Author: Brandon Moeller

Editing core WordPress files to Quick Edit post formats again

This article will explain how I edited some files in WordPress to allow for the ability to change post formats while using the Quick Edit feature.

This technique will allow admins and editors to quickly change a post’s format without having to click through to the edit post page, saving a lot of time and frustration for those interested in going back through their archives and assigning post formats to hundreds of previous posts, like I did.

Since this technique requires editing core WordPress files that are part of the open source software one must install on their server, it is likely that this technique will need to be repeated when the next updated version of WordPress is released.

What we want:

post-format-quick-edit
Highlighted is the post format edit dropdown menu in the Quick Post options on the “All Posts” screen. This change now allows me to edit post formats of posts without visiting the post edit page for each post.

Why we want it:

The frustrating aspect of all of this is that this previously was the functionality of the Quick Edit feature – but it was removed in WordPress 3.6 as a result of this ticket.

At the bottom of the ticket, one lone voice of dissent can still be heard.

I think this was a mistake.
Better to improve and to add something than just remove…
In the Quick Edit box we could add some inputs appearing and disappearing like the edit post page…

—Alexandru Vornicescu (alexvorn2)

But Alexandru not only said something. He also did something: he opened a WordPress ticket of his own. And then, the WordPress open source community started hacking away at a solution, to be included in an upcoming release. But I couldn’t wait.

So I examined what the previous version included that allowed for the functionality and added it back into these files:

wp-admin/includes/class-wp-posts-list-table.php
wp-admin/includes/post.php

It worked like a charm and I am now able to revise WordPress post formats from the quick edit options again.

Update: Oct. 12, 2013

It looks like Helen Hou-Sandi has come to the rescue, and though she doesn’t agree this functionality should be added back into the Quick Post options, she said she “would be okay with restoring in bulk-edit,” which now that I think about it, makes a lot more sense and I can’t wait until the next version of WordPress is released so I can ditch my changes and continue using an unaltered core of WordPress.

Three weeks ago, Helen fixed it and closed the ticket, and to date is among 404 closed tickets for the upcoming WordPress 3.7 milestone.

Of course, if you disagree and want to find a way to add post formats back to the Quick Edit post, follow the links above and edit your WordPress core files. At your own risk.

Twenty Thirteen test drive

A screenshot taken today of my blog after activating the Twenty Thirteen default theme for WordPress 3.6.
A screenshot taken today of my blog after activating the Twenty Thirteen default theme for WordPress 3.6. This photo is set to “alignment left.”

I’ve activated the new Twenty Thirteen theme that was released with the WordPress 3.6 launch back on Aug. 1.

Things look a little different here, and for the most part I like it.

I will be modifying it by creating a child theme very soon, but for now, I thought it would be nice to use the stock Twenty Thirteen theme and kick the tires a bit. Today, WordPress released 3.6.1, which I promptly upgraded to, and they are scheduled to release WordPress 3.7 in October (we’ll see – 3.6 was four months late by my watch).

First observation of interest: Photos when they are aligned left. They jut out into the margin. I’m not convinced, at first glance, that I like this. The photo displayed above is an example of this.

When not aligned left, here’s what a photo does:

Here is a screenshot of the homepage in the previous theme, Twenty Twelve. This photo is set to "alignment none."
Here is a screenshot of the homepage in the previous theme, Twenty Twelve. This photo is set to “alignment none.”

I added a thin black border to each of the screen shots above to better demonstrate the alignment style.

The really interesting thing about this new theme that I can’t wait to test out and modify via a child theme is its different styles for the ten post formats that are now a prominent part of WordPress 3.6.

These ten post formats are:

I have changed a few of my recent posts’ post formats to these types to see what happens.

Update: The Next Day

Heh. Back in April, I commented on the Twenty Thirteen designer Joen Asmussen’s blog post about the theme. It should be noted that Mr. Asmussen, like me, was also born in November of 1979.  I forgot about making that comment on his blog until doing some research on the theme, thinking about how I want to make a child theme of it.

Then I saw his blue child theme for Twenty Thirteen, downloaded it, and activated it. You know, to see what happens.

My blog, in the Twenty Thirteen Blue theme, by Joen Asmussen
My blog, in the Twenty Thirteen Blue theme, by Joen Asmussen