Crocoblock used to just be for Elementor, but has been bringing features over to Gutenberg. JetEngine is the Crocoblock plugin for working with dynamic data. In addition to the ability to create Custom Post Types, custom taxonomies, and custom fields, it also has a number of extra features. Displaying Custom Post Type records on a calendar can be useful and is difficult to do without a specialized plugin. In this video we look at one of these extras, JetEngine’s calendar module, and use it to create a calendar view.. We also use JetThemeCore, JetSmartFilters and JetStyleManager for a complete solution. If you are curious about Crocoblock for Gutenberg then the video help you to understand how it works.
Video Version
The video version has the full walk-through. The text version is a summary of main points.
What Features Are Included With JetEngine?
JetEngine comes with a a number of features, both the standard ones you’d expect as well as a number of extras.
JetEngine Dashboard
The dashboard is where you’ll find the extras. There are lots of goodies here, including a grid gallery, QR code field, profile builder, maps listing, dynamic visibility options, Custom Content Types, calendar, dynamic tables builder, dynamic charts builder, and others. “Skins Manager” is for importing and exporting Custom Post Types. The Shortcode Generator allows you to create a shortcode to output specific dynamic content. Glossaries are like tables of terms that you use more than once, such as a list of US States.
Custom Post Types, Custom Taxonomies, and Custom Fields
The ability to create Custom Post Types, custom taxonomies and custom fields is the central feature. Users of CPT-UI, Toolset, Pods, or other tools will find the choices familiar.
Crocoblock calls “custom fields” “Meta Fields,” so don’t be confused. You can define your custom fields in the same interface where you create the Custom Post Type or, if you want to use the same set in more than one place, then you can create a stand-alone Meta Box and add fields to it.
Option Pages
You can create option pages with JetEngine. Option pages are the settings pages that show up in the WordPress admin.
Custom Post Type Relationships
There is a special interface for defining relationships between Custom Post Types. This is an advanced feature that gives you access to related content.
Query Builder
JetEngine also comes with a query builder. You have a great deal of flexibility for creating your own queries. Some of the features, such as a calendar or some of the filters, require their own query. They don’t have to always be complex, sometimes just a query separate from the default page query is enough.
Gutenberg Blocks That Come With JetEngine
JetEngine also comes with specialize blocks for working with dynamic data and custom fields. These give access to custom fields, images, links, post meta, terms, and repeaters. There are also blocks for listings and the calendar.
Discussion and Conclusions
In this video we used Crocoblock’s JetEngine to create a Custom Post Type and added custom fields, to create a custom query, and to create a single list item. Then we wired all of the parts together to get our calendar view using the Gutenberg blocks that came with JetEngine. The we used JetThemeCore and created our single template for the event. Then we used JetSmartFilters to create a filter and added it to our calendar page. Along the way we used JetStyleManager to add styles to the blocks.
There are a lot of individual parts and you need to wire them up just right. The good news is that once you do then everything works, and it is hard to argue with that. I noted that the blocks supplied by Crocoblock don’t make up a full block collection, but are specialized blocks for specific purposes. So you may need to add some CSS or use an additional block addon.
It is awesome that Crocoblock includes extra features, like this calendar functionality, in JetEngine. It adds value to the plugin and in some cases can fill the need for a calendar without needing to add another plugin. I remember that for years and years Toolset users asked the Toolset team for calendar functionality. This never came to pass because the Toolset developers thought they would need to replicate the full functionality of an events system. However, something along the lines of the JetEngine Calendar module would have been sufficient in many cases.
The Crocoblock plugins are obviously made to work together and it is great that the Crocoblock team brings these features to Gutenberg. There is a lot of functionality and a lot to like. They are doing a good job.
