Disappearing double spaces

Hi @unwantedlife, do you also reproduce this issue with a WordPress installation without other plugins (or non-default themes) installed?

This would allow us to confirm if this is a conflict.

It also happens on my subdomains that use different theme an majority different plugins. When deactivating all my plugins on one of my subdomains to test it, it still happens.

There’s also an issue with highlighting text. You can only highlight text if it’s in one paragraph, anything more and the highlight disappears so you can’t copy or cut and paste. You can only do it by one paragraph or separate line and heading at a time

Oh, I see your point here. I would like to do a recap to ensure we’re on the same page:

• You would like to have some space between paragraphs, as it would be easier for dyslexic users to read the content, but you want that only on some pages.
• You’re also dyslexic yourself and would like the same on your WP Admin.
• Right now, you are doing it manually (adding a blank paragraph between each paragraph), but it reverted automatically somehow using the editor as soon as you open one page.

Considering all that, I really don’t recommend you to add blank paragraph and ensure that you do it with CSS. Besides the unreliability of doing manually, it will also have other accessibility and SEO issues (it is not good to add blank HTML elements generally).

With that in mind, the way that I see it is likely to try doing something that will work both on WP Admin and on your site (adding the space on both sides).

Would this work for you?

it’s not suitable to turn every single paragraph into a double paragraph space, but when it comes to bulky text, it helps having that double paragraph space when you’re dyslexic, and I am dyslexic.

So at present I have to do the double paragraph to create that text not just for my readers, but for me as well while creating the content. The issue is, if I save the draft or publish, but have to to open up that context in the editor, then all the double paragraph spacing disappears. Meaning I have to manually go through the whole post and add them back again.

However, even in that text I don’t always want double spacing. For example, when I use H3 or H4 subheadings in your classic widget, I don’t use the double paragraph space.

if you can create CSS code that can work for all of that, then I’ll give it ago. The only CSS code I’ve tried so far means every single paragraph becomes a double one, and that just goes too extreme the other way and wasn’t practical.

it seems like it might be easier just to get your classic widget to accept the double space in case anyone else with dyslexia like me would like that feature without all the extra hassle of having to complain to get it

Hi there,

I understand how it might be frustrating. I’m neurodivergent (autistic) myself and know how difficult it is if something doesn’t cover our basic expectations.

The only CSS code I’ve tried so far means every single paragraph becomes a double one, and that just goes too extreme the other way and wasn’t practical.

Can you clarify what is the issue with that? I was planning something in this direction (but in a way that also works on the WP Admin while you’re writing the post).

it seems like it might be easier just to get your classic widget to accept the double space in case anyone else with dyslexia like me would like that feature without all the extra hassle of having to complain to get it

That’s a good point as well. I know there are other accessibility issues that come from that, so not that simple.

One question: Is that an issue even with other fonts as well? This could be an easier issue in case this is an option. I know there are fonts such as OpenDyslexic that are apparently designed for that (there is even the browser extension OpenDyslexic for Chrome).

The issue with turning everything into double spacing, as I said before, was because not everything needs to be double spaced. It’s only needed to help break large bodies of text up to make it easier for dyslexic people to read. But if everything turns into double spaces, then massive amounts of my text and website and going to be dominated by unnecessary blank spaces.

As I said previously, I don’t want double spaces to follow subheadings, and it’s because of that issue of having the screen dominated by empty space, which will only display a heading and subheading on the screen and almost nothing else.

I only use the default fonts. I don’t know how using a different font would stop your plug-in from removing the double spacing when opened in the editor

Just checking back on this to see if the issue can be resolved so the double spaces don’t disappear every time I come back to edit something. It’d save me. A lot of time and effort

hello?

Hi there,

I really don’t see a way to solve it apart from the options already recommended, but I’m going to keep this open in case someone else has other suggestions.

What is it about your playing that decided to remove the double spaces and the spaces after bullet points? Can if be changed at that level that your plugin doesn’t remove them in the first place?

you can add as many spaces as you want if you set it to headings rather than paragraph, so why not change paragraph to do the same as heading 1-6 with double spacing by coping the bit of code that allows headings to do that?