I received a few questions / requests on a recent post about the new WordPress 2.7 that I would like to answer today.
Before we get into this discussion too far let me mention for those who are not aware, you can install the WordPress software on your own web host or you can use WordPress.com which gives you a free blog that you do not have to worry about upgrading etc. The first option is often called the .org version because you can download it from WordPress.org. The other option is called the .com version.
A huge difference between the two (besides the cost of hosting and extra maintenance for .org) is that on .com you do not get to pick which plug-ins you want. This means .com users are missing out on a huge part of what WordPress can actually do, but they still get a very good blogging platform with very little effort.
Now lets look at the questions. I am going to paraphrase, but click here if you want to see the original.
Q. Can I put the menu back on top where it belongs?
A. No. – Ok, Ok, technically if you are on your own server you can make any changes you want, and I am sure there is, or will be soon, a plugin to make it easy, but they have done a lot of research testing both layouts and discovered (to their surprise) that users were much more productive and could get to things faster with the vertical menu.
The menu does not work quite as well for mobile devices, but there are plugins to make .org mobile friendly and .com has http://m.wordpress.com/ which is designed for mobile.
Also if the menu is taking too much room, click on the double left arrow (<<) above “Posts” or between “Comments” and “Appearance”
Q. Can I change the Dashboard?
A. Yes. Click on the “Screen Options” button near the top right, uncheck all of the thing you do not want on your dashboard, click on “Screen Options” again, and then drag and drop the remaining sections to where you want them.
Q. What is the time frame for “Top Posts”, “Top Searches”, and “Most Active”?
A. These are based on the entire life of the blog. Sure, they could have done better, and some plugins do, but it is still interesting.
Q. Can I just go straight to the stats page after I log-in?
A. Of course. Here’s how: Open the stats page and bookmark that page instead on just “wp-admin”. Next time you go to the bookmark, it will take you to the stats page. If you have to login first it will still take you to stats after login.
I have a few more questions but I guess they will have to wait until tomorrow. Must. get. sleep. now.
[Update] The rest of the questions are at: http://luke.gedeon.name/ask-luke-fixing-wordpress-27-part-2.html
Related posts:
I just wish they would have made the menu placeable on either side. With a 19″ side screen it is a pain to scroll across the screen to what I want and then down, and back to the option I want. Don’t even get me started about what a pain it is on 27″ lcd tv/monitor to do full screen.
Would moving the menu to the right solve the problem? That can be done, but I wonder if that will really help. If so let me know.
I would have thought a large screen would be a positive thing, but it sounds like it may be giving you trouble more places than just in WordPress.
If I were using a screen that large I would have multiple windows open next to each other, so the distance between left and right inside any window would not be that much anyway. Why would you run WP any wider than 12″?
As for scrolling, most mice these days have a scroll-wheel or the OS has some other option where you can scroll as long as your mouse is somewhere inside the window. I just two-finger scroll using my track pad and have not had to fool with a scroll-bar in a long time. Oh wait a second, did you say you are using a huge monitor and still have to scroll?!?
One other thing. It sounds like your mouse may be set to move too slowly. There is a setting to change how fast your mouse moves. If you need help with that or scrolling without the scroll-bar, let me know and we can set up a chat session or a screen share.
I usually do run multiple long vertical windows on my largest screen, however Some times I use the wireless keyboard and mouse and sit back in the recliner. The distance is comparative full screen up to a about 12″ up close.
There is nothing like blogging from the comfort of a lazyboy, everyone should try it some time.
As for the scrolling issue as I told the developers who came back with the same response when we were beta testing this is wordpress which is supposed to be easy to use, not a microsoft product where they answer design failure issues on their part with “buy different hardware” statements.
I can give you two examples where the hardware OS answers fail. My wife uses a logitech marble mouse trackball because of her carpal tunnel, it is about the only thing she can use comfortably, but the design precludes a wheel. The second instance are laptop touch pads. While I seldom blog when I am out and about and when I do I’m usually am someplace where I can bring out a mouse for comfort, this is an issue for many other laptop users.
Simply put from an ergonomic standpoint the menu where it is at now is a big failure. I will send you the link when it is done, a friend of mine who is an occupational therapist is writing a big rant on all the medical reasons this design fails for her blog. Believe me if the coding to put the menu items on the right rather than the left were really easy it would already be done on my dozen plus blogs.
Brad, thanks for following up. I only mentioned the hardware in hopes of helping with what sounded like a general problem that was not specific to WordPress only.
If all you need is to move the menu to the right, I did that with about 8 lines of CSS. It might take a few more to handle minimizing to icons.
I am headed out the door right now but I will try to post the needed CSS changes this week. I noticed you are doing front-end themes. Have you gotten into admin themes yet? If so you can put this into your theme yourself. If not, I may do a plugin eventually.
Sorry about sounding like M$.
Have a great Christmas!
Update: I wrote a plug-in to move the menu to the right. You can read about it here: http://luke.gedeon.name/wordpress-admin-menu-on-right-plugin.html
Second Update: I have added it to the WordPress Repository at: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/admin-menu-on-right/
Hi, thanks for all the info!!!
I must admit, after upgrading to 2.7, I was a bit miffed by all the changes
Your post is going to help lots, although I am not sure if I should do what you have mentioned, or leave the new look/admin/dashboard as it is, to ensure I get used to it – otherwise, when I next update again, will all the custom configurations I do now need to be done again?
- I guess what I am saying is, if I do the above mentioned in your post, then I upgrade when I get the annoying “new version available” message, will I have to re-do it all again once I update???
Cheers in advance
John D.
John D,
The changes I describe here, are either plugins or just blog settings. Most plugins are upgraded by the author (if any changes are needed) for each new version. If the plugin is built correctly if probably will not have to be modified to work in the new version.
The screen options are new in 2.7 but I doubt they would take that away.
The link for stats may change in a future version but changing bookmarks is easy enough.
I do not recommend making changes directly to the code. It works much better to package your changes as a plugin. Then whenever you upgrade the main software the plugins will not be over-written. So you will not have to make the same changes twice.
I see! thanks, that all makes sense now
So, by using plugins rather than modifying the wordpress script directly, and can make life easier for myself when I come to upgrade the wordpress ‘engine’…
I think I get it now, thanks lots for explaining
Nice to see a blogger that reads his comments and responds
Luke,
I am totally at a loss with the changes. Is there a new online guide that you know if that I can use?
Adam
@adam I am working on a guide right now it will be published a bit later this week.
@Luke the plugin works great. Sorry i haven’t had time to write up a review.
Brad, definitely give us a link here when you write that guide.
Adam, my high-tech
solution was that I just went through and clicked on every menu item to see what it would do. Then later when I wanted to actually do something I could say, “Oh yeah, I saw that under such and such.”
Great information. And the upgrade I did really didn’t surprise me. Sigh! Anyway, you’ve got some awesome information. And yes brad, a link to your guide would be awesome. Thanks
I just wish they would have made the menu placeable on either side. With a 19″ side screen it is a pain to scroll across the screen to what I want and then down, and back to the option I want. Don’t even get me started about what a pain it is on 27″ lcd tv/monitor to do full screen.
Rize, are you human? You just copied someone else’s comment on this and other posts.
kip it up
nice blog
Regards
Timothy
http://amc-exam.com
Awesome information. I wonder why I didn’t come across this article earlier. Really useful stuff. Also I went a walk through your blog. Awesome posts. A definite bookmark. The update to 2.7 however looks good to me. Thanks for the information. Keep rocking
I wonder why would someone want to change the current panel at 2.7 It’s very useful and looks good.
Mr. Fitness, (Is it ok to call you by your first name?)
Thank you for the complementary comment.
I am amazed with it. It is a good thing for my research. Thanks. ^_^
I love how they come up with a new version then you got to “fix” it. :S
James,
Well… technically I am not talking about really fixing WP. These are just personal preferences that we are adjusting to, but new versions of any software do frequently require patches.
New features always seem to come with new bugs.
I love blogs and websites who address these fixes to make it all go smoothe. I really do appreciate it, thank you.
I love wordpress, but I get fed up of explaining to clients, why .com is not as flexible, SEO wise.
Thanks, your site is now bookmarked.
I should learn to make plugins, now it’s really huge task to update WP because I’ve made changes to some core WP files
Kunto,
It does take time to learn how do plug-ins but it ends up being worth it in the long run.
I look forward to hearing what you come up with.
Just want to say thanks! This is my first blog, so this helped out a ton!
Sam,
Glad to be of help. If you have any other questions please ask. I would love to help.
It has taken months but I’m finally used to 2.7. I hadn’t even been using 2.6 for that long, but it was pretty familiar. It helps to read expert developers on their opinion.
Great post. I Bookmarked your page.
I’m hoping to upgrade my blog to WordPress to 2.7. This post is very useful. Thanks for the information.
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
Thanks Luke. I’m doing a new site for photography and cameras and this really helped me out. Just thought to thank you and say hi. Love your blog. Thanks once again
Really helpful!
Thanks a lot, Luke
I have just upgraded my blog 15 days ago(I know it is very late) and I am more than happy to see all the control panel. It is very sophisticated and professional with a lot of bugs removed. I am wondering to know all those questions and answers which you have mentioned in your post because I was not expecting them too early(it is too early for me). Anyways, I like blogs which have new stuff and content and your blog is one of those.
I never upgrade to the newest version of wordpress and it has worked for me just fine. Nice info on this version off WP. Maybe I finally upgrade some of my older blogs to that version.
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I didn’t know that WordPress 2.7 was broken! This is an evolution, not a revolution… it’s nice to see the changes come about and work to get used to them!
Tangy,
I like the 2.7 changes and do not consider it broken, but not everyone liked the changes. This post was for the people who did not like the new interface.
I have been using Drupal, but am really tempted to switch to WP. Would 2.7 be able to do most of what I’m doing on Drupal for my blog?
Blogger,
The site you linked to was suspended, so I had nothing to compare to for features, but I have used Drupal in the past, and WordPress really has it and Joomla beat hands-down.
The main strength of WordPress is usability, but it also seems to be more stable. As for features, all three use the plug-ins, but they are very easy to install in WordPress and with 4,000+ options there are plenty of features available. Plus they are easy to write.
If you need a particular, feature let me know.
This is an outstanding resource. My webmaster is in India and I have been looking for a resource to help me resolve some of our problems with WordPress. Thanks for providing this info!
I like very much the writings and pictures and explanations in your adress so I look forward to see your next writings. I congratulate you.
Hey Luke awesome work with the article. Loved it. WordPress certainly outperforms all the other platforms doesn’t it. And the new control panel certainly does look cool
Thanks for the information. Cheers
Really helpful!
Thanks a lot, Luke
Interesting, glad that I found your site. Now I know where to go to solve my word press problems.
Thank’s
Lyle