Problem/Motivation

Currently, we are discussing updating how Blocks and Layouts are displayed. Block elements may be moved from Manage > Structure to Content and Appearance. This is going to be confusing to users.

When dramatic changes are made to the navigation, users should be alerted to it, so that they know that there is a change.

Currently, release managers will know about changes like this because it is in the changelog, but at not point are other authors and admin informed about the UI changes.

Proposed resolution

Users could be alerted by:

  • Adding a notice in the menu about recent UI changes
  • Adding information about the update in the user dashboard about recent UI changes
  • Adding information in the Help section about UI implications with different releases (including the latest one)
  • Including a note in the landing page about recent UI changes

Remaining tasks

  • Decide on the solution
  • Implement solutions

User interface changes

TBD

API changes

None

Data model changes

None

Release notes snippet

Comments

mgifford created an issue. See original summary.

aaronmchale’s picture

aaronmchale
Primary language English
Location Edinburgh, Scotland
commented

One thing we have done, as of #3333383: Create a redirect for the new Block types path, is establish a UI pattern for how we provide a redirect and BC layer for when we do change paths in the Admin UI. So if a user has bookmarked an affected path in the admin UI, they will get a warning message letting them know about the change.

That helps, but as this issue points out it doesn't really help people who have just updated and are now trying to figure out where a link went that they were previously using for X number of years.

I don't have a solution to that problem yet, and historically, aside from release notes and documentation updates we haven't done anything in the UI itself (that I'm aware of), which sadly seems to be a common practice these days across software, I think to the point where users have come to expect that every update will confuse them by moving things around with no warning.

Version: 10.1.x-dev » 11.x-dev

Drupal core is moving towards using a “main” branch. As an interim step, a new 11.x branch has been opened, as Drupal.org infrastructure cannot currently fully support a branch named main. New developments and disruptive changes should now be targeted for the 11.x branch, which currently accepts only minor-version allowed changes. For more information, see the Drupal core minor version schedule and the Allowed changes during the Drupal core release cycle.

andypost’s picture

andypost
he/him
Primary language Russian
commented

Help module can provide special section plugin, or even help topic which will be generated from changelog for example

Version: 11.x-dev » main

Drupal core is now using the main branch as the primary development branch. New developments and disruptive changes should now be targeted to the main branch.

Read more in the announcement.