Dashboard, WP Admin and new tabs opening
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I’m used to using WP.org, hosted elsewhere, and am getting confused with differences between the WP.com dashboard, WP Admin here and the way new tabs keep appearing when I’m editing and viewing my WP.com site.
For example, if I click on one of the view post or view page buttons, and possible on the view site button in the dashboard as well, the view opens in a new tab. I don’t necessarily spot I’m in a new tab so navigate from there back to edit the post again (though it seems difficult finding my way “back” from there) or to add a new post or some other action.
And after working away for some time, I look up and realise I’ve lots of tabs open. And the same post may be in different tabs in different stages of edit. And I may have “view” tabs open showing various different posts. And when close the extra tabs, sometimes I seem to lose the most recent work.
In WP.org, the “view” tab stays linked to the active edit tab. So if I go to edit another post and click “view post,” the tab that was viewing my previous post now changes to view the current tab. There’s only ever one view tab open at a time. And it seems to send me back to the edit tab very clearly when I need to.
What is the workflow in WP.com I should follow so I can prevent all these open tabs appearing?
I’m also confused about the Dashboard (not sure if that’s what it’s called, but it’s what appears when you click “my Sites.”) and the WP Admin dashboard. Why are both there? When should I use which? I like the WP Admin interface as it’s what I’m used to from WP.org. But I need to train others to manage our site, so if everything is being moved to the My Sites dashboard, I need to get used to that so I can teach them.
But there seem to be some things I can do on WP Admin that aren’t available on the My Sites Dashboard. One thing I really miss in MySites is being able to Quick Edit posts. Are all the Wp Admin functions eventually going to be available on the MySites interface?
Sorry if this post is confusing. It reflects my confusion in navigating around WP.com! :-)
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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PS.
Another example of something on WP Admin that I can’t find on the My Sites interface: set how many posts will display. WP Admin settings has a page of “reading” options. I’ve found some on the new Settings page and you can change home page via Customise. But I can’t find how to change the number of posts displaying.And is there a link in the new interface to Help/Support? So far the only way I’ve found is to open my profile and scroll down to the Help link at the bottom of the left-hand menu. It would be good to be able to see some help with one click, the way we can with the WP Admin desktop.
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I’d appreciate some advice from staff as, although I’m getting used to it, I still struggle with the new interface. And it’s going to confuse the new users I’ll be training up.
Have I understood the workflow properly? That
- any time I click view or preview, the (pre)view will open in a new browser tab.
- I MUST remember to close that tab, then go back to the original tab to finish editing.
- And go from there back to my new-style dashboard to select the next task I want to work on
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Also,
- if I begin to do something in the WP-Admin interface, I must complete the task there, not hop between old and new. Otherwise I may lose changes. And similarly, if I begin in new interface, I mustn’t hop to the old mid-task.
- Is there any way to batch-edit or quick-edit posts in the new interface?
- In my WP-org sites, a new tab is opened when I view or preview. I can leave that tab open, hop back to the editor tab and do anything else I want. When I next click view or preview, the new changes appear in the same (pre)view tab I had open before. So it doesn’t matter if I’ve forgotten to clse the (pre)view tab. In the new interface, if I forget to close the (pre)view tab, I end up with rows of tabs, all at different stages of the edit. Could the WP.com developers make the tabs behave in the same way as WP.org?
I’d be grateful for advice about workflow. Are there any support articles written about these issues? Something on workflow for the different sorts of tasks we need to do would be helpful. Thanks.
(PS. I can’t find preview or edit post buttons in the forum. Don’t know if I’ve got the ul and li codes in the right places. So apologies if the formatting is poo.)
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For future reference, you do not have to post to these peer support forums for Staff assistance, if you have purchased upgrades you can contact Staff by use of the contact form referred to here. https://en.support.wordpress.com/help-support-options/ And, if you have purchased a Business upgrade, then you can use live chat for support https://en.support.wordpress.com/live-chat/
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(PS. I can’t find preview or edit post buttons in the forum. Don’t know if I’ve got the ul and li codes in the right places. So apologies if the formatting is poo.)
Only Staff can edit, close or delete threads on these peer support forums.
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Hi @auntyclare, if you visit your site’s wp-admin, most of the options there will be much like they were on WordPress.org. We’re also building out a newer admin interface. You’re welcome to use whichever you prefer. We do tend to steer you toward the newer interface, but you can access wp-admin by adding /wp-admin after your URL, and then just bookmark that.
About everything opening in a new tab: when you’re editing a new post and click to view it (from the new interface) that will indeed open in a new tab so that you can easily continue editing if you’d like. If you’ll let me know what else is opening in a new tab, I can check on that for you.
About how many posts to display: it’s in the same place in WP-admin > Settings > Reading. I hope that helps.
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@supernovia
thanks for the explanation, including the rationale behind the behaviour. So if I’ve understood right, changing how many posts to display is only possible in wp-admin and not yet in the new interface.I hope WP is going to make sure everything is ultimately available in the new interface. Once I’ve got our site set up, I’ll gradually be training someone else to take over if need be. It would be good if I only have to teach them one interface and not confuse them with both, or with having to use bookmarks so they always use wp-admin.
About new tabs opening, I’m getting used to the workflow. But will let you know if I have others pop open unexpectedly.
Thank you.
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Definitely, we’re working on adding all of the features. And the newer interface is very similar to what someone would see in an app or on the mobile website, too, so yes, the goal is to offer a unified experience and less confusion.
Feel free to train someone using the newer version, since most of what’s left in only in wp-admin isn’t as commonly used (but will be added anyway as we go). I hope that helps!
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