Widget Pages

[Alpha1]

Please consider to extend the XF2 widget system with widget pages: Pages that have widgets only.
We can then add whatever widget we like to the page and set up custom pages.

This would allow us to create a widget page to use as a home page portal.
It would also allow us to create various custom pages.
I'm sure that addon developers would find many uses for it.

 

[RobParker]

This could be extremely powerful and is a great suggestion. Hope it happens!

 

[Kirby]

Hmm ... that is possible out of the box?

Just create a page with a template like this

<xf:widget key="widget_1"/>
<xf:widget key="widget_2"/>
<xf:widget key="widget_3"/>

and activate checkbox Advanced Mode

 

[Chris D]

That would certainly be a sufficient approach right now.

 

[RobParker]

Hmm ... that is possible out of the box?

Just create a page with a template like this

<xf:widget key="widget_1"/>
<xf:widget key="widget_2"/>
<xf:widget key="widget_3"/>

and activate checkbox Advanced Mode

It is now. It wasn't in 2016.

It works great and you can build a whole portal page out of Pages and Widgets.

 

[Chris D]

Well, I think the only thing we changed since then was the advanced mode, which removes the default "block" wrapper for the content, but it's always been possible to call widgets by key or configure them in place.

 

[RobParker]

That would certainly be a sufficient approach right now.

I'm reading too much into "sufficient" and "right now" aren't I? That sounds like you're hinting at a portal addon

 

[Chris D]

Yes, you are reading too much into it

I'm just saying that in lieu of any specific changes related to the suggestion in the OP, adding widgets directly in the page node's specific template is a reasonable solution.

 

[Alpha1]

Widget pages should be usable to n00b admins. i.e. Add widget page function, add widgets. Done.
Preferably with drag n drop.

 

[Kirby]

That would be ideal, yes. But honestly - if you really want to customize any software apart from changes possible through GUI you will have to learn it's internal workings/code.
And what is possible through manual customization is usually much more powerful than what a GUI could offer.

Think WordPress for example, there is tons of functionality that relies on "shortcodes" - this not so much different from <xf:widget key="..." />

 

[Alpha1]

True, but this suggestion is not about customization but about having an easy to use widget system which sets the standard for addons.

 

[Kirby]

Well, your original suggestion was

Please consider to extend the XF2 widget system with widget pages: Pages that have widgets only.
We can then add whatever widget we like to the page and set up custom pages.

This is possible, you can add whatever widget you like to a page.

Being able to create wigets only pages with a nice GUI would be another request in my mind

 

[Alpha1]

It depends if XF functionality is supposed to work for people who are not comfortable with editing templates.