List Item Block Reference
List Item Block
An individual item within a list. The parent block is the List Block.
The List Item Block can become increasingly complex when introducing nested lists. An excellent understanding of the block parent to child relationship in the hierarchy will be necessary.
Inserting a Block
When starting a new page or post, a dialog with the first new post or page appears welcoming you to the block editor. Move to the “close this dialog button” and press either spacebar or enter to dismiss this dialog.
After typing the text for your title a placeholder for a new block is inserted into the content area which prompts the user to start typing or press the slash (/) key to choose a block type. If using a screen reader, you will need to invoke forms or edit mode before you start typing or use the slash key. If this placeholder does not appear then you can simply press the Keystroke of ALT + CTRL + Y (Mac: Command + Option + Y) to insert this placeholder and then use the previous instructions.</p
Choosing a block
With focus on the block placeholder, either start typing to insert a paragraph block or press the slash (/) key to choose a block. You will more than likely see a list of approximately 8 to 9 items in this list that is presented. This list is either the most commonly or most recently used blocks chosen. Please note that screen reader users will need to be in forms or edit mode.
Use your UP and DOWN ARROW keys to navigate this list until you get to the item you desire and then press the enter key. Do not attempt to use first letter navigation in this list as it does not work, only the ARROW keys. The reason first letter navigation does not work in this list is because if you start typing the editor assumes you want the paragraph block.
Configuration of the Inserted Block
Now that a block has been chosen and inserted, let us discuss configuring the block starting with the toolbar.
The following list describes the toolbar moving from left to right.
Block Toolbar – Alt + F10 (Mac: Option + F10)
- List Item Button Menu – Change block type or Style
- Move Up
- Move Down
- Outdent
- Indent
- Bold Toggle Button
- Italic Toggle Button
- Link Toggle Button – has popup
- More Button Menu
- Footnote
- Highlight
- Inline code
- Inline Image
- Keyboard input
- Language
- Strikethrough
- Subscript
- Superscript
- Options Button Menu
- Copy – CTRL + C (Mac: Command + C)
- Cut – CTRL + X (Mac: Command + X)
- Duplicate – CTRL + Shift + D (Mac: Command + SHIFT + D)
- Add before – Alt + CTRL + T (Mac: Command + Option + T)
- Add after – Alt + CTRL + Y (Mac: Command + Option + Y)
- Copy styles
- Paste styles
- Group
- Lock Submenu – dialog with 3 option
- Lock All
- Lock Movement
- Lock Removal
- Rename Submenu – dialog allows user to rename the block
- Create Patterns Submenu – dialog allowing advanced CSS options
- Edit as HTML
- Delete – Alt + Shift + Z (Mac: CTRL + Option + SHIFT + Z)
Change Block Type or Style
At the time of the writing of this document, this feature was beyond the scope of the basics desire to convey to any user. In a future part of these tutorial files we will write a part on CSS and document this feature.
Changing your block layout
As you continue to compose your page or post, the blocks are enumerated 1 of 10, 2 of 10, and so on throughout the hierarchy.
To move your block UP or DOWN in the hierarchy, first make sure you are focused on the block, make sure you are in forms or edit mode and then press ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10)to bring UP the block editing toolbar.
Use your RIGHT and LEFT ARROW keys to navigate this toolbar. As you press the RIGHT ARROW keys, the first two (2) options on this toolbar are the buttons to move either UP or DOWN one (1) block at a time. Choose the appropriate button and press the spacebar or enter key to maneuver the block into the position of the hierarchy you desire.
You can also use the keystroke of ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + T (Mac: Command + Option + SHIFT + T) to move your block UP one position in the hierarchy, as well as press the ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + Y (Mac: Command + Option + SHIFT + Y) to move your block DOWN one position in the hierarchy.
Changing Block Alignment
To change the alignment of the block, press the keystroke of ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) then use the right arrow to move to the button for alignment. To activate this button press either your Enter key or Spacebar. You will find three (3) options for alignment: left, center, and right. Simply choose the alignment and either press the Enter key or spacebar to select your choice.
Formatting Text
Text can be formatted with three (3) possible attributes which are: bold, italic and underline. However, underlining should be properly applied by using external CSS but can be done with a keystroke.
To use the block toolbar simply select the text you wish to format and then simply press the keystroke of ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) TO ACTIVATE THE BLOCK TOOLBAR. Press the right arrow key to navigate to the bold or italic button and press either the Enter key or spacebar to activate the appropriate button.
Formatting can also be accomplished with keystrokes. Simply select the text that you wish to change and press the corresponding keystroke for the attribute you want to format.
- Bold – CTRL + B (Mac: Command + B)
- Italic – CTRL + I (Mac: Command + I)
- Underline – CTRL + U (Mac: Command + U)
Inserting, Editing and Deleting Hyperlinks
This document is going to use the list block and assume that you have a list of three (3) items created.
For example, my list looks like the following:
- Visit John
- Call John
- Email John
Since this list is now established, let us turn the text of the list into useable hyperlinks.
First select the list block, and if you are using a screen reader turn on your forms or edit mode. Use your navigation keys to move to the first part of the text and using text selection keystrokes, select “Visit John.” Tip: be sure to only select the text, because if you accidentally select the blank at the END of the first item, the first two (2) items in the list are both incorporated into a single hyperlink.
When using the toolbar simply press the keystroke of ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) then right arrow to the button to create a link and either press the Enter key or the spacebar to activate this choice. Type the following in this field: https://www.customrservant.com and then you should hear that one (1) option has been found. Tab to the submit button and then press your spacebar or enter key. You should hear a message stating that a link has been inserted.
You can also use a keystroke other than the toolbar once your text is selected, simply press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and the insert link dialog appears prompting for a URL.
That is how to insert a hyperlink using the http or https protocol, but what if you wish to use another protocol to insert a hyperlink?
Let us select the second list item text remembering to only select the text and not the blank character at the END of the line. When you have this selection made, then press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and in the edit field type tel://8005551212 and you should hear that one (1) item has been found. Tab to the submit button and press either your spacebar or the enter key. You should hear a message that the link has been inserted.
For the last list item, again select the text to become a link being careful not to get the blank character at the END of the line. Press the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K) and then type mailto:john@jcarson.wtf into the edit field and you should hear a message stating one (1) item has been found. Tab to the submit button and either press your spacebar or the enter key and you should hear a message stating that the link has been inserted.
It is now time to test your links to make sure they do what you intended to do.
Note: We used three (3) examples to show how to insert hyperlinks using different protocols just so you do not have to experiment to figure out these procedures.
Editing and Removing a hyperlink
Editing or removing a hyperlink can be done by using the insert link dialog. You can get to this dialog one of two ways. Either by using the toolbar with ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) and then using the right arrow to navigate to the link button or you can use the keystroke of CTRL + K (Mac: Command + K). Keep in mind that the link text will need to be selected prior to using either of these methods.
The dialog that appears will have three (3) buttons to either edit, copy or remove the hyperlink.
To remove a hyperlink is just as easy as inserting one by using a keystroke, just select the text that is already a hyperlink using the cautions already mentioned in this tutorial and press the keystroke of CTRL + SHIFT + K (Mac: Command + SHIFT + K) and you should hear a message indicating that the hyperlink has now been removed.
Copy or Move a Block
Copying a block uses the standard Windows keystroke of CTRL + C (Mac: Command + C), which is useful for when your block is setUP and formatted and you wish to share between other pages or posts. You can also move a block by using CTRL + X (Mac: Command + X). Once you have either cut or copied the block you desire to manipulate press the keystroke CTRL + V (Mac: Command + V) to paste the block in the position of the location where you would like it to appear.
Duplicate a Block
You can also duplicate a block by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + D (Mac: Command + SHIFT + D). This is useful if you have a block already formatted and want to duplicate this block along with its information in another location in your pages or posts.
Add Block before or After
If you are editing an existing page or post that already has blocks in the content area, you can add a block either before or after a selected block in the hierarchy. To add a block before the selected block press ALT + CTRL + T (Mac: Command + Option + T) and to add a block after the selected block press ALT + CTRL + Y (Mac: Command + Option + Y). Screen reader users will need to be in forms or edit mode.
Deleting a block
To delete a block, make sure that your focus is on the block you wish to delete, and in forms or edit mode and then press the keystroke ALT + SHIFT + Z (Mac: CTRL + Option + SHIFT + Z). Your block will be deleted.
There is a second option for you to explore in deleting a block. Press ALT + F10 (Mac: Option + F10) to bring UP the toolbar, then use the RIGHT ARROW to move to the “Options button” and press either the spacebar or enter key to drop DOWN a list of items, then DOWN ARROW to the option for “remove/delete block” and press the enter key on this item and the block will be deleted.
Furthermore, you can press CTRL + A (Mac: Command + A) twice quickly to select all the blocks in the content area and press either the backspace or the delete key to get rid of all the blocks in the content area. You want to use caution when using this method, as it may not give you the result that you are looking for.
Block – Configuration
Color
- Color Options
- Text
Topography
- Topography Options
- Font size
- Size
- set custom size
Font size – group of radio buttons
- Small
- Medium
- Large
- Extra Large
- Extra Extra Large
Dimensions
- Show Padding
- Show Margins
Border
- Show Border
- Show Radius
Advanced
- HTML Anchor
- Additional CSS Class
- Skip to the selected block