This past month has been filled with anticipation as the community builds up towards a big new release, plans some important events, and builds new tools to grow the future of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WordPress 5.2 is due for release on May 7 with many new features included for developers and end-users alike. The Field Guide for the release<\/a> provides a lot of information about what is in it and what you can expect, including a few key elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most highly anticipated features for v5.2 is the Site Health Check<\/a>. This feature adds two new pages in the admin interface to help end users maintain a healthy site through common configuration issues and other elements that go along with having a robust online presence. It also provides a standardized location for developers to add debugging information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fatal Error Recovery Mode feature<\/a> was originally planned for the 5.1 release but was delayed to patch up some last-minute issues that arose. This feature will help site-owners recover more quickly from fatal errors that break the display or functionality of their site that would ordinarily require code or database edits to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with the headlining features mentioned above, there are some important enhancements to the privacy and accessibility features included in Core. These include some important developer-focused changes<\/a> to how privacy policy pages are displayed and user data is exported, as well as moving to more semantic markup for admin tabs<\/a> and other improvements<\/a> such as switching post format icons to drop-down menus on post list tables, improved admin toolbar markup, and contextual improvements to archive widget drop-down menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dashicons<\/a> library was last updated was over 3 years ago. Now, in the upcoming release, a set of 13 new icons will be added to the library<\/a> along with improvements to the build process and file format of the icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Block Editor has seen numerous improvements<\/a> lately that will all be included in the v5.2 release. Along with the interface upgrades, the underlying Javascript module has been reorganized<\/a>, improvements have been made to how the block editor is detected<\/a> on the post edit screen, and the Javascript build process has been enhanced<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress 5.2 is now in the Release Candidate phase<\/a> and you can test it by installing the Beta Tester plugin<\/a> on any WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to get involved in building WordPress Core? Follow the Core team blog<\/a> and join the #core channel in the Making WordPress Slack group<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On 11 May 2019, the fourth WordPress Translation Day<\/a> will take place. This is a 24-hour global event dedicated to the translation of all things WordPress, from Core to themes, plugins to marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the course of 24 hours, WordPress communities will meet to translate WordPress into their local languages and watch talks and sessions broadcast on wptranslationday.org<\/a>. During the previous WordPress Translation Day, 71 local events took place in 29 countries, and even more communities are expected to take part this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to get involved in WordPress Translation Day 4? Find out how to organize a local event<\/a>, follow the updates on the Polyglots team blog<\/a>, and join the #polyglots channel in the Making WordPress Slack group<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the initial proposal<\/a> for a Block Library that would be made available from inside the block editor, work has been done to put together some designs<\/a> for how this would look. Since then the project has received a more direct focus with a planned out scope and timeline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project is being managed on GitHub<\/a> and people interested in contributing are encouraged to get involved there. You can also keep up to date by following the Design team blog<\/a> and joining the #design channel in the Making WordPress Slack group<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSite Health Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fatal Error Recovery Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Privacy and Accessibility Updates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
New Dashicons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Block Editor Upgrades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WordPress Translation Day 4 is Almost Here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Block Library Project Gets Started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFurther Reading:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n