feat/spit-happens-oct-2026

content/blog/2026-09-updates.mdx

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ date: '2026-09-25T06:06:43.004Z'
 last_edited: '2026-10-07T01:21:20.802Z'
 author: The TinaCMS Team
 prev: content/blog/august-2026-roundup.mdx
-next: ''
+next: content/blog/2026-10-month-to-date.mdx
 ---
 
 The herd has been busy again 🦙. In September we merged 112 pull requests across TinaCMS and TinaCloud and shipped 8 releases between them.

content/blog/2026-10-month-to-date.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+seo:
+  title: 'Spit Happens: October 2026 News - Colour and faster indexing'
+  description: 'October updates: text colour, a 24-hour date picker, better references, faster TinaCloud indexing and easier dashboard navigation on mobile.'
+title: 'Spit Happens: October 2026 News - Colour and faster indexing'
+date: '2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z'
+author: 'The TinaCMS Team'
+prev: content/blog/2026-09-updates.mdx
+next: ''
+---
+
+The herd has been busy again 🦙. Here's a look at October's editor improvements, reference fixes and TinaCloud updates, including the improvements released on 27 October.
+
+## 📦 TinaCMS Updates
+
+### 🎨 TinaCMS 3.15 brings some handy changes to the everyday editing experience
+
+- **Text colour:** Add colour to rich text with the new Text Color dropdown (next to Highlight). Developers can customise the palette. Check out the [setup guide](https://tina.io/docs/reference/types/rich-text#text-color) for more info. ([#7683](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7683))
+- **24-hour time picker:** Date fields follow your chosen time format, including a 24-hour clock. ([#7798](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7798))
+- **Readable field descriptions:** Longer descriptions wrap onto another line. ([#7734](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7734))
+
+### 🔗 References that keep up
+
+- **Rename content with confidence:** References inside lists and rich-text components are included when updating links after a rename or delete. ([#7851](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7851))
+- **Keep collections working:** Sorted collections handle deleted content without interrupting the rest of the list. ([#7133](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7133))
+- **Upgrading?** Reindex after updating to `@tinacms/graphql` 4.0.1 to refresh existing references.
+
+### 🩹 Fewer snags
+
+- **Tidier Markdown lists:** Adjacent lists save without an extra separator comment.
+- **Cleaner content files:** Empty optional image fields stay out of saved content.
+- **Image lists in rich text:** Lists of images work inside rich-text templates.
+- **Clearer messages:** Error dialogs have descriptive titles and help links. ([#7738](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7738))
+- **More accessible save status:** Screen readers can identify whether content has been saved. ([#7791](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7791))
+- **Better build feedback:** Indexing messages give developers more useful information when troubleshooting. ([#7786](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/pull/7786))
+
+**Developer note:** TinaCMS 3.15 requires React 18 or later. Check the [release notes](https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/releases/tag/tinacms%403.15.0) before upgrading.
+
+## ☁️ TinaCloud Updates
+
+### ⚡ Faster indexing
+
+- Indexing processes more work in parallel to reduce time spent waiting on storage.
+- New-branch indexing does less repeated processing behind the scenes.
+- **More reliable multi-repo indexing:** Content branches use the right schema when a project spans repositories.
+
+### 📱 A friendlier dashboard
+
+- **Easier navigation on phones:** A dropdown keeps dashboard sections within reach on smaller screens.
+- **Clearer indexing feedback:** Developers get more useful status messages when checking a build.
+- **Admin safeguards:** Projects retain an admin when roles are changed.
+- **Privacy controls:** The dashboard asks for consent before loading tracking in supported regions.
+
+### 🖼️ Better image caching
+
+- Browsers can reuse cached SVG, PNG and WebP assets instead of downloading them again unnecessarily.
+
+## Keep up with socials
+
+Follow along for product updates, tutorials and team news:
+
+- X: [@tinacms](https://x.com/tinacms)
+- LinkedIn: [TinaCMS](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tinacms)
+- YouTube: [@TinaCMS](https://youtube.com/@TinaCMS)
+- Bluesky: [@tina.io](https://bsky.app/profile/tina.io)
+- Discord: [Come chat with us!](https://tina.io/discord)
+
+Till next time 👋🦙

tina/collectionsSchema/eventsSchema.tsx

@@ -3,27 +3,11 @@ import React from 'react';
 import { LocationField } from 'tina/customTinaFormFields/locationField';
 import { TextField, wrapFieldsWithMeta } from 'tinacms';
 import majorTimezones from '../../components/componentSuppliedData/EventsTimezones.json';
+import { getSchemaUtcOffsetHours } from '../../utils/schemaTimezoneOffset';
 import { seoInformation } from './sharedFields/seoInformation';
 
 type offset = { value: any; label: string };
 
-const getUtcOffsetHours = (ianaName: string): number => {
-  const formatted = new Date().toLocaleString('en-US', {
-    timeZone: ianaName,
-    timeZoneName: 'shortOffset',
-  });
-  const match = formatted.match(/GMT([+-]?\d+(?::(\d+))?)?$/);
-  if (!match) {
-    return 0;
-  }
-  if (!match[1]) {
-    return 0;
-  } // "GMT" with no offset = UTC
-  const hours = parseInt(match[1], 10);
-  const minutes = match[2] ? parseInt(match[2], 10) : 0;
-  return hours + (hours < 0 ? -minutes : minutes) / 60;
-};
-
 const dateFormat = Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
   year: 'numeric',
   month: 'short',
@@ -48,7 +32,7 @@ const addCitiesAndPrefix = (offsets: number[], _prefix = '+'): offset[] => {
   const cityTimezoneMap = new Map();
   //Get the timezones of major cities
   majorTimezones.forEach((cityOffset) => {
-    const zone = getUtcOffsetHours(cityOffset.ianaName);
+    const zone = getSchemaUtcOffsetHours(cityOffset.ianaName);
     cityTimezoneMap.set(
       zone,
       cityTimezoneMap.get(zone)
@@ -176,7 +160,7 @@ export const eventsCollection = {
           label: 'Timezone',
           type: 'number',
           description:
-            'Please select the timezone the event is being held in. GMT and UTC are analagous.',
+            'Select the UTC offset for the event date. City names show January offsets; allow for daylight saving.',
           ui: {
             parse: (value) => Number(value),
             component: 'select',

utils/schemaTimezoneOffset.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import { getSchemaUtcOffsetHours } from './schemaTimezoneOffset';
+
+describe('schema timezone city hints', () => {
+  const RealDate = Date;
+  afterEach(() => {
+    global.Date = RealDate;
+  });
+
+  it('keeps labels stable across the November daylight-saving transition', () => {
+    const offsets = ['2026-10-31T12:00:00Z', '2026-11-03T12:00:00Z'].map(
+      (now) => {
+        global.Date = jest.fn(
+          (value?: string) => new RealDate(value ?? now),
+        ) as unknown as DateConstructor;
+        return [
+          'America/New_York',
+          'America/Chicago',
+          'America/Los_Angeles',
+        ].map(getSchemaUtcOffsetHours);
+      },
+    );
+    expect(offsets).toEqual([
+      [-5, -6, -8],
+      [-5, -6, -8],
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves UTC, positive and half-hour offsets', () => {
+    expect(getSchemaUtcOffsetHours('UTC')).toBe(0);
+    expect(getSchemaUtcOffsetHours('Australia/Sydney')).toBe(11);
+    expect(getSchemaUtcOffsetHours('Asia/Kolkata')).toBe(5.5);
+    expect(getSchemaUtcOffsetHours('America/St_Johns')).toBe(-3.5);
+  });
+});

utils/schemaTimezoneOffset.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+// Schema labels must not change between indexing and builds across DST transitions.
+// City hints use a fixed January reference; event values remain explicit UTC offsets.
+export const getSchemaUtcOffsetHours = (ianaName: string): number => {
+  const formatted = new Date('2026-01-01T00:00:00Z').toLocaleString('en-US', {
+    timeZone: ianaName,
+    timeZoneName: 'shortOffset',
+  });
+  const match = formatted.match(/GMT([+-]?\d+(?::(\d+))?)?$/);
+  if (!match) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  if (!match[1]) {
+    return 0;
+  } // "GMT" with no offset = UTC
+  const hours = parseInt(match[1], 10);
+  const minutes = match[2] ? parseInt(match[2], 10) : 0;
+  return hours + (hours < 0 ? -minutes : minutes) / 60;
+};