Community Suggestion: Allow Us to Set Old Editor As Default

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Allow Us to Set Old Editor As Default

User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) · Generic · Created by J. L. Gryphon
declined

Request

  Allow us to set the old editor as the default preference instead of what's currently required, which is to manually select the preference EVERY single time you click the "edit article" button.  

Reason

  While I appreciate the desire to innovate and improve the website, that relies on the stipulation that the innovations and improvements are actually good. The new editor, while it has potential, is clearly not finished or optimized yet, which is why I don't understand why it is being pushed this hard. Wait a while longer before pushing it because, in its current state, it's a buggy mess. In the meantime, AT LEAST give us the option to set the old editor as the default.   Right now, you can still access the old editor, but you have to go down to the little triple dots and select that as your preference. This would be fine if this was needed once, but you have to do this EVERY single time you click the "edit article" button. This is annoying to begin with, but it becomes even more annoying when you're jumping back and forth editing multiple articles at a time.   Please, until the new editor is actually ready (it's not ready yet), PLEASE at least let us select the old editor as the default so you don't have to select that preference literally every time.   Reasons I don't want to use the new editor in its current form (so far):   1. The need to manually turn on every single prompt. In the old editor, it was just one single click that would show all the prompts as an option (logically subdivided by tabs depending on the article type), and you could choose to leave it blank or not. With this new editor, absolutely zero prompts show up unless you manually switch them on. This means that, unless YOU think of the prompt, you probably won't turn it on unless you painstakingly read through the drop-down list, which takes WAY more time than the way the previous version did it.   Oh, bonus annoyance, let's say you spend the time manually turning on every single prompt? You'll have to do that AGAIN the next time you jump in to edit again. For someone like me who frequently jumps between the world view and the article view while editing so I can see the progress so far, that becomes a MASSIVE pain.   Way to fix: Have all the prompts ON by default, and that way people can at least see they're an option instead of being forced to go into a menu and read what each one is every single time.   Problem with fix: The old editor had this fix already in place and was way less laggy, so why not just keep the old editor? Again, if it's not broken, don't "fix" it.   2. The addition of a little icon next to the article title. For some reason, this has been added as a "feature." Yes, you can turn it off, but once again, you have to delete it every single time you jump in to edit the article. It doesn't remember your choice.   Way to fix: Have the editor remember that you deleted the icon, and don't have it autopopulate that slot. Have it as an option for those who want it, but don't make me turn it off every single time I jump back in to edit something as simple as a comma.   Way to fix: Avoid adding an icon next to the article at all. Why is this a thing?   3. Bugs galore.   4. Lack of functionality compared to the old editor. Clunky, less intuitive, and poor category organization.   I really appreciate the desire to innovate and make things better. I really do. But this is not it. At least not yet. And until it is, bare minimum, PLEASE let me stop needing to select that I want the old editor every single time I go in to edit something.   Please.

Follow up


Apologies for the amount of times I said "I." Please know I was including every World Anvil user as I imagine there are many others struggling with the same thing. :)   (Would have edited for that, but it won't let me edit the initial post)
I've played around with the new editor a lot more now, and it's worse than what I originally thought. Apparently there is actually a button that let's you turn on all the prompts at once, but this just makes it dump everything in at once instead of having it neatly organized like the old editor has it. No wonder the entire thing lags.   Speaking of lag, in using the new editor the way I normally would, just editing several articles back and forth, it completely freaked out, froze, crashed twice, and I had to completely exit my entire browser (not just the tab, I mean my entire browser). I had to restart my entire browser TWICE. I have fiber-optic internet and an extremely high-end PC, so it's definitely not a problem on my end.   Other minor note, with the new editor, the spaces under article headers (H1-H4 etc.) are larger than in the old editor, making the world view of articles look less clean. More a nitpick, but as someone who prioritizes their articles looking really nice, that space under the header being larger than necessary is just another nail in the coffin for me. Tested with the old editor, the spacing under the headers goes back to normal so long as you save it using the old editor.   On that note, there is no "save" button in the new editor that I can find, making me nervously click to see the world view without knowing if it had saved or not. No green "autosave" window ever popped like in the old editor either, so it was impossible to tell if it was saving or not. If there is a manual save button I'm not seeing, please let me know.
In the old editor, there's a nice big, easily-accessible save button right on the left at all times.
*right
To those saying it's a computer issue, it's actually not, using myself as proof. I have a very high-end, new computer with very good internet, and it still struggled horribly, crashed twice, and forced me to restart my browser twice. The computer is not the problem. This is an optimization issue that IS something that needs to be fixed on WA's end.

The Team's Response

Thanks for the suggestion! This will not be implemented, as the old edit UI is now unsupported (i.e. all new features will be implemented on the new edit UI only). Regarding not having manual save button, it was recently decided that an option to have manual save will be introduced. A lot of performance optimizations have been implemented as well, so it should feel much better than when this suggestion was open (for example, I have a mid-range computer and I no longer get any lag). That said, we're always very open to specific feedback so we can keep improving World Anvil (as you can see in the changelog; many updates there are based on specific constructive feedback we've been getting from users).
Login to Vote
Current score

77/300 Votes · +22800 points

Votes Cast

  • +300

    by kerahope
    on 2025-12-19 05:53

  • +300

    by GrassyHorizon
    on 2025-12-18 22:13

  • +300

    by Elb Tenebris
    on 2025-12-18 20:31
    The old UI was much preferred.

  • +300

    by Biggamer69
    on 2025-12-18 14:54

  • +300

    by A Beloved Skeleton
    on 2025-12-17 19:58

  • +300

    by Tyrdal
    on 2025-12-16 22:19

  • +300

    by Ebsfive
    on 2025-12-16 02:28

  • +300

    by Zeepee
    on 2025-12-15 14:27

  • +300

    by Architrave Gaming
    on 2025-12-14 19:53
    They need to get a new design director so they stop making these mistakes. Their goals must be all out of whack for this to keep happening.

  • +300

    by irpguardian
    on 2025-12-14 08:15

  • +300

    by BenScerri
    on 2025-12-14 02:08
    The current UI does nothing but alienate WA's oldest and most active users. If they want it to act as a way to attract new users, that's fine, but it shouldn't come at the cost of UX for those of us who have literally given hundreds if not 1000+ dollars to this site since its launch. It NEEDS to be made opt-in for us.

  • +300

    by Autumn Fae
    on 2025-12-13 17:13

  • +300

    by A Fierce Bananafolk
    on 2025-12-13 16:18

  • +300

    by RCMPenguin
    on 2025-12-13 02:36

  • +300

    by Writing Bishop
    on 2025-12-13 00:49

  • +300

    by TerraggosaurusRex
    on 2025-12-12 09:26

  • +300

    by Mekachu04
    on 2025-12-11 06:07

  • +300

    by SarahKGT
    on 2025-12-11 00:10
    This. This so much. But also : another thing I'd like to add is, since a few months, the editor, even the old one, doesn't always remember my bbcode formatting. For instance, I will put
    test
    , and if reopen the article later, and I don't: 1 - Put each and every field in which I put this formatted text in "View source" 2 - Then hit save It will delete all my bbcode or mess up with it (particularly justify and line jumps) Quite annoying and I've lost a lot of time over it.

  • +300

    by Piggie4299
    on 2025-12-10 11:06

  • +300

    by Scalenex
    on 2025-12-10 00:27
    I would put all my coins towards this if I could

  • +300

    by DepressedDM466
    on 2025-12-09 22:23

  • +300

    by Tris
    on 2025-12-09 21:30
    Even after a month, the new UI remains completely unusable for me. It's incredibly hard on the eyes, insane amount of scrolling is needed to find anything and my workflow is completely ruined. I appreciate all the hard work that is going into this, improvements were certainly made, but so far, the new UI is not usable and having to constantly switch back and forth, having to find a teeny button to switch back to the old interface for literally everything makes using WA insanely frustrating. I have not only lost time trying to navigate the changes but also words given how unstable this interface continues to be. I am heartbroken I even have to type all this, but I have never ever disliked working on WA until now.

  • +300

    by BurningGod
    on 2025-12-09 20:37

  • +300

    by ImoenKim
    on 2025-12-09 11:39

  • +300

    by atrippuk
    on 2025-12-09 10:17

  • +300

    by zatek
    on 2025-12-08 15:25

  • +100

    by JBNell
    on 2025-12-08 04:51

  • +300

    by Niko_Kirova
    on 2025-12-08 03:42

  • +300

    by Arirthos
    on 2025-12-08 00:12

  • +300

    by lyamasaki
    on 2025-12-07 14:32
    The new UI has ruined my UX

  • +300

    by restlessGalaxy
    on 2025-12-07 10:47

  • +300

    by N.Bronze
    on 2025-12-07 05:38
    LOVE THE OLD EDITOR!!!

  • +300

    by PrippyMontyPoppyCock
    on 2025-12-07 03:16

  • +300

    by A Filthy Devil
    on 2025-12-06 10:59

  • +300

    by Evie Magpie
    on 2025-12-06 09:29
    The entirety of the new back end UI. Editor and otherwise looks fancy at the cost of causing pc issues, and being an inefficient tool to make my workflow worse. The old UI did the opposite. I'm all for an OPTION for simplification to help new users. This is neither an option or simpler as it's organization is terrible among many other complaints.

  • +300

    by SableAradia
    on 2025-12-06 08:22
    I'm sorry. I know you guys worked *really hard* on this. I know you've been talking about it for two or three years. I know how much money and time and effort you spent on this. But I don't like it. At all. And neither does my entire editing team of 20 people who work on a large community world on WA. All month, I have been listening to them swearing and stammering in voice chat as they tried desperately to navigate the new UI. Many who have been Anvilites for years, including former and present members of the Anvilite Streamer Corps, are telling me they are considering cancelling their memberships. JL Gryphon is correct, as well - this is not a computer issue. This UI has crashed my computer routinely since the shift and everyone I know has had similar problems with their browsers or computers crashing, and on a variety of browsers. I'm begging you, please let us turn the old UI on by default. This is not ready yet :( I know this is hard to hear, and again, I am sorry <3

  • +300

    by Clockwocket
    on 2025-12-06 07:43
    The new interface is largely unusable. Stop shoving it down our throats.

  • +300

    by Orfaulkner
    on 2025-12-06 07:42
    If the new UI is here to stay I think this suggestion is a must.

  • +300

    by Worldwildbuilder
    on 2025-12-06 05:18

  • +300

    by Zimo
    on 2025-12-05 13:15

  • +300

    by TheSilenceFalls
    on 2025-12-04 18:53
    Yes please! I thought I was going crazy. The new one feels way less organized, and even when I click "Use Old Version" (every. single. time.) I feel like it gives me different editors within that. If the new version remains, it would be the only thing that pushes me away from World Anvil long term.

  • +300

    by walfs
    on 2025-12-04 18:18
    Wish I could spend all of my points on voting this up. The site is basically unusable to me now.

  • +100

    by A Beloved Hobbit
    on 2025-12-04 12:51
    Good stars, the new editor just keeps running into issues. While I can work with it almost as well as I could the old one, I will add that my old Chromebook with an unsupported OS is able to switch back-and-forth between editing articles without major issue. So not only did the new editor manage to crash a browser on a new high-end PC, it also manages to NOT do that on a machine that by all rights should struggle with it more - which, my best guess is it might be a memory leak issue? Those can wreak havoc on certain system setups that're more complex than my Chromebook.   But yeah, definitely not a computer issue, seeing as if it was, then by all rights my Chromebook shouldn't even be able to open the new editor if a new PC had that kind of trouble.

  • +300

    by sparky2ben
    on 2025-12-04 04:49

  • +300

    by lguebert
    on 2025-12-04 02:18

  • +300

    by liviajelliot
    on 2025-12-03 22:32

  • +300

    by JetpackMonkey
    on 2025-12-03 18:32

  • +300

    by A Fierce Dwarf
    on 2025-12-03 04:57

  • +300

    by YngAnvil1
    on 2025-12-02 21:52

  • +300

    by A Fierce Unicorn
    on 2025-12-01 20:08

  • +300

    by Kranjax
    on 2025-12-01 18:52
    I dont dislike the new editor, but i atually quite like and am used to the old one. I have wanted to use the old editor by default since the very first overley editor. I just... like it. I like the subdivision, the save button, and the performance was never an issue for me. Bonus: it worked for me with all screen resolutions

  • +300

    by Tetronas
    on 2025-12-01 18:32
    I'm always down for improvements and modifications to be made, but the old editor is more intuitive and better for a writing process. Until the "new" editor has access to all of the same prompting and has the same keystrokes to access the same information, even if it's pretty, it falls flat on functionality by a large margin

  • +300

    by A Beloved Dragon
    on 2025-12-01 17:49

  • +300

    by HS GMs
    on 2025-12-01 01:49

  • +300

    by Gregorian
    on 2025-12-01 00:03

  • +300

    by blutfort
    on 2025-11-30 19:47
    This isn't a computer issue. I tested it on my work computer that I run Autodesk Inventor on. No problems.

  • +300

    by Alikzander_Wulfe
    on 2025-11-30 19:14
    I wish I could upvote this a hundred times.... Just all of this

  • +300

    by SMREA
    on 2025-11-30 15:06

  • +300

    by cow2face
    on 2025-11-30 15:00

  • +300

    by Dutrius
    on 2025-11-30 08:31
    I have a bargain low-spec laptop I sometimes use for writing when I'm away from my main computer. It can barely load even a single tab as it is. I would also like the legacy text editor back too while I'm voting. It was so much easier to work with on smaller screens.

  • +300

    by J. I. Rogers
    on 2025-11-30 07:59

  • +300

    by Mardrena
    on 2025-11-30 02:02
    YES! Take my points! I'm all for the "old world" everything, dashboard, image manager, all the good stuff. it WORKED. it WORKED. If you have a classic car and take care of it well the company doesn't get to waltz in and take a sledgehammer to it then say hey buy the new car its new see its new you should like it why don't you like it? Stop it with the forced obsolescence. You don't throw away a working grandfather clock just to replace it with a stupid Alexa module that won't shut its piehole.

  • +300

    by Demodius
    on 2025-11-29 19:26

  • +300

    by Mikgucci
    on 2025-11-29 19:20

  • +300

    by Draconic Judy
    on 2025-11-29 19:17

  • +300

    by KarlZone
    on 2025-11-29 12:57

  • +300

    by Angbrennil
    on 2025-11-29 11:09

  • +300

    by Drawkill Dragon
    on 2025-11-29 02:18

  • +100

    by NaloAsgeer
    on 2025-11-28 18:42

  • +300

    by Mahdi Avendesora
    on 2025-11-28 18:20

  • +300

    by dungeon-panda
    on 2025-11-28 17:04

  • +300

    by Erik Lagerborg
    on 2025-11-28 15:22

  • +300

    by A Adorable Orc
    on 2025-11-28 12:02

  • +300

    by Jacob-W
    on 2025-11-27 22:21

  • +300

    by Ratha
    on 2025-11-27 17:54
    The new UI is clearly optimized for people who can afford newer, better computers, and doesn't take into account those of us who can't.

  • +300

    by WeStanNikolai
    on 2025-11-27 16:09

  • +300

    by SplendorS
    on 2025-11-27 13:51

  • +300

    by J. L. Gryphon
    on 2025-11-27 12:36
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