What’s new in Gutenberg 11.4? (1 September)

Depending on where you live, it’s the first day of Spring. Or Autumn. Or, if you live on Venus, just another season of sulphuric acid showers.

No matter where you are, GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ 11.4 has been released with new features to brighten your mood including the refactored Gallery BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience., duotone filters for featured images, and more block design tools!

Gallery Block now uses Image Blocks

The Gallery Block now acts as a wrapper for coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Image Blocks.

Individual gallery images will therefore feature all existing and future functionality of not only Image Blocks – for example, the ability to add custom links, filters, and styles – but also standard block behavior such as move, drag and drop, copy, and keyboard navigation.

For now, the new Gallery Block can be enabled on the Gutenberg Experiment page, but the plan is for the Gallery Block to ship with WordPress 5.9.

Theme and pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party authors can get wise about backward compatibility recommendations over in the Gallery Block Refactor Dev Note.

Duotone filters for featured images

Duotone filters were introduced to image and cover blocks in 10.6. By extending duotone filters to Post Featured ImageFeatured image A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. blocks, 11.4 enables us to set consistent effects across post and page templates, recent posts lists, and Query Block content.

Padding support for Button Blocks

As of 11.4, we can define padding for Button Blocks with the further option of linking padding values to vertical and horizontal axial sides.

The aim is to provide greater control as well as uniformity in the way we display button elements. We can still set a single padding value for all sides – adding extra vertical or horizontal padding just gives us that extra flexibility to create variations on our design patterns.

Support for block gap spacing

Having a consistent way to tweak the margin/gap between blocks has been a long-standing feature requestfeature request A feature request should generally begin the process in the ideas forum, on a mailing list, as a plugin, or brought to the attention of the core team, such as through scope meetings held for each major release. Unsolicited tickets of this variety are typically, therefore, discouraged.. 11.4 introduces the groundwork for adding gap spacing control to blocks such as Buttons, Images, and Columns, opening up the possibility of more powerful and precise layout tools.

There’s work in progress to bring this to the editor so stay tuned for updates in upcoming releases!

Other notable highlights

Font weight support is now available for the Post Date and Post Terms Blocks.

An “early betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process.” feature has also made it into 11.4: the ability to expose a parent block’s toolbar controls to its child blocks. A use case would be changing the alignment of Buttons when editing a single Button. Keep an eye out for a request for feedback on this developing feature soon.

11.4.0

Enhancements

  • AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)
    • Cover Block: Allow alt text in Cover blocks. (33226)
    • Add aria-describedby to custom select control component to describe currently-selected font size. (33941)
  • Block Editor
    • Block Lists: improve iframeiframe iFrame is an acronym for an inline frame. An iFrame is used inside a webpage to load another HTML document and render it. This HTML document may also contain JavaScript and/or CSS which is loaded at the time when iframe tag is parsed by the user’s browser. block, pattern and template previews. (28165)
  • Block Library
    • Query LoopLoop The Loop is PHP code used by WordPress to display posts. Using The Loop, WordPress processes each post to be displayed on the current page, and formats it according to how it matches specified criteria within The Loop tags. Any HTML or PHP code in the Loop will be processed on each post. https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop.: update Post Template sub-block icon. (34204)
    • Convert Gallery block to use Image blocks. (25940)
    • Post Featured Image: add duotone block supports. (34113)
    • Post Featured Image: add contextual help text to the scaleproperty. (34158)
    • File block: update transform from image to use image filename if caption is empty. (34256)
    • Post date Block: add font weight support to the block. (34070)
    • Post terms: add font weight support to the block. (34142)
    • Site Tagline: add font weight support. (33983)
    • Button: update spacing support to use axial padding. (33859)
  • Components
    • Add deprecated props adapter for ColorPicker. (34014)
    • Wrap SegmentedControl in a BaseControl with an added help property. (34017)
    • Combobox: update the current selection if the list of suggestions is filtered. (33928)
    • Post Title: use rich text hook and updating tagtag A directory in Subversion. WordPress uses tags to store a single snapshot of a version (3.6, 3.6.1, etc.), the common convention of tags in version control systems. (Not to be confused with post tags.) to h1 (31569)
  • Design Tools
    • Add layout default value support for blocks. (34194)
    • Dimensions Panel: add padding tool as default for blocks where this is a common setting. (34026)
  • Navigation Screen
    • Update navigation screen topbar. (34166)
  • Packages
    • Updates the “settings” icon, which toggles the display of additional controls in an interface. (34165)
  • Post Editor
    • Migrate post editor feature preferences to the interface package. (34154)
  • Widgets Editor
    • Migrate customize widgets feature preferences to interface package. (34135)
    • Refactor editor ‘feature’ preferences to interface package. (33774)

Bug Fixes

  • Block APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways.
    • Spacing/Dimensions Supports: separate spacing from dimensions for compatibility purposes. (34059)
  • Block Editor
    • Font-size adjustment for tablet and mobile device previews. (33342)
    • Fix single block selection by holding shift key. (34137)
    • Fix unwanted additional spaces added around pasted text on Windows. (33607)
    • Inserter: prevent non-deterministic order of inserter items. (34078)
    • Try: Fix multiselect toolbar indent and reformat BlockContextualToolbar(). (34038) (34173)
  • Block Library
    • Latest Comments: use site localeLocale A locale is a combination of language and regional dialect. Usually locales correspond to countries, as is the case with Portuguese (Portugal) and Portuguese (Brazil). Other examples of locales include Canadian English and U.S. English. in the editor. (33944)
    • Navigation: fix vertical layout on the frontend. (34226)
    • Navigation: add z-index value to responsive menu overlay. (34228)
    • Navigation: enable flex on container to fix space between. (34258)
    • Navigation: fix submenu icon positioning. (34168)
    • Navigation block: add missing </ul> closing tag. (34077)
    • Post ExcerptExcerpt An excerpt is the description of the blog post or page that will by default show on the blog archive page, in search results (SERPs), and on social media. With an SEO plugin, the excerpt may also be in that plugin’s metabox.: remove interactive formatting. (34083)
    • RichText: fix space key for button and summary elements. (30244)
    • Search Block: add space between generated border class names. (34025)
  • Build Tooling
    • Webpack: Fix watch on .json and .php files. (34024)
    • Pin TypeScript dependency to a specific version to avoid pulling in breaking changes. (34422)
  • Components
    • Fix RTL on Flex component. (33729)
    • NavigationSidebar: fix template content for content-navigation-item preview. (34203)
    • Remove deprecated import style for storybook/addon-docs. (34095)
    • ToolsPanel: add tools panel item deregistration. (34085)
    • Post Title: remove wrapper div and fix border style. (34167)
  • Core Data
    • GetEntityRecords returns items even if some included IDs don’t exist. (34034)
  • Design Tools
    • Allow zero values for theme.json styles. (34251)
  • Global Styles
    • Site editor: fix for how CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. custom properties are generated. (33932)
  • Packages
    • Rich Text: add check to toTree() in replacements before accessing its type. (34020)
  • Post Editor
    • Fix selector params in isPluginItemPinned() selector. (34155)

Performance

  • Data Layer
    • Data: Add a batch function to the data module to batch actions. (34046)

Experiments

  • Block API
    • Block Editor: absorb parent block toolbar controls. (33955)
    • Block Editor: use groups for InspectorControls. (34069)
  • Block Library
    • Add generic classnames to children of Navigation. (33918)
  • Global Styles
    • Add slashes back to the Theme JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML.. (33919)
    • Add block spacing gap configuration to theme.json and add support for this CSS variable to the “flow/default” layout. (33812)

Documentation

  • Handbook
    • Alphabetize glossary entries. (34058)
    • Correct minor typos in wp-plugin.md (34185)
    • Remove extraneous params from block_type_metadata hook. (34151)
    • Update incorrect settings examples in “Global Settings & Styles”. (34084)
    • Use block.json to add attributes in create block tutorial. (33978)
    • Fix typo in block gap documentation in theme-json.md. (34231)
    • Fix broken mobile testing documentation link in testing-overview.md. (34187)
    • Fix typo in legacy-widget-block.md. (34103)
    • Update spelling and fontSize examples in create-block-theme.md. (34152)
  • Library
    • Bump mobile version in experiments page for Gallery. (34220)
  • Packages
    • Add documentation for mobile components directory. (33872)

Code Quality

  • Block Editor
    • Render head and body with single portal for block previews. (34208)
    • BlockList: refactor element context for style/svg appending. (34183)
    • BlockList: use InnerBlocks internally. (29895)
  • Components
    • Unit Control: add unit tests for getValidParsedUnit utility method. (34029)
    • Rename SegmentedControl to ToggleGroupControl. (34111)
    • Dropdown Menu: remove min-width from the dropdown component and add whitespace rule to avoid wrapping (33995)
  • Core Data
    • Allow passing store definitions to controls. (34170)
  • Site Editor
    • Remove extra DOM element used for template part overlay. (34012)

Tools

  • Build Tooling
    • Automated Changelog: force group all documentation tasks under Documentation. (34042)
    • Automated Changelog: rename “Editor” grouping to “Post Editor” to avoid ambiguity with other editors. (34093)
    • Automated Changelog: sort feature groups by issue name. (34071)
    • Automated Changelog: use nested headings for feature groups instead of indenting lists. (34040)
    • Automated Changelog: remove Uncategorized headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. in output and place items at top. (34037)
    • Add Typescript extensions to watched files. (34094)
    • Remove obsolete step that pushes tags in NPM publishing flow. (34114)
    • Release workflow: only commit modified changelogs. (34211)
  • ESLint
    • Eslint plugin: use @typescript-eslint/no-duplicate-imports in TS projects. (34055)
  • GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ Contributor Templates
    • Issue Forms: simplify the bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. report form template. (34007)
  • Logs
    • Hide deprecation logs under a console group. (34163)
  • Testing
    • Emulate reduced-motion in end-to-end tests. (34132)
    • Re-enable Android end-to-end tests. (34243)
    • Remove extra props from Cover deprecations. (34066)
    • Remove the ENVIRONMENT_DIRECTORY env variable that was added to the performance jobs. (34086)
    • Add snapshot test for changelog formatting. (34049)
    • Experiment with using REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. in end-to-end tests to build up states. (33414)

Performance benchmark

VersionLoading TimeKeyPress Event (typing)
Gutenberg 11.46.35s36.87ms
Gutenberg 11.36.29s36.97ms
WordPress 5.86.91s35.48ms

Thanks to @critterverse for our release preview assets, @priethor for guiding the release, @noisysocks, @talldanwp, and @andrewserong for their help with the release build and deployDeploy Launching code from a local development environment to the production web server, so that it's available to visitors., and to all who contributed to this release. Thank you for your splendid work!

#block-editor, #core-editor, #gutenberg, #gutenberg-new