“Static” / template-type reusable blocks

I should add that the functionality i’m looking for was originally provided by a plugin called Global Content Blocks, that i understand is now depreceated due to security reasons.

If your intent is to enforce a highly structured format, I question if a an editor block is the right approach since users could chose to use different blocks or add others before and after yours. There are a few possible approaches, none being really “wrong”. but depending on you actual intent, some would be better or worse than others.

Assuming this is for a specific site and not intended to be distributed to others, I would create an actual theme template just for member pages. I might even create a custom post type for member pages to further enforce the use of the related template. When you add custom templates, it’s important to create a child theme for them unless you are already using a bespoke theme. Custom post types don’t normally belong in themes, but for site specific work it’s fine.

I’d then use meta boxes to present independent fields for user supplied elements. You could code your own meta boxes, but it’s convenient to utilize a custom fields plugin of some sort to save you the trouble. The member template can then fetch all the related field data and display it in a uniform, organized manner.

Another approach instead of pages or custom post types is to add fields to user profiles and utilize templates intended for post authors to present the supplied data. This still involves a custom template. Its intended use is just different. Which approach is better will partly depend on what URL you want to be used to access the member pages and which UI you think is preferable, profile screen or post edit screen.

Thanks for the reply.
The site admin is actually creating a page for each user, and then they have the privileges to edit their page only. So the admin is creating the initial page and importing the content block, and at a later stage, the user is adding pictures, blurb etc.
So just to confirm, is the above not possible with the gutenberg blocks?
I am using a custom theme, so a custom template is a possibility – will that achieve the above? If the admin just creates the members page, selects the “members” template, then the users will be able to fill it in?
Can you link to any examples of the above?
I’d rather just store the content as html than worry about meta boxes etc.

You could use the block editor to accomplish what you want. What you describe doesn’t sound much different than a group block which contains an image and paragraph block. The only advantage I see to a custom block is it would save the author the trouble of assembling something similar from independent blocks. There’s no reason your block scheme shouldn’t work AFAIK. Apparently you’ve done something wrong which is confusing how the block is associated to a post. If you post your code, maybe someone here could spot the problem.

Based on your further description of the intended process, I would suggest my “other approach” of placing fields on the user profile form and customizing the post author template to display these fields. Then an admin doesn’t need to bother creating anything for new members. They can go straight to their profile form to add their image and content. You don’t even need a meta box on the profile forms, you hook an action and output the desired fields. Another hook saves the entered data. You can still use the tinyMCE editor for user supplied HTML content.

If you prefer, a custom fields plugin can manage all that for you, you merely define your fields and alter the theme’s author template. The default URL to the page would be similar to example.info/author/new-user-name/ but the “author” base element can be redefined to be “member” or anything else that works for you.

I think this tutorial covers what I’m describing. I’ve actually not followed it, I found it after a quick search and scan of the article content. If you want more similar articles, my search terms were “wordpress acf user profile fields”. ACF, Advanced Custom Fields, is one of the most popular custom fields plugin. You can use it no matter where you want users to edit their content.

Ok, lets just run through a use-case to make the blocks aren’t going to cut it, as i’d prefer to use them if possible.
1). Create a new block consisting of a media block (image and text) and a table. Group them and save them as a resusable block named “MyBlock1”.
2). In page 1, add MyBlock1 and save the page (without editing the block).
3). In page 2, add MyBlock1. To add an image, you need to double click the block so it is editable. Add an image from the media library, and some text, save it. Save the page.
4). View page 1, either in the editor or on the actual site, and the block has been updated with the block contents of page 2.
Conclusion: Not reusable! The idea of the blocks is great, but it should not over write the original block – i was hoping the block would just be a template that was inserted into the page, or at least have an option of providing a read-only block vs an overwritable block.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 12 months ago by ts_hamlet.

You’re misunderstanding how reusable blocks work. Think of them as a custom post type that you can insert into other pages. When you edit that block post on one page, all other pages with the same block post are instantly updated as well, because the block content is stored in one post record and reused on multiple pages. They are not blank templates but groups of discrete content that can be called upon multiple times without needing to re-copy the content every time. Then when you need to update such a block, it only needs to be changed in one place and the change is reflected on all pages where the block is used. Very useful when you have such a need. It’s just not what you need.

In fact, reusable blocks really are a special “wp_block” post type. In order to use a complex block as a template which contains its own unique content for every instance, you need to develop your own custom block type that is truly a blank template. Such block types occur with the other default blocks types instead of under reusable blocks.
https://developer.www.ads-software.com/block-editor/tutorials/block-tutorial/writing-your-first-block-type/

These block types were what I thought you had in my previous replies. Apologies for my confusion about what kind of block you were using.

Yes i agree that my interpretation of the use of the blocks is different from how it is intended, and can see how they can be useful in other scenarios.

For templating, i found (an outdated) plugin called TinyMCE Templates that provides the functionality i need, although i’m not sure how much longer it will work with wordpress as it is a couple of years old at this date.

However, i am intrigued by your suggestion:

Based on your further description of the intended process, I would suggest my “other approach” of placing fields on the user profile form and customizing the post author template to display these fields. Then an admin doesn’t need to bother creating anything for new members. They can go straight to their profile form to add their image and content. You don’t even need a meta box on the profile forms, you hook an action and output the desired fields. Another hook saves the entered data. You can still use the tinyMCE editor for user supplied HTML content.

If you prefer, a custom fields plugin can manage all that for you, you merely define your fields and alter the theme’s author template. The default URL to the page would be similar to example.info/author/new-user-name/ but the “author” base element can be redefined to be “member” or anything else that works for you.

This will be easier for uses to edit their info, as it’s all in one place, and less work for the admin to do.
So i have installed the ACF plugin, added some custom fields to the profile which can be saved and is working well. What i am now looking for is for the member pages to be loaded dynamically? For example, if a viewer browsers to /view-member/member-x, /view-member/member-y it will show a page with member([x|y]) new profile information respectively (not the default wordpress user profile page).

I should add – i have already created a template file \my-theme\page-templates\page-our-members.php, but i can’t grab the user info from the url to load the profile info to display. So for example site/view-member/joe-bloggs will show the profile info (added from ACF) in the page, site/view-member/jean-bloggs will show jeans extra profile info etc.

Ok, in my page-our-members.php i’ve added the following code:

<?php get_header(); ?>
    <?php while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
	<?php
        	$userSlug =  $wp_query->query_vars['pagename'];
		$user = get_user_by('slug', $userSlug);
		print_r($user);
	?>
	<?php thinkup_input_nav( 'nav-below' ); ?>
	<?php thinkup_input_allowcomments(); ?>
	<?php endwhile; wp_reset_postdata(); ?>
<?php get_footer(); ?>

…but the returned user object does not have the field values added by ACF?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 12 months ago by ts_hamlet.

That’s right. ACF doesn’t alter the user object itself. It adds meta data that relate to the user record. You could use get_user_meta(), but ACF has its own function with which to get field data: get_field(). The syntax is a little strange, documented here:
https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/how-to-get-values-from-a-user/

Yes that’s working fantastically, thank you for your help so far.

I just have one issue remaining. This approach seems to work only if there is a page that already exists eg a page called john-doe (parent page: our members). If i enter a non-existent name i get a 404, instead of the logic running through this page and the member not being found. How can i make this dynamic, so that i don’t need / can remove all the actual pages, so that the admin doesn’t need to create a page for each member? And would i link to them like a normal page too?

Yes, needing to add pages defeats the purpose of adding user profile fields. You should want to use template code to handle the username variable instead of it being used to fetch specific page content. We need an URL to get WP to this template. You could make use of the author template if your theme is not using it to link to post author archives. Or make it so it doesn’t link to authors so it can be used for members. The default URL is something like example.info/author/username/ but a different element besides “author” could be defined.

The other option is to create a custom page template to handle this. Then create a page named something like “members” (assuming it does not conflict with other permalink elements like the current view-members). The simplest URL with this scheme would be similar to example.info/members/?name=username. With some additional coding effort, it could be example.info/members/username/.

I can provide more specific information once I know what your preference is.

Ok, so i want to keep the default “back-end” user profile page, for logged in members to edit their login details and extra ACF fields. But i am looking for another public-facing profile page that just displays to the world only the ACF values.

The second url schema is what is currently used, and desired. I think it is defined like that in the permalinks?

Yes, your current URL scheme is part of the rewrite rules which are used to interpret permalinks for your post type. The “view-members” base element is reserved for that post type. Using it also as a page name is going to confuse WP. You either need to change the rewrite slug for your post type or use a slightly different page name like “see-member”. Another option is to abandon the post type if this custom page template is replacing the post type’s purpose for being.

For the permastruct “/%pagename%/%member_name%/ to work, you need to do a couple things in addition to the page template. Add a rewrite rule, and a rewrite tag. The example near the bottom of the linked page has a good example. You don’t need the post_link filter described, but do note the last paragraph of the user note there. (oddly, I don’t remember adding that note at all)

For the rewrite and tag rules, the “location=” arguments would more logically be “member=” or similar. Instead of the “name=” argument use “pagename=” to lead to the page using the member template.

For the template itself, name it “page-see-member.php” or use whatever permalink element you want for this purpose. On the template, get the passed member name from $_GET['member'] or use whatever rewrite rule element you chose. Remember that this value can be spoofed, so the value should be validated and sanitized before using it to get user fields. Use get_field() or get_user_meta() to fetch that user’s data and output it in any manner you wish.

How are you planning to link to various member’s information page that this template is going to produce?

@ts_hamlet I also want to create reusable templates. I wrongly assumed reusable blocks could be used for that. Then I found this post!

Am I right in understanding (this is a long complex post) that the only way is to use ACF? Can I use the free version?

Do you maybe have a link to where you learned how to use it to create templates? There’s loads of stuff for ACF, but not that I can find for this specific use case.

Many thanks.