Block Supports and design tools follow-up

[aaronrobertshaw]

This issue proposes the following new (or enhanced) block supports for WordPress 7.1, including documentation.
If you're reading this, feel free to add / edit this list as supports are included or descoped for the release.

Carried over from WordPress 7.0

See previous iteration issue: #73772

New block supports

• Add a text gradient block support #30982 (@aaronrobertshaw)
  • Block Supports: Add background clip support and combined UI for text gradient selection #76171
• Block Supports: Add min width support to dimensions #76949 (@aaronrobertshaw)

Bugs in block supports to resolve

• Add support for Position setting to Template Parts for Sticky Headers #50617

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New for WordPress 7.1 and Beyond

New block supports

• Gradient backgrounds should be set with background-image instead of background #32787
  • Block Supports: Add background gradient support that can combine with background images #75859 — background.gradient block support (allows gradient + image layering without conflict with color.gradient)
• Block Supports: Add background clip support and combined UI for text gradient selection #76171 — background.backgroundClip support + text gradient UI in Color panel
• Block Supports: Add background.color support and refactor foreground and background panels #76474 — background.color block support + foreground/background panel restructure

Enhancements or Refactorings

• Improve IA in block inspector and Global Styles panels — consolidate all background controls (color, gradient, image, clip) into Background panel, move text color into Typography panel, and element colors into a new Elements panel (Block Supports: Relocate text and bg color controls to Typography and Background panels #77279))
• Migrate color.background on Paragraph block to background.color to avoid background shorthand conflicts (Block Supports: Add background.color support and refactor foreground and background panels #76474)
• Suppress Color panel gradient tab when background.gradient is active on a block (Block Supports: Add background gradient support that can combine with background images #75859)
• Explore migration path from color.gradient → background.gradient for existing core blocks

Stretch

• Migrate additional core blocks from color.gradient to background.gradient
• Extend global styles and block supports so that a block support can determine the CSS property it should use, e.g., see the definitions list in style engine, a potential approach is a value func for properties (???)
• Evaluate layered / ordered background controls UI (stacked gradient + image + color)
• Display inherited global styles within the block inspector for block support controls (Block Editor: Reflect inherited Global Styles values in block inspector controls #77894)

Migrating ad hoc solutions to use block supports

• Evaluate following blocks with ad hoc attributes for migration to new width support:
  • core/column
  • core/spacer
  • core/search
  • core/comment-author-avatar
  • core/image
  • core/post-featured-image
  • core/site-logo
• Evaluate following blocks with ad hoc height attributes for migration to new support:
  • core/comment-author-avatar
  • core/image
  • core/post-featured-image
  • core/spacer
• Define expected behaviour when dimensions.width is used alongside layout and alignment supports (alignwide/full, flex grow/fit/fixed, grid spans)
  • Conditionally opt-out or ignore dimensions.width support when parent layout is flex, or grid

[annezazu]

Checking in on the iteration issue for 7.1. Is this still viable for the release? We're a month out from beta 1 and I don't see a ton of recent efforts here (which is totally fine) so I wanted to check in. If it's not slated for 7.1 but could be useful to have scoped for a future release, just remove the iteration label and remove WordPress 7.1 from the title. I'd title it something like "Block supports and design tools follow up" so it's more generic and could be reused for a future iteration issue for another release.