Global Styles RevisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision.

This release introduced a handy feature that allows you to reset global styles back to their default settings with ease (52965). With this enhancement, you can effortlessly reset any changes made to global styles back to their original state. To try out this feature, simply make a few revisions to the global style and then open the revision panel. You’ll see a list of all the revisions, and at the bottom, there’s an option called “Reset to Default.” Click on it to return to the original settings.  Now, you only need to go through one revision check instead of two (53281). Previously, the revision panel was only available after two styles of revisions were saved in the database.

Please help test global style revisions with this video to guide you:

Twenty Twenty-Four Default Block Theme

Twenty Twenty-Four default theme is set to launch in 6.4. The theme for the year 2024 will use new design tools to make websites look better and be easier to edit. It will have special designs for three groups of people: entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers. Here, you can find Related Gutenberg Issues and PRs.

Please help test the default Twenty Twenty-Four theme, this is the demo video:

Write with Ease

In this release, ongoing efforts are being made to ensure a smooth and enjoyable writing experience in WordPress(#53305). These enhancements include the addition of new keyboard shortcuts and improvements in copying and pasting text from other sources. The Link preview feature (53566) now includes a convenient “Open in new tab” control, making it simpler to enable or disable this option. Additionally, toolbars for List, Quote, and Navigation blocks have been enhanced to make your writing and editing process more efficient.(#53699, #53697). Please help test using keyboard shortcuts and copying and testing text from other sources.

Please help test the improved writing experience for list items with this video to guide you:

Please help test the capture toolbar in the quote block with this video to guide you:

Please help test the ‘Open in New Tab’ feature with this video to guide you:

Improvements to List View

The List View in WordPress has undergone some great enhancements. Now, managing your content is even more straightforward and user-friendly. You can easily rename Group blocks using a handy options menu that pops up. When dealing with gallery and image blocks, you can now see previews of your media to make sure everything looks just right. Additionally, resizing and duplicating blocks have become much more efficient, with keyboard shortcuts available for quick actions. The List View now allows the escape key to deselect blocks if blocks are selected(48708). These improvements in the List View make organizing and editing your content in WordPress a breeze.

This video is showcasing the use Escape to deselect blocks feature:

Please help test by renaming group blocks in the list view with this video guide:

This image showcases a media preview for the gallery and image blocks:

Please help test by using keyboard shortcuts for duplicating blocks with this video to guide you:

 Improvements to the Command Palette 

The Command Palette has undergone several changes and improvements since its first introduction in WordPress 6.3. For example, you can now do more with blocks using new commands, including block transforms and the options to duplicate, copy, remove, and insert after/before. The Command Palette also looks different with a fresh design. Plus, it now supports adding commands without icons. If you’re using WordPress on a small screen, like a mobile phone, the Command Palette will work better for you. It also uses more consistent language and actions, making it easier to use. Lastly, there are improvements in snackbar motion, making your experience smoother. These changes make managing your WordPress site even easier and more user-friendly.

Please help test adding blocks by commands and registering commands without icons with this video to guide you:

This image shows you registering commands without icons.

This video is showing some improvement for the command palette on smaller screens:

Test with tweak and add more consistent commands:

This video displays snackbar motion, and you can test this feature by similarly giving commands.

Please check out more improvements to the recent updates made to the Command Palette.

Block HooksHooks In WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same. (Previously Auto-inserting Blocks)

Introducing the Block Hooks feature, a reimagined approach to the earlier concept of Auto-inserting Blocks. Basically, Block Hooks is an 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. that developers can use to make websites more flexible. It allows one block to attach itself to another block and show its content before or after that block. You can also attach a block to a parent block and make it appear at the beginning or end of the list of child blocks inside it. (53987) 

Even though Block Hooks is mainly for developers, it also gives a nice experience to the end users by automatically inserting a block into a specific location. It lets developers place blocks where they want them to be and gives room for customization. The goal is to make block themes more adaptable with the help of plugins.

One thing to keep in mind is that the block using this API will only be auto-inserted if the original template or part hasn’t been changed by the user. This is done to respect the user’s choice. This API can only be applied with block patterns, template parts, and templates that come from the block theme files. It doesn’t alter anything the user has already created or changed on a website. 

Note: This feature is a more technical item to test. Check out this for a more detailed guide.

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. Block Pagination Enhancements 

Now, you no longer need a full page reload when you navigate between pages in a Query Loop block. There’s a new setting that prevents full page reloads. This improved way of moving between pages is made possible by a special version of the Interactivity API, and it makes browsing smoother. Plus, you can also decide how many pages you want to show using the Query Page Numbers block for even more control. Query block: Client-side pagination (53812), make mid-size parameter settable for Query Pagination block. (#51216).

Please help test adding pagination in your query block. This video guides you through the pagination in the query block.

Client Side Pagination

List Block Enhancement 

In the List Block, a new feature has been introduced that allows you to merge consecutive lists instead of keeping them as individual blocks. This enhancement streamlines your editing experience by combining lists that appear one after another, making it easier to manage and format your content seamlessly. (52995)

Group Block Enhancements

Now, you can easily rename Group blocks to organize your content better (53735). This feature makes it simpler to identify and manage different sections of your page, streamlining your editing experience. Additionally, the introduction of background images for Group blocks brings more creativity and customization to your layouts. These enhancements empower you to create more organized and visually appealing content in WordPress. (53934)

Background image support to the Group block

Please help test by renaming the group blocks using this video guide.

Add Aspect Ratio to the Image Block’s placeholder

Aspect ratio controls to 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. block were introduced in the 6.3 version, and now, these helpful controls have been extended to the placeholder of the Image block. This enhancement offers greater flexibility, particularly when designing wireframe-style patterns that establish a layout for users to fill in with their content.

Navigation Block Enhancements 

You can select the default coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress./navigation-link variant within the core/navigation block, offering more flexibility and customization options for your navigation menus (50982)

Please test by adding navigation block and start customizing it with this video to guide you.

Add Lightbox Functionality for your Images

WordPress 6.4 introduces an improvement to the image experience with the new Image Lightbox feature. Recognizing the need for clarity in the user interface (UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing.), a dedicated Settings panel has been instituted for the image block. Within this panel, users can easily locate the Lightbox toggle, available both in Global Styles and Block settings.Display your pictures in an engaging way using the brand-new lightbox functionality. This cool feature will work with image blocks, so you can click on an image and see it in a bigger size right on top of your existing content. (51132)

General Block Improvements

• Preformatted: Add margin and padding support. (45196)
• Social Links: Add Threads Icon. (52685)
• Verse: Enable line breaks. (52928)
• Details: Add block gap support. (53282)
• File: Add margin and padding support. (45107)
• Column: Add stretch alignment (53325).
• Image: Keep image size upon replacing an image (49982).
• Buttons: Allow using a button element for button blocks (54206).
• Post Content: Add block gap support (54282).
• Post Content: Add color control support (51326).
• Footnotes: Add link, background, and text color support (52897).
• Footnotes: Add typography, dimensions, and border block supports (53044).

Create your own Pattern Categories

Now, you can neatly group your patterns by categories when you create them. These categories are handy because you can use them to organize and find your patterns easily. You can also edit these categories in the sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. when you’re editing a pattern.

To ensure this feature functions smoothly, here are the steps to follow: Begin by adding various user patterns, both synced and unsynced, assigning categories to each (remember to hit ‘enter’ or add a ‘,’ after each categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging.). Then, navigate to the site editor patterns page and verify that the categories appear in the left navigation panel. Confirm that selecting a category displays the corresponding patterns accurately and that theme patterns continue to appear as expected. Check that all patterns are accessible under ‘All Patterns’ and that the search function operates seamlessly. Lastly, duplicate a theme pattern and ensure that the new pattern inherits the same category. Additionally, when adding a user pattern with the ‘Footer’ category, make sure it displays alongside the theme Footer patterns, taking into account the category slug distinction (theme patterns use ‘footer’ while the user category name should match this).
To make things even simpler, all patterns, whether they’re synced or not, are listed together in one place. There’s no need to look in different tabs for synced patterns; they’re all in the same section. (53837)

Please help test creating categories, adding synced and unsynced patterns, and assign them categories with this video to guide you:

Import/Export Patterns as 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. files.

To maintain compatibility with Reusable blocks, you can now import and export patterns as JSON files, providing a straightforward way to transfer custom patterns between websites. (54337) 

Please help test import and export patterns with this video to guide you: