ACF Chat Fridays serve as a monthly gathering point for the Advanced Custom Fields community, offering an open platform where users, developers, and the ACF team converge to explore the plugin’s ecosystem. The May 2, 2025 session showcased a groundbreaking demo of upcoming inline editing for ACF Blocks, discussed the recent release of ACF PRO 6.4, and highlighted opportunities for community feedback. Participants also gained insights into streamlining block development workflows.

Hosted by Iain Poulson, Liam Gladdy, Phil Johnston, and Matt Shaw.

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Session Recording

Watch the full session below or skip to the highlights in the session summary.

Session Summary

Iain Poulson opened the session by recapping ACF PRO 6.4’s stable release, which introduced support for WooCommerce HPOS and WordPress 6.8 compatibility. The main draw of the session, however, was the demo of inline editing for ACF Blocks, conducted by Phil Johnston.

A highly anticipated feature poised to transform block development, the public got its first glimpse of inline editing during the ACF-focused session at DE{CODE} 2025.

The demo revealed how users can click and edit content directly within the block preview, bypassing traditional sidebar forms. This “magic mode” automatically detects ACF fields in render templates, though developers retain granular control via optional HTML attributes for complex layouts.

To ensure compatibility with existing workflows, inline editing will be opt-in via block.json settings. Developers can enable automatic field detection or manually tag elements with attributes like data-acf-inline-editable for precision. The team emphasized backward compatibility, using helper functions such as acf_is_block_editor() to conditionally render editing attributes only in the editor, avoiding front-end clutter.

Repeater and Flexible Content fields won’t support inline editing initially due to technical complexity. Instead, the team recommended leveraging nested blocks (e.g., InnerBlocks) for a native editing experience. Feedback on repeater use cases was encouraged to shape future updates.

Meanwhile, ACF Blocks v3 will debut a redesigned sidebar interface with resizable modals, addressing cramped layouts for complex fields. This update aims to simplify editing for Repeaters and Flexible Content while maintaining backward compatibility.

The session closed with a call to join the ACF Beta News list for early access to inline editing previews, targeting a summer 2025 release.

Q&A

Questions and answers from the session have been paraphrased for clarity.

Q: How does inline editing detect fields in render templates?

A: By default, it scans templates for ACF field outputs. Developers can enhance precision using data-acf-inline-editable attributes or JSON arrays for multi-field elements.

Q: Will Repeater fields ever support inline editing?

A: Not in the initial release due to technical complexity. Consider using InnerBlocks for a native block editor experience. Feedback on Repeater use cases is prioritized for future updates.

Q: When will inline editing be released?

A: Public beta testing begins in early summer 2025. Opt-in previews will arrive sooner via the ACF Beta program.

Q: How are editing attributes handled on the front end?

A: Helper functions (e.g., acf_is_block_editor()) conditionally render attributes only in the editor, avoiding front-end clutter.

Resources & Links

Coming Up on ACF Chat Fridays

Register today for the next session of ACF Chat Fridays. Sessions are typically held on the first Friday of every month. Questions and suggestions for the development team are always welcome.

Register for the next session of ACF Chat Fridays here:
https://wpeng.in/acf-chat-fridays/

The list of upcoming sessions is below.

  • June 6, 2025
  • July 4, 2025
  • August 1, 2025
  • September 5, 2025

Tag or DM us on Twitter with suggestions or feedback using #ACFChatFridays.