Pro-Tip: The menu can also be openend and closed with the m key.
by Marcus Lelle
Contao 5.5 - Five back end boosters and much more
At the Contao conference, we were already able to look over Leo's shoulder at some of the features in the keynote.
Now Contao version 5.5 is here and it is packed with features, especially in the back end.
The core team and many other developers have processed almost 200 pull requests. This time there are some big blocks in which a lot of work has gone into.
Contao 5.5 will be provided with updates until August 2025. Version 5.3 will also continue to receive updates as an LTS version.
You can find out which Contao versions are currently supported in the Contao release plan.
Template Studio
While the back end turbo was activated in version 5.4, the Twig turbo has now been activated with the Template Studio.
This feature is equally interesting for users and developers.
The Template Studio allows you to structure and edit Twig templates in the backend. It relieves you of a large part of the logic behind the folder structure and template inheritance. The auto-completion for block and use opens up all the possibilities of available blocks and components and guides you more quickly to your goal.
Both PHP and Twig templates are still displayed in the "Templates" menu item. However, editing Twig templates in the back end is now done exclusively in the Template Studio. You can still edit PHP templates in the "Templates" menu item.
The back end now has a system-wide search function that searches for your search term in content elements, articles, pages, files and much more and shows you the corresponding results.
One click takes you to the place you want to view or edit.
To activate the search, you need to set up a real cron job at server level. You can find more information on this in the manual.
Instead of numerous buttons on the right-hand side of the list view, you can now use the right mouse button or the three horizontal dots to call up a menu to access all operations.
This paves the way for further functions, as the clarity will not suffer as a result of additional buttons.
All form fields can now be provided with the autocomplete attribute. This means that the correct value from the data stored in the browser can be used immediately when filling in the form.
You can view the correct input purposes here for correct preallocation.
The search and filter menus above each list view have been revised. Instead of floating, flex is now used. The order of the keyboard navigation has been significantly improved.
The filtering states are now better visualized. Mootools chosen has now been replaced by the modern choices.js.
With debug mode activated, you will now receive more information about your Contao installation. For example, you can see all supported image formats on your server.
In the front end, you can identify pages and articles and click on them directly in the backend.
You can read about all the changes in detail in the changelog. Christian Feneberg has also created another video on Contao 5.5 (in German language) that is well worth watching.
Marcus has taken on the project coordination of Contao, trying to untie the Gordian knot. Since 2003 he is self-employed as BIADES and since 2005 he is project manager and numbers person at ANTWORT:INTERNET in Berlin. Through his spare time he is accompanied by Jupe, Pete and Bob as well as his family.
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