WP 5.0 editor – no text view?

Would recommend you install and activate “Classic Editor” plugin. This will give you the “Text” view to edit your HTML.

The new Block editor also has an HTML view but it is quite a big change from “Text” mode.

Ok, I found a HTML view, but it’s visually very different. The old version had an automatic BR conversion.

I typed:

first
second
third

It stayed like that. In the new version it returns as:

<br>first<br /><br>second<br /><br>third<br />

Very hard to read!

OK, the “Classic Editor” does the trick and get’s me back to the ol’ style. I love that I can switch between the ol’ and new editor! (option at right side, near bottom)

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by yellofish.

Yes. The new “Block” editor has HTML view but it is very different to the Classic Editor Text view. You should install the Classic Editor if you want to avoid having these extra HTML attributes being added automatically.

The new editor has a “Code” view available. Unlike the old editor, this one actually shows you the underlying code. Feel free to use either editor you like.

Yes. I saw the “Code” view you mention. My experience is that when I do edits in “Code” view, when I save my changes, the editor second guesses my changes and makes its own changes to my code. Impossible to control. I kept fighting with the editor. The editor kept winning. During the past 8 years, I’ve grown accustomed to being able to do certain things in WP. But I can see that WP is heading in a completely new direction more suited to novices who don’t understand HTML and aren’t interested to learn. For now, the Classic Editor let’s me keep using WP the way I have been but I suspect that, in the not too distant future, I’ll be forced to find a new platform.

If you stay in the Code view, then it will use the code more or less exactly as you type it. While the old Editor had a habit of doing things like automatically editing paragraphs and such, the new block editor has somewhat of a different method.

When you are using the Block Editor, then some WordPress filters like auto-p are disabled. The Block Editor is expected to add the P tags, and so all that happens in the browser.

If you don’t use blocks, then the old WordPress ways still hold true. If you do use Blocks, then the blocks are taken as given.

And realistically, yes, if you know HTML to the point where you would prefer writing in it, then maybe you don’t need WordPress. A static site is always going to be faster than a dynamic one. WordPress is great for making sites and managing them, but yes, it’s not going to cater to you writing custom HTML to that level. It’s meant to enable everybody to publish on the web, not just to enable those who know HTML.

Hi Samuel,
Just reading your reply above where you say the code will stay as you type it. This is exactly why I have come to the forum today — it doesn’t. I use WP mainly for the convenience of the plugins, but I do most of my pages/posts in html. I’ve been using Classic Editor but decided to give the Block a go. If you try to add a <div> around what you’ve already written (because you want to give it a border or whatever) it insists on putting the </div> after it. Every time you remove that </div> and put it at the end of what you’ve written, Block just puts it back again. I wouldn’t mind getting used to Block for the future, but can you tell me how to get around that problem?

Everything feels upside down. Even trying to find the proper forum to post my question.

I just updated and found myself having this new block editor thing. I have always been editing in html because the visual method was adding things on its own even if I just viewed it in visual.

I found the way to get to text BUT when I change some text (i.e. a very simple change) and hit preview IT DOESNT CHANGE! I even just published and not only is the old text there, the editor made some header titles smaller, even though the original code is still there. I made the font even larger to see what would happen, and nothing changes.

This editor just isn’t working at all. Is there a way to down grade back to the version of wordpress I just upgraded from? I really don’t need this hassle and it was working fine before.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by opticaltoys.

Hello,
I use ELEMENTOR as a plugin sometime, when posting an article. As soon as I choose to open the post with ELEMENTOR, there seems to be no possibility for me to go back and use the basic editor! Since this one is the only editor where to change my SEO datae, it’s impossible to change those infos after using ELEMENTOR once….
Any idea to go back to BASIC EDITOR whenever we want?
thanks in advance
RP

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by roro111.

It’s surprising that Elementor doesn’t permit SEO tag editing. That said…

Options 1: Looking at the Elementor documentation they recommend certain plugins and addons https://docs.elementor.com/article/126-elementor-related-plugins In that list it recommends “Yoast SEO”. Yoast is quite popular and would probably let you edit your SEO data without having to leave Elementor’s editor.

Option 2: To return to the Basic Editor, you might find that you have to de-activate Elementor. You should be able to re-activate Elementor without loss of data once you’ve finished your SEO data changes.

Personally I try to avoid plugins like “Elementor” because, in order for them to provide all of their wiz-bang functionality, they often interfere in your ability to make specific edits.

Thanks a bunch…
If you have any suggestion for a better editor plugin.. Please let us know!!
RP