[5.x]: Matrix block/entry type for assets or related entries hyperlink issue

[paul-frost]

What happened?

Description

When you have an entry type for assets or related entries within a Matrix field the title is displayed and is a hyperlink. But if you click the hyperlink it loads the individual asset or entry and replaces the current entry that you were editing. When you finish editing the nested entry and save it you are now in the Assets or Entries listings. This will be very confusing for content editors.

But if you click on the three dots (action menu) you get the option to 'Edit entry', which opens in a slideout, so you can do the edits and the slideout closes and you carry on within the entry you were working on.

One option would be to remove the hyperlink on the Title, then editors would have to use the action menu and be more aware of what happens next. I can see people clicking the Title text without knowing what will happen and then being totally lost and not know how to get back to the entry they were editing. Alternatively, make the hyperlink open a slideout. At least if people click it by mistake not knowing what will happen they will get the option to Cancel and return to where they were.

Steps to reproduce

1. Add an Entry Type that includes an Assets or Entries field to a Matrix field.
2. In an entry with the matrix field, add an asset or entry block/entry type and select an asset or entry.
3. In the edit form/page the nested asset or entries Title will be a blue hyperlink.
4. Click the Title link.

Expected behavior

I would expect all links to nested content to open in a slideout.

Actual behavior

The title hyperlink leaves the current entry and opens the nested entry in its place.

Craft CMS version

5.1.10

PHP version

8.2

Operating system and version

Mac OS 14.5

Database type and version

mysql 8

Image driver and version

No response

Installed plugins and versions

- CKEditor 4.0.6 Navigation 3.0.0

[brandonkelly]

Just half-way resolved this for Craft 5.2 via 4ec4399266c23621f67b5b0f81f5301a7f82c2eb. Going forward, when you press Save from a nested entry’s edit page, you will be redirected back to the parent element’s edit page. So the workflow would make a little more sense:

1. Visit parent entry’s edit page.
2. Click on a nested entry’s title and be taken to its edit page.
3. Make some changes to the nested entry.
4. Press Save, and be redirected back to the parent entry’s edit page.

We will experiment with opening a slideout editor when clicking on the nested entry’s title, and see if that makes sense from UX and accessibility perspectives, for Craft 5.3.