Navigation Block Tracking Issue i2

[priethor]

Supersedes #27593

With most of the work in #27593 in place, it is a good time to revisit the Navigation block priorities with a near-future release in mind. Instead of mass-editing the existing issue, let's close it and leave it as a snapshot of a first iteration and focus here on the next round of improvements. Bugs should be reported with the [Type] Bug label and added directly to the Navigation Project Board.

High Priority

Setup interactions & placeholders

• A Lighter Navigation Block Experience #34041
• Blocks that link: Provide a split label/URL control and placeholder state #30170
• Navigation Block - improve placeholder flow #35818

Design customization & inner blocks

• Navigation Block: Allow Paragraph, Site Logo, Site Title, Site Tagline and perhaps more blocks #33278
• [Navigation Block] Add option to use the "responsive menu" at all times #34783
• Switch the Page List block to client-side rendering #35632
• Navigation Block: Consider having the responsive option on by default #34511
• Migrate buttons & navigation to flex layout #34872
• Navigation: Support gap via theme.json #34525
• Introduce "Browser" and surface main navigation UI #36667

IA

• Navigation: Add an API to retrieve content-only inner blocks #30674
• Navigation block - preserve navigation block data on theme switching #35750
• Navigation Block: save data to a custom post type #34612
• Explore storing a JSON representation of menus in the CPT #35868
• Fix controlled inner blocks parent block attributes updates #35827

General UI & Copy

• Copy - consider rewording 'overlay' color options in the navigation block #33640

Normal Priority

Setup interactions & placeholders

• Navigation Block: Make it clearer how to delete a Link Block without a link #30116
• Mark invalid menu items in Navigation editor and block #23573
• Navigation Block: Improve flow for deleting submenu items #30115
• Make the 'Insert Before' / 'Insert After' options work for block lists that don't allow the default block type #23603
• Improve experience of using social icons in the navigation block #35261
• Only show one + at a time on link adding #34962
• Enable rich previews for custom links in the Navigation Block and Editor #32555
• Navigation Block: Enhancement ideas for the empty placeholder #32373
• Add Post Type Archive variation to core/navigation-link block #31452

Design customization & inner blocks

• Home Link: Allow setting as icon-only #31688
• Navigation block: Add support for separators between menu items. #23293
• Page List: missing menu-item-home class for Home Page item #29423

Responsiveness & hamburger menu

• Responsive menu label #33985
• Navigation Block: Sidebar/Inspector control improvements & allow always-collapsed menu #30370
• Navigation block: Hide more than N items #27131

Backlog

• Spacer markup could be more flexible #33018
• Navigation block's responsive modal can't be customized #34514
• Navigation Block: Create Block Variant for a "Fullscreen" navigation menu #24604
• Navigation block: Make nested menus fully customizable (Megamenus) #23745
• Navigation block: allow extending the list of allowed inner blocks #31387
• Filter the nesting level of items in the navigation block #34611
• List block: allow transformation of text links lists into navigation blocks #31733

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This issue aims to collect new features or enhancements that build towards a better Navigation Block experience or allow for richer designs, excluding requirements driven by compatibility with the Navigation Editor.

[carolinan]

I think this one is important to solve
#29401

[getdave]

There is currently an exploration underway regarding separating presentation from the underlying data (items) of a navigation. This is all to do with allowing navigations to be reused across a site.

We should check out Dan's PRs and provide feedback:

• Save Navigation Block data to a wp_navigation post type #35746
• Try using a template part in the navigation block #35418

Also related is this issue about Theme switching.

[draganescu]

Updated the issue with @talldan 's listed follow-ups.

[priethor]

I think this one is important to solve
#29401

Thanks for flagging that one, @carolinan! I've added it to the Navigation Block project board as a ToDo item. However, I would recommend not including bugs in tracking/overview issues, as they are more oriented to provide a feature roadmap, and including bugs makes it harder to grasp the overall progress of projects regarding their scope.

[getdave]

Update - 27th October 2021

• Following on from updates here and here some progress has been made on the architecture of the Nav block.
• The PR to get the block to save its "items" (data) to a wp_navigation post type has been merged. This allows the same navigation (items) to be used in multiple places on a site but with the potential for each one to have a different visual presentation.
• Work is underway on facilitating the ability to preserve navigations on Theme switch. Currently exploring utilising a custom wp_navigation_area taxonomy and modelling the ways that classic Menus currently work.
• Work has continued on the Lighter Navigation block experience:
  • transforms are being added to the Link UI when used in the Nav block Add featured transforms in Link Control for Navigation Link items. #35857
  • ability to modify link item text from the Link UI has been merged Split control for URL and Text within Link UI #33849.
• Following on from the Hallway Hangout, contributors are working hard to communicate the direction of the work as widely as possible to ensure the community are kept informed.

[jasmussen]

With the merger of #35857 (@tellthemachines 👏 ), I wonder if we shouldn't — for the sake of this tracking issue — check the box for #34041?

This will not preclude further enhancements to transforms, which is one of the most powerful aspects of the block, to the point that the feature could deserve its own tracking issue!

[getdave]

Update - 10th November 2021

• Work has continued on making Navigations reusable across a Site and between Themes.
• A Navigation Area block was added to facilitate the reuse of Navigations between Themes. You can now switch Themes and (if the target Theme is configured correctly) your Navigation will be preserved.
• This works somewhat similarly to Menu Locations in classic Themes:
  • you add a Nav Area block and configure it to be Primary, Secondary or Tertiary. These terms are provided by default and denote an approximate hierarchy of navigations on a site.
  • you then insert a Nav block inside the Nav Area block. This can be used to configure presentational properties of a given Menu and is ideal for Theme Developers. Note you do not need to add any nav items at this point.
  • you then optionally add items to your Navigation block.
  • when switching Theme, assuming the new Theme also has a Navigation Area block with a matching "area" (e.g. Primary, Secondary, Tertiary), then any nav items from matching Navigation Areas on your old Theme will automatically appear in the associated location in the new Theme.
  • the navigation -> area relationship is saved via site options is a format of { "primary": 794, "secondary": 112 } where the keys are the navigation areas and the values are the post IDs of Navigation post types.

• Lots of great work behind the scenes work on the REST API which has allowed all of the above to progress.
• Tweaks to the UI and UX of the block itself have been ongoing.

[getdave]

WP 5.9 "Must Haves"

Below is a collation of the Issues I'm aware of that are "Must Haves" for WP 5.9, for which the Gutenberg feature freeze is the 26th November.

⚠️ Update: the list of tasks has been moved to the 5.9 overview issue under Navigation block.

I've also added these to the WP 5.9 Must Haves board.

Please note: this intentionally does not cover any bugs as these can still be fixed during the Beta phase.

[mkaz]

If we want to take a harder line for "must have" I think both #36593 and #36722 could be moved if not ready.

For #36722, yes, the property name could be simplified, but there is also a reason we moved the name from menu to navigation, so personally I like the more descriptive property name, but even if we want to change later we can deprecate.

For #36593, it's a better user experience without the "Save as" button but nothing is functionally broken or an issue, so it would be good to have, but like above I wouldn't hold a release for it.

[noisysocks]

Thanks for summarising @getdave. I updated the "Navigation block" section in #36556 to be the same as your list in #35521 (comment). Let's try to use #36556 if we can as that's the issue that the 5.9 squad is referring to.