HOWTOs / Transform Bolt 3 repeaters to Bolt 5 sets and collections

Repeater → collection with 1 set¶

In Bolt 3, the repeater is available as a special field type that allows an array-type structure of sub-fields within a single field name. It allowed Editors to repeat those sub-fields as they wish to build the record.

Thus, the repeater field combined two functionalities:

• Allow Editors to add multiple instances of a field (repeat fields)
• Group sub-fields together under one parent field

In Bolt 4, these two functionalities are provided by two distinct fields:

• The collection field allows sub-fields to be repeated (but does not restrict) the order or composition of the sub-fields
• The set field groups sub-fields together under one parent field

You can read more about Collections and Sets to familiarize yourself with how each field functions.

Example transforming a repeater into a collection with one set¶

Given this definition in Bolt 3

        books:
            type: repeater
            label: Simple repeater example
            limit: 3
            prefix: "<p>This allows you to create multiple sets of fields. Use the add button at the bottom to create a new empty set.</p>"
            fields:
                repeattitle:
                    type: text
                repeatcover:
                    type: image
                    extensions: [ gif, jpg, png ]
                repeatpublicationyear:
                    type: number

then, the corresponding definition that delivers the same functionality in Bolt 5 would be:

        books:
            type: collection
            label: Simple collection example
            limit: 3
            prefix: "<p>This allows you to create multiple sets of fields. Use the add button at the bottom to create a new empty set.</p>"
            fields:
                book:
                    type: set
                    fields:
                        title:
                            type: text
                        cover:
                            type: image
                            extensions: [ gif, jpg. png ]
                        publicationyear:
                            type: number

First, the field named Book (which is of type set) groups all the properties of a book, i.e. its title, cover image and publication year, into one semantically meaningful field. Then, the field named Books (which is of type collection) allows Editors to add as many instances of the field Book as they wish.

In Twig, this can be displayed as follows:

{% for book in record.books %}
    <h1>{{ book.title }}</h1>
    {{ showimage(book.cover) }}
    <p>Year of publication: {{ book.publicationyear }} </p>
{% endfor %}

Blocks → collection with multiple sets¶

In Bolt 3, it the block is available as a special field type that allows an array-type structure of groups of fields within a single field name. You can give each of these blocks a name and define the fields that it has. The Editor can then insert these in the Record as needed.

Thus, the block field combined three functionalities:

• Allow Editors to add multiple instances of a field (repeat fields)
• Group sub-fields together under one parent field
• Allow Editors to manually select which of the available blocks to repeat

In Bolt 4, these three functionalities are provided by two distinct fields:

• The collection field allows sub-fields to be repeated (but does not restrict) the order or composition of the sub-fields
• The set field groups sub-fields together under one parent field

Example transforming a block into a collection with multiple (two) sets¶

Given this definition in Bolt 3

        sections:
            type: block
            fields:
                imagesection:
                    label: Image with description
                    fields:
                        heading:
                            type: text
                        image:
                            type: image
                        description:
                            type: html
                            height: 70px
                textsection:
                    label: Paragraph
                    fields:
                        heading:
                            type: text
                        content:
                            type: html
                            height: 100px

then, the corresponding definition that delivers the same functionality in Bolt 5 would be:

        sections:
            type: collection
            label: Collection with sets
            fields:
                imagesection:
                    type: set
                    label: Image with description
                    fields:
                        heading:
                            type: text
                        image:
                            type: image
                        description:
                            type: html
                            height: 70px
                textsection:
                    type: set
                    label: Paragraph
                    fields:
                        heading:
                            type: text
                        content:
                            type: html
                            height: 100px

First, the two fields named imagesection and textsection group all properties of the respective section, i.e. (heading, image, description) for imagesection and (heading, content) for a textsection. Thus, those two groups of sub-fields are grouped into two semantically meaningful parent fields. Then, the field named Sections (which is of type collection) allows Editors to add as many instances of either imagesection or textsection as they wish.

In Twig, this can be displayed as follows:

{% for section in record.sections %}
    <h1>{{ section.heading }}</h1> {# the heading exists for both fields. So it is safe to use here #}

    {% if section.name === 'imagesection' %}

        {{ showimage(section.image) }}
        <p>{{ section.description }}</p>

    {% elseif section.name === 'textsection' %}

        {{ section.content }}

    {% endif %}
{% endfor %}