The fourth iteration of Loops & Logic is built on a new foundation that allows for easier and faster development of new features. We’ve already bundled some exciting new additions, so read on to find out what’s new.
The big picture
Here’s a highlight of the features we’re most excited about that have been released in version 4.0.0:
- Preview your templates
- New code editor experience
- Public GitHub repository for easier collaboration
- Bulk actions for your templates
- Generate CSS utility classes on demand
Check out the changelog for all the details.
Preview your templates
Version 4.0.0 includes the foundation for template previews. These can easily be toggled on or off by clicking the “preview” tab in the editor interface. We’ve seen plenty of users creating templates directly within the interface of their favorite editor simply because this approach made it so much easier to preview your work. The downside to this approach was that by working with inline templates in the editor, users missed out on the ability to add SCSS style rules, assets, reusable and nested templates, and all the other benefits of using L&L’s Template post type.
Today, that compromise is a thing of the past. The preview option allows you to see your changes in real-time directly within the template editor interface.
New code editor experience
As teased in the previous release, the new editing interface built around CodeMirror 6 is now enabled by default when working in L&L’s template post type interface, Gutenberg, or the ACF Template field. This new editor includes plenty of new convenience features including font and theme settings, a better search-replace interface (with regex!), code completion, and more. The settings are largely default for now, but our team is working on adding L&L-specific syntax suggestions in the future. And if you’re ever feeling lost, you can click on the “help” button in the bottom right corner of the editor to find some useful options and shortcuts. Try out ctrl + alt + f to automatically indent and structure your template!
Note that the old editor is still used for Elementor and Beaver Builder while the integration is being completed.
Public GitHub repository for easier collaboration
L&L now lives on GitHub. This new repository for Template System source code and other parts of the project will allow for a better developer experience and simpler social collaboration. Join the conversation and contribute to the project by creating new issues, pull requests, and discussions.
Bulk actions for your templates
Simple, yet satisfying. Version 4.0.0 includes bulk actions for templates, allowing you to publish, organize, or trash multiple templates in just a few clicks.
Generate CSS utility classes on demand
A new experimental style engine called UnoCSS is included in the latest version of the plugin which unlocks flexible and powerful Atomic CSS workflows. Similar to Tailwind, this feature allows template developers to generate CSS rules from utility classes found in their HTML templates. On the front end, the generated styles are minified together, removing any redundant rules. Take a look at the example below demonstrating how easily predefined classes can be loaded up on demand without needing to manually add them to L&L’s style tab. Try this out for yourself by enabling the feature in the plugin settings.
