annezazu 5:15 pm on September 3, 2024
Tags: 6-7 ( 69 ), release-roadmap ( 8 )

Roadmap to 6.7

WordPress 6.7 is set to be released on November 12th, 2024. Along with a new default theme, there are new features, like the ability to zoom out to compose content with patterns, and new APIs, like the Template Registration 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.. More than anything though, this release brings refinement to how everything connects together to create a more seamless WordPress experience, whether you’re trying to upload an HEIC image to your site or display a selection of posts with the 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. 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..

As always, what’s shared here is being actively pursued, but doesn’t necessarily mean each will make it into the final release of WordPress 6.7.

For a more detailed look at the work related to the block editor, please refer to the 6.7 board and review the currently open Iteration issues. After a recent organization effort, Iteration issues are meant to reflect active work that’s been scoped down for a major releasemajor release A release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.. To get a sense of some of what’s being worked on both for this release and beyond, check out the demos shared in a recent hallway hangout.

New default theme

6.7 marks the next edition of a default WordPress theme, designed to showcase the latest in WordPress and set a new standard for block themers. This year the theme seeks to be the ultimate use case for a spectrum of bloggers: simple blogs, suitable for personal blogs like ma.tt; photo blogs, tailored primarily for photography or portfolios, and complex blogs, suitable for websites that require a wider set of blocks, with more complexity in content, like a news site.

Four same sized images in a row followed by big, bold text saying Twenty Twenty-Five.

Follow the Twenty Twenty-Five GitHub repo and read the announcement post for more information.

Foundational experience

Refining Data Views

After an initial launch in 6.5 and advancements in 6.6, this release is focused on refining the experience with a few new features planned:

Ultimately, the aim is to make these views more flexible for customization and more functional to use.

Follow this tracking issue for more information.

Polishing the Query Loop

The Query Loop block is one of the more powerful and complex blocks in the site building experience. While it’s important for the block to be robust in what it can accomplish, it also needs to strike the balance of being intuitive to customize. From reviewing the block’s settings copy to improving the context detection, the Query Loop is being intentionally revisited and improved.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

Zoom out to compose with patterns

With patterns getting more feature-rich and pervasive, the option to zoom out to edit and create at the pattern level over granular block editing is underway. This effort aims to provide a new, high-level approach to building and interacting with your site, with several key features in development:

A zoomed out experience in the editor when inserting patterns to facilitate high level overview of the site.
A zoomed out experience when adding a new page that emphasizes patterns.
Ability to manipulate patterns in the template via moving, deleting, etc while zoomed out, including a new vertical toolbar.
Improvements to UXUX User experience for dragging patterns (e.g. vertical displacement).
Option to toggle zoom out on and off in the preview panel.
Option to enter and exit editing at the block level when zooming out.
Advancing contentOnly editing to aid in this new experience.

Pattern inserter open to Banner patterns with the content of the site zoomed out, showing more of the template that the pattern is going to be added to.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

Media improvements

Adding and interacting with media is taking a big leap forward in this release with HEIC support, auto sizes for lazy loaded images, and more background image support at an individual and global level:

Support HEIC image uploads with automatic image conversion, HEIC support and client optimizations.
Auto Sizes for Lazy-loaded Images.
Allow block-level background images in global styles for all blocks with background support, allowing you to set site wide options.
Add support for background attachment (fixed backgrounds).
Update background image support to use a modal to better consolidate the UIUI User interface.

Follow this tracking issue for more information.

View metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. boxes in the iframed Post Editor

Previously, after an effort to iframe the post editor, meta boxes prevented the editor content from loading in an 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., causing a fair amount of disruption and workarounds. To resolve this and ensure that both metaboxes and canvas content is visible when working on content, a split view is being implemented to allow you to access both. This change will provide a consistent WYSIWYGWhat You See Is What You Get What You See Is What You Get. Most commonly used in relation to editors, where changes made in edit mode reflect exactly as they will translate to the published page. experience between the Editor and frontend views.

Review the PR introducing this change for more information.

Design tools

Consolidating and expanding block supports

Various blocks are loaded up with more supports to achieve ever more designs with a special shout out to the long requested shadow support on Group blocks for designers and themers alike:

Buttons: Add border, color, and padding block supports. (63538)
Categories: Add border support (63950)
Column: Enable border-radius support. (63924)
Comment Template: Add Border Block Support. (64238)
Gallery: Add border block support. (63428)
Group: Add block support for shadow. (63295)
Heading: Add border support. (63539)
Image: Adopt margin block support (63546)
Latest comments: Add color block support (63419)
List Item: Add color support (59892)
Media Text: Add border support (63542)
Paragraph: Add border support (63543)
Post Comments Form: Add Border Block Support. (64233)
Post Content: Add background image and padding support (62499)
Post Date: Add border support (64023)
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.: Add border support (64022)
Post Terms: Add border support (64246)
Post Title: Add border support (64024)
Quote: Add border support (63544), add spacing supports (63545), add background image and minimum height support (62497)
Search: Add margin support. (63547)
Site Tagline: Add border support (63778)
Site Title: Add border support (63631)
Social Links: Add border block support (63629)
Term Description: Add border block support (63630)
Verse block: Add background image and minimum height support (62498)

View of the border and shadow support controls with the drop shadow options open.

Edit and apply font size presets

The Styles interface introduces an enhanced feature for creating, editing, removing, and applying font size presets allowing users to easily modify theme provided presets and provide custom options. For each preset, custom or otherwise, this also includes the ability to toggle on fluid typography for baked in responsiveness with the option to set custom fluid values.

Review the PR that implements this feature.

Stabilize experimental block supports

To ensure confidence in using typography block supports for extenders, work is underway to stabilize these options by removing their _experimental status.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

API launches and iterations

Template Registration API

A new API is set to land for WordPress 6.7 to streamline registering templates and template parts for the many plugins that register their own. Previously, plugins needed to rely on several filters to get started, adding a barrier of entry and adoption. With this new API, there will be a more seamless extension experience for developers that aligns with what users have come to expect when interacting with templates and template parts.

Review the PR introducing this API for more information.

Preview Options API

A new API seeks to extend the Preview dropdown menu in the post/page editor allowing plugins to add custom menu items to the Preview dropdown. This extension point allows for greater flexibility in preview functionality, enabling 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 developers to integrate custom preview options seamlessly into the WordPress editor with the following key features:

Introduces PreviewDropdownMenuItem component for adding custom items to the Preview dropdown
Allows plugins to add menu items with custom titles and click handlers
Maintains the existing Preview dropdown structure while allowing for extensibility

Review the PR introducing this API for more information.

Interactivity API

In WordPress 6.7, work will continue on internal improvements to ensure that the Interactivity API’s code is as simple and stable as possible and to make the Interactivity API resilient when used asynchronously (e.g., adding directives or stores after initialization). This will pave the way for performance improvements such as directive code splitting or lazy loading of interactive blocks. Finally, efforts are underway to add more built-in functionality to current blocks, starting with adding lightbox support to the Gallery block.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

Block Bindings

The Block Bindings API launched in 6.5 and iterated upon in 6.6 allows you to bind dynamic data to block attributes, solving many use cases for custom blocks and powering other features, like overrides in synced patterns. After the 6.6 iteration, several dedicated areas of work are underway with a key focus around adding a user interface (UI) that allows users to connect attributes with their binding sources, making it possible to create bindings through the UI instead of the Code Editor. The block bindings editor’s APIs also need refinement to be more accessible for external developers, as some coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. sources, like “Post Meta,” currently use private APIs to manage bindings. Testing support for additional core sources will help ensure the editor APIs are flexible enough for future needs. There is also work needed to support new features related to pattern overrides.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. API

Building on recent iterations, the HTML API is focused on improving support across blocks to increase confidence in markup manipulation on the server for block rendering, while ensuring seamless integration with the interactivity API. Efforts are also underway to complete the “IN BODY” insertion mode, initiated in version 6.6, to support most tags in various situations. This work is essential to prepare the HTML Processor for reliable use with any HTML document, allowing Core to build on it without concerns about failures. Feature development is currently aimed at enhancing the CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. selector interface by adding querySelector() or a similar method to the HTML API, which is crucial for sourcing block attributes. Additionally, efforts continue on the Server Directive Processor and the replacement of block bindings to rely more on the HTML Processor instead of the Tag Processor.

Follow this iteration issue for more information.

Continuing to improve PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher 8.x support

To continue improving support for PHP 8.x, code specific to prior PHP versions that are no longer supported have been removed.

Find something missing? Want to help?

If you have something you’re working on that you don’t see reflected in this post, please share a comment below so we can all be aware! If you’re reading this and want to help, a great place to start is by looking through each issue associated with each area or by diving into the Polish board where a curated set of issues are in place that anyone can jump in on.

Changelog:

September 5th: removed mention of quick edit from Data Views section.

#6-7, #release-roadmap

Damon Cook 2:18 am on September 4, 2024

Thanks for endeavoring to wrangle this all together and sharing it with the open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. world @annezazu!
rose18 1:35 am on September 6, 2024
For the user interface (UIUI User interface) that allow users to connect attributes with their binding sources, is there a way to add in the default image alt text and image title inside the same register_post_meta() function?
I followed the video above and below is my code.
It works to connect this with the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. image 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.:
```
register_post_meta(
 		'post',
 		'random_image2',
 		array(
			'show_in_rest'      => true,
			'single'            => true,
			'type'              => 'string',
			'sanitize_callback' => 'esc_url_raw',
			'default'           => get_theme_file_uri( 'images/default.jpg' )
			)
 	);
```
how can we add in a default alt text and title in the above function?

Thanks!
- annezazu 2:15 am on September 6, 2024
  
  Here’s more information about what the 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. bindings 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. supports: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/03/06/new-feature-the-block-bindings-api/ I recommend comparing what you’re trying to do to an in depth tutorial that includes using block bindings to set alt text: https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2024/02/20/introducing-block-bindings-part-1-connecting-custom-fields/#more-advanced-multiple-bindings-on-an-image-block
  - rose18 1:46 pm on September 6, 2024
    
    Thanks @annezazu ! I did go over those 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. binding documentation and tutorial, and it doesn’t seem to have a possible solution to achieve what I want.
    From this tutorial (https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2024/02/20/introducing-block-bindings-part-1-connecting-custom-fields/#more-advanced-multiple-bindings-on-an-image-block), it’s registering two metadata keys (projectslug_image_url + projectslug_image_alt) in separate register_meta() functions, and I want to have both the image url + alt text to be registered inside that one register_meta() function .
    
    Using the register_block_bindings_source() function works to include both image url + alt text, but this doesn’t show up in the UIUI User interface that allow users to connect attributes with their binding sources. (screenshot)
    - Justin Tadlock 4:34 pm on September 6, 2024
      
      Hi, @rose18. I wrote the tutorial and a few others that follow and would be happy to help. Do you mind hopping over to the WordPress #outreach channel on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.? That’s a more ideal place to kick-start these conversations. Or feel free to open a support topic and 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.) me on it.
      
      Just based on what I’m seeing from your question around register_meta(), I think there’s a slight misunderstanding about the relationship between metadata and bindings.
      
      It sounds like you want to automatically connect a “set” of specific metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. keys to an Image 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. so that it uses both dynamic URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org and alt text. That’s best done with a block variation, a process I described in another tutorial.
      
      Anyway, feel free to pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” me on the Outreach channel or in the support forums for further help with it.
      - rose18 6:56 pm on September 6, 2024
        
        Thanks Justin! Thanks for clarifying this! I was just wondering if it was possible to do this with register_meta(). It’s fine.
        I have worked with 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. variation before by following your tutorials (including the one that you’ve posted above), and I love it. I have learned a lot from your tutorials and from WordPress Developer Blogblog (versus network, site).
        
        Decimus 9:59 pm on September 30, 2024
        
        Any update on WP fixing the Navigation 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. and offering basic functionality on mobile devices of collapsing sub-menus.
        
        We moved our site from a classic theme using Astra to a block theme using Ollie.
        
        The only NEAGATIVE feedback is that navigations menus on mobile devices are totally unwieldy as where there are sub-menus they are listed as one very very very long menu list.
        
        None of the 6.7 updates seem to mention the Navigation block.
        
        Really hope it is being given some focus.
        
        annezazu 10:10 pm on September 30, 2024
        
        Hey there! Can you open a 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/ issue about this to explain more of what you’re describing, ideally with a screenshot? https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/new/choose
        
        You can also check currently open issues to see if one best matches and comment there: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22%5BBlock%5D+Navigation%22
        
        For 6.7, the navigation 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. wasn’t an explicit or major focus but it’s an area we are continually trying to improve as an integral part of the site building experience. Thanks so much.
        
        Decimus 4:08 pm on October 1, 2024
        
        Hey Anne – thanks for the links which I had a look at.
        
        Having made the leap from classic to 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. I LOVE the new block editing environment. Its quite a steep learning curve, but worth it.
        
        As a user, the one thing, I think that is holding back the adoption of block themes is the navigation block, which is why I have been regularly checking for what’s coming in 6.7.
        
        Mobile menus is the only area we have had negative feedback on our transition form a classic to a block theme site.
        
        In the current FSE Navigation Block implementation – submenus on mobile do not collapse, which leads to very very long and ungainly menus. Here is my current menu which is long and unwieldy. See:
        https://www.decimus.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mobile_Menu_Block_Ollie.jpg
        
        Our users HATE this long mobile menu – but it’s all I can offer if I want to be an early adopter and build out our site using a block theme.
        
        I just quickly set up a staging environmentStaging Environment A staging environment is a non-production copy of your site. This is a private place to build the site -- design, copy, and code -- until your client approves it for production or live. Sometimes used in addition to, or as a Development Environment. and reinstalled the classic theme Astra Pro and pulled back the copy of the site template I used before transitioning to a block theme. Compare the out of the box, collapsible submenus which I’d love to be able to replicate – my coding skills, however, don’t allow that!:
        https://www.decimus.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mobile_Menu_Classic_Astra.jpg
        
        Hope the images help with the explanation. This is only an issue when our site is viewed on a mobile device and according to our site stats that is 62% of our audience!
        
        Avidly awaiting WP6.7.
        
        annezazu 12:56 am on October 11, 2024
        
        Thanks so much for flagging this and sharing an image. I’ve added a comment on this issue as it relates to what you shared:
        
        https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/44346#issuecomment-2406322460
        
        This very much helps and I appreciate you taking the time to share.
        
        Paul Jones 1:59 pm on October 23, 2024
        
        @decimus this may not solve everything about the mobile menu in FSE but a coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. contributor who has worked on the Nav 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. released a dedicated block for it he talks you through it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5kzAaEsDMg
        
        And the 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 can be downloaded here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/getdave-responsive-navigation-block/
        
        Hopefully, this gets worked into the actual core Nav Block one day.
Decimus 3:12 pm on October 23, 2024

Hi Paul thanks for the link – what I’m really looking for is something really simple – just for the submenu to be collapsed on a mobile – just like it was in classic Astra Pro and other classic themes:
https://www.decimus.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mobile_Menu_Classic_Astra.jpg
Decimus 2:58 pm on November 11, 2024

Hi Anne – I am looking forward to the launch of WP 6.7 tomorrow.

One more for you – maybe this is for WP6.8?

Is there any update on adding some basic formatting into: All users | User name| Biographical info | which is picked up by the Author Profile…

What I’d love to see is just some very basic formatting such as adding multiple paras and maybe a link or two to the author’s own website or maybe their publisher etc.

On our website where we have a number of guest authors – I’ve resorted to using this snippet that calls pre_user_description when the adminadmin (and super admin) is logged in.
https://purothemes.com/documentation/general-wordpress/allow-post-author-bio-html-markup/

With that in place I then formatting the Author Bio with some basic htmlHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers.

….

It does the trick – EXCEPT that is for my bio where the html formatting continually gets stripped out. I’m guessing that is as I am the admin and something else over-rides pre_user_description? My bio which is a few paras is therefore portrayed as a wall to text!

Here is an example of a typical author profile on our site that is a few paras and has a few links:
https://www.decimus.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AuthorProfile_KC_1024.jpg

Here is my wall of text author profile – … stripped out so wall of text
https://www.decimus.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AuthorProfile_PB_1024.jpg
- annezazu 4:57 am on November 12, 2024
  
  Is there any update on adding some basic formatting into: All users | User name| Biographical info | which is picked up by the Author Profile…
  
  Hey there. Thanks for commenting and for being interested in the future of WordPress. With 6.7 coming out tomorrow, this wouldn’t make it in time for that release. With that said, there’s a reason HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. is stripped out: security concerns! I don’t see a way around that now and what you’re currently doing is likely your best bet.