Guide to working with advanced Feeds

CMS Feeds let you flexibly customize content structure: use ready-made field sets or create your own for different tasks.

In this guide, we explain how to create and set up a CMS Feed, manage its fields, and display posts as tiles on a page using Zero Block.

Creating an advanced Feed

First, enable the Feeds in the project settings. Then open Feeds and click Create new feed.

Enter the Feed name, select custom (CMS) as the type, and click next.

You can create and use both standard and custom Feeds in the same project.

In the next step, select the Feed structure. Choose empty to configure fields from scratch, or use a ready-made field set, such as blog, FAQ, or another option that best fits your task.

Click create — the Feed dashboard will open.

Any field set in a custom CMS Feed can be edited: you can delete unnecessary fields, add new ones, or change their order.

After creating the Feed, open it. Test posts are created by default together with the selected structure. You can preview them and then delete them.

Adding and deleting fields

To start working with fields, open Settings → Fields.

The fields tab displays the current Feed structure. To add a field, click add field. To edit an existing field, select it from the list. To delete a field, click the trash icon.

A field can also be temporarily disabled, duplicated, or moved in the list.

The Title field is required. It cannot be hidden, deleted, disabled, duplicated, or moved. It will always be the first field in the post card.

If you delete all custom fields or create an empty Feed, only system fields will remain in the post card: title, post URL, visibility, link to custom post page, post order number, and meta tag fields.

Editing fields

When adding a field, select its type: main, additional, or decorative.

Primary fields are used to create post content. These include one line input filed, multi-line text field, block text edito, image, gallery, video, and media.

Secondary fields can be added depending on the project needs. These include date, website, number field, color, dropdown list (selectbox), list with answer and options, and HTML.

Decorative fields help format and structure the field set. These include divider, white space, and text comment.

You can also set additional conditions and parameters for each field. To open them, click additional.

Fill in all required fields, such as the default value. Pay attention to the required field and show field in post list options.

If required field is enabled, the post cannot be saved until this field is filled in. This condition applies both when creating and editing a post.

If a default value is set for the field, it will be used until you change it manually.

If show field in post list is enabled, the field and its value will be displayed in the post table.

Restoring fields

A deleted field can be restored or permanently deleted. To do this, click deleted fields on the fields tab.

A list of deleted fields will open. Each field will show its deletion date and two available actions: restore and delete.

After restoration, the field will appear in the post card again together with the previously saved value.

Deleted fields are stored for 30 days and then permanently deleted. To delete a field permanently before this period ends, click delete.

If a deleted field contained data, a tooltip about deleted fields will appear in the post card. Click show to view the fields and the values saved in them.

Values in deleted fields can be edited and saved. However, they will not be displayed on the published page and will be hidden again after you close the post card. To return them to the post card and the page, restore the fields on the fields tab in the Feed settings.

Creating a post page template in Zero Block

With Zero Block, you can create a universal page with a custom design for Feed posts. To do this, create a new page and assign it as the post page template in the Feed settings. Then add Zero Block to the page and start displaying Feed fields.

To display Feed fields in Zero Block, click the new element icon and select a specific post field from the dropdown menu, or add all fields at once.

Learn more about how to create a post page template in Zero Block and configure it correctly.

Creating post tiles in Zero Block

Posts from a custom Feed can be displayed using a standard block, or you can create a custom-designed post tile layout in Zero Block.

Create a new page or open an existing one, then add Zero Block to it.

Click Block Editor and delete the test elements.

In the upper-left corner, click the plus icon. In the element list, hover over Feeds. In the dropdown menu, select the custom Feed you created earlier or a sample Feed.

A post tile layout for the selected Feed will appear in Zero Block. It consists of system groups and layers. Auto Layout is enabled for the default tile layout.

Editing Feed tiles

Connecting elements to Feed fields

System layers and groups in the tile layout are highlighted with a different color in the layer panel because they are connected to Feed variables.

Select any element in the tile. The settings panel on the right will display the content field with the variable connected to the element.

For example, if the post title is selected, the content field will show the variable of the corresponding field.

To change the connection, click the variable name. A menu with the following options will open:

Not connected — disconnects the element from the variable.
Post fields — fields created for the selected Feed.
System fields — fields automatically created for all posts.
Feed fields — the Feed name and description.

If you select not connected, the element will stop receiving data from the Feed and will become a regular Zero Block element. Its content will no longer update dynamically.

Adding an element to post tiles

To add another field to the tile layout, click the plus icon and select the required element, such as text.

The element will appear on the artboard and in the layer panel. To connect it to a Feed field, move the layer into the Post group.

Post is the system group of the post card. You can add new elements to it and delete existing ones.

Posts is the system group of the entire tile layout. It contains repeating Post cards.

After the element is placed inside the Post group, the connect to Feed icon will appear in the settings panel on the right. Click it to select a Feed field.

In the dropdown menu, select the required field, such as publication date.

The element will automatically connect to the selected field. The field name will appear in the content setting. Additional formatting options may also appear in the settings panel. For example, for the publication date, you can select the display format.

When a text or graphic element is added to the post tile group, it can be connected to Feed or section fields: title, description, and image.

The element color in the layer panel will also change. This means the element is connected to a Feed field and receives content dynamically.

You can customize the design of any element in the Post group.

You can also add regular elements to Zero Block that are not connected to Feed fields.

Elements connected to Feed fields can only be added to the Post group. Regular elements can be placed above the Posts group. If you place an element directly inside the Posts group, an error message will appear.

Adding the Media field

If the Media field is used as the preview in the Feed, you need to add the corresponding elements to the Post card.

In the Zero Block editor, add the image, video, and gallery elements.

Place the added elements specifically inside the Post group.

Connect each element to the Feed field. To do this, click the field connection icon and select media from the dropdown menu. This needs to be done for all three elements: image, gallery, and video.

Save the changes and reload the editor so the connections apply to all elements.

Now each post will display the type of media added to that post.

If you use only video as the post preview, you do not need to add all three elements. It is enough to add the video element and connect it to the Media field.

Adding additional fields

You can add additional fields of different types to a Feed: website, dropdown list, color, number field, list with answer options, HTML, and date.

Date field. To display a custom post date, add a date field to the Feed and set its value. Then, in the Zero Block editor, add a text element to the Post group and connect it to this field.

Link field. If posts need to link to other pages, add a link field to the Feed.

By default, each post automatically gets a link to the post page. With an additional link field, you can specify a different URL.

To connect the link field, add an element with a URL field, such as a button. Click the connection icon and select the custom link from the dropdown menu.

This link will be added to all Feed posts in the tile layout. Posts will open only when the linked element is clicked.

You do not need to create a separate element with a URL to connect your custom link field. You can select the Post group and change the URL field connection from the system post link to a Feed field.

A post card can have only one link. You can set it either for a separate element in the URL field or for the entire Post group. It is not possible to set two links in one post card.

Color. You can add a color field to the post card and use it in Zero Block settings where color selection is available, for example, to style tags.

In the example below, a button element is added to the post tile layout. The text field is connected to the Tags Feed field, and the background color uses the value from the Feed field with the same name.

Other additional fields. You can also display other additional fields in post tiles and the page template in Zero Block: dropdown, number, multiple choice, and HTML.

Their values can be used as needed, for example for tags or other additional information in the post card.

Configuring post display

Click the post tile layout to show its controls in the settings panel on the right. The controls are grouped in the Content section.

To go directly to the selected Feed management, click the Feed icon in the Content settings section.

Source. To display posts from another Feed, select it from the source dropdown menu.

After changing the source, elements previously connected to fields will remain on the artboard. If the new Feed does not have the corresponding field, the connected element will be displayed empty.

To remove this connection, select the element with the error and click disconnect.

Sorting. To configure the post order, find the sorting field in the right panel and select the required option from the dropdown menu.

If reverse default order is selected, posts will be displayed from the end of the list.

If the field is left unchanged, posts will be displayed in the default order—the same as in the admin panel. For example, if the catalog admin panel uses the default order and you move the third post to the beginning of the list, the order will also change in the tile editor.

The moved post will become the first in the list.

Filters. To filter posts, open the filters menu and set a condition that defines which posts will be displayed in the tile layout.

Pagination. To add pagination, open the pagination dropdown menu and select one of the options:

Load more button
Infinite scroll

Important: For pagination to display correctly, the artboard height in the block must be automatic. This prevents posts from being cut off. To do this, set Grid Container height to auto.

If you choose the button option, the button will automatically appear in the layer panel.

You can style the button using the settings panel, just like a regular button element.

If infinite scroll is selected, the button is not displayed. New posts are loaded automatically as the page is scrolled.

Limit. You can set how many posts are displayed in the tile layout. To do this, select the entire tile layout in the layer panel and enter the required number in the limit field in the settings panel on the right.

Additional post tile display settings

To open additional post tile settings, select the Feed layer in the layer panel and click empty state, skip X posts, and categories in the settings.

The empty state is displayed if the Feed does not have any posts yet. You can configure it by selecting one of the options from the dropdown menu:

Default — a standard message saying there are no posts will be displayed on the page.
Empty — the Feed will not be displayed on the page.
Customize — a group will be created in Zero Block that you can customize with different elements.

Skip X posts. You can display posts in the tile layout starting not from the first post, but from any other post in the list. For example, if you enter skip 1 post, the tile layout will start displaying posts from the second post.

Categories. If the Feed has sections, you can choose whether to display them in the tile layout.

After sections are added, a new Categories group will automatically appear in the layer panel. The fields will be connected to the relevant section fields from the Feed. After adding categories, you can customize their design.

Element visibility conditions

You can set visibility conditions for elements. Click any element in the post tile and find visibility in the settings. By default, the element is set to show.

To hide the element, click the dropdown menu in the visibility field and select hide.

To set a visibility condition, click add condition.

Select the condition that will determine when the element is displayed or hidden. The following options are available:

Specified—the field contains any value.
Not specified—the field does not contain a value.
Equals—the field value strictly matches the specified value.
Does not equal—the field value does not match the specified value.

In addition to the main conditions, date fields support before and after, while number fields support less than and greater than.

If equals or does not equal is selected, enter the value to check against in the field.

To add another condition, click the plus icon.

After conditions are configured, the tile layout will display only the elements that match the specified conditions.

Transferring Feeds using CSV

You can use CSV import and export to transfer posts from standard Feeds to custom Feeds, as well as transfer posts between custom Feeds.

To do this, hover over More in the Feed editor and click export as CSV.

Select a section or all posts, specify the separator, and click export.

Then create all content fields in the new custom Feed so the post values are transferred correctly. After that, import the CSV file with the Feed posts.

Check the preview to make sure everything is correct, then click import.

In the mapping window, match the fields from the file with the Feed fields. If some fields do not need to be transferred, select ignore for them.

Feed fields from the file are not created automatically. Once all fields are matched, click start writing data.

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