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In the above video, we’ll take our first look at Drupal CMS Beta, part of the Drupal Starshot initiative. This initiative aims to provide a downloadable packaged version of Drupal with pre-installed and configured contributed modules.
In the show notes below, you’ll learn about the Drupal Starshot Initiative, Drupal CMS, and how to install it using DDEV.
We’ll then explore Drupal CMS’s functionality and examine some modules included in the packaged solution.
What’s Drupal Starshot Initiative
The Drupal Starshot Initiative is an exciting project that will propel Drupal into the future. Announced this year, it focuses on enhancing user experience, accessibility, and the overall capabilities of Drupal CMS.
This program includes automated upgrades, a new experience builder, a project explorer, recipes and more. Each of these components is essential in improving the user-friendliness and accessibility of Drupal for developers and regular users.
Key Components of the Starshot Initiative
- Automatic Updates: Keeping your site secure and up-to-date without manual intervention.
- Experience Builder: Tools that allow users to create content and layouts without coding.
- Project Browser: A feature that simplifies finding and installing modules.
- Recipes: Way to package and distribute configurations and features.
Introduction to Drupal CMS
The Drupal Starshot Initiative introduced Drupal CMS as a default package with pre-installed modules.
This eliminates manual installation and module setup, providing users with a ready-to-use platform.
The streamlined approach helps beginners and experts quickly launch websites with essential features already in place.
What is Drupal?
Drupal is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that helps you build and maintain websites and web applications.
It’s known for its flexibility, robust security, and ability to handle complex, high-traffic websites.
Drupal powers millions of websites worldwide, from personal blogs to enterprise-level platforms. It has a large ecosystem of free themes and modules, making it possible to create almost any website you can imagine.
Setting Up Drupal CMS with DDEV
Before using Drupal CMS, set up your development environment with DDEV.
DDEV is a Docker-based tool that creates local development environments for Drupal (and other PHP-based software) across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
Installation Steps for DDEV
- Install Docker: DDEV relies on Docker, so ensure it’s installed on your machine.
- Install DDEV: Follow the installation instructions for your operating system on the DDEV website.
- Set Up Your Project: Navigate to your project directory and run
ddev configto configure your project. - Start DDEV: Use the command
ddev startto start your local environment.
Installing Drupal CMS
Once DDEV is running, you can install Drupal CMS using either the packaged version (with pre-configured components) or the Git version, depending on your needs.
The packaged version includes all the components and configurations required to simplify the setup process.
Download packaged version (zip-file)
UPDATE: After the recording, it was mentioned that in 99.9% of use cases, you would use the packaged version, and you would only use the Git version if you wanted to contribute to the project.
The Git version offers flexibility for developers who wish to contribute to the project.
$ git clone https://git.drupalcode.org/project/drupal_cms.gitInstalling Drupal CMS Using DDEV
- Clone the Repository: If using the Git version, clone the Drupal CMS repository to your local machine.
- Run DDEV Commands: Navigate to your project directory and run ddev start to initiate the installation process.
- Follow the Installation Wizard: Open your browser and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
INFO: Check out “Installing Drupal CMS (or Drupal Starshot) using DDEV” by Dries Buytaert
Exploring the Dashboard and User Interface
After setting up Drupal CMS, you will be redirected to the Dashboard page.
The simple layout provides easy access to content creation, design tools, and site settings for efficient website management.
You can edit the dashboard and add blocks to regions by clicking Edit Layout and Add Block in a region.
Backend and Frontend Theme
Drupal CMS uses Gin theme for administration and a custom Olivero based theme for the public-facing site.
Editor and Content Management
Let’s delve deeper into the editor and content management capabilities of Drupal CMS.
The editor is user-friendly, offering tools to help you format your content effectively.
Editor Features
- Text Formatting: You have access to basic formatting options like bold, italics, and bullet lists.
- Media Library: Easily embed images and videos from your media library using the core Media module.
- Linking: You can add links to your text, essential for connecting your readers to other resources using the Linkit module.
At the top of the editor, you will find buttons for publishing, saving, and previewing your content. Keep in mind that the delete function will move your content to the trash instead of permanently deleting it.
Coffee Module
Drupal CMS ships with Coffee, an excellent module for jumping between back-end pages.
Click the “Go To” option at the corner to display the box.
Start searching for pages using the pop-up.
INFO: Read “Navigate between Admin Pages using Coffee in Drupal” to learn more about the Coffee module.
Content Management
Drupal CMS allows you to organise and handle your content effectively. You can easily manage all your posts when you navigate to the content overview section (/admin/content) in Drupal CMS.
You can edit, remove content, and even copy any post there. This feature is helpful, especially when you need to create similar posts.
New Trash Feature
The trash feature is an addition that enables users to quickly retrieve mistakenly deleted posts—a feature that many users are accustomed to and find helpful in navigating Drupal more smoothly.
Go to the Trash page (/admin/content/trash) to see deleted content. From there, you can restore or purge items, permanently deleting the content.
Leveraging the Project Browser and Recipes
One of the projects within the Starshot Initiative is the Project Browser and Automatic Updates, which will allow you to search for modules, install them, and keep them up to date within a Drupal site without manually running Composer.
Using the Project Browser
Access the Project Browser through the “Extend” tab to explore installed and available modules.
To install a module, click “Select” and click “Install Selected Projects” in the bottom left.
NOTE: During the live stream, this functionality did not work. Remember, Drupal CMS is still in beta.
Understanding Recipes
A recent addition to Drupal, recipes enable users to package and share configuration across sites, serving as a useful way to share optimized configuration.
To see all available recipes, click on the Recipes tab in the Browse Project page. Click Select and then click Install Selected Project to install the recipe.
NOTE: If you want to learn more about recipes, check out the Recipes Initiative page.
If you’d like to access all the code about the recipes, head over to the recipes directory.
Using the ECA Module for Workflow
The Events Conditions Actions (ECA) module in Drupal CMS is a feature that lets you set up custom workflows without the need for any code. You can automate tasks based on events using this module.
Setting Up ECA
You can create and manage your ECA configuration by navigating to Configuration and clicking on ECA.
You can view all models from this page and create your own by clicking “Add New Model” in the top right corner.
Duplicate functionality built with ECA
Believe it or not, the duplicate functionality is implemented using only ECA and no other third-party modules.
ECA was set up to include the link in both the operations column and the local task, creating the duplicated entity without the need for custom coding or a module.
Summary
The latest Drupal CMS beta release introduces enhanced website management capabilities with pre-configured tools that work immediately upon installation.
Essential modules include LinkIt for content relationships, Coffee for efficient page navigation, Pathauto, Redirect, MetaTag Module, and SimpleXML for core functionality.
A notable addition is the trash feature, which safely stores deleted content for potential recovery, preventing accidental permanent deletions.
The Event Condition Action (ECA) system empowers users to create website features through a no-code interface, making website development accessible to non-programmers.
Now a question for all of you: What features do you think Drupal CMS should include?
Please let me know in the comments below.
