After a lot of talk and several blog posts about the new block editor, I finally made the switch. That’s why my blog looks a little different. I have to say, I mostly like it, but I’ve been frustrated about a couple things. I figured one out, but I’m pretty sure there’s no way to do the second one.
Shortlinks
Anyone have trouble finding where they are? After clicking around and around I finally looked it up and discovered it’s easy:
In Edit Post, click on the greet Jetpack icon located in the upper right of your screen. The Shortlink is about half-way down the vertical scroll sidebar. Problem solved!
Wrapping text around images
This has really puzzled me. That was one of the features in Classic Editor I used a lot. There’s a block called Media and Text that lets you put text next to an image, but it doesn’t wrap when the text runs below the image. Here’s what happens:
Here’s a nice image of a Thanksgiving turkey that I downloaded from Pexels. I used the Media and Text block. I selected Normal size font and you can see that once the text block becomes longer than the image, it doesn’t wrap around it.
Has anyone else run into this problem? How would you fix it? I’ve tried looking it up and after about twenty minutes, I gave up. I’m wondering if I care enough to figure it out or if I should just adapt to the new way of doing things. I guess you could end your text block just as it reaches the end of the image…
In general, I like the block editor and I really like the star rating block. That comes in really handy and I like how you can use the half stars.
What has your experience been? Leave a comment below and thanks for visiting!
Book Club Mom 
First of all, please tell me what a short link is. I found that jetpack icon, but have no idea what those things are used for. I’m rather slow to learn new tech stuff. I know there are tools and tricks to optimize SEO and all that garbage (I mean, good important stuff!) that I just don’t know how to utilize.
The text wrap thing is definitely a good thing to know. This all came so easily with classic editor. I don’t understand why the change, but that always seems to be the way it goes, huh?
Hi Betsy, thanks for stopping by – the Shortlink is a shortened link to use if you’re pasting it into something else – like a Bitly, if you are familiar with that. I use it for Twitter mostly because I don’t want to have a big long link in my tweet.
And yes, the text wrapping thing problem is a negative to me. I’m wondering if it’s an option for paid blogs (I have the free one).
Hmm. Interesting, and good to know. Thanks, BCM!
I haven’t switched yet but copying all posts and then editing them to suit what I’m drafting. It works well for me at the moment as I do the same posts each week.
Hi Nicki – I’m a believer in doing whatever works. Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
Copy old posts and then editing them. That’s what I do too! I even made templates from old blog posts and keep them in my drafts to copy!
It’s great to hear about these workarounds!
I have switched and am having similar issues, Barb. Images are the biggest problem. When I did a blog post with a lot of images, I tried so many things to get them to line up, but they just wouldn’t. They’d look fine in the draft, but not in the preview. I finally had to draw lines between each section, and I still don’t know if the images lined up on everyone’s browser.
https://maryrowen.com/2020/10/26/virtual-launch-for-it-doesnt-have-to-be-that-way-part-2-featured-books-and-authors/
Oh that’s so frustrating. I feel your pain, Mary. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are doing well.
Thanks, Barb. We’re doing ok here. One day at a time. I hope you’re doing all right as well.
Hi Mary – same mode here. Making the best of it.
The image is perfect but it makes me hungry. Thanks!
To avoid even more techno gremlins in my life, I consult with my web guy from time to time. I’m glad you are finding success here. Your website looks mighty fine to me. 🙂
Thanks, Marian – yes the image is good, but if I could learn how to get the text to wrap all the way around I’d be happier. Thanks for the visit.
The switch was a pain, but it’s faster now to write my posts as long as I keep them simple. Trying to mess with colors, for example, makes them unreadable now on a phone (though still readable on a laptop), and I can’t make the font bigger on a lists block . . . stuff like that.
Hi Priscilla – I haven’t tried all those features and that’s frustrating that it looks different on a mobile. Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
I haven’t had an opportunity to play around with it much, but I don’t think I’ll be posting much in 2021, so I’m not too concerned. Your post looks great to me!
Oh, thanks, Jill. I recommend playing around with a draft when you have time. It’s a lot less frustrating to figure out that way. Thanks for reading 🙂
Hi Barbara, I never had any issues with the block editor, but I never do anything really fancy or interesting with pictures on my blog. I just plonk the pictures in and write a small line of text below it in the space provided. I have learned how to use the gallery and that is the full extent of my adventuring. I can insert links and headings and paragraphs and the odd picture. That’s fine for me.
Hi Robbie – yes sometimes it’s best to keep things simple. Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
Are you using WordPress.com? I’m in WordPress.org, self-hosted — which I was told was a good thing to do, but I’m sure I’m not accessing all the features I should. For one thing, I can detect no star rating that’s offered to me. Probably there somewhere, I just have yet to find it!
Hi Jan, I’m using the free version of WordPress and so that’s wordpress.com. My father’s website is a paid one so I bet that’s what you have. I haven’t tried anything fancy on his.
I assume you are trying to in-line or wrap text around a graphic
this may or may not work for you…
enter text in a paragraph block
add an image into an image block below that text
resize the image to your liking
in the image block options you’ll see one being an arrow indicating move the image up
do so
when said image is in the text block align image to your liking in the align toggle (left or right) in the image block options and resize image if needed
disclaimer…The theme I’m using is likely different than yours; so options may vary. But the above procedure is pretty much generic Gutenberg blocks. I’d try it in a draft page or post to test it out. If it works in your preview, great, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll show up correctly in the WordPress.com Reader.
Good luck!
Regards
Hi Douglas – thank you for this tip. I’m going to try it out. I hadn’t thought about resizing the image to make it fit. I really appreciate you commenting here – sorry about the late response 🙂
Hi, Barbara – my advice for wrapping a text around a photo is similar to r. Douglas’s. Hopefully this will work with your theme as well (I use Dara). I’m delighted to hear that you’ve made the switch to Guttenberg. Your posts continue to look lovely and hopefully the frustrations will sort themselves out soon.
Hi Donna – I just saw Douglas’s comment and wrote that I’m going to try it out. There has to be some workaround, right? Thanks for your nice compliment. I’m glad I finally made the plunge. Trying to stay up with the times! 🙂 Hope you are doing well!
I’m largely happy with it for my purposes – I don’t use it anything like to full capacity. Hence, I haven’t even tried wrap around. I’m generally pleasantly surprised with what it has done automatically with older posts.
That’s good to know. Thanks, Derrick. Now that I’ve been using it a bit more, I think I will eventually prefer it. Thanks for the visit and sorry for the delayed response 🙂
No problem, Barbara
I’m still using classic. Because it is working for what I am doing doing. Though, I am now creating a post and just inserting it. But when I still write directly into the editor I use classic because, as the term indicates, classic is classic for a reason. It works. Ugh. 😉
Hi there Chatter Master – I think I have my feet in both ways of thinking. I want to stay modern with things, but I do prefer certain of the classic features. In the end, what works is what I prefer. Thanks for stopping by and sorry for the late response 🙂
No worries about lateness. Life drags us around doesn’t it?
I am sure the classic will disappear. I don’t know why they assume forcing something entirely new on millions of users is a good idea. I mean, they have millions (it is billions yet?) of users because they LIKED the way it worked as it was. 😉
I know – I wonder the same – thanks for visiting again! 🙂
Well done for continuing with the Block editor and having a look around and trying things out, Barbara.
With regards wrapping text around an image, I add an image before the text (I do this by dragging an image and dropping it onto the post), press the align left button and reduce the size of the image by pressing one of the size buttons under mange dimensions in the image block. The text then wraps itself around the image.
Hi Hugh – I was hoping you’d stop by because you always have the answers. Thank you for sharing this top. I was also sure it must be do-able because it’s such a nice feature. Thank you for the visit, too and sorry for the delayed response. Just catching up now!
I”ve been using Block editor for a few months ago, although I still use Classic for certain post types that I repeat every week, since they’re already set up and formatted. I think for the image, if you use the image block and choose align left, the text will wrap. You may need to play with the image size, but it seems to work fo rme.
Hi Lisa – sorry for the delayed response. Thank you for reading and commenting. Yes, I think that’s the answer – a few others have made the same suggestion. I don’t know why, but I never thought to try that! Hope you are doing well 🙂
I’m a digital idiot and still trying to figure things out. Thanks for the help!
Oh, Noelle, I doubt that! Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
I for one HATE the block editor, and honestly, if I am forced to use it, I will likely stop blogging. Currently, I create a post with just the title, save it, then go to All Posts and select the Classic Editor to edit the post.
Oh no, Jeff. I hope it doesn’t come to that for you! I agree, I became very comfortable with the Classic Editor, but I’m making my way through the new one. Please keep those blog posts coming! Hope you are doing well and that you have a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
I did force myself to use it on my last post. I still think it sucks. Since I do user experience research as part of my job, I can say that the block editor will fail a design test. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Have a nice and safe Thanksgiving
Thanks Jeff, you are not alone. I am getting used to the new editor, just in case! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Thanks Barb. Same to you, and may you and your family stay happy and healthy 😀
I’ve been doing the same as Jeff in order to continue with classic editor. I’ll be sticking with that until the functionality disappears. The thing is, my mind can only learn so much at a time. I recently finished an online Native Studies course, and intend to start a photography one in January. Maybe when I have no choice I will try harder with the block editor. Some excellent tips here from some of your commenters. 🙂
Hi Jennifer – I’m forcing myself and it’s okay. I did it partly because I can see this being a need to know thing at work and I want to stay on top of it. Honestly, it’s not that bad and there are features that I’m beginning to prefer. I think you will be okay if you start a new photography blog. These tips have helped me too. Thanks so much for stopping by. I am just coming up for air and catching up on blogs and comments 🙂
You’re welcome. And I wish you continued progress on you Nanowrimo journey!
Almost there 🙂
I don’t like any of these new, supposedly improved rollouts, as they just come too quickly, one on the heels of the next. Please, give us some time to absorb it all. And I can see that if you do websites for a living, it wouldn’t be a problem as you invest the time and then you use it over and over before you learn about the next update. But for those of us who have been forced into technology as a necessary tool for communication, it’s a nightmare. And if anything is promoted as “intuitive,” run for the hills!
Hi Karen – thank you for stopping by and commenting about the new editor. I agree, the “intuitive” label is often a run for the hills kind of thing. Hope you are doing well and that you have a nice holiday. Sorry for the late response!
And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
I hate the block editor and still do everything in the Classic editor (not via the block option). I like being able to play with the html and, like you say, I can’t find certain features on the block editor that I use regularly.
Hi Tammie – I feel your pain, but I’m forcing myself to figure it out. I think the features we depend on are still there, but it’s frustrating when they are not obvious. If you’re looking to wrap text around an image, check out some of the comments here because I think the solution is to re-size the image after you put it in. Thank you for reading and commenting. I hope you are doing well. So sorry for the delayed response. I am just catching up on my blog 🙂
I don’t use text wrap, but I haven’t found various things like the excerpt thing I need for my podcast episodes. It’s all just a bit clunky and it makes it hard to copy html. Since I can still easily get to the classic editor, I’m sticking with it!
I definitely get that! The older I get the more I prefer no changes 😉 Thanks for the visit, Tammie.
Thank you again 🙂 🙂
I wonder… if you go back to the classic for the pictures, can you use the option to wrap text then?
Hi Davida – I’m not sure – I will try that too. I did just publish a post with the new editor, using the suggestion of changing the image size and having the text wrap. It worked so that’s good news! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
The wrap text baffled me for the longest time. Yes, follow Hugh’s advice, Barb. I insert an image block, set it to the left, and size it so that there is room for text. Then in the next block, I write the text. When I hit enter, they automatically combine – the text moves up next to the image.
I’m finding block editor fairly easy except that it isn’t as flexible as the old classic. I find some of that really frustrating.
Hi Diana – thanks for reading and commenting. Yes, Hugh’s and other commenters’ advice is working for me. I used to get frustrated with images in the classic editor for other reasons: the edit version would look okay, but the preview or publish version would not. But I get frustrated with the block editor because it doesn’t always seem obvious how to do things. Anyway, I’m figuring it out the best I can – thanks!
Me too. I’ll experiment as I get used to it. But so far, my posts are pretty routine.