The Gutenberg Editor is here with its newest version, Gutenberg 0.6.0. The new version was released over the weekend. This time, the changelog has a full list of more than 50 improvements along with some addition of features.
However, there were a few major interesting features added in Gutenberg 0.6.0 including the changes in Text Block Behavior and two new blocks. Now, let’s talk about these features in detail.
Gutenberg developers have come up with significant changes to the way paragraphs are created within text blocks. In the previous versions of Gutenberg, pressing enter would create a line break inside a paragraph. But, this release changes the behavior of the text/paragraph block to split the block immediately when a user presses enter. However, line breaks can still be created by pressing shift + enter.
There’s a small improvement in that it hides the text formatting bar when you continue on with a new paragraph, but the slightest scroll brings it back into the view. Contributors are thinking about adding a buffer that would trigger the UI after the mouse moves a certain number of pixels.
However, the “New Paragraph” placeholder text is a bit distracting and obtrusive. It constantly reminds you of the structure of your document, which is not quite helpful when you’re trying to focus on the writing.
https://twitter.com/danielbachhuber/status/889944454643064832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwptavern.com%2Fgutenberg-0-6-0-changes-textparagraph-block-behavior-adds-new-cover-text-and-read-more-blocks
There are more than 400 issues mentioned in the Gutenberg repository and it’s very clear that the Gutenberg contributors are quite aware of the issues that writers are having and are working to improve it with every release.
Now, let’s talk about the new blocks in Gutenberg 0.6.0 —Cover Text and Read More blocks.
Gutenberg 0.6.0 introduced a new “Cover Text” block including background, text color, and full-width options. There are color swatches available in the sidebar block options. Contributors are also planning to add filters to allow plugin and theme authors to supply a custom palette.
Another new block in Gutenberg 0.6.0 is the “Read More” block. It inserts a read more link with instant visual feedback within the content.
Version 0.6.0 has also made several other improvements as well. Some of them are listed below:
- Added grid layout option for latest posts
- Autosaving drafts
- Added color options to the button block
- Added mechanism for validating and protecting blocks
- Added focus styles to several elements in the UI
- Added codecov for code coverage
- Improve insert link accessibility
- Improve “speak” messages for tag suggestions
- Add short description to Verse block
Gutenberg contributors are regularly shipping weekly releases adding many features as bare bones placeholders that will be repeated in the future releases. New blocks are being developed continuously with core editing features.
However, the plugin is still struggling to reach its target—100, 000 active installations. Gutenberg plugin reviews are currently averaging 2.3 out of 5 stars on WordPress.org with many negative comments. Seeing all those negative thoughts on the plugin, Matt Mullenweg jumped onto the forum to respond to testers’ feedback.
“We definitely agree it’s not ready for prime time yet, that’s why we’re doing extensive public testing and iteration while it’s in the plugin phase,” Matt said. “Thank you for your feedback and I hope you try it again in a few months with an open mind.”
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