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Recap Of Part I

I stated in my previous article “UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY OF THE WORDPRESS GUTENBERG BLOCK EDITOR_PART I”, that it was the first time that I used the Block Editor to write a blog. Kind of risky revealing my learning curve to an audience while I am actually plodding through the process of discovering the basics of the program as I solve each piece of the puzzle in my quest. But that makes the task much more interesting than pursuing some boring explanation of what I am going through.

(NOTE: I chose this next Block to be a Special Notation Box and transformed it into a PARAGRAPH Block with a colorized background so that I could bring attention to an initial predicament I ran into.) When I brought that first article up on my laptop as a draft for final editing, I found that it was transformed into the old CLASSIC EDITOR format with no reference to the new BLOCK EDITOR format at all. So I tried to determine what the problem was and found that there was no option on my laptop to change over from one mode to the other. I will explain what I did to solve the problems it caused in another article as well as what was needed to activate the Block Editor for all my new blogs going forward.

Anyways, I discussed how I opened the Block Editor for the first time on my iPad and saw the first block containing the Title function which I then proceeded to use for that purpose only. Then I hit the return and discovered how to transform the next block that automatically popped up into a Header Block which I again used for that singular function as well. Once those 2 maneuvers were completed, the next return revealed a third block which was auto set to the paragraph mode an I just started typing away inserting my written article matter, just like I am doing now.

Now, I want to take my learning curve further by deciphering some of the different procedures for adding media and controlling how it is presented in this article, as well as all future articles going forward. So, let me continue with the hope I can get through this next section without facing any major obstacles.

My Basic Media Insert

The above photo is a random one I chose to use for the purpose of teaching myself how the image algorithm works. Needless to say, I had a few burps getting the image into this post and again needed some online help for the task. I accessed the WPBEGINNER site for help once again and found an article entitled “How to use WordPress App on your iPhone, iPad, and Android (Guide)”.

After plowing through the article, I finally reached the part that said “Upload and Manage Media Files Using WordPress App”. Unfortunately, the directions given didn’t align with the administrative toolbar on my iPad, but at least I knew I could add an image if I could just find out how.

Since I only had basic block options showing when I tapped the 3 dots on the bottom right corner, I found that an Image Block was not one of the basic options. So, after some trial and error, I tapped on the round blue button on the bottom left corner of my screen that contained a white + icon in the center and, voila! A complete List of Block Options opened up, one of which said “Image”. So, I clicked it and a Block box popped up that asked me what venue I wanted to grab a picture from and I chose the one above from the photo gallery on my iPad. It loaded with no hassle at all within a few seconds.

Basic Media Insertion Learning Phase 1 complete.

The Media & Text Block

Once that was done, I started writing in the Text box and that is what you see on the right side of the photo. When I got to this Block (box), I wanted to continue the discussion across the full width of the blog page underneath the photo. So, I abandoned The Media & Text Block in favor of a default Paragraph block, and that is the format which you see here.

This was a basic maneuver in favor of my limited knowledge of using Blocks, a shortcoming I expect to overcome as I perfect my understanding of how everything works.

Basic Media Insertion Learning Phase 2 complete.

The Gallery Block

The next experiment of mine involved engaging myself with The Gallery Block. As soon as I chose this block, I realized immediately that I would have several issues to deal with. After much trial and error, I finally figured out some basics.

The first thing that happened was that when I chose my test photo, it appeared as an elongated image with only part of the bird showing. So I tapped the Gear Icon at the bottom of the block and a drop down options box appeared that had a Crop Images button. When I deselected it, the image appeared in the top center of the embedded box as a complete photo that was reduced in size to make way for 2 more photos in the same box.

Then I tapped the inserted photo and a dialogue box appeared at the bottom left corner which contained an alignment icon. I tapped on that button and chose align left. I also chose another edit photo icon that was shaped in the form of a wand with a star at the top. This gave me the option to choose a different hue and I chose the one that created a different look that you see in the far left photo.

When I chose the same photo again, I performed all the same similar maneuvers for that box, but chose align center and picked a different hue. The third photo was aligned right with yet again a third different hue.

The embedded block under that first embedded block allowed me to create a new series of pictures inside the main Gallery Block. I kept this as a single picture, but I had to crop the photo such that the birds head appeared in the elongated photo as seen above. I also kept the original coloration parameters intact.

Basic Media Insertion Learning Phase 3 complete.

Wrapping Up

This particular article involved a lot more dialogue than I originally planned to provide for my readers, but image insertion and manipulation is an art and takes much more time and effort.

As I stated in Part I of this series “UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY OF THE WORDPRESS GUTENBERG BLOCK EDITOR_PART I: BASIC FIRST STEPS“, I am learning as I go and bringing you along for the ride. I’m finding the task much easier than I first imagined, but I expect the advanced features to be much more challenging.

I just hope you have found this project helpful with your own efforts in learning the new system. I recommend that you do take the time to learn it because you will be left behind in 2022 when the Classic Editor is no longer supported.

Even a WordPress plugin that will let you stay the course with the old, outdated Classic Editor won’t let you compete with all the websites making the change. You will still be burdened with limited capabilities that can seriously affect the overall appearance and functionality of your website.

With that being said, I will end this Phase II discussion and continue my research into more features of The WordPress Gutenberg Block Editor that I can share with you in my next blog in this series. Until then, I will begin incorporating what I have learned so far in my blog creation efforts and bid you adieu for now.

I am requesting that my readers click on the links provided and download a sample read of each book and give a review on Amazon. You will have free access to the first four chapters of each book. My hope is that you will like the story lines enough to obtain either an eBook version or a paperback copy that you can put on your bookshelf as a masterpiece when you are done. FATE STALKS A HERO I: RESURGENCE, FATE STALKS A HERO II:THE FIJI FULCRUM, and THE SAGA OF HERACLES PENOIT. I will be giving excerpts on these works in upcoming blogs to familiarize you the reader with exciting details about the contents of each one. Thank you!

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