This Worked For Me

~ beetleypete

I finally managed to get one of the many tips to work. One issue was that I have ‘Two-Stage Verification’ on my Account Settings. Once I worked out how to get into that, I used this easy tip, and now have access to the Classic Editor every time.

Remember to ‘Save Settings’ though.

Click to access how-to-return-to-the-wp-admin-navigation-sidebar-3.pdf

If you can’t read that on screen, here’s a link to the original post.

Changes to the WP Admin Navigation – Revised Support

I don’t know how long WP will let that loophole exist, but if you are unhappy with the Block Editor, this will work.

72 thoughts on “This Worked For Me”

    1. I read on one blog that the Classic will be gone completely by 2023. Even the cheats and workarounds won’t work, as it won’t exist to access it. My guess is that they will also ‘upgrade’ the Block Editor at the same time, and make it even more complicated. 😦
      Thanks, Sally.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. I have heard that it might be December 31st 2021.. unfortunately.. total lack of business sense.. there are 5 million using the classic plugin that is WordPress not jetpack.. Plus millions who are doing the work around. Personally I would be happy to pay them an annual fee of $50 equivalent to keep it.. even with 5 million that would 250 million a year but I reckon you could double that. I am afraid that their customer interface is not what it should be. I schedule non-time specific posts ahead and will do that for the first couple of months of 2022 and it they mess about then I will not be blogging for very long, much as I love it, I won’t be blackmailed into paying $300 for a business plan I don’t want just to have their plug in. Especially if they then remove it completely… They certainly pick their moments. Blogging is a lifeline for so many, particularly over this last year and this has upset so many…x

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        1. I have been in contact with Business Plan users who opted for the ‘Classic Plugin’. It takes you to a sub-domain, and doesn’t work the same way at all. In fact, it becomes a worse user-experience than the Block Editor. So in every respect, offering the Plugin is something no better than a ‘Con’. When Classic goes completely, I will try to use the ‘Classic Block’ option. But my instinct tells me that will soon be removed too. WP has over 40 million bloggers, so even if 10 million of us are unhappy, they couldn’t care less.
          One blogger uses the Word Document method, adding any links and links to Flickr photos on a Word document, then copying and pasting the whole thing into one block. At the moment, that seems to work and might be worth trying.
          Best wishes, Pete. x

          Liked by 1 person

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          1. I do have a backup which David set up and I used for two days before I got the fix.. Open Live Writer..it looks and works like Classic and you can schedule directly into the blog in the same way and add categories and tags etc. It works at 95% as you need to tweak slightly on spacing but overall I was happy with it.. Does not appear to be compatible with Mac but https://openlivewriter.com/ if and when the day comes I will see if I can continue with this..x

            Liked by 1 person

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  2. Pingback: Thanks to Pete! | toritto

      1. Take a look at my post tomorrow. This the second time WP have buggered around with the system and lost the damned share buttons! Without them I can’t even share your posts to my blog!!!

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  4. Sheesh, this is so complicated. Once I followed John Howell’s steps, every post has been in the classic editor. I’m just glad you got this squared away. Best to you, Pete.

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              1. Yes, we do. 🙂 And why people want to fix something perfectly good is a waste of their talent. They should focus on new technology or science. Gee, robots come to mind. I still have my 45-year-old clock radio that works beautifully.

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  6. You should not use the classic editor. In a recent blog post, wordpress has announced that they will completely withdraw the support for classic editor. If there comes a major update your all previous blog posts can be messed up. A friendly advice.

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    1. Thank you, Vikas. I am aware that they intend to no longer support Classic Editor. As things stand, I will take my chances. I already have 4,000+ posts written in the Classic over the last 8 years, so if they ruin all those, every blogger who started before 2020 will be in the same situation. It would be impossible for me to ‘convert’ all of those to the new system.
      I appreciate your well-intentioned advice.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Reblogged this on My Corner and commented:
    Are you tired of playing with blocks? Would you like to throw WordPress’s block editor out the window? Well, at least for now, if you follow Beetlepete’s instructions, you’ll be able to edit your posts in the classic editor once you’ve created them with Mister Blocky, as he unaffectionately calls Gootenberg.

    As a matter of fact, Casey Matthews with webfriendlyhelp.com followed these instructions when he worked with me on this issue a few days ago, and it worked like a charm. Unfortunately, the classic editor won’t be around forever. So, we all will eventually be sitting on the floor, playing with our blocks for good. But at least for now, there’s a work-around.

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Thanks for posting Pete! I have considered upgrading to a paid plan, but only so I can use some of the themes/tools I do when I build WP framework self-hosted websites. So often, options between the two are different and it’s nice to get a window into how it’s done here, without having to actually upgrade, just yet – I’ve had plenty of chances to, I just haven’t carved out the time to sit and do the full upgrade process, all at once and ensure all the ‘t’s are crossed and i’s dotted’ when I upgrade. Some of my bloggy pals have upgraded and their site is all but inaccessible, etc., to the reader, etc., so figure it’s all in the settings, somewhere – 😀

    Liked by 3 people

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    2. I’ve upgraded to their Business plan because they had a 40% off special for it. Might want to look for that if you’re going to pull the trigger. It took a bit of time for the switchover to synch up with the Reader etc. and there were a few easy to fix quirks. All good now after a few days. WordPress support has been surprisingly outstanding and helpful so far.

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      1. I have considered that in the past, though they ‘welshed’ on providing the genuine Classic plugin they advertised. I will keep an eye on it, and see what happens.
        Best wishes, Pete.

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      2. Thanks for the insight Ray! Yes (long sigh….!). I’ve let 40%, 50%, 60% off coupons for upgrading ‘pass me by’ as I just couldn’t fathom carving out the time to do the ‘transition of upgrading’! :). I’m a website provider that doesn’t even have her own website done yet – LOL – My colleagues in groups are just astounded by this fact and no, I’m not getting $299-$10,000 per site,, per month, for my work – LOL My customers usually call my personal phone or drive into my yard, cuz I live in small community and only take on local jobs – LOL – – thus, to upgrade my blog, in order to better help my bloggy pals here, when they upgrade and things go awry, means more time learning, doing, writing copy on my own dev website (which shall be published, someday!) and well – it often falls to the bottom of the list after taking care of clients, their customers/clients, gardening, and well – by end of the day, or end of a long night testing/pushing major updates on client sites? that I don’t automate because I have yet to trust automation? Sigh – someday – – I’m trying not to be consumed by the reminder in my brain, every time I say, “someday” – – from the movie, “Knight and Day” – – [sic? quote] “Someday is just code for never” :D. I am what I am…… But thank you ever so much for your feedback on your journey! I so appreciate it when “boots on the ground’ folks report in on the many topics I deeply care about for me and others!

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Haw! I totally get it. I am often “recruited” by family and friends to assist on their blogs and such. I enjoy it and it gets folks online. After many questions asking where is your website I put one up a few years ago but I have yet to regularly post to it.

          You know the saying — life gets in the way.

          I stopped worrying about the blog, just tinker with it now and then and post something here and there. It stays fun that way rather than a job to do.

          Blog on!
          Ray

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    1. They were supposed to be leaving the Classic option alone until ‘Late 2021’, but forced the Block Editor through in March. I doubt they will leave the loophole for too long, Clive. They seem to like to exert control over their users. Some bloggers have said that this ‘cheat’ will work until 2023, when the Classic will be removed completely from the platform. I hope they are right about that.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. I don’t think this is a loophole Pete. I complained because I needed the media library back to what it was so I can search on dates and WP themselves told me about this option.

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    1. I tried it with my other blog, and did some trial posts on here too. But I had to constantly keep looking at the ‘how to’ tips on other blogs, and just found it totally unintuitive. If it is ‘just text’, I can work around it. But I had issues with adding images, links, video from You Tube, etc. It stopped me enjoying the whole process of blogging, and if I am not enjoying something, I just won’t do it.
      Maybe I could pay someone to actually sit next to me and show me? That might work.
      Or I could try to learn to speak Chinese, that might be easier. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

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    1. No, I always had a reblog button with a free plan.
      Go to ‘Admin’, look in ‘Tools’, then scroll down to ‘Sharing’. You should be able to activate a reblog button from there.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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          2. I think you must be right about the theme, Pete: the reblog button is showing as an option in my admin dashboard, and it is checked, but not showing on the live blog. I’ve added some sharing buttons anyway. Ironically, the theme I’m using is called Independent Publisher 2! I’ve checked the theme customiser, but no luck there either. If I can be bothered, I’ll check out some different themes, but I’m not very enthusiastic right now. I think that’ll have to be a ’round tuit’ job 😉

            Liked by 1 person

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            1. I know that feeling all too well, Jon.
              Try previewing my theme, which is free. It’s called ‘Penscratch’. If it shows the reblog button, it will at least confirm it’s a theme issue.
              Best wishes, Pete.

              Liked by 1 person

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  21. Just a few days ago WordPress sent out the same instructions to those who subscribe to their mailing list. It would have helped a lot more people if they’d had the foresight to do this a couple of weeks ago before people began to panic about about the changes. Anyway, I’m glad my instructions helped. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

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