ProcessWire Weekly #652

Latest core updates

This week we don't have a new version bump, but there are quite a few commits in the dev branch nevertheless. These commits focus on reliability fixes for sessions, hooks, multi-language fields, and the admin itself.

Here's what's new in the dev branch of ProcessWire since last week:

• Session handling after account updates has been refined. The session challenge cookie is now resent until the browser confirms it, and the login cookie is kept even when no challenge cookie is present. Together these should reduce unexpected logouts.
• Hooks with the same priority from different classes now run in the order they were added, making execution order more predictable. In addition, saveModuleConfigData hooks now fire for saveConfig() calls, so modules listening for config saves won't miss them.
• Uncaching a page no longer discards its unsaved changes, and repeater imports no longer depend on page paths that might not resolve.
• Language alternate fields no longer apply textformatters twice, and formatting file descriptions for output no longer updates the file's modified time.
• In the admin, the CKEditor and TinyMCE plugin scripts are now cache-busted, so browsers pick up updated versions, and the sidebar layout state handling has also been refined.

That's all for our core updates section this week. We'll be back with more updates next week, but keep on reading for other news and updates. Thanks!

New module: Native Command

Native Command is a new third-party ProcessWire module by Roych. In a nutshell it is a built-in keyboard command palette: press Alt+K anywhere, in the admin or on the front-end, to edit fields, publish or move pages, bulk-edit with selectors, undo changes, and jump to any page, template, field, or module in just a few keystrokes.

Think Spotlight / Raycast or the VS Code command palette — for your ProcessWire site. Works with any site profile, any templates and any fields. No dependencies.

— Roych

A summary of what this module can do:

• Editing in place: simple fields — e.g. text, dates, and checkboxes — are edited right in the palette, and dates can accept input like “next friday 19:30”. Complex fields — images, rich text, or repeaters — open ProcessWire’s own editor in a modal.
• Bulk actions and undo: select pages with plain words or a selector and publish, hide, move, or update them all at once. Every change you make, including entire bulk batch, can be undone with one click.
• Search and navigation: you can jump to a page, template, field, module, user, or admin screen, and make use of pins, recent items, and custom shortcuts to get quickly to frequently visited destinations.
• Security and extensibility: every action is checked against per-user permissions, selectors can't use potentially risky keywords (e.g. include or check_access), and inherently risky actions require confirmation. As for extensibility, it is possible to extend the palette with custom commands using hooks.

For more details, check out Native Command in the ProcessWire modules directory. If you'd like to give this module a try, you can install it via the built-in modules manager in the admin, or clone or download it from the NativeCommand GitHub repository. If you have questions for the author, visit the NativeCommand support forum thread.

Big thanks to Roych for creating this module!

New module: Font Awesome Pro

Font Awesome Pro is a new third-party ProcessWire module created by Macrura. As the name suggests, this module adds support for using Font Awesome Pro in ProcessWire: it loads a self-hosted Font Awesome Pro package in the admin, replacing the core Font Awesome, and extending the icon picker.

Since Font Awesome Pro is a commercially licensed font package, you'll need your own license for it. Font package lives outside the modules folder, which also means that you can update font package and the module independently. The module also includes an inputfield that you can use anywhere in the admin, as well as in modules or any other custom code using ProcessWire's inputfields.

For more details about this module, its inner workings, and the API methods it provides, check out the modules directory entry for Font Awesome Pro. If you'd like to give it a try, you can get it from the FontAwesomePro GitHub repository, or install it via the modules manager in the admin. If you have questions or need help getting started, head down to the Font Awesome Pro support forum thread.

Big thanks to Macrura for creating this module and sharing it with us!

Site of the week: Werkplaats Walter

Our latest site of the week belongs to Werkplaats Walter — an artist-driven creative workspace, recording studio, and intimate concert venue in the Cureghem district of Anderlecht in Brussels, Belgium.

Werkplaats Walter is a creative hub for Jazz and avant-garde artists based in Brussel Belgium. They have residencies, studios, workspaces and meeting rooms. There's a full size concert agenda on https://www.werkplaatswalter.be/en/music/concerts/ with an archive of almost 10 years of concerts.

— Werkplaats Walter in the ProcessWire sites directory

This site has been around for a while, but has just been redesigned and relaunched. Designed by els+onno and built by Just goe, the latest iteration features a playful yet easy to grasp user interface, striking visual design, plenty of content. and some unique features. One of those features is wweb: a conceptual "web of improvisers" that maps the network of musicians, visual artists, and ensembles that have recorded in their studios, performed in the music hall, or taken part in their off-site projects.

As for some behind the scenes details, the front-end of this site appears to be largely custom-built, as there are no signs of any full-blown front-end framework here. There are, though, various familiar JavaScript utilities — including Masonry, jQuery, slick, and Select2. As for non-core ProcessWire modules, one that we could spot in action is the first-party analytics dashboard NativeAnalytics.

Our congratulations to Werkplaats Walter for their newly updated ProcessWire site, as well as the team behind this project for a job well done!

Stay tuned for our next issue

That's it for the 652nd issue of ProcessWire Weekly. We'll be back with more news, updates, and content Saturday, 14th of November. As always, ProcessWire newsletter subscribers will get our updates a few days later.

Thanks for staying with us, once again. Hope you've had a great and productive week, and don't forget to check out the ProcessWire forums for more interesting topics. Until next week, happy hacking with ProcessWire!