Synced Patterns
Ever found yourself creating the same content block over and over? All that repetition wastes time, is inefficient, and can lead to mistakes. It's also totally unnecessary. That's because you can create Synced Patterns (formerly known as Reusable Blocks) instead. Create a pattern once, then reuse across posts, pages–even different websites.
You'll save loads of time. For example, imagine all your blog posts end with a "contact us" block. You include an email address, phone number, maybe an office location. If any of those details change, simply edit the Synced Pattern once. Rather than editing all your posts one by one.
Synced patterns can be managed via Appearance > Editor > Patterns in the admin, or directly from the block inserter's Synced tab.
How to create a Synced Pattern
This option is for when you're in the page or post editor.
Choose or create the block you want to make reusable.
Click the three dots > Create pattern:
Give the pattern a descriptive name for you and/or your team, and ensure the Synced toggle is enabled.
Click Save. The next time you add a block, the synced pattern will appear in the block inserter.
How to add a Synced Pattern to your page/post
Adding a Synced Pattern works the same way as adding any other block. Click the + sign to open the block inserter, then browse the Synced tab or use the search bar to find the pattern by name.
A shortcut to adding a Synced Pattern
You can search for a synced pattern by name just like other blocks.
Enter / and then your pattern's name. As you type after /, Altis will start suggesting blocks for you.
How to edit a Synced Pattern
The changes you make will show wherever you're using the Synced Pattern. However, sometimes you might only want to edit the pattern on one page or post.
That's when you can Detach the pattern to turn it into regular blocks.
How to detach a Synced Pattern to regular blocks
Select the Synced Pattern you want to detach. Then click the three dots > Detach option.
How to group blocks into a Synced Pattern
A Synced Pattern can also be a group of blocks. For example, imagine you want to create a template for journalists to use when publishing news articles. In the example below, you've created four blocks:
- Heading
- Introduction
- Image
- Article
Select the blocks at once. You can click and drag to highlight, or hold Shift + click.
Click Options (three dots) when it appears at the top of your first highlighted block. Then click Create pattern and enable the Synced toggle.
How to export/import Synced Patterns
Synced Patterns are happy to travel – you can take them anywhere. Insert into pages and posts, import and export across different WordPress websites. You can also download them as backups.
How to export Synced Patterns
Head to Appearance > Editor > Patterns and browse to your synced patterns.
From the pattern's options menu, choose Export as JSON. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a common way to transport data, nice and easy.
This automatically downloads to your device.
How to import Synced Patterns
Open Appearance > Editor > Patterns in your dashboard.
Use the import option to upload a JSON file containing the pattern.
How to manage duplicate Synced Pattern names
Here's one thing to remember. If you already have a Synced Pattern with the same name in your list, you'll end up with two patterns with the same name. It will not overwrite the previous one.
To avoid any confusion, just edit the name after importing.