Why does the new post editor hide all the information?
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The !!NEW!! post editor achieves a new usability low by hiding all the post metadata behind drop-down headings in the right column.
When creating a post, I must now reveal each section before proceeding: set the publish date, set the tags & categories (with *more* clicks to reveal the existing tags), type an excerpt. Revealing a section pushes the rest down the screen, so there’s plenty of scrolling involved, just to set a few values.
On. Every. Post. Every. Time.
When editing a post, I cannot determine the current metadata without clicking-to-reveal each section. The default presentation closes all those sections, so I can’t just open them and have that “stick”. This should not be an Easter Egg hunt.
On. Every. Post. Every. Time.
Unlike the old editor (which certainly had its flaws), the new editor enforces a strict layout that does not respond to the browser window size. I have a 2560×1440 monitor, but the right column maintains a fixed size that displays such helpful titles as “TAGS & CATE …”, “FEATURED IM …”, and (my favorite) “ADVANCED S …”, all crushed into the left third of the screen, surrounded by artsy whitespace on all sides.
The main column doesn’t respond, either, so I’m typing text into a miniature peephole that’s barely wide enough for the images. Yes, it can expand downward, but not horizontally.
I want to see what I’m typing. I want to see the post metadata. I *don’t* want to see vast expanses of blank space around peepholes into my post.
Please fix the bugs in the previous editor, rather than introduce another, less usable, editor with a fresh set of problems.
PLEASE value usability and accessibility higher than clever layout and stylin’ design: I’ve created a post every day for the last six years, with plenty of pictures and diagrams, and you’re making it much, much harder, not easier.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there,
Thanks for your feedback! We’re continuing to work on and improve the new post editor, and I’ll pass your comments on to our developers so they can take your feedback into account.
If you don’t mind, can you make a screenshot of what you see when you view the post editor? It may help our developers to see exactly what you’re seeing in the editor.
You can upload screenshots to your Media Library under Media > Add New in your dashboard, or you can use an online service like Snaggy.
Thanks!
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Compare the old editor’s use of screen real estate:
With the new editor’s tiny text peephole and hidden metadata:
PLEASE think about those of us who use the editor to create posts, not just about how stylin’ you can make the screen layout.
Thanks …
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Thanks for sending along that screenshot. It actually looks like something funny is going on there — although this editor isn’t designed to fill the width of larger browser windows, it doesn’t seem to be expanding the way it should.
Could you try temporarily disabling your Chrome extensions to see if that changes the way that page looks? You can do that from here: chrome://extensions/
If we can figure out what’s making the editor look different for you, we may be able to get that fixed so the editor window isn’t so small and the text in the right column isn’t cut off.
Also, you can switch to the fullscreen editor by clicking this editor button: https://cloudup.com/c0RqV4RsSve
That should give you the whole browser window to work with as your editor. Please let me know how that goes!
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Wait: the !!NEW!! editor’s link tool omits the “search for previous posts” function?
The fact that the dialog box wasn’t responsive to the screen or font size notwithstanding, I managed to use that all the time: my posts have extensive crosslinks and that was an easy way to generate them.
PLEASE bring that function back!
In the meantime, how can I force the various Edit buttons to bring up the old editor?
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switch to the fullscreen editor
Except that the banner along the top of the WP screen then covers up the top row of tool bar icons:
That’s with all extensions disabled, as nearly as I can tell. I didn’t do the usual clear-the-cache dance, however, and I suppose that might affect the results.
Also, disabling extensions does not affect how the editor window appears and does not allow horizontal resizing AND does not affect the width of the right column, so that hole doesn’t seem to be in this end of the boat.
PLEASE make Classic editor mode sticky, so that it applies to all instances, regardless of which button invokes the editor.
You’ll recall you folks said I must install Ghostery to kill the tech-support chat popup WP was so fond of a while ago. Has the need for doing that gone away?
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Hi there,
the !!NEW!! editor’s link tool omits the “search for previous posts” function?
We’ve had others request this feature in the new editor, and I’ll certainly let our developers know that you’d also like this feature to be included there. Thanks!
In the meantime, how can I force the various Edit buttons to bring up the old editor?
There isn’t a way to change where those Edit buttons/links take you, but you should now see a banner above the new editor that takes you back to the classic editor if you prefer it.
I’ll also let our developers know that you’d like a way to go directly to that editor from wherever you click.
Except that the banner along the top of the WP screen then covers up the top row of tool bar icons:
Sorry about that! We got another report of that issue and have let our developers know. In the meantime, I find that clicking in the editor space below the toolbar icons fixes the issue for me — please let me know if that works for you.
Also, disabling extensions does not affect how the editor window appears and does not allow horizontal resizing AND does not affect the width of the right column, so that hole doesn’t seem to be in this end of the boat.
Well, that’s tricky! I’ll keep investigating this issue to try to pinpoint why that editor isn’t acting quite as it should for you.
You’ll recall you folks said I must install Ghostery to kill the tech-support chat popup WP was so fond of a while ago. Has the need for doing that gone away?
If you want to prevent the support popup from ever appearing, an extension like Ghostery is certainly one way to do that. We don’t currently have a way to disable that popup entirely.
Please let me know if you have any other feedback you’d like me to pass along to our team!
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clicking in the editor space below the toolbar icons fixes the issue for me
Yup, that’s a workaround for yet another problem that should not exist.
Could you folks PLEASE stop being so trendy and start paying attention to mundane software engineering principles like usability, accessibility, and reliability? It’d be a refreshing change from what’s been happening for the last year or so.
If you need a tester for that stuff (and you definitely need testers), I can be bought.
Thanks…
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