Can't add new tags
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In the last two posts that I created, I was able to select categories to include with the posts but when I entered a new tag label “acid test” in the new tag box, the tag box entry changed to “acid test X” and when I moved my cursor over the X the message “Remove Tag” appears.
This happens for New Tags that I have tried to create for the two new posts that I have created, and this has only started to happen with WordPress’ new version.
Why is this happening? And how can I fix it?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi,
The “X” isn’t part of the tag, it’s an opportunity to remove the tag, before or after it’s been added to the tags on a post.
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Hi — Please elaborate on your response. Perhaps my question was was not clear, so let me try again. I’m trying to add a tag “acid test” to a NEW post. I’m NOT trying to remove an existing tag.
I’m not, in your words’ “looking for an opportunity to remove the tag before or after it’s been added to the tags on a post.”
So my question remains, how do I add a tag to a NEW POST, when the post in question is open and on screen to the left of a Settings column that provides the following instructions under the heading “Tags”
Add New Tag, followed by a box to enter the tag, followed by the instruction “Separate with commas or the Enter key”
Problem is, as soon as I type the tag “acid test” in the box and press enter, the label in the box changes to “acid post X”. And if I press enter again, the tag is NOT linked to the new post — it is, in fact, removed from any other post that might also have had this tag assigned to it. I know this for a fact because I have done this.
So, what’s going on here? What am I doing wrong? Or is this a WP error?
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Not sure if this matters, but in my two comments above, I forgot to mention that I was using Classic Editor when this Add New Tag problem occurred.
And I presume that I am using WP version 5.7 — but I’m not absolutely certain because I don’t know where to look to find my WP version number. And the 4 suggested methods I found in an online search did not help. If anyone can tell me where to find my version number, please let me know.
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I’m trying to add a tag “acid test” to a NEW post. I’m NOT trying to remove an existing tag.
I haven’t misunderstood you. The “X” can be safely ignored while you’re adding a new tag. It’s only purpose is to allow you to remove it if you choose to do so later.
this has only started to happen with WordPress’ new version.
If there was a recent change regarding tags, I haven’t noticed it. I believe the “Xs” were there before the new update, but I don’t use the Block Editor much so I might be wrong.
Not sure if this matters, but in my two comments above, I forgot to mention that I was using Classic Editor when this Add New Tag problem occurred.
I’m not able to reproduce this in the Classic Editor. I’ve only seen the “Xs” in the Block Editor.
I’d already called for staff attention after my first response. Not sure if they’ve withheld response temporarily for some reason, but I’ll tag it for staff attention again.
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And I presume that I am using WP version 5.7
I’d presumed that you were referring to a WordPress.com site. Everyone using WordPress.com uses the same version. As far as I know, version numbers are only relevant on so-call “self-hosted” sites, which are WordPress.org sites. Maybe staff can address this as well when they respond.
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Hi @fjwhite
As @musicdoc1 has correctly pointed out, WordPress.com uses the current version of WordPress.com so all sites we host are automatically upgraded to the latest software version, 5.7.1 in this case.
And the 4 suggested methods I found in an online search did not help. If anyone can tell me where to find my version number, please let me know.
Videos and written tutorials that you find online typically refer to self-hosted WordPress sites, which are sites that you create on a “traditional web host” like Bluehost, GoDaddy, etc. Those sites use the free open-source version of the WordPress platform, which is totally DIY so you have to manage it fully by yourself, including software updates.
Instead, here on WordPress.com we run a fully managed service for creating websites, so we use a different version of the platform that allows us to handle all the hosting, security, and updating tasks you would normally manage yourself. However, because of this we do use a slightly different version of the WordPress platform you see mentioned in tutorials you find online, so they do not usually relate to what you see here.
Problem is, as soon as I type the tag “acid test” in the box and press enter, the label in the box changes to “acid post X”. And if I press enter again, the tag is NOT linked to the new post
What you are describing is the correct way to add a new tag to a new post. The X appears (after it is added to the post) so that you can remove it if you change your mind, as @musicdoc1 mentioned.
I do think I see your issue however. If I am adding a new tag (not a tag that already exists) when I hit the return key it disappears. Here is a video recording of what I saw: https://d.pr/v/ZuVoUf
Is this the same as the issue you are seeing as well? I have reported it to our developers for a closer look, thanks for pointing it out!
In the meantime, if you wish to avoid this until it is fixed I recommend this workaround:
– First visit the Edit Tags page: https://citizenactionmonitor.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit-tags.php
– In the empty text field type in the name of your new tag and add it to your current list.
– Now start your new post, and type in the Tag to add it to the post
– Because the tag already exists on your site (added in the first step) it will not disappear when you hit the enter key.Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
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for all,
Some clarification on the following statement from one of my posts above:
I’m not able to reproduce this in the Classic Editor. I’ve only seen the “X”s in the Block Editor.
I do find “X”s in the Classic Editor beside tags previously added to a post, but not while adding a tag. The “X”s only appear after a tag has been added. That’s not the case in the Block Editor.
staff-totoro,
Thanks for your help on this topic. : ) FWIW, in my tests regarding this topic, I didn’t encounter the issue demonstrated in your video. I’ve seen no disappearing tags.
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First — Thanks to Musicdoc1 for helpful comments about: adding tags in Block editor and Classic editor; only seeing X in Block editor; disappearing tags; referrals to staff for their attention; clarifying that all WP com users use the same WP version // and to Jerry for: confirming a new tag disappears when return key is pressed; providing a workaround for adding tags; and for the video that shows what happens when new tags are added.
Second – To better explain, for myself and WP support, the issues that I continue to have in navigating the complexities of WP5.7.1, I will walk through the process I follow leading up to and including the addition of a new tag. This should provide a broader context for understanding the confusion that arises for me during this process.
1/ In creating a new post, I always begin by composing a full draft offline using Microsoft Word docx. Next, I always copy and paste my entire Word piece into WordPress com’s Classic editor where I polish it and add features like images, headings, embedded videos, links to URLs, categories, tags, etc.
2/ Since I don’t know how to insert a screen capture here, I will describe what the top part of the opening page of a recent finished post of mine looks like when opened in the WordPress Classic editor — In the center is the open page of my post titled “350 Canada’s “Climate Science Basics” fails the acid test of science reporting excellence.” In the right column, at the top are 4 labels including “Settings” Below Settings are two more labels, “Post” and “Block”.
3/ And it is here that my confusion begins.
+ Is “Block” in any way associated with the Settings menu?
+ Although I used the Classic Editor to create this post, is the post, in this instance, by default still in the “Classic Editor”? Or is it now in the Block editor mode?
+ If my post is still in the Classic Editor mode, then why doesn’t the Settings menu reflect this by showing the label “Classic” instead of “Block”?4/ If I scroll down the Settings menu to Tags, I read — “Add New Tag” – Presumably this means add a new tag specifically for my open post “350 Canada’s … etc.” Right?
5/ My confusion continues when, in the Settings menu, I type in the Tag box “acid test” – which is a completely new tag for my post “350 Canada’s … etc.” – and press enter, an X appears in bold at the end of the tag – “acid test X”. When I place my cursor over the X, another box opens with the label “Remove Tag”. What? I want to Add Tag not remove it.
+ More confusion — If I press the Enter key, nothing changes – “acid test X” is still there. There is no confirmation that the tag has been added to my post “350 Canada’s …” or to the collection of all my tags.
+ Still more confusion — If I click just on the letter X in the “acid test X” label, the entire label “acid test X” disappears leaving the box empty. When I subsequently check my post, I confirm that the tag has not been added to my post.
+ And if that isn’t confusing enough, when I subsequently check my list of tags, I am astonished to discover that “acid test” does appear as a tag in my list, showing a count of 0. How did it get there?6/ – Returning to the Dashboard, I click on my post “350 Canada’s ‘Climate Science Basics fail the acid test… etc.”, and, as before, this opens the page described above in 2/. If I then open the Classic Editor on that page, the Settings menu shows just one entry: “Classic” followed on the next line by “Use the classic WordPress editor.” And below that – blank, nothing, nada.
By now confusion abounds — Pardon my ignorance, but, having activated the Classic WordPress editor for my post, since I no longer have access to the “Tags — Add New Tag” option in this Settings, how then do I add a new tag? (Oh well, there’s always Jerry’s workaround).
Echoing Jerry’s sarcasm, does WordPress bother to test its screen interfaces with WordPress 5.7.1 dummies like me? If not, maybe they should — the complexity is something wicked.
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Jerry, further to your closing invitation “Please let us know if you have any more questions” —
In my post below of April 20, there has been no response from you or anyone else to the issues I raised in this post.Please let me know if there are any problems with this post, and if so what I can do to correct them? These issues continue to create difficulties for me.
Look forward to your helpful reply,
Thanks.
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Hi @fjwhite, this may have slipped through the cracks.
I do think a picture is worth a thousand words here. Would you please get a screenshot of what you see:
Then upload it to your media library?
https://wordpress.com/mediaOr you can use a service like snipboard.io and just share the link.
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@fjwhite,
Hi. I’m gonna leave most of the items in your most recent post for @supernovia or others to address. However, I’ll take a shot at items 2 and 3.
2/…In the right column, at the top are 4 labels including “Settings” Below Settings are two more labels, “Post” and “Block”….
What you refer to here as “labels” are the items on the right hand side of the “Top Menu options,” described in the “Elements of the WordPress Editor” section of the WordPress Editor support page. The number of options will vary (from 5 to 7) depending upon whether the theme you’re using supports Global Styles, and whether the post or page is published or in draft status. Published posts will have a “Switch to draft” option and a “Update” option instead of a “Publish” option. In the Calypso post editor, the two options “Post” and “Block” allow one to display different settings options in the sidebar menu:
- Those addressing the Status & visibility settings, Permalink, Discussion settings, and the optional features Categories, Tags, Featured Image, and Excerpt.
- Block settings — The block settings options will vary depending upon which block you’re working on at the time. If you click on a section of your post editor window, and then click the “Block” option in the sidebar, the block used in the section you click on the editor window will be identified in the sidebar, followed by options specifically available on that block.
3/ And it is here that my confusion begins.
+ Is “Block” in any way associated with the Settings menu?I’ve answered this question above.
+ Although I used the Classic Editor to create this post, is the post, in this instance, by default still in the “Classic Editor”? Or is it now in the Block editor mode?
The Classic Editor and Block Editor (aka WordPress Editor) aren’t even found in the same interface. The former is found in the WP-Admin interface and the latter is found in the Calypso (or My Sites) interface. You definitely wouldn’t see “Block” as an option in the Classic Editor. If you’ve created a post in the Classic Editor and open it up in the Block Editor, I believe its content will automatically appear in a Classic Block, but the Classic Block is just one of the dozens of blocks available in the Block Editor.
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Musicdoc1 — Thanks for you helpful reply. I’ve tucked it away for future reference. In the past few days I have managed to add a couple of more posts to me blog by muddling through somehow. I love writing posts but, candidly, as you can probably tell, am not highly motivated to learn the ins and outs of WordPress.
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