Drupal 10.1 - What's new in the first feature release of Drupal 10?

What are some exciting updates available in Drupal 10.1?  

In our earlier blog post, we delved into the launch of Drupal 10, highlighting the significant transformations it introduced. In case you missed out on the latest updates and advancements of that release, we highly encourage you to check out that post to catch up. We went over the anticipated new features and how they not only enhance your product but also provide invaluable support to your project team.

However, the progress doesn't stop there. Efficiency, security, and effortless creation of high-quality content remain at the forefront of Drupal's priorities. With many new features released with the first Drupal 10 upgrade the development, maintenance, and customization of your project will become even easier. Let's take a quick glance at what new improvements have been made!

⌨️ CKEditor 5 automatic formatting

Content editing using the CKEditor has become even more user-friendly with the introduction of the new autoformatting feature. It recognizes the type of text being written, such as a title or a list, and automatically applies the appropriate formatting!

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source: https://www.drupal.org/blog/drupal-10-1-0 

👤New Block Content permissions

In the past, performing any content administration tasks related to blocks or block content required granting the 'administer blocks' permission or adding contributed modules. The latest update introduces more granular permissions control, which allows granting block management per type and facilitating the review and rollback of block content revisions. Apart from that, it is now possible to create custom blocks directly under Structure in the administrative interface.
 

💻 Improved Field Reuse option

Site builders will be pleased with the introduction of a valuable feature – the ability to reuse existing fields. Now, when choosing to reuse a field, the field settings are now automatically duplicated from the pre-existing field settings. This enhancement will help with making informed decisions when creating content models and contribute to a more seamless workflow.
 

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 source: https://www.drupal.org/blog/drupal-10-1-0

📰Announcements Module

This is one of the “experimental modules” which is available for testing purposes and currently lacks full support. This module provides a feed that presents all the latest news announcements about the Drupal project and Drupal Association programs in Drupal core (such as upcoming updates or features and any important information). Site owners and editors can conveniently access these announcements through the Drupal administrative toolbar.

✅ Automated accessibility tests

Axe Core accessibility scans are now included in Drupal Nightwatch tests. These scans examine common pages and forms, ensuring that core maintains its accessibility achievements and does not encounter any regressions.
 

A Glimpse into the future..

We've taken a look at some of the new improvements unveiled in the latest version of Drupal, but our excitement extends to the features that we can expect in its future releases. Notably, the Project Browser and Automatic Updates module have captured our attention. While it is likely that we will need to wait a little bit longer for those features (we probably won't see them until the 10.2 version) let's take a look at what we already know about them and discuss their potential benefits.
 

🔧Automatic Updates

Regularly updating your website is an indispensable practice for ensuring security and seamless operation. Nevertheless, these updates can often be tedious and time-consuming, which introduces potential risks and vulnerabilities if delayed. This is why the Automatic Updates module is such a game-changer when it comes to this process. It will eliminate the need for manual updates by automating essential tasks such as readiness checks, performance evaluations, and file downloads, thereby streamlining the update process and ensuring comprehensive updates are applied promptly.

Some of the features of the Automatic Updates module include:

• Patch-level updates are applied to Drupal core in a separate, sandboxed copy of your site, which ensures continuous operation until the update is ready to be deployed
• Can identify and report issues at each stage of the update process
• It automatically identifies database updates within an incoming update and assists you in executing them seamlessly during the update process
• It offers a powerful API for error detection and seamless integration at every stage of the update process
• You can configure it to facilitate file copying between your Drupal site and the sandboxed copy using either native PHP (compatible with all platforms) or, if available, rsync for enhanced performance

To delve deeper into the functionalities of this module feel free to watch the video about it from DrupalCon Portland. You can also find more information on Drupal's website.

🔎Project Browser

Adding a new module to your website requires jumping to Google and searching for the specific module you are interested in. However, this is going to change with the introduction of the Project Browser, which will simplify the process of discovering and installing modules directly within your Drupal site.

Similar functionality has been available in other content management systems like WordPress or Joomla, so it's fantastic news that Drupal will bring us this feature as well. Site builders will be able to conveniently explore and find new modules from the admin panel by navigating to "Extend" and clicking on the "Browse Modules" menu. This means that you will have the possibility to browse Drupal's entire repository and find modules that are suited to your needs. The Project Browser will include various filtering options and allow sorting based on different criteria. It will also provide essential information, such as installation instructions. Additionally, it will automatically filter for the version of Drupal that you are using!

The Project Browser is going to introduce an exciting dimension to module searching on Drupal. It will enable you to explore a vast array of over 40 000 modules, potentially discovering ones that you may not have come across or even considered before. 

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Source: Drupal - Project Browser

Conclusion

In our article, we have highlighted a selection of features that piqued our interest in Drupal 10.1. However, the latest release has some more advancements to offer, which you can explore further in the official Drupal 10.1 article published on their website. For those seeking more technical details, the release notes are also available, providing essential information for a smooth transition when upgrading from various versions.

Whether you're considering an upgrade from an older version of Drupal or contemplating migrating your site from a different CMS, we're here to provide assistance and ensure a seamless transition. If you require any support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us as we are always ready to lend a helping hand!