Talking Drupal

Today we are talking about Workspaces, What They are, and How They Work with guest Scott Weston. We’ll also cover Workspaces Extra as our module of the week. For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/475 Topics What are Workspaces in Drupal What's a common use cases for Workspaces Are Workspaces stable Do Workspaces help with content versioning What does the module ecosystem look like for Workspaces Inspiration Workspaces best practices Any interesting ways it is being used Is there a way to access workspace content in twig Navigation integration Workspaces and workflows What aspects of a Workspace are limited to live If someone wants to get involved or get started Resources Drupal Workspaces Core issue: Media library form can only be submitted in the default workspace Integrate Navigation with Workspaces Guests Scott Weston - scott-weston Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Joshua "Josh" Mitchell - joshuami.com joshuami MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Do you want to extend the capabilities of the Workspaces system in Drupal core? There’s a module for that. Module name/project name: Workspaces Extra Brief history How old: created in Apr 2021 by Andrei Mateescu (amateescu) of tag1, who has also contributed to Workspaces in core, among other many things Versions available: 2.0.0-alpha3 which works with Drupal 10.3 or 11 Maintainership Actively maintained, latest release is less than a week old Security coverage: technically yes, but not really until it has a stable release Test coverage Number of open issues: 20 open issues, 3 of which are bugs against the current branch, though one has already been fixed Usage stats: 89 sites Module features and usage One of the big features in Drupal 10.3 was that Workspaces is now officially stable. That said, not everything works the way some site builders will want it to. That’s where a contrib solution like Workspace Extra can help to fill in the gaps It provides new options like letting you roll back changes from a published workspace, move content between workspaces, discard changes in a workspace, squashing content revisions when a workspace is published, and more Workspaces Extra, or WSE also includes a number of submodules to add even more capabilities. For example, they can allow your workspace to stage an allowlist of configuration changes, deploy workspace content using an import/export system, stage menu changes, and more. For workflow, there’s an option to generate a shareable workspace preview link for external users, and a scheduler to publish your workspace at a specific day and time I will add that the first time I played with workspaces I ran into an issue where I couldn’t create media entities within a workspace. I don’t know for sure that this hasn’t been fixed in core, but the core issue about it is still listed as “Needs work”. That said, the last comment on that issue (link in the show notes) lists WSE as something that helps, so if you encounter the same issue with Workspaces, WSE is worth a try

In this discussion, Alexander Varwijk, a Technical Architect at OpenSocial and gaming enthusiast, teams up with Martin Anderson-Clutz, a Senior Solutions Engineer at Aquia and Drupal module maintainer. They dive into the fascinating world of the Revolt Event Loop, exploring its importance for Drupal's core and improvements in managing asynchronous tasks. Topics include the impact on cron jobs, tackling test instability, and how event loops can enhance performance, especially for long-running processes. Plus, they introduce the IEF Complex Widget Dialog for more efficient content creation!

Today we are talking about Color with CSS, Sass, and bringing it all into Drupal with guest Aubrey Sambor . We’ll also cover Navigation Extra Tools as our module of the week. For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/473 Topics A little career background Why Front end Do you prefer JS or CSS How do colors work today in CSS Is this different from the past What is gamut Can color functions help with contrast What color functions make you the most excited Is Sass still a thing Do you use preprocessors with color functions Post CSS in Drupal Any modules you can recommend to help with CSS colros Any benefit for single directory compontents or web components Resources New England Drupal Camp Color in CSS: using new spaces, functions, and techniques to make your site shine Text wrap Gamut Do you still need Sass in 2023 Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Aubrey Sambor - star-shaped.org starshaped MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Have you been using the new Navigation module in Drupal core, but wanted some of the useful links previously available in the Admin Toolbar Tools submodule? There’s a module for that Module name/project name: Navigation Extra Tools Brief history How old: created in Oct 2024, less than a week ago by friend of the podcast James Shields aka lostcarpark Versions available: 1.0.0-beta3 which works with Drupal 10.3 and 11 Maintainership Actively maintained, already 3 releases Security coverage - too new, but hopefully will have in time Test coverage Number of open issues: 8 “open” issues, 4 of which are bugs, but all but one of which are now marked as fixed with the latest release Usage stats: 12 sites Module features and usage With this module enabled, the new left side Navigation menu available in Drupal core will include links to clear caches (all or a specific cache), run cron, and run database updates It’s a good example of a module that does something very specific and very useful, so I wanted to share it with our listeners as quickly as possible I know these functions are ones I’ve been missing in my own Drupal 11 dev sites, so I’m looking forward to using this module right away

Today we are talking about Access Policy API, What it does, and How you can use it with guest Kristiaan Van den Eynde. We’ll also cover Visitors as our module of the week. For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/472 Topics What is the Access Policy API Why does Drupal need the Access Policy API How did Drupal handle access before How does the Access Policy API interact with roles Does a module exist that shows a UI What is the difference between Policy Based Access Control (PBAC), Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) How does Access Policy API work with PBAC, ABAC and RBAC Can you apply an access policy via a recipe Is there a roadmap What was it like going through pitchburg How can people get involved Resources Access Policy API Access Policy Talking Drupal #226 Group Flexible Permissions External roles Test Super access policy Access policy talk at Drupalcon barcelona D.o Issue about exception on security issue Guests Kristiaan Van den Eynde - kristiaanvandeneynde Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Aubrey Sambor - star-shaped.org starshaped MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Have you ever wanted a Drupal-native solution for tracking website visitors and their behavior? There’s a module for that Module name/project name: Visitors Brief history How old: created in Mar 2009 by gashev, though recent releases are by Steven Ayers (bluegeek9) Versions available: 8.x-2.19, which works with Drupal 10 and 11 Maintainership Actively maintained Security coverage Test coverage Documentation guide is available Number of open issues: 20 open issues, none of which are bugs against the 8.x branch Usage stats: Over 6,000 sites Module features and usage A benefit of using a Drupal-native solution is that you retain full ownership over your visitor data. Not sharing that data with third parties can be important for data protection regulations, as well as data privacy concerns. You also have a variety of reports you can access directly within the Drupal UI, including top pages, referrers, and more There is a submodule for geoip lookups using Maxmind, if you also want reporting on what region, country, or city your visitors hail from It provides drush commands to download a geoip database, and then update your data based on geoip lookups using that database It should be mentioned that the downside of using Drupal as your analytics solution is the potential performance impact and also a likely uptick in usage for hosts that charge based on the number of dynamic requests served

Today we are talking about Freemium Drupal Modules, The WordPress hub-bub, and Drupal, Now with AI with our hosts. We’ll also cover FullCalendar as our module of the week. For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/471 Topics Freemium Drupal Wordpress controversy Drupal CMS and AI Resources Dries Wordpress Blog Post Non-Code Contribution: Using your passion and skills to power open source. DrupalCon Barcelona Driesnote Drupal AI Guests Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Aubrey Sambor - star-shaped.org starshaped Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Have you ever wanted an interactive calendar to display your Drupal events with drag-and-drop rescheduling, and without using jQuery? There’s a module for that. Module name/project name: FullCalendar Brief history How old: created in Sep 2010 by ablondeau, though I’ve been behind the most recent releases Versions available: 7.x-2.0 and 3.0.0-beta2 versions available, the latter of which supports Drupal 10 and 11 Maintainership Actively maintained, latest release was this morning Security coverage, though technically the 3.0.x branch will have it once it’s stable Test coverage, minimal but on the roadmap Documentation - does have a user guide, but created for the D7 version, so newer documentation is needed Number of open issues: 337 open issues, none of which are bugs against the 3.0.x branch Usage stats: 3,388 sites, though the vast majority of those are for the D7 version, since the 3.0.x branch is very new Module features and usage No jQuery! Lots of configurability plus some extras specifically for Drupal Drag-and-drop to alter events Option to require confirmation Can display toast-style notifications when updates are save Double-click on a day or time to create an event at that time Can display events from different content types, even if they use different fields to store dates, and yes, even different kinds of fields, so a mixture of core and Smart Date fields will work You can set default colors and output type (block or the newer, list-item display), and the ability to override color based on content type or a taxonomy reference This module had been essentially dormant for over 4 years, but I decided to work with Jürgen Haas on reviving it after a similar and popular project called Fullcalendar View was not only marked as “Minimally maintained” and “Maintenance fixes only”, but the project page directed users to contact the maintainer to pay for a premium version, in order to use the current version of the Fullcalendar JS library, or to load events via AJAX, which as been an often-requested feature because Fullcalendar View has had common reports of performance problems on sites with lots of event data. Worse, the maintainer has closed as “won’t fix” issues that had community-provided patches, because he only wanted to provide said improvements in the paid, premium version In my work on the Events recipe for Drupal CMS, I knew that having a solid calendar would be important, and I didn’t feel good about relying on a module that seemed to be pushing users more and more towards a paid model. I’m grateful to Jurgen and everyone who worked on FullCalendar before us for creating such a robust and extensible code base

In this discussion, Jim Birch, a Drupal specialist and the head of a team at Canopy Studios, shares insights on creating effective recipes for Drupal environments. He explains the significance of the Recipe Author Guide and delves into practical tips for managing dependencies and ensuring streamlined execution. Birch also highlights the evolution of the Drupal Recipes Initiative, inviting community members to contribute to its growth. Listeners will discover how efficient configuration management can enhance their site development experience.

Today we are talking about Drupal’s Popularity & Dev Experience, what could be better, and things that are great with guest Nathan Dentzau. We’ll also cover Spam Master as our module of the week. For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/469 Topics Drupal's popularity What can Drupal to enhance popularity and enhance dev experience What is missing in Drupal What could use improvement in Drupal What about recent tooling improvements Drupal CMS (Starshot) Resources New drupal Drupal at your fingertips Laravel Next.js Document using DDEV as the recommended Drupal local development environment Just say drupal Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Nate Dentzau - dentzau.com nathandentzau MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Have you ever wanted to defend your Drupal website from webform spam using a constantly updating list of known bad actors? There’s a module for that. Module name/project name: Spam Master Brief history How old: created in Mar 2018 by Pedro Alves (pedro-alves) Versions available: 8.x-1.99 and 8.x-2.50, the latter of which support Drupal versions 8 through 11 Maintainership Actively maintained Security coverage Documentation on SpamMaster.org Number of open issues: no open issues Usage stats: 449 sites Module features and usage Spam Master is a website protection technology that was originally created back in 2012, and is used across sites based on a variety of technologies, including Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, and more It uses a variety of techniques to identify and block malicious actors, including “real-time block lists”, honeypot traps, comment analysis, and more By maintaining a list of known bad actors, tracked by IP address and email addresses used, you can also benefit from a “network effect” by being able to identify them based on malicious behavior on any of the thousands of sites using Spam Master The module claims compatibility with a variety of forms, including registration, comments, commerce, and more It includes a variety of reports you can use to understand the amount of spam your site is receiving, and the module can automatically send you an email if it believes your site has reached “Level 3” of spam targeting Spam Master does use licenses on SpamMaster.org, but free licenses are available

Jamie Abrahams, an expert in AI and Drupal, discusses the transformative power of artificial intelligence in content management. He dives into the new AI SEO Analyzer module, enhancing SEO practices for Drupal sites. The conversation further explores evolving AI integration, including advancements in search techniques and user accessibility. Jamie highlights challenges and innovations within the Drupal community, emphasizing future opportunities for AI in streamlining processes and improving user experience. Don't miss these insights on bridging technology with creativity!

In this engaging discussion, Alex Pott, a seasoned Drupal developer, and Adam Globus-Hoenich, an expert in enhancing Drupal functionalities, dive deep into the Config Actions System. They explain how it streamlines configuration changes without coding complexity. The duo also unveils the versatile Events recipe, tailored for managing events effortlessly. Insights on community collaboration, legacy support, and the future of Drupal recipes make this conversation a must-listen for developers looking to enhance their Drupal experience.

Today we are talking about Progressive migration with Drupal, What it is, and how you can do it with your organization with guest Stephen Cross. We’ll also cover Views JSON Source as our module of the week. For show notes visit: www.talkingDrupal.com/466 Topics What is a progressive migration What other types of migration are there What problem does progressive migration solve at the ATF What versions of Drupal are involved Technical implementation Technical challenges Non-Technical challenges Processes needed for success When to use another migration process Resources Drupal GovCon Presentation - Progressive Migration Talking Drupal #334 - Managing Drupal Teams in Government Guests Stephen Cross - stephencross.com stephencross Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Nate Dentzau - dentzau.com nathandentzau MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu Brief description: Have you ever wanted to use Drupal’s Views interface to allow visitors to browse and navigate data from another source? There’s a module for that Module name/project name: Views JSON Source Brief history How old: created in Apr 2020 by Pradeep Venugopal (venugopp), but recent releases are by Viktor Holovachek (astonvictor), a member of the Ukraine Drupal community Versions available: 2.0.2 compatible with Drupal 8.8 and newer, all the way up to Drupal 11 Maintainership Actively maintained Security coverage Documentation: pretty lengthy README to help you get started Number of open issues: 17 open issues, 4 of which are bugs against the current branch, although one had a fixed merged in the past week Usage stats: 1,641 sites Module features and usage After installing the module, you can create a view and specify it should show “JSON” instead of some kind of content entity In the view settings you can then provide a URL for where to retrieve the JSON, and an optional Apath value to indicate a section of the data to show It also supports contextual filters, so you can create a single view that will show different sections of data depending on the path used to access it From there you can build out your view in the normal way: using fields to specify what data should be shown and how, filters to limit which rows will be shown, and sort criteria to specify the order in which it will be listed. And of course, the ability to expose controls for users to filter and sort the data in ways that meet their own needs make this an extremely powerful way to make data available to your site’s visitors We spoke a couple of episodes ago about how powerful it can be to use Drupal as the “glass” or experience layer through which visitors can interact with other systems, and I think this is another great example of that