Post Meta

Displays configurable post meta including date, author, categories, and comment count. It is shown in the block inserter as Post Meta and registered as canvas-core/post-meta.

Select the block on a page and its own settings open in the sidebar, in the panels below:

Settings

Each setting is named exactly as the block editor names it, followed by what it does and what it starts as. Where a setting carries a Shown when line, it stays hidden until that condition is met, which is the usual reason a setting looks missing from the sidebar:

Settings

• Show DateDefaultOn

  Includes the publication date in the byline.

• Show AuthorDefaultOn

  Includes who wrote the post in the byline.

• Show CategoriesDefaultOn

  Includes the categories the post is filed under.

• Show Comment CountDefaultOff

  Includes how many comments the post has.

• Show Reading TimeDefaultOff

  Includes an estimate of how long the post takes to read, worked out from its length.

• Show Format ChipDefaultOff

  Icon-only link to the post-format archive: a camera, film reel, note or quotation mark telling a reader at a glance what kind of entry this is. Omitted for a plain article.

• Link the DateDefaultOff

  Link the date to its month archive. Off by default, which leaves the date as plain text.

• Show IconsDefaultOn

  Show the Unicon icon before each meta item.

• Items With an IconDefaultEmpty

  Comma-separated items that show their icon, when only some of them should. Leave empty to follow the toggle above for every item.

  Shown when Show Icons is on

• Link the ItemsDefaultOn

  On by default: the byline's author, categories and comment count are links to their archives. Off leaves them as plain text, which is what a caption under a title that is already the link should be.

• Date FormatDefaultEmpty

  PHP date format for the dateline. Empty uses the site setting.

  Shown when Show Date is on

• Machine-readable DateDefaultOff

  Marks the dateline up as a element carrying the date in a form software can read.

  Shown when Show Date is on

• Items OrderDefaultdate,author,categories,comments,reading-time,format

  Comma-separated display order. Valid tokens: date, author, categories, comments, reading-time, format. Items are still gated by their Show toggle above.

• Written Before the AuthorDefaultEmpty

  Words in front of the author link, for a byline that names the role rather than just the person.

  Shown when Show Author is on

• Icon OverridesDefaultEmpty

  One item=glyph pair per line, overriding the site-wide meta icons. Items: date, author, categories, comments, reading_time, format.

  Shown when Show Icons is on

• Comments Link Jumps In-PageDefaultOff

  On the record's own page, point the comment count at the thread below instead of reloading the URL already open.

  Shown when Show Comment Count is on

• Reading Time MeasuresDefaultEmpty

  Names the part of the page the estimate is worked out from, so it recounts against the real article text. Leave empty and the figure is printed as it stands.

  Shown when Show Reading Time is on

• List MarkupDefaultOn

  Wrap the meta items in a list. Turn off for a design that draws a single inline dateline with no list rules.

• Link ClassesDefaultEmpty

  Utility classes added to each linked meta item.

• Separator (legacy, unused)Default·

  Has no effect and is kept only so older saved content still loads. The byline separates its items with styling, not with a written character.

Related

Every Canvas block also carries the Animation, Scroll Effects and Advanced panels, which are described in Controls every Canvas block has.

Other blocks in Posts: Blog Archive Loop, Blog Loop, Blog Single Post, Post Archive Index, Post Author, Post Comments.