Visual Editor not working in WordPress 4.6 on my laptop

Hi razvanimal (@razvanimal),
Ok, so just to clarify to check the symptoms.
Please confirm if this is correct or not.

1) With page builder de-activated,
your visual editor works well as it should.

2) With Page builder activated,
and you are looking at the list of posts/pages, and then click on a post to edit it, something goes wrong at that point.
This is the case for most people with the problem.
a) The event in your case is that instead of being taken to the page you just clicked on to edit, you are shown the same list of posts but with the right margin added (which is something to do with facebook).
b) (in comparison) The event in the case of many others with this problem, is that they are taken to the page they clicked on to edit, but the visual editor shows no text, and may also not show the buttons in the the toolbar of the visual editor.

If this is correct,
then
You are experiencing a problem in the same situation as others,
but you are experiencing it in a different form.

Having two types of results from the same problem, should be able to help narrow the problem down.
We can try to look at your outcomes, and see what any common factors are with the more commonly described outcomes.
And those common factors must exist even though there are other differences.
(which may also mean that the same problem is caused by different methods/effects)

So, looking at the different outcome – namely the right margin facebook thing;

i) Since the text in the right margin of your screen shot image is difficult to read, could you please make a higher resolution, or better quality picture?

ii) Does the right margin facebook thing always appear in the post lists view, or does it only appear after you have clicked on a post to edit?

iii) Does this right margin facebook thing have any relation to a plugin, theme or feature that credits facebook, or website service you are using?
(e.g. social media buttons, back-links)

By the sound of it –
1v) Have you recently developed the habit of de-activating pagebuilder before editing, and re-activating after editing?

Thanks

Hi dmulunda (@dmulunda),
Sounds like you have sorted your problem out, to your satisfaction.

Would you be willing to help others, and possibly help find the root cause of this problem?

If so, Could you try returning your firewall to stealth mode, and de-activate your page builder?
If that works, then it shows that the page builder is closely associated with the cause, and so is the firewall.

Could you also try the firewall in stealth mode, but without the page builder de-activated, and look at the firewall logs (if possible) to see what may have caused the problem (site, protocol, script, etc)?

Thanks

Hi MKSnMKS,

Thanks for your reply again!

We almost got it right this time.

The event in your case is that instead of being taken to the page you just clicked on to edit, you are shown the same list of posts but with the right margin added (which is something to do with facebook)

I’m not actually shown the same list of posts, that was just to emphasize the fact that clicking on any post in the left image leads me to the right image, hence the arrow. Sorry for the confusion.

Hopefully, this new set of images sets things straight. They represent what I see next after clicking from the dashboard on a post/page, in an attempt to edit it with Page Builder activated and deactivated, respectively.
https://oi67.tinypic.com/2qnxxcw.jpg
https://oi67.tinypic.com/2yw6zwz.jpg

As you can see, the link in the browser is actually the same.

Regarding your last question, it’s actually funny because I have only one post that depends on the Page Builder on my entire blog and so it happens that yesterday I’d sent a newsletter linking to it prior to having discovered the Page Builder plugin to be the culprit for this, so my hands were tied. But today, I disabled it and wrote another post. Re-enabling it produces the same outcome, sending me to the page shown in the first image above.

I’m sure we’ll figure this out.

Thanks,
Razvan

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by razvanimal.

Hi razvanimal (@razvanimal),

Thanks for the clarification of what the images are.
I have the picture now.
(Still the site they are displayed on shows them small and I have to do about 3 Ctrl+ s to get the address visible.

Ok,
so you now have the “work around” sorted out.
It does not “fix” the problem, but it lets you get on with work.

I use this

method to “work around” the problem

.
But due to the amount of clicks required to de-activate and re-activate, I have loaded two plugins to assist.

a) To seriously reduce the mouse clicks (and page loads), to just a hover and click, I use “Plugin Toggle”. This put a menu link in the top bar.
Then all I do is hover over that menu link, and click on my “Page Builder” to toggle it to de-activated (and same to activate), and I can then edit.
I can even toggle while editing (if you want to confirm that things are not working in each circumstance).
https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/plugin-toggle

b) I have loaded Plugin Manager, so I can create “groups” of plugins.
I make a group called “Edit” and add all the plugins related to the function of editing. I can make a special group called “Editor Visual – Deactivate These”.
You might like to do similarly.
But this is just as difficult to access, but it helps to remember just what needs de-activation for editing.
I have also made a group called “Plugin Management” for both of these.
https://en-nz.www.ads-software.com/plugins/plugin-grouper/

Feedback on Work Around

Q1) If you try those out, can you please let me know how it goes/

I find that this makes the poor behaviour of the system much more tolerable.
And this may be an operationally acceptable level of performance for many users for which there is no easier work around.

It also makes it much easier to manage plugins for any other diagnosis, including trying to get to the bottom of this problem.

Further Diagnosis to narrow down the problem

Q) Are you keen to narrow down this problem some more?

If so, then;

a) Can you have a look at your plugins, widgets, or themes to see if any have credits for facebook, or sites that are on facebook?

b) Can you see if you are running any plugins or features that make use of social media links? (such as buttons).

c) Or more generally, what business does anything facebook have with your website?

d) We need to find the

“Jump Point”

This is the point that the influence of an active page builder has on page presentation in the admin display of the editor view.
In most cases – the editor is shown but without text or buttons.
In your case – the facebook-y page is shown.
What is great about your situation is we have a unique looking page content to search for.
So,
Could you do a search in the file manager of your webserver, to look for any files that contain some of the field names in the facebook-y page, for example “Facebook Application Id:”, or “Show profile photos when friends like this”. Let me know if you find any files.

The connection so far is that page builder is associated with the presentation of the facebook page.
We now have to discover the mechanism by which this is taking place.
We also know that it takes place very close to the same circumstances that Visual Editors are presented without visible text and often without visible buttons. The mechanism for that is also not yet fully understood (though a range of work arounds exist).

Ultimately,
a) the cause (s) of the problem should be fixed,
or failing that
b) the error conditions should be detected, and work around conditions automatically implemented to provide minimal hindrance to the user.

Option (b) is a very helpful approach to have for any problem, as it cuts down the need for every experiencer of a problem to have to spend time to look for solutions and debug their own problems.

Massive time waster

It’s a mean time fix, which is not perfect. But add up the 1000’s of human hours mucking around with each miniscule problem, and a colossal is available for saving.

Asside – Concept for Work Around coding

There could even be a piece of code that allows a jump to an error condition detection routine, and workaround setup routine. Each time a erro condition is detected, and each time a work around is figured out, it can be added to the list in the routine. When the problem is actually fixed, then the routine can be removed (or left in place -just in case).

Thanks
Having fun?

Hi MKSnMKS,

I’ve installed the plugin you recommended in order to ease enabling/disabling the Page Builder plugin and I can indeed confirm once again that’s the culprit. If I toggle it while editing, the visual editor disappears and instead I’m re-directed to the infamous Facebook-y page.

I am indeed running a plugin that makes use of social media buttons, more specifically, Ultimate Social Media PLUS.

How can I search for specific text in the file manager and will it suffice to do it in the public_html/blog directory?

Thanks,
Razvan

Hi razvanimal (@razvanimal),

Q1) Did you find the plugin to be an improvement on the ease of use?
and does it help reduce the frustration significantly (or not) for you?

Q2) Can you try de-activating the Social Media plugin, and then see if the visual editor works ,
a) with the page builder activated, and again
b) with it de-activated?

Q3) Can you please confirm that that is the correct name of the social media plugin? and also let me know the author’s name, or include the link to it on the WordPress plugin site?

Q4) To search for specific text;
a) If you have ftp to your site, then you could try FileZilla.
b) But it is convenient to log in to you main web server control panel.
That is the main server space, not the WordPress dashboard.
If you have got a typical hoster, then you will very likely have a “file manager” type utility in the menu system, and use that.
I would probably go for a search in the folder where the plugins are, to find the text within the plugins. But the text may also appear in logs of errors, or logs in general. It could be in themes. But it also is appearing in the administration screens so you’d need to look in that area too.
But I think the best and easiest way is to do a complete search of just about everything, so there’s no chance that you can miss out on any possible location.
We don’t exactly know what the problem is, and we don’t know exactly what is causing it, so we don’t need to go making assumptions on “where” the possible problem code is. (good thing the search is automated).

Make list of all the places that the various texts appear in.
Then we will look for where “those places” (files) get called from.
And those “calls” are probably just after where the decision to show the facebook-y thing is made.
And hopefully that is the very same (or nearby) place where the same decision is made to show the visual editor with the white text on white background and hidden buttons.

Thank you for your help.
We have a few more turns before the home straight.

Hi MKSnMKS,

Q1) Yes, it absolutely reduced the friction of having to go back and forth between the plugins and posts tab.

Q2) I’ve tried, but to no avail, the behavior is still there.

Q3) This is the plugin I’m using: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/ultimate-social-media-plus/

Q4) I was able to locate the file leading to the Facebook-y page: wp-content/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/fb_class.php

with the following related plugin: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/

I was using the widget provided by this in my footer in order to link to my blog’s FB page. Although after updating the plugin, the issue is no longer present, I decided to drop it altogether and rely on the Facebook Widget provided by Jetpack since I’m already using the plugin for comments.

Everything works as expected now. I’d hug you very tight right now MKSnMKS, thanks a lot for your support throughout the entire process!

Hi razvanimal (@razvanimal),

It sounds like your problem is completely fixed;
Q1) Is that true?
If it is true, then this is good news to hear.
But hopefully the adventure is not over.

Q2) We have not found the jump point yet.
Are you still willing to help?
I need to clarify what you have done, and get to the cause of this problem.
When you use the word “using” for you plugins, it is a bit ambiguous as to whether you mean “now”, or “recently”, or “recently up till now”, or “continuously from before,now, and future”.

So, can you please restate the plugins, widgets, etc that you are talking about above but be more specific as to the timing. Such as previously, and as you are now planning to run.

For example, it is not clear at what time you added Jetpack, and begun using its facebook widget.

Q3) As I had not asked you to change the state of your server for this diagnosis, any change (such as updating a plugin so it no longer creates the problem) makes it a bit more difficult to recreate the problem.
Would you be willing to return your server to the problematic state (if needed) so we can find the jump point?

Independently of the above

, re ;
”

I was able to locate the file leading to the Facebook-y page: wp-content/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/fb_class.php

with the following related plugin: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/

”

As you have noted -that is what calls the facebook-y page, and that is part of the widget.
The widgets can be assembled in to the page by the Page Builder.
We need to find the location in the page builder and associated files, where that widget is called up.
That location will be near the jump point.
So,
Can you please look for that widget name in files on the server?
And we will possibly look at their text contents.
You may have a text “viewer” and possibly a “text editor”, and maybe a “code editor” on your server. You can safely use the viewer to read the text, and use it’s search function to search for places in the file the text actually appears.
(Do you use cPanel or something like that on your server?)

Note

as with all problems,
just because the problem has gone away,
doesn’t mean the cause has been removed.

In this case

the jump point is still there,
just not being a problem at the moment.
Some other plugin may cause the same problem to recur in future.

Also of help to all,
is to report your finding to the plugin author team,
and to the page builder team.
Try to use a title that includes “Visual Editor not shown” and possibly “text” and “buttons” as appropriate.
So this will be easily found as part of this problem genre.

Thank you

Hi MKSnMKS,

Q1) It is, issue is no longer present.
Q2) I’ve been using the Facebook Like Widget since the beginning of my blog, ~1 year: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/

Jetpack I’ve added recently, in the last couple of months or so.

Q3) Unfortunately, I’m a little bit short on time right now as I’m trying to get my business up and running, the blog is related to it, that’s why I needed it to be functional. Also, please note that with the latest version of the first plugin aforementioned (the FB Page Like one), the issue was not manifesting itself anymore. Is there a way to install an older version of a plugin?

Thanks,
Razvan

Hi razvanimal (@razvanimal),

Thank you for getting back to me. I understand that now time is of the essence for you getting your business up and running.
Any further help you can give will be appreciated, not just by me, but by (many/any) others who benefit from the removal of this inherent latent problem.
I have redone my previous message to address remaining options;

Q1) This is good news to hear that the problem is no longer a problem.
But hopefully the adventure is not over.

Q2) We have not found the jump point yet.
Are you still willing to help?
I need to clarify what you have done, and get to the cause of this problem.
When you use the word “using” for your plugins, it is ambiguous as to whether you mean “now”, or “recently”, or “recently up till now”, or “continuously from before,now, and future”. (e.g. “Ultimate social media plus“).
Can you please lay it out similar to this;

i) Prior to problem – plugins and suspects (versions) that were installed, plugins that were active
ii) During the problem – plugins and suspects (versions) that were installed, plugins that were active
iii) After the problem – plugins and suspects (versions) that were installed, plugins that were active

So, can you please restate the plugins, widgets, etc that you are talking about above but be more specific as to the timing. Such as previously, and as you are now planning to run.

For example, it is not clear at what time you added Jetpack, and begun using its facebook widget.

Q3) As you do not have time, and you are running a business on your site, then we won’t do this option.
But as a note,

Ways to Recreate the problem on the/a server

The previous state could have been recreated is by using a backup of the site.
This could be restored to you live site, or more safely, be installed on a server on your PC (either as a virtual machine, or as a LAMP server).
Another (possibly simpler) way is that the specific plugin could in effect be “rolled back” to a previous version, if you have a copy of the previous install (zip) file, by uninstalling the updated version, then installing the older version by upload.
If you didn’t have a copy of the old file, then you might be able to request one from the developer.

Independently of the above

, re ;
”

I was able to locate the file leading to the Facebook-y page: wp-content/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/fb_class.php

with the following related plugin: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/

”

As you have noted -that is what calls the facebook-y page, and that is part of the widget.
The widgets can be assembled in to the page by the Page Builder.
We need to find the location in the page builder and associated files, where that widget is called up.
That location will be near the jump point.
So,

Q4) Can you please look for that widget name in files on the server?
And we will possibly look at their text contents.
You may have a text “viewer” and possibly a “text editor”, and maybe a “code editor” on your server. You can safely use the viewer to read the text, and use it’s search function to search for places in the file the text actually appears.
(Q4b) Do you use cPanel or something like that on your server?)

Note

as with all problems,
just because the problem has gone away,
doesn’t mean the cause has been removed.

In this case

the jump point is still there,
just not being a problem at the moment.
Some other plugin may cause the same problem to recur in future.

Also of help to all,
is to report your finding to the plugin author team,
and to the page builder team.
Try to use a title that includes “Visual Editor not shown” and possibly “text” and “buttons” as appropriate.
So this will be easily found as part of this problem genre.

Thank you

Observation of buttons in Visual Editor

With (Aqua) Page Builder active, the button set that is shown in the Visual Editor are colourful.

With (Aqua) Page Builder de-active, the button set that is shown in the Visual Editor are less colourful.

This suggests that the page builder is swapping the button set.

Thanks Jeff. I had been dealing with the no visual editor tab for awhile and it was simple that I had “Disable the visual editor when writing” check in my user profile.

Jake,

That’s caused an idea;
If the system disables the tab for any reason (e.g. “disabled for user setting”),then if it could display the information about why say by hovering over it, or a question mark help icon, then users would have little trouble in trying to rectify some of these problems.

This approach could be applied to many other conditions that are set by user settings, or plugin settings.

Thanks

You can also try to follow below link

https://community.1and1.com/enabling-the-wordpress-theme-and-plugin-editor-wordpress-free-mode/

@brand-rocket That worked for me. Thank you so much!