Writers are as different as the stories they produce, and their ideal writing environments vary no less. One thing most writers agree on, though, is that one of the toughest challenges is overcoming distraction. At WordPress we’ve always believed that when you’re using the application, the focus should be on what’s most important — your content. In the spirit of making things faster and simpler, today we are introducing a couple of changes to your dashboard that will make it easier for you to just write.
A Fresher, Faster Dashboard
The most noticeable change is that the dashboard looks a little different. Nothing drastic, just a little facelift intended to make managing your content easier. Moving the left menu up means more room if you tend to keep a couple of sections open at the same time. Fiddling with the font sizes in the header also created more vertical space, so you can make your writing window/post box bigger on the editing screens (you can drag the lower right corner if you use the Visual editor, and/or change the default height of the writing window in Settings → Writing). We’ve also replaced the icons in the Visual Editor toolbar with new ones designed by Ben Dunkle, the same person who designed the navigation icons for the dashboard, that we think are less distracting and fit better. You’ll also be saying goodbye to the “New Post” button that used to live in the header. We’ve added an “Add New” menu to the admin bar instead, for faster, easier content creation. Oh, I almost forgot — we’ve made a number of performance improvements to make everything in the Dashboard run just a little bit faster. Yay!
Goodbye, IE6
With this update, WordPress has discontinued support for Internet Explorer 6. It has required increasingly complex code trickery to make the WordPress dashboard work in the IE6 browser, which was introduced 10 years ago and does not support current web standards. Even Microsoft is counting down to IE6’s extinction! If you try to log in to your Dashboard using IE6, it will be pretty broken — but don’t worry, you’ll see a red alert box that provides a link you can use to upgrade. What do we mean by broken? This is how the new dashboard looks in modern browsers:
…and this is what it looks like in IE6:
So please, if you’re still using IE6, upgrade!
While we were at it, we started looking at other older browsers, and it makes us cringe a little when we see people using them, because the web could be so much better for them (not to mention more secure) if they would update to their favorite browser’s current version. Starting with this update, if you log in to your WordPress site using an outdated browser, an orange alert will appear on your Dashboard screen letting you know, and will provide links to the browser updates and to Browse Happy, where you can learn a little more about your options.
Approve and Reply
This is a small improvement, but it feels huge. If you’re like me, sometimes you might not want to approve a comment unless you have written a reply. It used to be that if you clicked to reply to a pending comment in your Dashboard, your reply would be published but not the original comment. I know, I know, it’s not like it is difficult to click on Approve. But! We’ve made it better anyway. 🙂 Now when you reply to a pending comment, the submit button will say “Approve and Reply,” and will perform both actions at the same time. After using this for less than a minute I was completely hooked.
Introducing Distraction-free Writing
The other big change — one that we love — is a major upgrade to the full-screen writing experience. The normal posting screen is great: you can set it up the way you want it, and you can add and edit every piece of metadata related to your post in addition to writing it. Sometimes you just want to focus on writing, though, without all the extras, right? If that’s how you feel, you may have used the full-screen writing mode in the Visual Editor before, accessible by clicking a blue screen-shaped icon in the top row of the toolbar. That full-screen mode took up the full browser screen, which was cool, but then your lines of text went all the way across, making it harder to read and edit your creations. The Visual Editor toolbar stayed up top, which was handy if you wanted to add a picture or a link, but was a little bit distracting because of the colors. And if you zoomed or resized your browser, that was not good.
Everything about this feature revamp is designed to relax you, and allow you to find your groove without distraction. There’s a lot to point out — because hey, we’re proud of it — and the new look is quiet and deceptively simple.
- It’s available for all users, whether you use the Visual Editor or HTML. Visual Editor users will notice a more laid-back icon to enter distraction-free mode, and HTML users will see a new [fullscreen] button. Click one and you’re on your way.
- Distraction-free writing mode still takes over the browser window, but the writing area is optimized for a comfortable line length and easy reading and editing. Editor styles set by themes are also supported.
- The formatting header is shown when you first arrive on the screen, to orient you, then fades away so you can focus on your writing. Move your mouse to indicate that you want access to these items and it will magically reappear.
- Only the most-used formatting and embedding icons are shown, reducing visual noise, along with a Save button in the upper right (you’ll need to go back to the regular editor to publish), and the word count in the lower left.
- Keyboard shortcuts are supported.
- You can switch beween Visual and HTML modes while in distraction-free writing mode.
- Have I mentioned how restful this screen feels when you’re writing? Well, I have now. 🙂
I never used to like full-screen mode for writing, but I love distraction-free mode. Try it, and I bet you will, too!
Tip: make your browser go full screen if you really want to be distraction-free. Press F11 on Windows, or Command+Shift+F on a Mac. To disable full screen, use the same keyboard shortcut, or move your mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the menu.
Get Featured on Freshly Pressed
We hope you’ll enjoy these updates as much as we do. As always, let us know what you think, but this time, let’s mix it up:
- If you encounter a bug, something looks weird/broken, or you need help with the new distraction-free writing feature, please let us know in the special distraction-free writing support forum instead of leaving a comment about the problem on this post. Note that we’ll be continuing to touch things up as needed based on your feedback for the next couple of weeks.
- There’s also a new distraction-free writing support page for reference.
- Leave your feedback on the design update in a comment on this post.
- To comment on the new distraction-free writing feature, go try it first! Write a post and see how it feels. Give it a “just write” tag. Then come back and tell us what you thought about the experience and give us your feedback in a comment on this post. Include a link to the first post you wrote in dfw mode so we can check you out.
I will personally read every first “just write”-tagged post that is linked in the comments within 48 hours. I will (completely subjectively) choose my five favorites posts and feature them on Freshly Pressed, and will also send the authors a WordPress swag pack (buttons, stickers, maybe a surprise or two) as a prize. Note: I am easily swayed by correct spelling and grammar, so be sure to make use of the built-in spelling and grammar checker!
Update 5/31/2011: I chose my winners! With hundreds of posts to read I couldn’t narrow it to 5, so I filled up Freshly Pressed today with my picks. Here are the winners in no particular order:
Vieques Dream House Diary — The International Language of Gardening
communicating.across.boundaries — Dull Women Have Immaculate Coffee Tables
Notes from Africa — Arts and crafts in Mozambique
Stupid Ugly Foreigner — English: Loving the Frankenstein Language
Kadampa Life — Kung Fu Panda and the Secret Ingredient
Teenage Enthusiasm — Willy Loman Inspired This
MBAdventure — Let’s Talk About…Machetes
Learn More Everyday — The Grandeur of Yosemite
Running Barefoot — Alaska to Vermont: Eloping with Edge!
WordPress.com News 
Dashboard looks childish now. Some words have an “insecure” font type – e.g. “Dashboard” – looks like you’ve fallen prey to Apple’s Finderbar or lookalike. What’s Hot doesn’t work – only WordPress.com News shows, other tabs do not open.
I would love you use your energy on making some of the nice themes wider. The Journalist 1.9 or a number of other fine themes do not allow pictures of wider that 600-700px, while modern photoblogging is all about 800-900px. If you tell me about flexible-width themes, these are not so nice. But maybe this is the wrong place to ask for this – you’ll tell me I should address support. ))
Insecure? 🙂 We did make some adjustments to the fonts, and hope they’ll grow on you with time. We think the new fonts make the admin feel a bit cleaner and more modern. Don’t fret for Georgia — she’s actually being used even more in the new design, just not for page titles.
Regarding themes: our Theme Wranglers are hard at work on some new themes that are beautifully wide. Check out the Theme Showcase where you’ll find quite a few themes that support really large gallery images.
I use the Duster theme, and some of the new updates make the Dashboard look more clean (in my opinion). I actually went looking for a “just write” tab (silly me), it doesn’t quite appear that way in my theme. Instead, the features are actually quite seamless and still allow for me to use my other features. Eventually, I don’t think the results look different (I had initially expected that on first read of the “Now More Than Ever: Just Write” post) but it doesn’t and that’s actually good – it’s the process that’s more simple.
So here’s my first “just write” post:
http://thetosinteatime.com/2011/05/22/it%E2%80%99s-22nd-may-2011/
Now if only you could edit your text without having to use HTML we would be as good as open source. Why do I have to change the font to black and add a line a billion times? Maybe if I buy more add-ons I’ll have working standard features. Brilliant.
I used the Just Write feature for both my recent blog posts. I used to use the full screen mode all the time for writing, so was concnered about what this innovation would mean. Well, I do like the fact that it looks more like the final product – although there is still the odd spacing issue (it will look like I have the correct spacing in both the editing views, but when I preview, it changes). I am adjusting to having to “find” the new limited menu bar – since I like to save often. I am not exactly sure where my cursor should go to bring it up, so that takes a bit more time – but presumably I wil adjust and it will become automatic.There is one thing I sorely miss: I like to spell check in the full screen mode since I can take more of it in at one look — the other view is so tiny it feels like it takes forever to get through each correction. And usually, I am scanning only for mis-spelled words. Can you please add the spell check feature to the Just Write view? This will make it quite wonderful, indeed. BTW: I have found WordPress very easy to learn and now write with it all the time. Bravo!
FYI, the auto save feature is always on, even in distraction-free mode.
Oops…forgot to add the link to my post: http://rebeccaspeak.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/shooting-skeet/ Thanks.
done with the article. it was great working on distraction free!! umm.. just wondering when the 5 people will be chosen..
oh and i gave my article a ‘just write’ tag.. but just in case.. http://rashmikamath.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/just-read/ 🙂
Thank you for the updates. Now I’m more inspired to write than ever. Again, I’m gratefull to what wordpress has done to make writing/posting a fun, meaningful and fulfilling experience for me. Great job.
Like the fresher dashboard. And the distraction free writing feature is excellent (the drag corner never quite cut it for me). Completely replaces Windows Live Writer, the more common editing features are still right there, and the whole dashboard–distractions and all–is just a click away. Well done!
And while it looks as if I’ve missed the deadline, here’s the link to my first post using the dfw feature: http://jdricemd.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/logical-punctuation-good-im-glad-somethings-logical/
Thanks for the great work!
actually still shockly with this changes..but at least nice idea
Yes! Something to take away my distractions! Now if only you guys could crash Facebook whenever I’m writing a post so I don’t compulsively check it every few minutes…
Here’s my post, tragically out of context as it’s a recap of a series on the Rapture I did yesterday. But it’s the first one written with this feature, so here goes:
http://p2pthedailylife.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/rapturewatch-recap/
Much nicer writing in the full screen format. It usually feels quite cramped and as a result I regularly write in Pages and then copy paste. No need to do that now. Thanks. http://wp.me/pMKim-yH
I absolutely enjoyed writing without any distractions on the screen, so thank you guys so much for adding that feature! I liked it so much I was able to put out two blogs yesterday, I hope I can keep it up!
This is awesome! I will be using it on all of my blogs. Thank you for the improvements.
Just tried the “just write” feature and absolutely LOVED it! It felt as though I was back at my grandfather’s writing desk with pen in hand and a blank sheet of paper in front of me (well…maybe not quite THAT nostalgic, but you get the picture :D). Thank you for everything you do to make our writing and sharing that much easier.
Here’s the link to my first “just write” post.
Ok – so I am old. I see no reason to change things simply because you can. And I hate, detest, loathe the tendency of computing and software companies to force customers to forever spend money buying the latest and greatest. I have 3 desktops now with 3 different operating systems – simply because expensive educational software cannot be supported by newer operating systems and I am either not prepared to spend the $100’s needed for the upgraded software or they never up-graded it. Until my youngest child outgrows the software I don’t see this changing.
But for the sake of my blog I would update my desktop browser – the very broswer I have never had any problems with until you said I did. One small problem though – to do that I have to change my Windows system and I hate, loathe, Vista and beyond. That – I will have to think on.
Perhaps borrowing the teens laptops – who do have IE 7 and that loathed Windows – might be the go?
You have just made the best argument in the world for supporting open source software instead of shackling yourself to proprietary software.
IE7 will be supported for a while longer, but the plan is to stop supporting it as well sometime in the not overly distant future, for similar reasons (not supporting web standards, etc.). I do sympathize… I have a couple of old computers around myself that I keep for specific software that has issues like you describe. Still, for optimal web browsing, a modern browser is important. It’s a tricky issue. Maybe if you contact support and let them know what 3 different operating systems you have running, they can suggest the best option based on what you have.
Guys, you’re supposed to be about writing, so check your grammar before you post. Thx.
If there’s a grammatical error you’d like us to correct, please state what it is. thanks.
This is totally totally cool. Thank you, WordPress
wow–love the new dashboard–I noticed the changes the other day and I am thrilled! thank you WordPress!!
Wow, it really is a blank page! I love it because I am easily distracted. (Oh look! A chicken…)
Another reason why WordPress is so AWESOME 🙂
I read your post, and I saw the warning, but I’m still using an old version of Firefox (3.6.16). I’m not doing it because I didn’t listen, or just to be a jerk. I’m doing it because the new version isn’t supported by my version of the OS. So I would need to upgrade the OS to upgrade my browser, but I have an old, barely functioning laptop, so I’m not gonna try to upgrade the OS, because I’ll need to upgrade the computer to do so. I appreciate your concern for my browsing experience, and it isn’t my intention to make you guys cringe. I’m just trying to make do with what I have. Someday I’ll have the $$ for a shiny new computer; I’ll enjoy all the benefits of a new browser then.
Love it! Absolutely love it!
…because I wasn’t addicted enough to blogging…
I love the new full-screen feature!
Thanks for the tips!
Great work and Thanks you!
I hope it’s not too late to enter the contest. Regardless, thanks for all the improvements!
http://francescagacho.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/short-letters/
I’ll be reading all day today, so anything that came in over the weekend will be considered. Good luck!
Where is the new post/”add new” to be found? What do you mean by administration bar and what category would I click. My WP site is darasattic.wordpress.com. Pictures plus text are inextricably combined with the written researched commentary to my my historical objets d’art, fine art, books and especially antique and vintage clothes and jewelry. I still have trouble posting, viewing my comments, and exercising all the features you offer. Format may be cleaner but I too am used to the old way. I still have problems even finding the category to post catalog updates. Please tell me how to find “add new” and how to get to my comments and publish them and my replies. Also, I’ve found valid comments under “spam” before and now can’t access them (autospam removal?) I must see and make sure my audience has a fair shot at being heard. By the way, why do comments approved and published show up later as disapproved? Am I doing something wrong?
Congrats at giving straight blogger/writers more space, but what about us?
Reply urgently needed. I do have Google Chrome. Did I read correctly that I am “safe”? Thanks for your collective efforts on our behalf. Best, Dara Goldstein aka darathecollector.
I am loving it!!!
Thank goodness- not only am I the world’s most distracted writer, but also the least informed about WordPress features! So glad I saw this little article so I can take advantage of the new features (and the old ones I hadn’t bothered to find yet)!
Check out my latest article- it was greatly helped by the new fullscreen feature!
I like the new layout so far! Especially love the width of the writable screen in fullscreen format. I just wrote about how I’m finding it difficult to write about my summer when (it seems) nothing fun has happened in it yet!
http://liliriveddo.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/motivation/
Thanks for providing all of us who love to write with such a fantastic and simple platform! I am so grateful to be able to share what is important to me with anyone who wants to read it, with such ease and precision – just the way it should be!
Best Regards
Keep up the good work!
– W.R. Knight
You were right, that really was restful. For some reason, a truly blank page really helped me think. I know I’ll be using this feature in the future. Thank you! http://corlosky.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/a-new-best-seller/
Nice! Some very useful changes, THANK YOU!
My first post using just write was
http://pigletinportugal.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/frozen-condoms-in-france/
It only included one photo so it was easy.
I’ve written another post since using lots of photos which then cause the text to misalign amongst other porblmes. I will add my comments to the forum
Yes, please report the image issues so the developers can look into it. Thanks!
am not sure if i liked it or hate it! but i always appreciate change 🙂
Pretty neat idea, Jane! Thanks! I just used it to post and it was a breeze!
Like so many others here, I too love the update. The adjustable writing space looks so much cleaner and works perfectly. I’m fiddling around my blog even more these days… :-)) There’s one little thing though I miss from ‘the old’ interface: getting directly to my list of drafts. That’s my only hitch. But apart from that; love it. Thanks.
great improvement THANXXXXXXXXXX !
weeew..
I think that is very nice idea for me.
this upgrade it is really awesome, now i can make a post faster, and this upgrade helps me more than before, makes wordpress more flexible.
I am just getting started on WordPress and I find the potential mind boggling! I am not in the first flush of youth and catching up with all you young people is a bit of a challenge .As fast as I am learning things – you are upgrading them! Please give me some encouragement and assure me that I will get there in the end, together with keeping up with your improvements which seem to come fast and furious
Hi Jane, thanks so much for the fantastic updates to the WordPress writing experience! I love popping onto my blog to update the world on my random musings, and the new writing features make it very easy for me to do just that. In fact, I recently started a series on my blog (MBAdventure)called “Let’s Talk About…” just so that I can have a venue through which to publish some of my wacky observations.
Incidentally, my first “Let’s Talk About…” post (which delves into the various uses / benefits of machetes in my current location of rural Nicaragua) was written in the new writing screen. I had a great experience with the new functionality and know that it will make it that much easier for me to expound on similarly quirky topics in the future.
A link to my “Let’s Talk About…Machetes” post is below. I included the “Just Write” tag in this post and would love to be featured on Freshly Pressed!!
http://mbadventure.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/lets-talk-about-machetes/
http://triplecordcsaorganicproduce.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/perfect-pizza/
Thanks for making the changes. It will be faster and easier. Looking forward to it.
Thank you for all the useful information. I have been using several of the new features.
Yes, put a fork in IE6, by all means. It’s been harder to kill than Netscape 4….
I’ll have to try the distraction-free thing. I’ve been writing posts in a text editor and pasting them in
That kind of fine-grained is generally considered advanced customization more suited to a self-hosted setup where you can use a plugin to do what you’re suggesting.
This is a great upgrade and the new interface looks fantastic. Any chance the wordpress team could have a look at user roles? The pre-defined options are too restricting, it’d be great to see a sort of tick box system to choose what powers users of your blog are granted…
Im probaly going to update it but after reading this im definitely going to update it.
Loving the changes guys! Superb job. What shall I write about today?
It seems a bit naked at the moment, but yes, definately uncluttered. I think it will make things easier for me as I do a lot of my writing in open office then cut and paste, so I’ll see how this goes.
My post, http://wp.me/p1dCz0-3f
Jim
Thanks for your support. Can’t wait to try everything.
Loving all the new improvements!!! 😀
I love the new dashboard;..
great changes 🙂
I tried out the distraction free mode, and I’m not a big fan of the changes. My biggest problem is that lack of options available in this mode.
I often write with two windows open side by side in my wide-screen monitor. In the normal editing mode, this “half screen” results in the editing area running into (i) the Dashboard and other menus on the left side, (ii) the “categories” and “tags” options on the right side, and (iii) the editing option buttons on top. In the new distraction free mode, the text does not run into the other parts of the screen, but I have few options to edit, which results in me constantly having to switch from distraction free to normal mode and back.
Anyway, you will find my post at the following link: http://abcfamilyblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/attorney-adam-b-cordover-participates-in-police-appreciation-10k-run/.
Sorry to come to the party so late (FOUR DAYS!). I have been trying to work with the new dashboard look for the same four hard days. Most things are fine once you figure them out but it would have been nice to have known the changes on my dashboard had something to do with this article which I finally stopped to read today. The worst thing is new full-screen mode which hardly leaves me free to “just write.” Once I found it and clicked into it, I could not get out of it as all the function buttons, including were hidden undeneath my main (dark grey) menu bar. I looked for something in “Help” to help but, honestly, WordPress’ help is no better than any one else’s which means to say, it sucks. It’s just a series of (out of date) tutorial articles that take you through “how to blog,” including a page about how to use the old Full Screen mode.
I know you are very proud of what you have done; I read many of the comments and your responses on the way down to this comment box, but if you really have time to fix something how about fixing the fact that as a fairly new blogger — ten months — I have had to learn everything through trial and error with no actual “Help” anywhere. When something is not working correctly is a very lonely feeling to realize you are completely on your own. I spent hours figuring out how to upgrade my type fonts because nothing finished the loop. I spent many more hours in the forums trying to figure out how to use several features which I accessed through my .com page only to finally find an article which explained those features are only available to .org bloggers. So why are they featured and “clickable” on my .com blog site? I really wanted to know. After several more hours I found what appeared to be a place to leave feedback, a support contact form and I left that question but of course, I never heard anything back. Like I won’t from this untimely comment. Hellllooooo?
Peace and grace anyway,
Trace
I like new dashboard appearance, it’s very fast! Thanks!
The new visual screen is so good. It’s like having a blank slate and you can write whatever comes to your mind. I do hope you guys give us more formatting options in the future like better line spacing. I have written my post using the new format and here’s the link.
I did get a surprise once i published my post though !! Am I going to be freshly pressed ? Am I ? 🙂
Gracias amigos de wordpress!!!!!!…..=)
De nada!
Nice to see a new feature that supports HTML editing for once. ^^
It’s awesome to use! While reading http://wordpress.org/news/2011/05/wordpress-3-2-beta-1/, I heard that a new default theme called “Twenty Eleven is being released. Will this come out in WordPress.com?
Yes, when it is finished it will be available here. In the meantime, check out the Duster theme, which was the basis of Twenty Eleven.
I love it that you guys are always trying to improve this site. I was originally using Blogger but ever since I moved here I feel like I’m part of something bigger and special. Thanks!
You guys really outdid yourselves! I’M LOVIN’ IT! MARAMING SALAMAT!
This is completely wonderful! Thank you very much for the changes.
I LOVE the no distractions! I’m super scatterbrained, it’s just how God made me but its a real pain in the you know what sometimes so taking away all the visual noise is a huge help. Thank you!
Love all the changes! Thank you!
So is there an official time when we will know who won?
Will post the winners tomorrow morning!
I really find it very easy to use, I think it is great. The writing space is very user-friendly.
http://reflectionofabuddhistmonk.com/2011/05/23/anger-burning-a-hole/
I like the improvements, just a shame I won’t really benefit from all of it – if the people who use IE6 are old school, I’m a dinosaur. I read books and newspapers, then get out my pen and paper and write.
After you write with pen and paper, how do you get the text onto your site?
Good one i like it
Looks nice. How it will work out is yet to be seen.
Great upgrade now i can focus more. Brilliant…
Hi Jane! Thank you for the excellent article! WordPress has proven its awesome usability and friendship. As a blogger, I value all the upgrades it’s got, whether they are functional or just fashionable. Inspiration counts. At the moment I trying to find the best solution my psd’s to get published to WordPress. Any suggestions how to convert psd to WordPress?
Really it is helpfull and thanqs for upgrade. good bye to IE6..
I like how it says “Just write” at the bottom. I remember one of my English professors told me just to do that when writing a timed essay.
A simply “yay” update! I was upset when I saw the new version of Twenty Ten Theme with more space to type.. with this new update, now I am rich too!! Thank you guys.. you are awesome..!!
Just a tiny bit question..
One cannot re-size a glitter graphic in the text editor box which is possible in widgets with help of sizing scripting. Likewise, none of those can be fixed even in the theme header- but works wonderfully in the background. For bloggers like me who are not into stills; can there be some provision to glitter us up??
All the best xx
So I started this post a while back, but got distracted… Haha! The new full page/ dfw feature is great. I think it helped move the words from my brain to the screen to finish this post in style. I was thinking it would be nice to have “the kitchen sink” in vertical fashion in one of the side margins. Hope you like my new post from the Philippine jungle!
http://thriveoutdoors.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/jest/
-THRIVEoutdoors
I was very shocked for joy / happy to create a blog, even though I am still confused 😀
Confusion can be a springboard that motivates us to learn and explore, but sometimes it’s just frustrating. If you are frustrated, try asking for guidance in the support forums.
Awesome! I love it! 🙂
Hi, WordPress!
Any chance you could put the “symbols” button in the Just Write toolbar? I use it frequently, and I don’t want to have to shift back and forth out of the full screen mode.
Thanks
I am enjoying using the new features on the dashboard. I am a novice blogger, dreaming of becoming accomplished some day! Thank you for making my life a bit simpler. Read my post at http://anitafessler.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/just-write-beginning-seriously/
You don’t have to work so hard for my love. It was yours from my first post. Anyways, here is my submitted post:
http://otismixon.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/dear-555/
Thanks. For everything.
~Otis
Thanks.
http://otismixon.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/dear-555/
~Otis
I’ve already started to use this new features and I love them. Finally you’ve focused on the most important thing of the blog “WRITE”.
The copy another post feature is something that I really need bad, and now THERE IT IS!!!
Thank You, you are great Guy !
When a little bit more freedom with HTML widget ???
What kind of freedom are you looking for? The text widget takes HTML.
I missed the 48 hour deadline but what the heck? http://bmj2k.com/2011/05/24/american-chopper-senior-vs-junior-deadliest-catch-bike/
I’m new to wordpress. I’ve tried a couple of blog agents in the past but never stuck with it. I think wordpress and these new updates have got what it takes to keep me writing….distraction free! I signed up yesterday and am already 2 posts in – I like it a lot!
I rarely get distracted when I write and I find the new interface quite helpful in this endeavor!
If only we were all so lucky!
I just used the distraction-free writing and I loved it! The space looks so white and clean (kind of like a new, blank piece of paper). I wrote this post (being published tomorrow, May 25th): http://jennaseverythingblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/easy-tex-mex-quiche/
I like how you can activate the menu at the top of the screen by moving the mouse (just as easy as ever to insert media or link things up). I’ll be returning to this feature! I loved the ‘clean slate’ feel. =)
I have just joined so everything is super new. No difference to me.
I like the idea of writing full screen but haven’t gotten it down yet. Will try again next post.
I really enjoyed writing in the new format. Felt less like posting, more like working on a manuscript. You can find the final draft here. http://thorsaurus.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/has-rush-lost-his-touch/ What’s next, scratch-and-sniff heading options? I’ve always wondered what 11001001111000011 tastes like. 🙂
Nothing changed here yet, but it did tell me my IE9 was outdated..Hmmmm
Hmmmmm indeed. Older beta version, maybe?
This is good, makes blogging faster and easier.
Anyway, i just wondering.. Is there any possibilities for http://m.wordpress.com improvements?
That would be nice.. 😀
At first I didn’t think I would enjoy this feature at all. All the white space made me feel a bit queezy and yuck. But as I wrote my post I have got to say, it really grew on me. I think this is an absolutely fantastic feature, and I love how easy it is to enable and disable.
I am so very grateful for everything that the wordpress team does to ensure wordpress really is the best way to blog.
http://gegebrownagain.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/just-write/
I’m so glad you like it! I knew it would grow on people!
I’ve tried out the new dashboard over the last few days and I’m pretty impressed.
Once I got used to the shortcut keys, DFW makes it easier to proof my work and made the whole writing process reminiscent of working in Word.
Here’s my first “just write” article: http://lafemmeroar.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/5-ways-to-repel-a-man/
DFW is a good feature and made writing my blog easier.
Here’s my first “just write” article: http://lafemmeroar.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/5-ways-to-repel-a-man/
Bummer! Too late to ‘justwrite’ in support of all these clean enhancements. Off to dream about ideas for new posts as I’m inspired by the distraction-free page.
I just tried out the new feature. I love it! I don’t think I’ll use it for every single post, but for a writer like me, who gets too easily distracted by life in general, this is a godsend! I’ll probably use it on the days I sit down, frozen, at the keyboard, staring at a blinking cursor. I think removing all the fluff around it might help me get my fingers moving again.
Too bad I missed the deadline for being featured. Oh well – perhaps next time. 🙂
This looks so much cleaner!