Gutenberg 16.8: Improvements to Existing Blocks and Collaboration Features
Gutenberg 16.8 was recently released, bringing with it several improvements to existing blocks and introducing some experiments that lay the foundation for Phase 3, which focuses on collaboration. Let’s take a closer look at the key features and enhancements in this latest release.
Automatic Overlay Color in the Cover Block
One of the notable improvements in Gutenberg 16.8 is the automatic setting of an overlay color in the Cover block. When a user applies the initial background image, the block now automatically sets an overlay color. If the user doesn’t manually set an overlay color before uploading the image, the code extracts the overlay color by computing the average color of the image. This enhancement ensures that the block selects the most complimentary overlay color, as demonstrated in a video included in the release post.
Font Library Updates
Although the Font Library feature was delayed to WordPress 6.5, Gutenberg 16.8 continues to work on it. This release moves font uploads to a new Upload tab, improves error messaging, and removes the use of snackbar. Users can find this feature under Global Style > Typography in the Site Editor.
Improved Page Editing Experience
Gutenberg 16.8 introduces a new option for toggling templates when editing pages. This allows users to switch back and forth between focusing on the content and seeing the page within the context of the template. This enhancement bridges the gap between the post and site editors, providing a more seamless editing experience.
Experiments for Phase 3
As part of Phase 3, Gutenberg 16.8 includes some experiments that aim to enhance collaboration. One of these experiments is the initial implementation of the pages list in the site editor. Users can test this feature by enabling the “New admin views” experiment under Gutenberg > Experiments. The pages list can be accessed in the site editor by navigating to Pages > Manage all pages. The list is paginated and offers options to sort and filter pages. This experiment is part of the DataViews roadmap to improve table and list views in the site editor and other interfaces.
Other Improvements
In addition to the aforementioned features, Gutenberg 16.8 includes several other improvements, such as:
– Add template replace flow to template inspector
– Adds ‘nofollow’ setting to Button block
– Use core’s meta revisioning for footnotes
– Show confirmation dialog when moving a post to the trash
For a complete list of all the fixes, enhancements, tooling, performance, and accessibility improvements in Gutenberg 16.8, refer to the release post.
In conclusion, Gutenberg 16.8 brings significant improvements to existing blocks and introduces experiments that pave the way for enhanced collaboration in Phase 3. With features like automatic overlay color in the Cover block, font library updates, improved page editing experience, and the pages list in the site editor, Gutenberg continues to evolve and provide a more user-friendly and efficient editing experience for WordPress users. Stay tuned for more updates as Gutenberg continues to develop and enhance its capabilities.
