Distraction Free Writing Mode now Distracting
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I use distraction free writing mode to do all my posts. Normally, I’m taken to a white screen with a column of text and a minimal toolbar at the top. Today, when I went to use it, the columns on the sides disappeared, but I’m left with the entire top toolbar and the banner on the top only grayed out. Even more annoying, the side columns come back if they are hovered over accidentally and if I switch windows, they won’t go away at all. Why did anything think this was a good change?!
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Are you using the classic editor on your Dashboard or the new Beep Beep Boop editor?
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Above is a graphic showing the standard editing window, and the “fullscreen” version. Now, the “fullscreen” allows even less space to work in than the standard window, and merely gets rid of the stuff outside of the box in which one can type. Please, please, please return the “fullscreen” window to “fullscreen” so we can see what we are doing, see full paragraphs at a time, and images and all. It REALLY helps me to write in “fullscreen” mode. Otherwise I am constantly having to scroll up and down and lean in close to the monitor to see what I’m doing. Yes, I am using the new fangled BEE BOP DIDDLEY BOB version. At least I think that’s what it means as I wait for the page to loads and it says “bee bop”, or whatever.
Fullscreen mode was great. Can we have it back?
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My url didn’t show up. https://artoferickuns.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/standard-and-full-screen-editing-mode.jpg
Trying again with enterning the link in 2 different ways.
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From the Distraction Free Writing support page:
To enable Distraction Free Writing mode, click on the Toggle Full Screen button in the toolbar (it’s the second button from the right, in the first row), or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+G.
I never use the distraction free editor, but was prompted to look for the toggle by a comment I read earlier today. I immediately noticed that clicking on the toggle had no effect. Neither of the aforementioned actions (click the toggle, shortcut) has any effect on the appearance of my post or page editors. They do not enable “distraction free writing.”
Are you using the classic editor on your Dashboard or the new Beep Beep Boop editor?
Classic. I only visit the BBB when I’m dragged and forced to, for about 7 seconds each day. To each his own.
Please also let us know:
(a) Exactly what kind of device you are using to connect to the internet and to WordPress.com.
(b) Exactly which browser (and version of it) you’re using by checking here if necessary http://supportdetails.com/(a) Dell Inspiron desktop PC
(b) Firefox 34.0 (updated today from 33.1.1) -
I’m using classic editor. I never use Beep Beep Boop because it’s missing so many features.
I’m on a Dell laptop using Windows 7.
I’m using Google Chrome, 39.0.I checked again today and it’s still this weird new version. I’m not even seeing what erickuns is showing. I would love to see that as it’s what I’m used to.
I think musicdoc1 is having the same problem as I am. When I access fullscreen mode, it doesn’t look any different until I move my mouse and the navigation columns ‘go away.’ -
Hi there,
Thank you very much for the feedback on the recent changes to our distraction-free writing mode. As you know, we are constantly updating to try and improve our systems in innovative ways, and this feature is evolving.
It’s also worth noting that the change to the Distraction Free Writing mode originated in WordPress.org: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/11/11/focus-v2-demo-video/ (the video there describes the reasons for the change quite well).
If you have any bugs with the new interface, I’d be happy to hear them to pass along. I did notice that @doc had problems getting it to work at all. This can happen if you have your screen options for “Expand the editor to match the window height” disabled. If you enable that option you should be able to get it to work just fine!
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This can happen if you have your screen options for “Expand the editor to match the window height” disabled. If you enable that option you should be able to get it to work just fine!
Check, and thank you. Good to know, for the next time I feel that distraction-free jones comin’ on. I’ve heard it happens when you least expect it.
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Hello. My question was about “FULLSCREEN” mode. I don’t care about distractions. I don’t want to type in a tiny section of the screen, and have to play around with the verticle scroll bar. I attached screen shots of the problem in a message above. In the new and improved FULLSCREEN mode, it is no longer full screen. It’s using about 30% of my available horizontal monitor space. This is NOT what I’d consider an innovation in fullscreen technology, but rather trashing it entirely. Now, in the older version, as of this morning (for me), the “fullscreen” button no longer says “fullscreen”, its says “distraction free” for a more ZEN writing experience. Skip Zen and let’s go straight into Nirvana with a fullscreen (adjective) fullscreen (noun) option, like we used to have. Just a suggestion.
Further, as of this morning, I’ve lost the capacity to use the older version, and am forced to only be able to make buttons and boxes vanish, and forced to type on the left of my screen in a diminished space.
Call me crazy, but I like to type in the center of the screen and be able to see what I’m doing. And that makes perfect sense. The older version was far more pleasant to work with. I don’t enjoy buttons disappearing and reappearing willy-nilly. If I want to be in “fullscreen” or “distraction free” mode, that means I don’t want things appearing and disappearing, which is, well, very distracting, if not irritating. Sometimes simple is better, more “ZEN” (to quote your video), and if it’s not broken, there’s no need to fix it by making it less functional, but more convoluted. So, please, please, please bring back the fullscreen, fullscreen option. My eyesight ain’t what it used to be.
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Just one more question. If you are rolling out a new, innovating, groundbreaking version of “distraction free editing”, why, oh why, dear God, do you go and change the classic version so we can’t use either one? Can we at least have the “classic” version as it classically was? Oh, if only WordPress were as easy to use as it was a year and half ago, the bloggin experience would be so much better.
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Hi there,
I understand you’re unhappy with the changes we’ve made to the distraction free editor. There are no current plans to revert those changes. You may be interested in using a third party service to create your posts. You can find some suggested services here:
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I am not upset about the changes to the “distraction free editor” but rather disappointed in the elimination of the option of FULLSCREEN
- editing. This is very simple and clear. That option is no longer available. Perhaps plans could be made to bring it back. If not, perhaps plans to overcome barriers to making plans could be negotiated over a cup of coffee, and a good think.
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http://www.imageno.com/1zrssf768o0jpic.html
There really seems to be some sort of confusion here with terminology. I’m not an expert, so we can blame it on me. Please see the attached image which makes it obvious.
To me “full screen” means something fills the whole screen, like when you watch a Youtube video and click on “full screen”. It is not synonymous in my mind with removing buttons but otherwise keeping the workable area the same size. For me, and probably really a lot of bloggers over 40, small print in a window occupying at most half of my available screen space is hard to see. Therefore I will “zoom” to enlarge all the type. This works great in the old “full screen” editing mode, which is no longer available even in the “classic mode” as of a few days ago.
Currently I can no longer access a true full screen editing mode. I can only get rid of buttons, and, as you can seen in my screen shot of the new version of the classic mode, there’s a band of unusable space within the editing window.
There may be a very rational and persuasive reason to get rid of the full screen option entirely, and to not be willing to bring it back. I have no idea what that is. To me it’s like rolling out a new version of a bicycle, but the new version doesn’t allow you to raise the seat, and it’s way too low. After inquiring about the change, I am told there is no plan to change it back.
Oh well. Just trying to be clear.
I give up now.
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You are not the only objector to changes. You might like to join the thread at
https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/massive-changes-to-the-wp-interface?replies=4#post-2164313
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I read that material, thanks. It’s good to know that others are expressing their dissatisfaction with changes that make the bloggin experience less functional or wasy for us. The new “distraction free” mode drives me nuts in the way the buttons appear and disappear, which is extremely distracting. Oh well. It’s still better than a sharp stick in the eye or being drawn and quartered. We should enjoy it’s functionality NOW, before it gets improved AGAIN! :-)
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Can we still have the old Distraction Free Writing back? I really liked it because it was downright “distraction-free” – no scroll bars, no site navigator on top of page, no buttons for Bold or Italic or Justify floating on top. All it does is give me a white blank page – kind of like a very clean sheet of paper – with only the title and the content (and word count) visible. I could do all the editing I want afterwards, when I need the buttons. When I turn on Distraction Free Writing, I am telling my post editor I really mean I wanted a distraction-free environment. It’s actually one of the features that sets WordPress apart from other bloghosts like Blogger.
Also, on a side note, it hovers with the message “Just write.” (Which happily disappears once you start writing; and appears to seemingly be gone on this new “oh yeah this is better” editor.)
Please at least give us an option to revert back, or at least have a button that does it if you want it to. Because, now, nothing is more distracting than your Distraction Free Mode.
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title of this post made me laugh, but in a distracted way
so i drew thisThe WP Overlord and the blogger
cheers!
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Please rid me of those alien freak triple boobs. They distract, they are infantile, slow and of not use whatever. The only thing I ask for is an option in the dashboard writing options to turn it off for good.
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