5 Amazing New WordPress 2.7 Features
Dec 8th in Wordpress by Harley
New Commenting system
The Comments section of WordPress has been completely redone, rethought and redesigned. Quick Edit, Reply, and Keyboard Navigation Moderation are the most notable!
Quick Edit
You are now able to edit comments right from the full comments screen. If you click 'Quick Edit' when you hover over a comment in the moderation screen, the comment is replaced with an edit panel, where you can edit the Name, URL, email and content of the comment. This inline editor is great as it saves a whole lot of time going to the individual edit screen to edit a comment.
Reply
So your blog may have heavy discussion, and to reply to them at bulk you have to find the comment, remember what it says, scroll down to the 'add comment' form, type it and send it off. Now, with WordPress 2.7 you can reply to comments live on the same page. By clicking 'Reply' a form appears below the comment which you can fill out and reply- quick and easy and painless!
Keyboard Moderation
One of the coolest features yet, WordPress has developed a system with jQuery that allows you to moderate the comments via the keyboard! You can scroll between comments using the J and K key. A approves comments, U unapproves the comment, S marks the comment as Spam, and D deletes the selected comment. R initiates the Reply (as above) which you can escape that with esc, and Q initiates Quick Edit. This allows for a much quicker moderation experience.
New Dashboard Features
The messy, clunky Right Now section of the old version of WordPress has been pressed into a small grid, which cleanly displays all the information about activity on the website. This enables it to be much more readable and understandable, rather than an ugly spot on the dashboard. It greatly contributes to the refined look of the 2.7 admin.
Another cool set of features are the two QuickPress and Press This.
QuickPress is basically a very stripped down 'Add Post' Widget on the front of the Dashboard. It provides, once again a quick way to use frequently accessed functions that usually take pages to get to.
Press This is kind of like a Quick Digg Link, or A StumbleUpon quick link. Basically you save a bookmark that looks something like this:
<a href="javascript:var%20d=document,w=window,e=w.getSelection,k=d.getSelection,x=d.selection,s=(e?e():(k)?k():(x?x.createRange().text:0)),f='http://yoursite.com/wp-admin/press-this.php',l=d.location,e=encodeURIComponent,g=f+'?u='+e(l.href)+'&t='+e(d.title)+'&s='+e(s)+'&v=2';function%20a(){if(!w.open(g,'t','toolbar=0,resizable=0,scrollbars=1,status=1,width=720,height=570')){l.href=g;}}a();void(0);">Press This</a>
And when you find a website that you like, you can easily blog about it by clicking the Press This Bookmark, which opens a new window with the link to the page you are currently browsing! Great for Networking, and easy enough for anybody to use!
Screen Options
Due to the monument of information displayed onscreen at any one time, the Developers have added a handy feature called 'Screen Options'. Basically you can decide which sections you see on any page that has a 
tab. When clicked, it expands to show a number of check buttons that correspond to their sections on the admin page.
These sections are also rearrangeable! You can drag and drop the 'widgets' around the place, make it so you have your optimum setup possible.
Plugin Interface
The guys at WordPress have built in an API for the plugin repository on Wordpress.org/extend, which allows you to install plugins directly from your Admin section. This beats the process of searching, finding, downloading, uploading then activating the plugin, by simply searching, and installing.
It's that easy. There is also a Tag Cloud to link to lists of popular search terms/plugins.
For those plugins that are on other sites, there is a simple upload form that allows you to upload the plugin and go from there.
Media Library
Although not significant, this new feature allows you to upload files to your WordPress uploads without having to create a post to do so. This is great if you want to upload a zip or some other large file to your hosting without having to go through FTP. The benefit is that it attaches a whole lot of meta data to the upload too!
Posts Management
Post management has been completely revolutionised with 'Bulk Edit'. By selecting multiple files then adding an 'edit' filter, you can bulk moderate files in regards to their tags, categories, etc.
If you find a 
button, you can also toggle between displaying posts a certain way, with a short excerpt, or without.
Honourable Mention: Interface change.
Ok. Understandably I can't overlook the biggest new feature; a complete interface overhaul. They have scrapped the colourful motifs, and have moved to a grey colour scheme, that is much more aesthetically pleasing. Word is they also have a blue admin theme in the pipeline!
Not only is the menu now vertical (which ensures no wrapping happens, allows for unlimited amounts of menu items, but it is also collapsable. This saves a whole lot of space on the page whilst still having the full menu accessible. Plugin and Theme developers can upload their own icons and use the API to add them to the menu!
The new grey motif is a lot slicker and clean cut that the more childish blue and orange one. The admin interface has always been somewhat unrefined, and WordPress 2.7 finally gives it the overhaul it needs. The new interface is much tighter and robust than the others, whilst still being flexible; a hard feat to achieve! Kudos Jane!
Finally, the new layout is a lot more intelligent, efficient and easier to use. It provides for a more faster and more flexible workflow. It allows you to 'custom build' your interface so that it suits you best.
Now what's your excuse?
WordPress 2.7 is the last excuse gone for you not to switch. The new interface and features completely revolutionise blogging, and the tightened interface is a dream to look at. Go get it and learn it!
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )nhoss2 December 8th
wow nice post, keep em up. wordpress looks better than ever!
( )Simon Ong December 8th
I also had a somewhat similar post regarding this, but not this detailed.
I enjoy the new navigation feature, expand/collapse..
Great post!
( )duellsy December 8th
oh mad… thought 2.7 was coming last month, but then never heard of a release date for ages… till now, thanks dude.
( )installed the beta a few nights ago… lovin the new side bar and the ‘at a glance’ section
Ben Reid December 8th
I’ve been waiting for 2.7 before starting to get my head around WordPress. Next week seems it’s time for some late nights studying it!
( )Roshan Bhattarai December 8th
wow……..great features……..waiting for it’s release…
( )Leventhan December 8th
Wordpress is love~
( )With this new release coming soon, Wordpress will soon be the one and only paragon of the blogosphere.
Ony December 8th
The bulk edit was welcome change!!!! Another thing you didn’t mention was the auto-upgrade. I’ve been using the 2.7 since beta release, and can I just say, the auto upgrade is a long-awaited feature for me. Like the way you could update your plugins automatically, you can now update to newer versions of Wordpress via the ‘Stay Updated’ link at the bottom of the page. Saves the hassle of downloading and unzipping and uploading again!
( )Shane December 8th
Looking forward to getting my hands on 2.7.
Thanks for going through some of the funky new stuff
( )Dale Cruse December 8th
This weekend I installed WordPress 2.7 RC1 without a hitch. No problems at all. This article was a great overview of the major new features. Thanks.
( )insic December 8th
really cool, wordpress getting more better and better.
( )Tanaka13 - Créations du Net December 8th
Nice to hear about that!
( )With Joomla and Drupal, Wordpress is one of the best CMS at the moment.
N3oN December 8th
Wow. Nice. Thanx for the updates. Will surely try it out
( )Elpatator December 8th
Wordpress 2.7 also includes one hell of a post option : sticky post !!! That should allow even more fun posting on Wordpress !!!!
( )yamaniac December 8th
well, Looks like its got most of its features from joomla and thats fantastic!! Eg: Posts Management & screen options… Although joomla sux to the core. Wordpress rocks anyday.
( )Zair Abbas December 8th
this is awesome!
( )i love wordpress
Mike Rice December 8th
The new features are awesome, I’m just hoping they don’t threaten custom themes that much.
( )David Hellmann December 8th
Yeah, i must update all my sites
i think its really good!!
( )Ken D. December 8th
It’s good to hear about the new features – but is it churlish to mention that the post desperately needs a bit of sub-editing?
( )M.A.Yoosuf December 8th
exactly, I’m using the RC1 for my blog its awesome!
( )Aaron Irizarry December 8th
Thanks! Definitely looking forward to updating.
( )7 December 8th
great info, thanks!
(however even with the new release I still dont think wordpress stands up against the Open Source CMS solutions)
( )Jason Webb December 8th
Love the Plugin installer that connects to the Wordpress plugin directory! Its gonna get intense with users being able to upgrade their websites functionality in a button click. Joomla has to do this also! Wonder if there is SEO upgrades also?
( )Chris Weller December 8th
Someone should release a book on this!
Soon!
Seriously!
Talking about you Harley!
Can’t wait.
( )kapeta December 8th
vai tomar no seu cu
( )Kasper Michael de Thurah December 8th
Fantastic – looking really forward to it!
( )John December 8th
Guess I’ll be the first to post this: I love jQuery.
Thanks to jQuery we now have all these rocking features. Oh, and of course, WP rocks too. Can’t wait to install and play.
( )Michael December 8th
Gotta love Wordpress 2.7, I only wished quick post had a categories option.
You forgot about UPGRADE under the tools section, which does as it says and upgrades your WP installation from the dashboard.
( )Max December 8th
Interesting overview!
What about the code and the Wordpress API?
( )Has something changed or is there something new?
sergi December 8th
Stoked. WordPress rocks.
( )Bryan P. December 8th
Wow! I am excited about this update. They are really polishing this and creating a great blogging software.
I cant wait to upgrade. I am glad they added the plugin features, that was one of my biggest complaints, having to ftp a new plugin to the server, instead of a quick search method.
( )Scott Nelle December 8th
Like Ony above, I’m most excited about the new automatic software update. We won’t get to experience it until the next version after 2.7, of course, but when that eventually rolls around I’ll be so relieved to not have to download the software and push it to my server manually. It’s long overdue, but I’m so glad it finally exists.
( )Start Your Own Website December 8th
I’m loving the new wordpress! I think my clients will as well!
( )Lamin December 8th
Wordpress 2.7 RC1 came out a while ago so you might wanna check it out.
( )Dave December 8th
Hey Great Article, Working on a wordpress theme at the moment , might use 2,7
( )Bolor December 8th
Wow it’s so informal
( )Paul December 8th
I’ve heard that 2.7 will focus more on pages than posts to make WP a lightweight CMS alternative if the developer chooses. From what I’ve read in your post it doesn’t appear that they’ve revamped the pages functionality at all?
( )Cansado December 8th
The RC… Could it be used to clients websites? or do I need to wait untill the final release?
( )Ben Carroll December 8th
Still waiting for Expression Engine 2.0
( )Eduardo December 8th
very cool!
obs.: please delete the post from ‘kapeta’, he is saying some “ugly” words in portuguese.
( )Melvin Walls December 8th
Great article Harley! Im considering upgrading to 2.7 now. looks like many processes are much more painless than before.
( )Miles Johnson December 8th
The new admin design is quite nice, but I still believe wordpress to be garbage. Oh well.
( )abdusfauzi December 8th
this is awesome. hmm. still waiting for the final release. anybody know when?
( )Jose Mario December 8th
After this WP should point to becoming a full fledged CMS and not just blogging software with pages implementation…
I really like their stuff, just find myself a little bit constrained when it comes down to more complex pages layouts
( )Ben Falk December 9th
I’m definitely looking forward to the 2.7 release. In the process of redesigning my current site and moving to wordpress, so the timing works out perfectly! Thanks for the overview of some of the key changes.
( )Weon December 9th
Have they fixed the god-awful way it inserts images into posts? By that I mean the horrible adding of code when inserting a simple image (all I want is the href, width, height and alt).
Hopefully they’ve at least included an option to turn off all the “helpful” caption/class/div addition features!
Sorry to rant, I’m sure it’ll be lovely.
( )mokin December 9th
Oh! Great
( )Anon December 9th
Yep, my last excuse not to use software that generates 187 DB queries in a single request.
( )Ryan December 9th
Great summary. You mentioned that a blue admin theme is in the works but guess what… it’s already there! Just click on “Profile” in the left-hand navigation and select between a greyscale scheme and a blue scheme.
( )kaqfa December 10th
i just started use wordpress as my blog engine 2 months ago, and i’m stil facing many difficulties.
( )Hope with many great articles like this, i can improve my abilities in optimizing worpress blogging
Alison December 10th
“completely revolutionise blogging” ……I don’t know about all that, but it’s a nice upgrade.
( )Universal Indie Records December 11th
I’ve upgraded 5 of my sites this morning…
( )I’m loving it. THe only issue I had was with the “Platinum SEO Pack” plugin. My pages would come up blank when this was installed. I went back to the “All in One SEO Pack” plugin with no problem.. so I guess i’ll switch all my sites to this.
Dave Zatz December 11th
With the (second) interface redesign behind us, perhaps the team can now focus on more efficient DB usage and caching. (I’ll be waiting for 2.7.1 before I upgrade.)
( )Saijo George December 11th
great work buddy… thanks for putting all of this together
( )Cynthia December 11th
Thanks for your overview! I just upgraded two of my blogs today. I guess they have not implemented threaded comments yet though? I wish they would soon. I have a plugin that does it but would love if it was native.
Also, I still can’t upgrade plugins on a couple of my blogs. Some I can, some I can’t, all on the same VPS with the same settings. I don’t have FTP on my VPS and I don’t want to set it up. I get the FTP input page when I try to use the automatic plugin upgrade option, or when I try install a new plugin via the new install features with 2.7.
Hrm…
( )Universal Indie Records December 12th
As excited as I am about 2.7… I’m also just as excited about this wordpress plugin, Shopp – http://www.shopplugin.net – because of what it’s going to do for ecommerce on the wordpress platform.
I’m one of the beta testers. I’ve used Wp-Commerce, eShop, and Quick Cart… but this is going to blow all of them away… trust me (though eShop is currently the best)…
not only can you use Google Checkout, and Paypal.. but Authorize.net making it a TRUE eccommerce plugin.
Just thought I’d put you up on this little gem!
( )Paris Vega December 12th
My favorite changes in Wordpress 2.7:
( )1. Auto installing/updating of plugins – such a time saver
2. New nav interface moved to the left – utilizes the endless scrolling space
Josh Drake December 12th
Sweet! I’m downloading/uploading it right now!
( )amit jain December 12th
Great work – a very detailed post – loved it
( )dang December 13th
Great Interface, I’ve already updated.
( )safuan December 13th
this is very good and nice.i love it.really cool.
( )thanks to wordpress
James December 13th
Fantastic release, I’ve just started upgrading my blogs to use it. Nice clean and easy to use interface.
( )Sajid December 14th
Great improvements this time. Thumbs up for Wordpress development Team.
( )Ben December 15th
I think this release really puts Wordpress at the top of the mountain for blogging platforms. What a great release.
( )koen buysse December 16th
takes a minute or 2 to get used to… but indeed, it’s much improved…
( )i’ve been on the wordpress-train since 2.5 now (the blue admin-panel), and i sometimes install it on my localhost, just for ol’times sake.. it sure has come a long way !!!!
Skilz December 18th
Wordpress is so great, I cannot wait for this to be released!!!!
Nice article Harley
( )David December 22nd
Hello, thanks for the information. I have a question about wordpress functionality.
Do you know if and when Wordpress will have an integrated functionality like TDO Miniforms?
Just Curious
Thanks,
David
( )Warren January 8th
“AMAzing”…
( )Ben July 8th
Great Post.
( )Jen January 17th
Great post, great new features, but I’m not a fan of the design, even after using it a few weeks. That sidebar gets long after a few plugins, it’s hard to find things and when you click on Pages in the sidebar it doesn’t take you to the page list. Liked the previous, high contrast color scheme better and the san-serif fonts were easier to read. Hope someone comes out with a new theme for this; I’d pay some bucks for that!!
( )poer January 21st
i like the bulk edit and quick edit features, but i know about the keyboard shortcuts keys before
( )Jan February 10th
I love the auto upgrade feature! Saves you a lot of time!
( )Krishh March 5th
Nice Post, surely i will upgrade it!
( )RaiulBaztepo March 28th
Hello!
( )Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
guessswh0 May 15th
2.7 Definitely works amazing. I have it installed on my website and I absolutely think it works great. I haven’t had any issues yet.
( )Eric June 7th
2.7 is pretty cool… it’s definitely helped me increase my discussion on my blog…
( )rat32 August 14th
wonderful
( )