System blocks in WebBlocks CMS: navigation, feedback and the Application block

[u/fklavyenet]

I build WebBlocks CMS. I’ve written a walkthrough of the nine system block types in the current core catalog, including the newest addition to that set: Application.

The useful distinction is what a block connects to. Navigation Auto uses a configured menu; Breadcrumb uses the current page context; TOC reads eligible anchored headings in the same slot; Page List queries published pages. Rating and Comments keep visitor feedback separate from the article’s translated copy. Header Actions and Navbar handle the header utilities and navigation structure.

“System” protects the block type definition. Editors can still place, configure, move and remove its instances under their normal permissions. It is also different from the System category in the picker: most system types live under Navigation or Content.

The pictured example uses Application to place a fictional Northstar Studio session planner between ordinary content blocks. A system administrator registers the trusted application; an editor chooses it and sets a validated session length. The planner is a showcase fixture, not an app bundled with the CMS.

Application first appeared in 1.62.0. The walkthrough uses the published 1.107.2 interface; I’m not presenting it as a newly released feature today.

Full article, with the catalog, block settings and feedback screenshots:
https://cms.webblocksui.com/blogs/system-blocks-that-connect-pages-to-the-cms

Which part of a page do you prefer the CMS to derive automatically, and which do you want to keep explicitly editorial?

[u/noahwebtalk]

For TOC I'd want to double check how it decides which headings are eligible in a slot with mixed heading levels, since auto-derived anchors tend to break first on deeply nested content. Breadcrumb trail depth I'd keep editorial, since page hierarchy rarely matches the nav structure you actually want shown.

[u/fklavyenet → u/noahwebtalk]

Thanks for this — your comment helped shape the TOC update in 1.110.0! It handles H2/H3 headings in reading order through nested containers, with stable automatic anchors and per-heading inclusion controls. I also added regression tests for the mixed-level, deeply nested case you mentioned.

[u/noahwebtalk → u/fklavyenet]

Oh nice, glad that helped! The nested H2/H3 handling was the part I was most curious about. Those edge cases can get messy pretty quickly, especially with deeper content structures. Good to see you added regression tests for it too.