Appearance
Widgets (Block Designer)
The platform ships a catalog of blocks (see the Block catalog). The Block Designer builds your own: a composite block assembled from existing blocks, with its own parameters and slots, which can then be placed on pages like any catalog block. Studio calls blocks "widgets" in the Explorer: the branch is Widgets. Blocks that need new behaviour, not just a new arrangement, are written in code; see Add a custom block.
Where to find it
Workspace > Widgets lists your blocks. New block name creates one (for example summary-card) and opens the designer. Blocks that belong to an application or feature also appear under it.
Designer layout
The designer has four tabs.
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Define | Parameters and slots: the block's interface. |
| Compose | The inside of the block: other blocks arranged on a canvas. |
| Preview | The block rendered by the real block engine with sample parameter values. |
| Settings | Designer metadata, accessibility and permissions. |
The toolbar has Undo, Redo, Save draft and Publish. The draft autosaves with an optimistic-lock revision; each edit is one undoable change. The Problems panel shows the block engine's own diagnostics, and publishing is disabled while any error exists.
Define tab
Parameters
A parameter is a property a page author can set on your block.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The property name. |
| Type | string, number, boolean, date, json. |
| Required | The author must provide a value. |
| Editor | How the Page Designer edits it: text, number, switch, select, date, expression, binding, json, grid-columns, theme-token, image. |
| Label key | The translation key of the property label in the Page Designer. |
Slots (optional)
A slot is a place on your block where the page author can drop other blocks.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The slot name. |
| Allowed categories | The block categories that may be dropped into it. |
Compose tab
Arrange blocks inside your block. A palette (Insert) lists the catalog and your other blocks. Compose has the same layout modes as pages: Simple list, Grid layout and Free canvas. Inner blocks can take their property values from the parameters of your block. A block has exactly one layout tree.
Settings tab
| Section | Fields |
|---|---|
| Designer metadata | Display name key, Description key, Icon (a Material icon name), Category. These control how the block appears in the Page Designer palette. |
| Accessibility | Role, and Label from: property:<name> takes the label from a parameter, i18n:<key> from a translation. |
| Permissions | visible, enabled, masked: whether the block honours the permission surfaces. See Widget Permissions. |
Using the block
A published block appears in the Page Designer palette in its category, with the parameters you defined. Versions work as for other artifacts: draft, publish, history. Each page that uses the block records the block version it was built against.
Permissions
Designing blocks is an authoring action on the block artifact type.
API and CLI
/api/v1/authoring/blocks. erp artifact list|get|create|update|publish --type blocks, erp blocks list. Schemas: Reference: block definition, Reference: block instance.
Related
Block catalog, How a screen is built, Page Designer, Add a custom block.