7.0 release highlight grid (visual asset)

[annezazu]

What is this?

The release highlight grid is meant to graphically showcase some of the release's top-of-mind features and enhancements. It's a nice and concise snapshot of the main features coming to a release. As a marketing-related asset, it's also been used to actively promote the release.

This is a tracking issue to manage the work needed on the 7.0 highlight grid. Previous issues for references:

• 6.7 release highlight grid (visual asset) #65775
• Epic: 6.5 release highlight grid (visual asset) #58028
• 6.9 release highlight grid (visual asset) #71818

Ideally, this asset has a solid draft between beta 1 and beta 2, and is ready around beta 2 or 3.

Content

The grid should be focused and clear, and show around 10-12 features listed in the 7.0 planning post. The VERY tentative list of features displayed are:

• Real time collaboration
• Notes improvements
• Improving screens across wp-admin
• Font Library for more theme types
• Abilities & Workflows API
• Creating blocks and patterns on the server
• Shortblocks
• Navigation improvements, including customizable overlay
• Pattern Editing
• Responsive editing mode
• Visual revisions
• New blocks (Tabs, breadcrumb, icon, etc)
• Client side media work

Much of this will depend on what actually lands and this is too early to tell at this point. We have a lot to pick from so rest assured it will come together in time.

Extra notes

• This work will need copy input.
• The list isn't final and instead open to conversation.

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Designs

TBD

[annezazu]

As we are getting closer to beta 1, here's an updated list from the above around features I think are on track and important to highlight for the release grid, with some light notes about specific areas and more links so you can track down what's going on yourselves since I'll be out for two weeks starting next week:

• Real time collaboration
• Notes improvements: line comments (draft here), compatibility with RTC, and potentially a setting for compact notes.
• Font Library for more theme types: works with all themes and has its own dedicated section now.
• Creating blocks and patterns on the server
• Customizable overlay for the navigation block: the biggest piece that won't land for 7.0 right now is that when switching themes, the overlay will be lost.
• Pattern Editing: this was recently moved out of an experiment.
• Responsive editing mode: moved out of experimental with a PR almost ready for backport
• Visual revisions: initial PR landed without any visual diffs with the plan next to try to land with visual diffs. Check to see where this is before creating visuals as it'll matter if we show diffs or not as well as what the default experience ends up being (visual or an option to switch into visual).
• New blocks & updates: Icon, Tabs, Playlist (done), Dialog, Breadcrumb (done), Gallery block with lightbox to switch between images, Cover block with external video support (done), and grid block (without manual mode) are all progressing well. Double check as we get closer to ensure what lands.
• Client side media work: right now it's not moved out of an experiment so need to double check there.
• View transitions.

This marks 11 major features that are all on track to land well. If we need to add more items, we can always focus on a few new blocks to expand the list. Finally, one big area that I'm unsure of for this list and that I didn't include is the WordPress AI client/WP client AI API. Please check with folks as if this does land, we need to include it.

[tellthemachines]

• grid block (without manual mode) are all progressing well. Double check as we get closer to ensure what lands.

@annezazu the grid iteration is concluded and has been synced to core in https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/61513. I only left the issue open to continue tracking any bugs that may be reported.

[annezazu]

Huzzah! Even better. I didn’t want to assume and wanted to leave some wiggle room just in case. Thanks for confirming.

[westonruter]

• View transitions.

This should be clear it is view transitions for the admin.

[fcoveram]

Here is a first draft based on the features listed by @annezazu here.

Here is the list from a personal hierarchy based on the features impact and how we have been addressing them in previous releases:

1. Pattern Editing
2. Notes improvements
3. Responsive editing mode
4. Customizable overlay for the navigation block
5. View transitions
6. New blocks: Dialog
7. New blocks: Tabs
8. Font Library
9. Creating blocks and patterns on the server
10. New block: Icon
11. New block: Playlist
12. New block: Breadcrumb

The following ones were left outside:

• Real time collaboration: I see most dependent tickets open and can not conclude what's the state of the feature.
• Visual revision: It's not clear what would be the final experience. I see value in showing this feature so perhaps I'm not understanding the current scope.
• Client side media work: It is challenging to depict back-end improvements, so I decided to focus on the ones that will have more direct interaction with users. But if this is a key improvement, then I can work on a visual.

I understand that compact notes in the notes improvements might not make it, so for that I created two variants based on the line commenting.

I'd love your thoughts on the above. And pinging @marko-srb as he collaborated with me in the previous release. The designs shared here are only wireframes and a first idea of the visual hierarchy, but this needs art direction and identity.

[westonruter]

• View transitions

Note this is strictly part of the WP Admin for this release. So it would fall under the admin visual revision. (Correction: #74786 (comment))

[marybaum]

Noting here that the AI client et al has a public merge proposal and that one for real-time collaboration is on the way.

[annezazu]

Thanks so much for this initial iteration! Here are some notes from yours truly as I'm diving back in. The following are unlikely to land so I would just remove at this rate and will note if something changes. I'm really bummed I couldn't land the notes feature with my time off but such is life:

• New block: Playlist
• Notes improvements. There's a small chance Editor: Add compact notes mode for Notes sidebar and Editor: Add emoji reactions to Notes will land but, as is, nothing else is slated to really land that's noteworthy.

For these, I have some notes:

• Responsive editing mode: what's landing is just the ability to hide a block based on screen size. It's not a full mode but an extension of what landed in 6.9 (ability to hide blocks). Just noting this for our collective awareness.
• New block: Icon: there's a risk this may not land but, include it for now, as it would be a prime block to feature.
• Client side media work: this is inherently more technical and still in motion (we'll see what lands) so we should likely take an abstract view. @adamsilverstein (when you have a moment) could you share some thoughts about how best to represent this?
• PHP only blocks: there's a risk this might not land but I see work being done to stabilize. Let's assume it's in for now.
• New block: Tabs: there's a discussion underway about possibly removing this ahead of 7.0. Right now, the aim is to make it experimental for the last GB release but land it in time for 7.0. Let's see where this lands.

Please also include these:

• Real time collaboration
• Visual revision: Here's where you can see the latest

In terms of what you already shared:

• I had a hard time distinguishing the "simple pattern editing". It felt divorced from the settings view.
• "Fonts library in wp-admin" doesn't convey the feature correctly. "Dedicated Font Library for all themes" is closer. It's bringing the font library to classic themes as well as pulling it out into its own space.
• Navigation overlay doesn't convey this correctly either. The change is that folks can customize their navigation overlays completely.
• Cross document transition is a mouthful. Think about this from a user point of view. Riffing and rough but "Smooth admin transitions".
• "PHP only blocks" isn't clear enough to me. I'd go with something closer to "Create blocks with just PHP".
• "Responsive hiding" also isn't clear enough. I'd go with "Hide blocks based on screen size" or even "hide content based on screen size".

If for some reason we need more items, Add text line indent support would be interesting to include!

Note this is strictly part of the WP Admin for this release. So it would fall under the admin visual revision.

I'm not sure what you mean here @westonruter. This highlight grid covers all features for a release. I wouldn't call this "admin visual revision" as no other work has progressed in time there. What am I missing? 😄

[westonruter]

This highlight grid covers all features for a release. I wouldn't call this "admin visual revision" as no other work has progressed in time there. What am I missing? 😄

@annezazu Oh, sorry, I was confusing visual post revisions with a visual refresh of the WP Admin 😊 Otherwise, the view transitions (aka "cross document transition") shipping in 7.0 are for the admin only (Core-64470). Frontend view transitions (Core-64471) are still milestoned for a future release.