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Layout Builder Import Export

Version 1.0.0

A custom Drupal module for exporting and quick-editing the editorial text content of Layout Builder block_content entities and their paragraph trees.

Requirements

The module traverses entity_reference_revisions fields to reach nested paragraph entities. The paragraphs contrib module is not declared as a dependency because the traversal is performed via Drupal's core field API and works with any entity that uses that field type.

Installation

Repository clean-up before committing

Two files must be removed before pushing to the repository:

Add temp/ to the module's .gitignore to prevent accidental future commits:

Architecture

BlockTextExporter service

layout_builder_import_export.block_text_exporter

Injected into both the controller and the form. This is the only place that defines:

• Which field types are exportable (string, text_long, link, etc.)
• Which field names are excluded (CSS classes, HTML tags, icons, etc.)
• How the paragraph tree is traversed (up to MAX_DEPTH levels)

Any change to what gets exported must be made only here.

Usage

1. Quick Edit tab (primary workflow)

Navigate to /admin/content/block, open any block, and click the Quick Edit tab alongside Edit and Translate.

Three sub-modes are available as vertical tabs:

Fields mode (default)

One input per text field, grouped by paragraph entity. Formatted text fields (text_long, text_with_summary) render with the full CKEditor 5 editor, giving access to configured styles and image upload. Link URI fields for internal nodes use Drupal's native entity autocomplete. Plain string fields render as standard textfields.

Text mode (AI translation)

Outputs a numbered plain-text format optimised for AI translation:

A ready-to-use AI prompt is displayed above the textarea. Copy the content, send to an AI assistant with the prompt, paste the response back (the module strips markdown code fences automatically), and click Save Text.

JSON mode

Full export document for scripting or batch processing. The structure includes item IDs, langcode, and new_value placeholders. See the endpoint section below for the document format.

Language / translation

There is no manual language selector. The active language is determined by Drupal's URL language negotiation:

• /ca/block/34/quick-edit → reads and writes in Catalan
• /es/block/34/quick-edit → reads and writes in Spanish

Recommended translation workflow:

1. Create the block translation via Drupal's native Translate tab.
2. Navigate to the block list in the target language (e.g. /es/admin/content/block).
3. Open Quick Edit — the form is now in Spanish context.
4. Edit fields or use the Text/JSON tab with an AI assistant.
5. Save. Paragraph translations are created automatically when they do not exist.

Prerequisite: paragraph text fields must be marked as Translatable in /admin/config/regional/content-language. The form warns before saving if it detects non-translatable fields.

2. JSON export endpoint (read-only)

Example response:

Item ID formats:

3. Debug endpoint (development only)

Returns the complete field structure of the block, including system fields, computed fields, and referenced entities one level deep. Use this to diagnose why a specific field is missing from the normal export. Remove or restrict access to this endpoint in production if sensitive field data is a concern.

Field filtering rules

Applied in order by BlockTextExporter:

1. Field type — Only string, string_long, text, text_long, text_with_summary, and link fields are considered.

2. Naming convention — Fields not prefixed with field_ are always excluded (Drupal base fields: langcode, status, parent_id, etc.).

3. Explicit exclusion list — Fields excluded despite using a text type: field_attribute_class, field_attribute_id, field_attribute_rel, field_attribute_target, field_html_tag, field_accordion_behavior.

4. Pattern exclusion — Any field whose name contains icon is excluded.

field_custom_attributes is not excluded because it may contain accessibility strings (e.g. aria-description="See all services") that are genuine editorial content. The AI prompt instructs the assistant to translate only attribute values, not attribute names, and to skip boolean values.

To add or remove exclusions, edit the constants in src/Service/BlockTextExporter.php.

Paragraph traversal depth

MAX_DEPTH = 3 (defined in BlockTextExporter). Increasing it risks issues with circular references in unusual paragraph configurations.

Security

• All routes require administer site configuration.
• persistItems() checks $entity->access('update') before writing, providing defence-in-depth even when the route permission is already restrictive.
• The debug endpoint checks $entity->access('view') before including referenced entities in the response.
• The Quick Edit form validates that every submitted item ID belongs to the block being edited. Submitting IDs from a different block is rejected.
• Entities are saved without creating a new revision (setNewRevision(FALSE)) to keep entity_reference_revisions pointers in the parent block valid.

Planned features

• Import via file upload — Accept a JSON file at a dedicated import route.
• Clone mode — Duplicate a block and all its paragraphs with new_value overrides.