Try: Remove alignments from paragraph toolbar. - #83945

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Co-authored-by: jasmussen <joen@git.wordpress.org>
Co-authored-by: fabiankaegy <fabiankaegy@git.wordpress.org>
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Size Change: -7 B (0%)

Total Size: 8.25 MB

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Error: expect(string).toMatchSnapshot(expected) failed

  @@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
   <!-- wp:paragraph -->
  -<p>2Cut - collapsed selection</p>
  +<p>2</p>
   <!-- /wp:paragraph -->


    at /home/runner/work/gutenberg/gutenberg/test/e2e/specs/editor/various/copy-cut-paste.spec.js:45:49

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I sympathize with the want of shortening the toolbar, and I think that that's an admirable goal that we should strive towards. I'm just not sure how I feel about the actual implementation detail of this.

Yes, technically speaking, you can use the alignment controls of a group block to control its inner children. However, the way that it's currently working today, where you have to manually opt out of the inner block alignment, is just too difficult for most regular users to grasp. It's more of a power feature to understand the concept of group layout controls, and I'm worried that if we go this direction, it's really going to make this much more difficult for users.

I personally would prefer us to keep all of the options there somehow exposed (even if we make them more hidden in the UI), but allow the alignment controls to still be present on every single block, including the paragraph block.

Moving over a comment I posted on the wrong PR! 🙈

Incidentally that also responds to your feedback, Fabian:

If we wanted to keep the block alignment as an option, it could be an option that lived in the Layout panel for all blocks. Whether we show it by default, or have you add it via the ToolsPanel, we can discuss, and here's a mockup:

Noting that the dropdown could be a ToggleGroupControl (segmented control) instead, but if we did that, we'd miss out on the ability to, in the dropdown, show help text for unavailable widths.

Hmmm....One thing that for me feels consistent well kind of anyway (perhaps just a wish). Is having the alignment icon in the toolbar for all blocks where it is needed. Also for blocks that have to do with text having text alignments. As the toolbar is the most obvious place for the options that are most needed or used. Customers can add blocks but adding Group blocks and then inner blocks that is one more step which becomes too advanced for many customers. Moving alignments to the sidebar they become more hidden and not so easily seen.

Btw the alignment through Group block and the toggle for alignment in the sidebar....I still find that confusing.

Opened #83955 as an alternative to this.

Even if we remove a single button from the Paragraph block's toolbar, we will likely encounter the same issue again soon. The toolbar can be easily extended by plugins. In any case, block supports should not be removed from the Paragraph block. These supports have already changed many times in the past.

• Added: Blocks: Merge paragraph and cover text blocks #2452
• Removed: fix: Remove block alignment from paragraph block (fix #6476) #6511
• Re-added: Paragraph: add align wide full supports #73958
• Re-removed: this PR

I appreciate the looks. @youknowriad gave a similar opinion here. I think it's important we have explored this territory, just so we're knowingly moving forward.

In that sense, I think I'll close both of these. What do you think of #83265, though? Still worth keeping?

I think #83265 is still worth keeping, as it simply hid unavailable options rather than disabling alignment block support itself.