The start of October saw the release of Umbraco 8.8 offering both developers and content editors improved accessibility with a host of new features and developments. Here we take a look at what you can expect from the latest version.
Umbraco 8.7 introduced a game changer with the Block List Editor - a new tool for editing flexible grid-based layouts now commonplace in modern responsive design. Version 8.8 builds on this by using the Grid Media Picker but with added functionality allowing cropping and previewing of images directly in Grid Layouts. This means that Content Editors are given a much more seamless link with how images will be rendered at the frontend.
This addition is a real boon on sites holding large numbers of media items by allowing users to view items as a list rather than as thumbnails.
The back office has seen a major change with the introduction of SVGs instead of icon fonts. SVGs have far better accessibility than icon fonts given that they incorporate semantic elements that makes them accessible to screen readers and text browsers. This means that, unlike icon fonts, they’re treated as an image rather than text.
For users who prefer to navigate the back office using the keyboard, Umbraco 8.8 introduces an enhancement to prevent inadvertently tabbing out of confirmation dialogues and overlays. A new AngularJS service now makes it possible to create a focus lock, allowing users to scope the area in focus. This has been in a number of places already and can be used in packages where this functionality is needed.
There's more information about Umbraco 8.8 over on Umbraco.com, and it can be downloaded through Nuget or from the Umbraco downloads site.
If you need help upgrading your site to Umbraco 8.8, then head over to our Fixed Price Upgrades service.
Alternatively, why not read our guide to the Umbraco CMS to learn more about the features in detail.