WordPress 6.1 Release Notes

WordPress 6.1 has been released and is packed with block- and editor-specific design updates. It’s a lot to take in, so here at Newspack, we’ve organized and highlighted a few that you may find most helpful.


New Block Editor Features

Padding

Padding control has had a design overhaul, moving from text input to slider. Text input can still be accessed by selecting the slider icon found beside the link icon.

Before

After

Typography

Similar to the Padding feature, the Typography panel has moved from the pixel values to presets with their names. If the preference is to assign a specific pixel value, this can be done by selecting the slider icon in the Typography settings area.

Borders

The Border panel has now been updated to show a more visual preview of a block’s border settings. It also allows you to set different colors and widths on each side.

Borders Before

Borders After

Block-Locking

Block-locking has been updated with the ability to lock blocks in a container of blocks with a single option. This includes Group, Column, and Cover Blocks. We’ve seen inconsistencies here, so feel free to reach out if you have further questions or concerns regarding the “Apply to all blocks inside” feature.

Block Specific Changes

Featured Images in the Cover Block

You can now select the Featured Image for use in a Cover block. When applied to a post or page’s body, it’ll pick up the current post/page’s featured image as long as a featured image has been assigned.

List Block

It’s now possible to reorder list items within the List block, making it easier to sort and edit list items.

Quote Block

The Quote block now allows you to nest other blocks inside of it. This allows you to add different blocks to a quote’s content, as well as style the Quote and citation separately.


New Editor-Wide Changes

Settings Sidebar

The settings interface has been slightly redesigned to offer easier readability. The fields for post format, slug, template, and authors are aligned and have the same width.

Settings Before

Settings After

Info Panel

The Info Panel now includes “time to read” information along with Words, Characters, Headings, Paragraphs, and Blocks.

Publish Popover

The publish popup has also been redesigned providing a simplified and more organized display.

Post Scheduler Before

Post Scheduler After

As always, if you have questions about this or anything else, please open a request in the #newspack-help Slack channel.

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