.
Events
We added a new content type, Events, to our supplemental add-ons, which provides fully-themed functionality for creating and displaying events (developer documentation here). Each event spans a defined date range, can include an image, location, description, and tag(s), and can be easily cloned to create “recurring” events. Events can then be displayed in either “teaser” or “title” view listings, which include Google Calendar and iCal links:
| Titles view | Teaser view |
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These Events views can be positioned on any Standard/Landing page, using the drag-and-drop Page Builder tool.
Our goal in creating this was to provide a themed, out-of-the-box events solution for 80% of use cases. Events requirements can quickly become highly divergent, so it was not possible to support all use cases. Developers are encouraged to take this downloadable and customize it to their needs; for sites with more complex events needs, a 3rd-party solution is recommended.
Announcements
Users granted the “Administer Announcement” permission will have access to the following configuration page, which allows them to post timely announcements to either the front page or sitewide.
