Messing around with WordPress 2.7 Beta

November 5, 2008 · Filed Under blogging, wordpress 

As I’m getting ready for our WordPress Meetup tomorrow night, I’ve installed the latest build of the WordPress 2.7 Beta. I have to say that the new admin section is a really big step in the right direction.

Before I go on, remember that this is still a Beta version of the software. The screenshots to follow may not match exactly that of the final release version.

For starters, here’s the new dashboard
(click images for a larger view)

It’s hard for me to decide which features of the new dashboard I like the most.
- Left-side collapsible navigation that allows you to get to the feature you want without having to load a secondary page first. For example, no need to click settings, wait for the page to load and then click “permalinks”. Just click the dropdown arrow next to settings and click the permalinks link. Depending on your server speed, this can be a 30-60 second time savings.
- “Right Now” stats showing you number of posts, pages, categories, tags, comments (approved, spam and awaiting moderation)
- Quick Press which lets you write a post directly from the dashboard (or save as a draft)
- Screen options (not shown in photo) where you can decide which elements of the dashboard are shown/hidden.

There is a lot more information being shown, but yet it doesn’t feel cluttered. It seems way better suited to getting the information you need and getting on with your day.

The Plugin Installer

This may be my favorite feature. No longer do you need to go to wordpress.org, download the plugin, FTP it to your server, go to the plugin page and activate it. Instead, simply go to the install plugins page, find the plugin you want and click the install button. It will do the rest for you. When done you only need to click the activate button. This is a HUGE time saver and is amazingly convenient when you don’t always have your FTP username/password with you. You could now install plugins while sitting at the airport or in Starbucks. I’ll bet you could even do it from your iphone without much trouble.

Media Library

The library itself hasn’t changed a lot, but, from the left-side menu you can now go add images to the library rather than needing to be in the write window. This is a big plus for me as I have had many instances where I wanted to store an image for use in a post later, but may not want to start the post and create a draft. Now I can just upload whatever and get to it when I get to it.

Custom Characters

Want to add a copyright, infinity or Yen symbol but don’t know the HTML code for it? In the post writing form there’s a link for custom characters that brings up a fly-out menu with 200 symbols that you can click on to instantly add to your post. I can now add that funky upside down question mark to my posts whenever I want! ¿ Ha!

I’m probably just scratching the surface of the cool features yet to be found in the new version of WordPress, but these are the features that jumped out at my after my first quick glance. I’m looking forward to the final release so I can upgrade my blogs to it right away.

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