Changes and Features in WordPress 3.1
The updated version of WordPress, launched on August 14th, 2011, adds new features and an improved Dashboard.
Admin Bar
The new admin bar — a horizontal WordPress menu across the top of your browser window — gives admins and editors a quick and easy way to add content, edit posts, and take other actions while browsing a site. If you manage multiple sites, the admin bar provides you with a complete list of your sites for quick access.
Disable the admin bar:
- Log in to www.bu.edu/your-site/wp-admin.
- Click Howdy, <your username> in the top-right corner of the Dashboard to edit your profile.
- Deselect one or both of the Show Admin Bar options.
- Click Update Profile.
Screen Options
In WordPress 3.1, some meta data that was visible while editing a page or post is now hidden by default. If you are trying to find your Page Revision history or Custom Fields for instance, they may now be hidden after this upgrade.
Control what is visible:
- Log in to www.bu.edu/your-site/wp-admin.
- Click the Screen Options tab in the top-right corner of the Dashboard (located just below “Howdy, <your username>”).
- Toggle which items you want to show (or hide) via checkboxes. These settings are sticky, meaning that WordPress will remember your preferences every time you log in.
Sortable Pagination Lists
You can now sort by column (Title, Author, Date, etc.) and more quickly page through content in the WordPress editor. The new interface also offers easy access on a selection-by-selection basis to functions such as Edit, Quick Edit, Trash, and View for pages and posts, and Edit, Delete, and View for media library items.
Menu Moves
A few links in the main WordPress menu have been moved to make their location more intuitive or to be consistent with general WordPress standards.
| Function | Change/New Location in WordPress 3.1 |
|---|---|
| Site-Wide Content Banner | Now located under Site Design |
| BU Course Feeds | Now located in Settings (when enabled) |
| Training Manager | Now located in Settings (when enabled) |
| Add/Remove/Edit Users | Now a top-level menu item: Users |
| Tools | Now a top-level menu item: Tools |
| News Posts | Now known simply as Posts |
New and Updated Plug-ins/Functionality
- Gravity Forms – The latest version of Gravity Forms provides bug fixes and more robust form creation utilities including multi-page forms.
- Post Scheduling – Schedule posts for publication ahead of time and they will become live at the designated time.
- Custom Menu Management – Create custom menus, combining posts, pages, categories, tags, and links for use in theme menus or widgets.
- Custom Menu Widget – Easily create menus, rearrange items, and add child items.
- Shortlinks – Native support to shorten and anonymize web addresses from the admin interface.
- Improved Internal Linking – Editors can search for and link to other pages and posts on your site with just a couple of clicks.
- Performance Improvements – The number of saved revisions for posts and pages is now limited to 50, which greatly improves performance — especially for larger sites.
- Various bug fixes.