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Navigation: Lack of Nav editing when in Page template #76328
Description
What problem does this address?
I am working on creating a mobile menu in the navigation.
In a pages template -> selecting Header -> selecting the Header menu. In the sidebar selecting List view
I see this:
When I click into the navigation inside the header (Pages template first screen)
I expect that Gutenberg understands that I have clicked the navigation and want to do something with it.
I see Content - Navigation - Settings
Content: Site Title and Navigation. Clicking Navigation moves into the Navigation. Settings contain header designs.
I expect to an easy way enter into editing the Navigation.
What is missing here is being able to enter Navigation edit mode.
I have to click Edit original to enter editing mode of the header and the navigation.
I see this:
Having to enter editing of the header to edit the navigation just feels off. Navigation editing should be available on the pages template area.
Focusing on navigation on the page template level shows less options compared to going to edit the header level in isolated mode.
https://kommodo.ai/recordings/eww3xAWZhHOYLPyYxV8t?onlyRecording=1
Activity
paaljoachim commentedon Mar 9, 2026
Editing the Navigation should really have nothing to do with editing the header.
Navigation is independent.
Context/options should change based on what is selected.
Header is selected one sees options that have to do with the Header.
Navigation is selected one should see options that have to do with editing the navigation.
It is strange that the context does not change depending on what is selected.
Adding in this link:
Navigation Sidebar as a discovery and editing surface
#76037
ramonjd commentedon Mar 10, 2026
Hi Paal! Thanks for the issue. So I understand, do you think that block settings for the nav block should be available inside a pattern template by default (so you don't have to click "Edit navigation")?
paaljoachim commentedon Mar 10, 2026
Hey Ramon
Selecting something should show the relevant settings to what is selected.
So in a page template. I click the navigation in the header or elsewhere I expect WordPress to show me the relevant editing areas for the Navigation. Currently it does not do that. To get to the relevant editing tools for the Navigation I have to click into the header and select to edit it. Then when clicking the Navigation inside the isolated header mode the relevant tools are made available.
paaljoachim commentedon Mar 10, 2026
This is just one part of a bigger whole where editing Navigation is very tricky.
As there are multiple paths that should lead to Navigation editing which is not doing so.
I have posted into Slack here: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00/p1773179790812929?thread_ts=1773072845.904149&cid=C015GUFFC00
paaljoachim commentedon Mar 12, 2026
I made a much bigger issue in #76419
Should I then close this issue? As this becomes a smaller part of the other issue.
paaljoachim commentedon Mar 12, 2026
Moving the discussion to Site Editor - Navigation: The journey of finding Settings and Styles for editing the Navigation.
#76419