Front-end Editor: Quick Christmas Update

  • The plugin had a few updates recently: it now automatically embeds links that are supported by oEmbed, it generates a preview of galleries and captions, you can add/edit/remove the 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. and the toolbar moved into the admin bar. If you quickly want to see what that looks like, take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EriJ17w8aXI

  • We’ve had some good Skype conversations lately. If you’d like to join the group to help with the design and development, add jannekevandorpe (but do mention the front-end editor in your request).
  • Normally the next meeting is Monday, but since a lot of people are busy around this time of the year, I’m going to cancel it. I should be around though, so feel free to come anyway. So now the next meeting is Monday, 6 January 2014, 16:00 UTC on the #wordpress-ui IRC channel.
  • TinyMCE will most likely be updated to 4.0.x (the version on which the Front-end Editor depends) by 3.9. Here’s the ticket if anyone’s interested to test/help @azaozz: #24067.
  • There’s also a ticket regarding the new styles not being applied to the Media Modal on the front-end (as you can see in the video). Would be nice if there’s a patch by 3.8.1. #26677.
  • So, what’s next and what can you do?
    • TinyMCEThis toolbar should also move into the admin bar. I wonder whether we should keep the default 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., or completely create a new one that fits the admin bar’s API. There was also talk about creating an inline toolbar with some basic tools, but it’s probably best to develop this next to the one in the admin bar and show/hide them to test which one scores best in terms of user experience.
    • ShortcodeShortcode A shortcode is a placeholder used within a WordPress post, page, or widget to insert a form or function generated by a plugin in a specific location on your site. previews. Along with oEmbed previews, this is something that could be used for the back-end editor too. It might be good to split this from the main project, but it’s obvious that this is important to any project that tries to improve 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.. Creating previews of coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. shortcodes isn’t that difficult because we know exactly what they do. Adding support for all shortcodes could be a nightmare as they can do anything. It’s also quite difficult to detect if the shortcode is going to represent a 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. or inline element, currently the code just assumes it’s going to be block. One solution could be to make the shortcode define whether it’s compatible, but it’s nicer if things just work out of the box. Still, it’s better than nothing.
    • Add things such as date and time, visibility, permalink, status and format next to the categories and tags, and think about where these should go. It might be easier and interesting to put them in a modal (similar to the media modal). The main things to keep in mind are 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), space and extendibility.
    • Also note that switching between categories, tags, format and status actually requires the htmlHTML HTML is an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used in the development of web pages and websites. to be updated. Not only could the theme have some CSSCSS CSS is an acronym for cascading style sheets. This is what controls the design or look and feel of a site. for the content based on these, it might also changes its lay out.
    • Creating/drafting posts through the front-end.
    • Add support for CPTs.
    • Responsiveness/mobile interface. Only keep the most basic TinyMCE tools.
    • It would be nice if some people could continuously check the security of 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.
    • Low priority, but autosave (and local storage), post locking and expired sessions.

#front-end-editor