Ever since I started using WordPress I’ve appreciated the power of shortcodes. But there has been one thing (well two things) about the visual editor of WordPress that has always niggled away at me.
Its having to use shortcodes for some really simple visual elements, and even more than that, not being able to edit them in a better way – this especially applies when I’m doing client work.
There are some great plugins that add a button to the editor toolbar, which allow you to create a shortcode via a popup (you don’t have to type out the shortcode manually). But what none of them seem to do is allow you a way to use that configuration popup for already existing shortcodes within the page – for me this would be the perfect way to edit a shortcode.
After previous failed experiments I gave up on trying to improve this, it all boiled down to the flexibility of the in built TinyMCE editor – which was beginning to get stuck in the past and not providing a reliable enough experience across browsers.
That is, until the recent announcement that WordPress 3.9 will be using the new TinyMCE editor version 4.0.20. With some consistency improvements across browsers and better copy and paste functionality in the new version of TinyMCE we have the power to do more, visually, with the editor while providing a reliable user experience across modern browsers.
So, I’ve created this plugin as an experiment, to test what the new TinyMCE can do with WordPress and to begin to tackle the two problems I first mentioned.
Drum roll please…
What are Forget About Shortcode Buttons?
Forget About Shortcode (FASC) Buttons plugin for WordPress is a visual way to add buttons in the post editor screen. Instead of adding shortcodes in the post editor, you insert real, styled buttons – making the process of adding buttons to your posts and pages much more natural whilst improving the appearance and usability of the post editor.
FASC Buttons tries to be as clean as possible with the html, only using data attributes for necessary features – the buttons you use in the post editor use the exact same classes as on the front end of your site with no extra or hidden markup to make them behave this way.
Editing a button couldn’t be easier – just double click a button and an options panel appears allowing you to completely reconfigure the current button – beats tedious shortcodes and using precise syntax!
FASC Buttons will only work with WordPress 3.9 and up.
Download
Download Forget About Shortcode Buttons Plugin from the WordPress Plugin Repository:
How to use
Once you’ve downloaded the plugin and installed it in to your WordPress site, you will find a new button on the toolbar in your post edit screen. This will display a popup allowing you to create a new button in your post/page. Create your button, click submit and that’s it! You’ll be able to see your new button in the post editor as you would on the front end of your site – and if you’re not happy with it, just double click one of the buttons you have created to edit it 🙂
Documentation
It should be pretty straight forward to use these buttons with virtually no learning curve. However I’m sure there are some things that need covering in some form of documentation – check out the project page for now for some info about compatibility:
David Cross
The templates feature is useful but only retains the design. Would be very handy to retain the text and links too then we could build up a repository of commonly used buttons for our business.
Patty
I’ve been using your Forget About plugin on all my sites. Are you going to be updating soon? Will your plugin be compatible with Gutenberg when it replaces the editor in WordPress. Thanks for making a great plugin!
Ross
I’m hoping to get a compatibility fix in the next couple of days 🙂 The only issue I have is testers for the latest set of issues. If you wouldn’t mind, it would be great to send you a copy to test.
If you’re interested, please drop me an email here – so I have your details.,
Thanks
Robert Pavlis
I have been using your Forget About Shortcode Buttons plugin for a while and like it very much. I just installed Boxzilla, along with latest WP.
There is conflict between Boxzilla and your plugin. With both active the Add Media button is not active in the Boxzilla editor. If I deactivate your plugin, it works fine.
There may also be a problem using Mailerlite short code in Boxzilla, but I have not tested that enough yet to know if this might be a problem unrelated to your plugin.
Ross
Hi Robert
Sorry for the incredibly late reply – we’ve been tied up with other things but are aware there are some JS issues arising with other plugins – we hope to look into this over the next month and resolve.
Best