Gutenberg 19.2 Released: Everything That You Need to Know

The latest version of the Gutenberg editor, Gutenberg 19.2, was officially released on September 11, 2024. This update brings exciting new features, improvements, and bug fixes, making the WordPress block editor more flexible and efficient. Let’s take a closer look at the key highlights of this release.

Block Bindings UI: Moving Out of Experimental Phase

One of the most significant changes in Gutenberg 19.2 is the transition of the Block Bindings UI from the experimental phase to a fully integrated feature. This tool allows users to link block attributes with external data sources, giving more dynamic control over content. Admins can create and modify block bindings, ensuring security and control over these powerful new connections.

For developers, this is a game-changer as it opens up the possibility of binding blocks to external APIs, custom data sets, or even third-party platforms. This feature unlocks new potential for building more sophisticated, data-driven websites.

Preview Options Extensibility

Another noteworthy improvement in this release is the Preview Options Extensibility. Thanks to the Plugin API, developers can now add custom preview options within the editor’s preview dropdown. This means users can preview their content in different formats or environments, offering them more flexibility and control over how their creations look across various contexts. For example, themes and plugins can now define unique preview modes such as mobile-first layouts or dark mode previews.

Enhanced Zoom Out Mode

The Zoom Out Mode has been enhanced to make navigation and editing more intuitive. A new “Edit” button has been added to the toolbar, allowing users to easily switch between edit modes. Additionally, users can now exit Zoom Out mode simply by double-clicking on blocks, streamlining the transition between editing and reviewing. The “Shuffle” block toolbar button has been removed to simplify the user interface, allowing for a cleaner design experience.

Content-Only Mode Enhancements

Improvements to the Content-Only Mode aim to enhance user experience when dealing with top-level locked blocks. These locked blocks now support block styles, leading to more consistent design across content-heavy pages. Additionally, block icons are now visible in the toolbar, making it easier for users to identify blocks at a glance.

Experimental Client-Side Media Processing

Gutenberg 19.2 introduces an exciting experimental client-side media processing feature. This development offloads media processing tasks to the client side, reducing server load and potentially improving overall performance and efficiency. While still experimental, this feature represents a significant step forward in optimizing media-heavy websites by shifting the processing workload from servers to browsers.

Other Highlights

Gutenberg 19.2 brings many other improvements and fixes, including:

• A new reorder control at the field level in the new view configuration UI.
• The minimum supported WordPress version for Create Block is now set to 6.6, ensuring compatibility with the latest updates.
• Admin-only block bindings by default, further securing the editing process.
• Block editor improvements, such as the addition of a ‘Reset’ option for the MediaReplaceFlow component, enhancing media management within the block editor.
• The Block Library now offers better handling of social icons and pagination blocks, improving the functionality of commonly used elements.

Bug Fixes

Gutenberg 19.2 also resolves 10 bugs, including:

• Fixes for pagination arrows in RTL (right-to-left) languages to ensure correct functionality.
• A solution for an editor error in Safari caused by the checkVisibility method.

However, there has been one reported issue with this release: it causes problems with the Web Stories editor. WordPress Core Committer Pascal Birchler confirmed that this issue is related to Gutenberg and not the Web Stories plugin, and developers are currently investigating the problem.

For more insights into Gutenberg’s development practices and common pitfalls, users can refer to Riad Benguella’s latest post on Gutenberg.

Gutenberg 19.2 brings a mix of features that improve functionality, enhance user experience, and expand the flexibility of the block editor. With each new release, Gutenberg continues to solidify itself as the go-to tool for content creation and web design within the WordPress ecosystem. Stay tuned for future updates as WordPress continues to evolve!