ITS has posted a new maintenance release for UT Drupal Kit 3 (UTDK 3).
Release 3.1.0 is the first minor version follow-up to the UT Drupal Kit 3 stable release. This release adds a new component type called the Flex List, supports advanced content display using Bootstrap framework libraries, and makes substantial enhancements to the Profile add-on. It also includes an update to Drupal 9.2.1 and a number of contributed module/theme updates.
There is also a special action item for sites installed prior to the 3.0.0 release, and a deprecation notice for the utexas/utexas_pantheon_saml_auth package.
Introducing the “Flex list”
The 3.1.0 release marks the addition of the first completely new custom content component as part of the UT Drupal Kit since the UTDK 2 was originally released in 2015. The Flex List component allows content editors to display multiple instances of “header + content” pairs in a single block. Items within that list can easily be re-ordered with a drag-and-drop interface.
The idea for the Flex List came out of the need to identify a migration path for UTDK 2’s “Contact Info” component, which provided specific fields in a sitewide block for displaying contact information (e.g. phone, email, address) for an office or person.
Rather than recreate the “Contact Info” block in UTDK 3, we took this opportunity to design a more flexible component that could be leveraged for any type of similar “name/value pair” data.
In addition to providing a more flexible component for basic display of similar types of data, the Flex List will provide opportunities for future enhancements such as allowing content editors to select from pre-defined display options, such as accordions or tabs.
Read more about the Flex List component in the UTDK 3 documentation.
Bootstrap libraries
UTDK 2 provided functionality to enable several optional libraries provided by the Foundation HTML/CSS framework, including accordions, alert boxes, dropdown buttons, and modals. UTDK 3.1.0 now offers an interface for enabling the equivalent Bootstrap framework libraries via the settings for the Forty Acres theme:
- Collapse (accordion)
- Alerts
- Dropdowns
- Modal
- Navs (tabs)
- Tooltips
Demonstrations of these libraries in action are now available on the UTDK 3 demo site.
Profile add-on enhancements
We know that as more customers adopt UTDK 3 for new sites, there will be a need for some site owners to customize the add-ons. Strategies for “responsible” customization of the add-ons are described in the UTDK 3 documentation, and include the option of making a complete copy of an add-on to use as a starting point for custom code.
Therefore one of our strategic priorities for the first 2-3 maintenance releases for UTDK 3 is to address many of the remaining backlog items for the Profile, Event, and News add-ons as possible, so that anyone copying the add-ons for use in their own site will have the benefit of any currently planned bug-fixes and enhancements.
This effort started with the Profile add-on, and the 3.1.0 release includes a bevy of enhancements and bugfixes. The full list of changes in this release is outlined in the release notes.
Similar efforts for the Event and News add-ons are underway and are on track to be completed for the 3.2.0 release, due in September 2021.
Note for sites installed prior to version 3.0.0
During the UTDK 3 beta phase, UT Drupal Kit packages were hosted on a custom Packagist endpoint using Artifactory. Now all packages are hosted on https://packagist.org, the standard, public endpoint. Developers who installed a UT Drupal Kit site prior to the 3.0.0 release should ensure that their codebase no longer references the Artifactory endpoint, which is deprecated. To do this, developers should remove the following repository, if present, from their root-level composer.json file, and then proceed with the standard update process.
"utexas": {
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://artifacts.austin.utexas.edu/eis1-wcms"
}
Developers can verify that all references have been removed by checking that https://artifacts.austin.utexas.edu/eis1-wcms is not present in the composer.lock file after the update.
Deprecation notice: utexas/utexas_pantheon_saml_auth
As previously announced, ITS has replaced the Composer package used for Enterprise Login integration. The previous package, utexas/utexas_pantheon_saml_auth should be replaced with utexas/pantheon_saml_integration, which provides equivalent functionality. Existing sites already using the previous plugin should email drupal-kit-support@utlists.utexas.edu for instructions on how to switch to the new plugin.
Contributed module updates
The following contributed modules are updated in this release.
- date_ap_style: from 1.0.0 to 1.1.0
- editor_advanced_link: from 1.8.0 to 1.9.0
- facets: from 1.6.0 to 1.8.0
- google_cse: from 3.3.0 to 3.4.0
- layout_builder_restrictions: from 2.8.0 to 2.9.0
- media_library_theme_reset: from 1.0.0 to 1.1.0
- responsive_tables_filter: from 1.7.0 to 1.8.0
- schema_metatag: from 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
- smart_date: from 3.2.0 to 3.3.0
Updating an existing codebase
Please visit the UT Drupal Kit 3 documentation for complete release notes and instructions for updating an existing beta codebase using Composer. Always be sure to check for available database updates after updating the codebase.
How do I get started with UTDK 3?
The first thing anyone interested in starting with UTDK 3 should do is to head over to the documentation site:
https://drupalkit.its.utexas.edu/docs/
The “What is the UT Drupal Kit?” chapter contains detailed explanations of what the Kit contains, as well as a list of differences between versions 2 and 3.
The “Getting Started” chapter includes technical requirements for running version 3, as well as detailed instructions for setting up an environment on your own local workstation, a LAMP server, or Pantheon.
If you run into problems or have questions, please check the “Support” page for available support options.
Next releases
The 3.x (Drupal 9) branch of the UT Drupal Kit is updated on a bi-monthly maintenance release schedule, with releases targeted for the second Tuesday of odd-numbered months. The next planned release is UT Drupal Kit 3.2.0, due on September 7, 2021. Please see Release Schedule for UT Drupal Kit for more details.
