What’s New in Blogs@UWW 2.8?
Service Release Notes: Blogs@UWW 2.8. July 15, 2009.
New Features
There are a number of new features and improvements available since the 2.6 series. Some of these features are as follows:
Revamped User Interface and Dashboard
Menu Navigation
The main difference between the old and new technology is the general theory behind the navigation. The old technology utilized the thought process of deciding what you want to do, then where you want to do it. The new technology is almost the opposite, where you decide what you want to work with and then what to do with it. The new interface, in other words, organizes itself by the content you wish to edit.
Below is an example of the menu navigation to create a new post in both the old version, and the new version. In the old version, you would select “Write”, and then select “Post”. In the new version, you select “Post”, and then select “Add New”. The thought process behind the menu is applied globally to all areas throughout the admin interface.
Writing A Post: New Version
The old menu items correspond to the following new processes in the 2.8 release.
- Writing: To write a new post, click “Posts” and then “Add New” as mentioned above.
- Manage: To edit a blog post, click “Posts” or under the submenu of “Posts” click “Edit”. This will bring up and interface that allows you to select which post you wish to manage and a drop down menu of actions you can take.
- Design: The equivalent of this in the new technology is the “Appearance” link on the second half of the menu. The theme browser has been enhanced to provide a better real-time preview of the theme on your blog, along with allowing for an easy way to activate it.
- Comments: Comments are now treated much like content in the way they are approved and modified. In addition, comment moderation can now also be done using keyboard shortcuts.
New Dashboard Page
The dashboard is the first page that you will see after logging into the blog. If you have multiple blogs, they can be accessed in the dashboard section under the “My Blogs” link in the navigation menu.
Favorite Actions
The “Favorite Actions” feature in the top right allows you to quickly perform tasks that are frequently used without having to go through the trouble of navigating the menu. To use, simply click the option displayed or hover over the arrow for all of the available options.
Screen Options
The “Screen Options” tab in the top right corner allows you to further customize the appearance of the dashboard. Users have control over the number of columns and the position of information within the dashboard. Certain widgets can also be disabled and minimized. This same methodology is carried on throughout other areas of the administrators interface.
QuickPress
“QuickPress” allows for a fast and easy way to post an entry to the blog. Enter a title, upload any media, type the body of the post, add tags and save or publish!
Comment Moderation
Comment moderation can now be done directly from the dashboard widget! In addition, comment moderation keyboard shortcuts can also be enabled on the blog settings page.
Recent drafts display in dashboard
Post draft entries are now shown directly on the dashboard. This allows for an easy way to remember what entries you have drafted and to initiate the editing process. Page draft entries are NOT shown in this widget.
Posts & Pages
Mass-edit posts and pages
To mass edit posts or pages, go to the respective edit screens and select the items to edit. Once selected, select “Edit” from the bulk actions dropdown box and click apply. This will allow you to change categories, tags, comment status, post status, ping status, and sticky all with a single click!
Quick Edit
Much like the bulk edit options, “Quick Edit” allows for simple editing of key post information inline directly from the post/pages listings.
Sticky Posts
Past versions of Wordpress required a plugin to “stick” a post to the top of the page, no more! The Sticky functionality has been integrated directly into the post creation screen. Just click the “Stick to front page” checkbox, and the post will always be stuck on top. If there are multiple sticky posts, the oldest post is always displayed on top.
In the “Publish” box on the right side of the post editor, click the “Edit” link to the right of Visibility to stick the post to the front page.
Comments
Note: Pagination and threaded comments may not work on all themes!
Paginated
Blogs that have a heavy reader base will enjoy the pagination of comments. It can be configured to only show a certain number of comments on each page – instead of listing them all. This is found in Settings > Discussions
Threaded
Threaded comments make the discussion easer to follow by nesting replies and offering some level of organization. This setting can also be found in Settings->Discussions
More information on new features and how to edit your blog can be found on the Blogs@UWW website (https://blogs.uww.edu). For more information, contact the iCIT WebTeam.
Credits
WordPress 2.7: Ten useful new features – http://op111.net/63
The New 2.7 Dashboard – http://wordpress.org/development/2008/10/the-new-27-dashboard/
Wordpress 2.7 Navigation Options Survey – http://wordpress.org/development/2008/09/wordpress-27-navigation-options-survey/
Wordpress – http://www.wordpress.org