Block Editor Causing More Problems Than It Solves
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While the new Editor may be an upgrade for many, for me it has proven deleterious to me, to the point of being preventive… that is, I am now unable to retain the page formats (actually, textual formats) which I have preserved for years on my site). Since I am also, now, apparently refused access to the original Editor (at least when creating new Pages on the site), I no longer have the option of using the original Editor to create new pages using the same, consistent textual formatting (which formats are endemic to the purposes of various text formats displayed) of the hundreds of other pages on the site. While there may be efficient workarounds available with the new Editor, I have been unable to discover them. These formatting issues are more complex than are appropriate for this general post and may require live Chat demonstrations to demonstrate and solve (which Chats I don’t even think my free access to WordPress.com entitles me). I do hope someone can assist, though.
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Hi there, can you share a little more information on your process and the address of the site you need help with?
Are you editing pages or posts that have already been published? Unless you note formatting changes to that content after the switch to the Block Editor, it’s not necessary to go back and edit or convert those pages or posts. If you notice severe changes in formatting on previous posts or pages, please share links so someone can take a look.
What do you mean you are refused access to the original Editor? The Classic Editor has been retired in the MySite dashboard, so the options now for creating new content are either the Block Editor, which includes the Classic Block, or the Classic Editor via the WP Admin dashboard of your site at yoursite.wordpress.com./wp-admin/post-new.php
Let us know the above so we can continue to help.
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Hello justjennifer. Thanks, as always, for the response. Aa a non-subscriber, I legitimately don’t deserve free customer service from WP but am always delighted when you folks offer it anyway. If I ever get any actual viewers on my site (well, more than a few hundred each month, in a good month) I will be glad to start paying for the subscription.
>>can you share a little more information on your process and the address of the site you need help with?<<
The site is ASND ( https://anotherslownewsday.wordpress.com/ ) and the processes are simple textual edits, including copy/paste from documents & Web sites (I also occasionally insert images between textual insertions but my editing problems are mostly associated with text.
>>Are you editing pages or posts that have already been published?<<
As I mentioned in my OP, I do both editing and creating on a regular basis (there are hundreds of pages on the ASND site, most of which have been edited numerous — often dozens of — times) but but I only experience the text formatting corruptions with Block Editor. I will elaborate in a response to another question.
>>Unless you note formatting changes to that content after the switch to the Block Editor, it’s not necessary to go back and edit or convert those pages or posts.<<
Here you have lost me, and I accept the likelihood that is my own fault. While I have read many of the tutorial modules for the Block Editor, I don’t recall seeing anything about that “note formatting changes” issue, how to note it, where to note it, why it is noted, etc., though I have had several problems trying to convert pages created/edited in Classic Editor to Blocks. Perhaps you can cite a particular page where I can retrain myself to better understand your “note formatting changes” indicative, there.
>>If you notice severe changes in formatting on previous posts or pages, please share links so someone can take a look.<<
Well, if I had been aware that suggestion was coming I would not have spent an hour or so last night editing “severe changes in formatting” to these two pages. You could have observed the corruptions for yourself.
https://anotherslownewsday.wordpress.com/christianity-politics/
&
https://anotherslownewsday.wordpress.com/christianity-politics/christian-donald-trump/I attempted to edit the former page using Block Editor a week or so ago (it is terrifically tedious and problematic to use, among other things, not allowing me a wide range of pre-selected text colors, which were available in Classic Editor) but after re-opening the page yesterday I noticed dozens of formatting corruptions. Those corruptions were mostly imposed on spacing (both character and line spacing) requiring meticulous editing to restore to their original appearances. I attempted to create the latter page last night using Block Editor but was so frustrated with the tedium re: text colors (an essential part of my site’s format) that I gave up after about 15mins. The only way I think any formatting corruption checks on these pages could be done is to access the previous versions of each (the latter was published using Block Editor, then deleted, then republished using Classic Editor, which I will explain in a moment). Both pages appear now as I want them to appear, but before last night the former was “severely” corrupted and the latter was all but unpublishable due to the text color tedium.
>>What do you mean you are refused access to the original Editor?<<
My bad on that, justjennifer. I wrote the OP here after searching an open, actively-editing page using Block Editor for an option to switch to Classic Editor. That option was, indeed, unavailable but later discovered that pages can still access Classic Editor from the Admin Dashboard (with a little searching). That, in fact, was how I created the former page cited above, which would have taken me all night using Block Editor.
So, yes, I am pleased that I found Classic Editor still available but I am discouraged that Block Editor is so tedious, corruption-inducing, and limited for my particular usage. I am open to learning Blocks but until I see how they offer at least the same functionality and reliability as Classic, I will not be making use of it. If Classic is eventually discontinued w/o providing the improvements to Blocks that I seek, I will likely have to search out another platform on which to re-create ASND since creating and editing is prohibitively time consuming on my site using Blocks.
Thanks again for your response, justjennifer. I hope this conversation can continue and yield improvements to Block Editor.
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Hello again, you mentioned
but after re-opening the page yesterday I noticed dozens of formatting corruptions.
By re-opening, do you mean you looked at the post from the public-facing side and noticed the formatting there was corrupted or you opened the post to edit it and saw the formatting corruptions?
By default any content made previously in the Classic Editor at MySites was preserved in a Classic Block, so it’s important to know where you are seeing these corruptions.
I’d also suggest that if you are frequently opening your old posts and pages to edit them, navigate to your site’s WP Admin dashboard at anotherslownewsday.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php and click on the link to edit the post or page using the WP Classic Editor and see if that doesn’t work better for you.
That screenshot came from a relatively new WPcom FAQ, which you can find here: https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-com-classic-editor-deprecation-faqs/
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Thanks again, jj, for your reply.
>>By re-opening, do you mean you looked at the post from the public-facing side and noticed the formatting there was corrupted or you opened the post to edit it and saw the formatting corruptions?<<
Both, actually. I noticed the corruptions on the displayed page and then spent considerable time correcting the corruptions using Classic Editor (once I figured out I had access to CE via Dashboard).
>>By default any content made previously in the Classic Editor at MySites was preserved in a Classic Block, so it’s important to know where you are seeing these corruptions.<<
Yes, they were in a Classic Block, as are all my pages (some of them quite long, all in single blocks).
>>I’d also suggest that if you are frequently opening your old posts and pages to edit them, navigate to your site’s WP Admin dashboard at anotherslownewsday.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php and click on the link to edit the post or page using the WP Classic Editor and see if that doesn’t work better for you.<<
Yes, as I mentioned in my previous reply, I found that editing option shortly after sending my OP above and had (and have again, several times now) used it. I will continue to use if that is what is being recommended (for me it is a huge time saver over Block Editor) but if Classic Editor is scheduled for removal, or if there are time saving alternatives in Block Editor with which I am unfamiliar (e.g. a text color palette like there is in Classic Editor) I am open to learning how to use them in BE. Please let me know if either of those are actual and how to find the color palette in BE if it is available.
One final request: As I mentioned previously, I have also had problems in Block Editor with line and character spacing corruptions (where the line and character spacing displays one way in BE but another way in public view). Is there any available tutoring on how to avoid these corruptions?
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Hi again,
if Classic Editor is scheduled for removal
The Classic Editor being removed is the one in the MySite dashboard. The CE in WP Admin will be there for the foreseeable future, according to previous Staff reply.
e.g. a text color palette like there is in Classic Editor
https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/paragraph-block/#text-color
There are tutorials in the support site on using the Block Editor:
https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/ and if you look in the right sidebar towards the bottom, you’ll see links to use guides to each of the available Blocks.As I mentioned previously, I have also had problems in Block Editor with line and character spacing corruptions (where the line and character spacing displays one way in BE but another way in public view). Is there any available tutoring on how to avoid these corruptions?
Are you referring to posts you’ve already published or new posts you’re creating in the Block Editor?
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Thanks again, jj, for the reply. Mine was delayed due to vacation.
Re: the text color palette, I could have been more specific in my request for “a text color palette like there is in Classic Editor.” I had already seen the tutorial and had practiced at length with the “palette” provided in Block Editor. The severe limit of only five preset color selections (three of which are all shades of grey) is far from “a text color palette like there is in Classic Editor.” A reader of my pages (such as those I have cited in this thread) will immediately notice how severely limiting the BE palette is for pages formatted like mine. Without a wide range of preselected colors on the palette (preferably identical to the original, CE palette) I cannot possibly create or edit pages efficiently in my existing Format. By simply replacing the existing, severely limiting BE “palette” with the highly robust and efficient CE palette, my problem would be essentially solved.
As I had also said several times above, I have already spent considerable time learning Block Editor, including using the tutorials. None of these options address my one concern and request, stated now several times. I hope WordPress will reconsider its choice of a severely limiting, preselected text color “palette” in Block Editor.
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Welcome back
So here’s the text color palette in the Classic Block, which is similar to what was available in the MySite Classic editor and is still available in WP Admin Classic Editor
and here is the text color palette in a Paragraph Block
I believe the initial Paragraph Block palette is determined by your theme, but notice that you can extend the color options by selecting Custom Color, but at this point in time that color is not saved so if you want to use it again, you’ll need to write down its HEX number for future use.
I understand that you want to request this as a feature, so I’ve also flagged this thread for Staff attention.
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PS Just also noting that I will be now absent for several days and will check back when I return.
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Once again, jj, thank you for the response. The Block Editor palette image you inserted above is not the same palette in the tutorial you cited (which I had already seen) or the same palette made available in my Block Editor. While it is slightly more robust than the palette I can access (and have described abive), it doesn’t store the specific colors I reuse many thousands of times. Writing in those custom color numbers each time I change text colors creates a prohibitively tedious, exorbitantly time consuming task for my particular site’s format. Until the same text color palette from Classic Editor is available in Block Editor, it will be unusable for my site.
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Again
I believe the initial Paragraph Block palette is determined by your theme…
and I understand about not being able to save custom colors.
Let’s leave this now for Staff to note this as a feature request. :)
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Thank you for your feedback.
The Block Editor is a work in progress so new features will keep coming. I’ve noted your suggestion in the GitHub repository already. -
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