The kind of response the images of the new dashboard got were absolutely fabulous and that’s why the Wordpress team has decided to do a complete overhauling of the dashboard area. It is expected that within few weeks Wordpress 2.7 will be launched. But before launch let’s see what the main changes are
Menus
The menu has been already described but few things need to be added. Once you login to your account, you will see two sections. One will be coloured and highlighted and this will be the dashboard section where you will be present. The other section will be the posts section. To make the process faster, the browser cookies are used. So once you open any menu, it gets stored. This means suppose you enter post and comments and now when you will come back you will automatically be taken to that section. You need to manually close down the navigational sections. There were some discussions that only two sections should be allowed to open at one time but then consensus was reached that it should not be done as it will remove the control from user.
Contextual Access Tabs
Between the header and the working area, we have a drop tabs which are used for accessing the contextual features. The screen option present will help you in choosing the module which you want to show on the current screen. In case you don’t want to see the incoming links tab just remove that module. So now you decide what you want on your dashboard and what is not required.
Module Layout
This module helps you in deciding which all modules you want to have on your dashboard. Also you can move them up or down or between the columns just by using the drag and drop function. Also you can expand or collapse it by clicking the title bar.
Right Now Module
For a clear display, this module is rearranged. The basic functions remain the same and the new list style will make the translation process (for non English sites) much easier. It has a colour cues which help in understanding the processes status
- Red – For not good things
- Yellow / Orange – Pending things
- Green – Good to go things.
Stats
It is one of the non core pieces of functionality. The new dashboard will have the stats only if you have installed the Wordpress stats plugin or any other plugin which has candy like elements. So in case you got too much excited to see the stats graph, calm down as it’s not by default. It needs an additional plugin.
QuickPress
If you are looking for an ability to write or publish a simple post without using the full featured add new post screen from the dashboard then QuickPress is the feature you need. In Wordpress 2.7 the posts contain text, media tags and title but it is expected that in Wordpress 2.8 this module will be much more configurable and thus the power of choosing what to display and what not would be in the hands of users. When you save any draft, it would be available in the Recent Drafts module. To clear the form just click cancel. Also the posts made by using Quickpress can be edited by going to Posts >Edit. Also to avoid any accidental publishing of posts, large space is provided between publish and save draft buttons.
Recent Drafts
From the recent feedbacks at official Wordpress site, a need was felt to make the drafts section accessible with one click. So keeping in mind the need, a recent drafts module will cater this need as it shows the latest five drafts along with the creation date. It is also expected that in future this will be made much more configurable. Also if you don’t like seeing this module as you are not the one who keeps drafts just go to options and hide it.
Feeds
This will be somewhat similar to what we have in Wordpress 2.6. Only difference is the new look. In feeds module we can specify URL of feed, number of items to display, showing only headline or some excerpt, date author etc.
Incoming Links
This will just have a new look and all other things remain same.
Hooks
If you are using plugins for top level menu, don’t worry. We can still use plugins to add modules to the dashboard. In new Wordpress, iconography in collapsed menu state is used so those plugins will make an icon for the use. In case no icon is associated, a default will be used. Plugins can also be placed into the favourites or shortcut menu in header.
Recent Comments
Now if you want to moderate the comments or reply no need to go through sections. Just see this module on the dashboard and moderate the comments. Though in this version you can just show x amount of comments but it is expected that in next version it will be much more configurable.
Bye-Bye Inbox
Due to the complications involved in the Inbox 2.7, it was decided not to include it in this version. Perhaps we can see it in next version.
So overall with all those modules and modification, the new dashboard of Wordpress 2.7 looks much more user friendly and fast for navigating. But whether it’s that cool as it seems will be judged by all Wordpress users.
