Call for Testing: WordPress for iOS 6.5

The WordPress for iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. 6.5 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. will be available for testing on TestFlight soon. Not part of the beta program yet? Please sign up for our TestFlight program to request to join as a beta tester.

New Features

Reader Navigation: The Reader navigation has a new design to match the web Reader. You can also browse the sites you follow in the new “Manage Sites” section in your Followed Sites list.
- Before: https://cloudup.com/c4BNsH0OS33
- After: https://cloudup.com/cdRf1yKt50E
- To test, make sure each of the items in the navigation menuNavigation Menu A theme feature introduced with Version 3.0. WordPress includes an easy to use mechanism for giving various control options to get users to click from one place to another on a site. works for you — switch between Reader lists, add/remove/view tags, and browse through your followed sites.
Updated Editor Toolbar: The editor’s top toolbar was cleaned up to make it less crowded. Instead of a Preview link, settings cog icon, and Post link, you’ll now see the Post link and a “more” (ellipsis) menu.
- Before: https://cloudup.com/c64dbZl6Ht9
- After: https://cloudup.com/cOwjI_0aHEF

Additional Changes

iPad updates: If you have an iPad, you’ll see some updates such as a consistent layout throughout the app, and new inline search bars (matching the default iOS search behavior). To test:
- Explore the app on an iPad and note any inconsistencies or odd behavior with the layout between screens.
- Try out the search bars (such as the blog selector search).
- Bonus: Rotate between portrait and landscape views as you go.
Notifications: The Notifications stack got a revamp — this is a behind-the-scenes update, so hopefully you won’t see any changes. To test, trigger a variety of notifications, open and interact with them, and report any odd behavior or bugs you see.

Bugs & Feedback

Did you find a bug or come up with a feature request while testing? You can discuss it here, report it using the TestFlight feedback link, or head straight to the iOS Github repository and open a new issue.

#beta, #ios, #wpios

Rachel 4:08 pm on August 29, 2016
I was trying out the new reader navigation and found some issues:
- If you start to add a tag and then cancel, you get an error. Already reported: 5908
- The same error occurs if you enter invalid characters (a space, symbols). Reported it as a comment on the above issue.
- Trying to add a tag with non-Latin characters returns a different error. Reported: 5927
Tested on iPhone 6, iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. 9.3.5, WPiOS 6.5.0.20160826.
Hafiz Rahman 1:38 am on August 30, 2016

The new Reader navigation removes a feature that I use every day.

I usually open Reader in the morning to catch up with sites I follow, and usually there are a lot of new posts to read. My screen normally looks like this after refreshing the Reader (note the “Load more posts” button):

https://cloudup.com/cNWlx7hnFXe

Previously, I would tap the Reader button/tab at the bottom, and it would auto-scroll the list to the top, to show the latest posts. I did that so I could read from newest to oldest, similar to how I’m used to the timelines on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and so on.

In this version, tapping the Reader tab brings me to the main Reader view again: https://cloudup.com/iz8hGz-AQ_B

I think the Reader tab at the bottom should never bring the user to the previous screen. The back button at top left is there for this functionality. Tapping the Reader tab when the tab is already opened should behave as previously, scrolling to top.
- Rachel 12:24 pm on August 30, 2016
  
  Interesting! Thanks for the report. The new behavior is consistent with how the bottom navigation buttons work on other tabs — for example, tapping the My Sites button twice moves you back to the site list.
  
  You can still tap the status bar (at the very top of the screen) to scroll up to the top, and I’ve opened an issue to ask about the Reader button in the bottom navigation bar here: https://github.com/wordpress-mobile/WordPress-iOS/issues/5933
Rachel 3:34 pm on August 30, 2016

I don’t have an iPad to test the iPad layout changes with, but I did notice an issue on my iPhone 6 that might be related to the iPad layout changes:

Under My Sites > Blog Posts, I sometimes see the links “Edit,” “View,” and “More” under my posts, but other times I see all four links (“Edit,” “View,” “Stats,” “TrashTrash Trash in WordPress is like the Recycle Bin on your PC or Trash in your Macintosh computer. Users with the proper permission level (administrators and editors) have the ability to delete a post, page, and/or comments. When you delete the item, it is moved to the trash folder where it will remain for 30 days.”) side by side under the post. This is expected behavior when the phone is landscape, but I’m seeing it after I rotate from landscape back to portrait orientation. Reported here: 5941
Ryan Boren 6:38 pm on September 5, 2016

https://test.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/session-notes-ios-app-editor-buttons-iphone-6/
alisterscott 6:06 am on September 6, 2016

I have done some testing on both iPad and iPhone. With the new “Manage Sites” screen I noticed it took about 10 seconds to load for me, and during this time I saw a message saying “No Sites”

https://cloudup.com/cG6VOekI7dx

This made me slightly worried until they did appear – could we show a loading icon or something else?
Alister Scott 6:09 am on September 6, 2016

I was also thinking “Managed Sites” sounds like managing your own sites, should it be something like “Manage Followed Sites”?
- Rachel 10:34 am on September 6, 2016
  
  Good points. I’ve opened an issue with that feedback: https://github.com/wordpress-mobile/WordPress-iOS/issues/5951
Lance Willett 5:10 pm on September 6, 2016
1. Reader Navigation, for add/remove/view tags

I can’t seem to remove a tag when no posts match it. Testing with :( as a tag — it has no posts, and I can’t see the 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. to unfollow it. Note: I can’t remove with desktop wpcalypso either — so not specific to iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads..

This is probably old behavior; on a new user account or with new “nonsense” tags — they can’t be added, so this isn’t an issue in those cases.

2. Updated Editor Toolbar

I was able to crash the app in iPad using these steps:
1. Go to My Sites, select a site
2. Go to Blog Posts list
3. Click an already published post, enter editor view by clicking the post
4. In top editor toolbar, click … then Preview
5. In preview, click the “sharing” icon (box with arrow in the top of it) — I’d expect this to open an iOS sharing menu
6. Crash :/
I sent the report in from the WP Internal app. I can repeat this each time I do the same steps.

Bug report with video: https://github.com/wordpress-mobile/WordPress-iOS/issues/5952
- Lance Willett 5:25 pm on September 6, 2016
  
  Screenshot for first note: https://cloudup.com/chiApOx8f6g
frugalnova1 6:46 am on September 26, 2016

I have done some testing on both iPad and iPhone. I think the Reader tab at the bottom should never bring the user to the previous screen. I can’t remove with desktop wpcalypso either — so not specific to iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads..
- Rachel 4:38 pm on September 26, 2016
  
  Thanks for that feedback! However, this is expected behavior for how tabs in the iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. app work. You can read more discussion about that behavior here:
  
  https://github.com/wordpress-mobile/WordPress-iOS/issues/5933