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SilverStripe Blocks

Simple content blocks system. Nothing fancy, easy to implement.

Requirements

See composer.json

Installation

Add the following to your config.yml (optional):

Use Page or other class that extends SiteTree.

In your Layout/Page.ss template, add the following:

Configuration

Add / remove available block classes

Position page template content between blocks

Add / remove available alternate block layouts

"layout_src": directory that holds folders of different layouts with .ss templates "layout_icon_src": directory that holds all the layout icons "layout_dist_dir": specificed the css for block layouts

CSS file will only be included with the syntax of 'theme/themename/dist/styles/$LayoutName-$BlockType.css"

Ensure there are at least one CustomBlock.ss and 'customblock.svg' icon in each of the specified directory. Layout will be available for all subsites.

.ss template naming

You may have multiple layouts, please ensure you have the block.ss created under a new layout folder in the src directory. e.g. 'app/templates/Toast/Blocks/CustomLayoutNameOne/ImageBlock.ss' or 'app/templates/Toast/Blocks/CustomLayoutNameTwo/ImageBlock.ss'

Layout icon naming:

Please ensure the layout icon are named after the block name are all in lowercase, e.g. customblock.svg. e.g. 'app/client/images/layout-icons/customlayoutone/customblock.svg' or 'app/templates/Toast/Blocks/customlayouttwo/customblock.svg'

Icon extensions

Allowed extension: 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'png', 'gif', 'bmp', 'svg'

Per-layout configuration (labels, icons, disabling)

Use layout_config on any block class to customise the label or icon shown in the CMS layout picker, or to disable a layout entirely. Keys are short layout folder names (e.g. Default, Split).

View the available icon classes here: client/fonts/layout-icons/font/preview.html

Supported keys per layout entry:

Icon resolution priority: layout_icon_path → layout_icon_class → auto-discovered SVG from layout_icon_src directory.

Full class-name keys (e.g. Toast\Blocks\Default\TextBlock) are still supported for backward compatibility.

Excluding layouts

Use exclude_layouts alongside layout_config to hide one or more layouts from the picker without specifying full config entries. This is the quickest way to remove a layout.

Precedence rules:

• layout_config.<Layout>.disabled: true takes precedence over exclude_layouts.
• exclude_layouts only hides layouts from the CMS picker — the .ss template file must still exist for the block to render correctly if a record already holds that layout value.
• YAML cannot create layouts. A .ss template file must exist for a layout to appear.

Fallback when a saved layout is removed

If a block record has a previously saved layout that is later excluded or disabled, the block will automatically fall back to the Default layout at render time and on next save. If Default is also unavailable, the first available layout is used instead.

When a content editor opens such a block in the CMS, a warning notice will appear above the layout picker advising them that the previous layout is no longer available and prompting them to select a replacement and save.

Create a custom block

Extend Block to create a new block type.

/themes/default/templates/Toast/Blocks/MyBlock.ss:

Block Method Reference

The Toast\Blocks\Block class exposes the following methods.

Public methods

Rendering and CMS

• forTemplate(): string - Resolve and render the active template with fallback.
• getCMSFields() - Build CMS fields for block editing.
• getAvailableLayouts($className = null) - Return discovered/allowed layouts.
• getOptionsForLayouts($layouts = []) - Build icon/label options for layout selectors.
• getTemplateOptionsField() - Return selector field (OptionsetField, DropdownField, or hidden fallback).
• getCSSFile() - Resolve the CSS file for the current layout/template.
• onBeforeWrite() - Enforce template fallback and persist CSS file path.
• getTemplateClass() - Return default template class name.
• populateDefaults() - Set default/fallback template on new records.

Display and metadata

• getContentSummary() - CMS summary for content/heading.
• getIconForCMS() - Block icon HTML shown in CMS.
• IconForCMS() - Alias for getIconForCMS().
• getTitle() - Display title fallback to block singular name.
• getApiURL() - API endpoint URL for this block.
• getBlockTemplateName() - Short class name used as template base.
• getHtmlID() - Deterministic HTML id value for this block.
• getDisplayTitle() - Title with parent page context.
• getImageFocusPosition($imageid = null) - Return focus point CSS position for an image.
• getBlockID() - Anchor-friendly block id (from AnchorName or fallback).
• getExtraRequirements() - Extra frontend requirements injected by extensions.
• getBlockSpecificExtraClasses() - Extra CSS classes injected by extensions.

Linking and preview

• getLink($action = null) - Relative URL to this block anchor.
• Link($action = null) - Alias for getLink().
• getBlockLink($parent) - Block link for a specific parent page.
• getBlockPreviewURL($anchor = null) - CMS preview URL including stage/subsite params.
• getAbsoluteLink($action = null) - Absolute stage URL to this block anchor.
• AbsoluteLink($action = null) - Alias for getAbsoluteLink().

Page relationships

• getLinkedPagesList() - Comma-separated linked page titles.
• getAllPages() - Unique pages (main + subsites) using this block.
• getPagesFromSiteTree() - Pages using this block in current context.
• getPagesFromMainSite() - Pages using this block in main site context.
• getPagesFromSubsites() - Pages using this block across all subsites.
• getParentPage() - Attempt to resolve current parent page.
• getPage() - Resolve page owning this block in current controller context.
• getCMSParentPage() - Current CMS parent page.
• getCMSEditLink(): ?string - Direct CMS edit URL for this block.
• getCMSSiblingBlocks() - Sibling blocks on the same page.
• getCMSSiblingBlocksLinks() - HTML list of sibling block links.

Permissions and lifecycle

• canView($member = null)
• canEdit($member = null)
• canDelete($member = null)
• canCreate($member = null, $context = [])
• canDeleteFromLive($member = null)
• canPublish($member = null)
• canArchive($member = null)
• isPublished()
• isNew()
• doArchive()

Key protected methods for subclasses

These are not part of the public API, but are useful if you extend Block and override behavior.

• Layout config and filtering:
  • getLayoutConfig(), getExcludedLayouts(), getLayoutConfigEntry(...), isLayoutDisabled(...)
  • filterLayoutsByClassName(...), filterToConfiguredLayouts(...), filterDisabledLayouts(...)
• Layout discovery:
  • discoverLayouts(), discoverModuleLayouts(), discoverAdditionalLayouts(), scanTemplateDirectory(...)
• Icon resolution:
  • getConfiguredLayoutIcon(...), getLayoutIconClass(...), getDiscoveredLayoutIcon(...), getLayoutIconSourcePath()
  • buildLayoutOption(...), getLayoutOptionLabel(...)
• Template fallback and warnings:
  • resolveTemplateWithFallback(...), getAvailableTemplateClasses(...), isTemplateMissing(), getTemplateMissingNoticeField()
• URL helpers:
  • getCurrentCMSRecord(), getLinkParentPage(), buildBlockLinkFromParent(...), appendQueryParams(...), appendHash(...)

Todo: