Add Help Tab doesn't explain Auto Update Admin

[RDall]

In the help tab on the top right of the update screen you can choose How to Update. It currently shows:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure; just click on the Update button when it says a new version is available.

But then we also added this message since 3.7

You have the latest version of WordPress. Future security updates will be applied automatically.

See screenshot attached below.

​http://cl.ly/image/2b1w0H3L2E1v

I don't have any stats or figures on how many time this help box is used as I rarely click the help box myself but right after the release I open the box and though… I wonder if were confusing people…

While the update to the text would be quite easy. Should it reflex the auto security update and manual updates to the point releases or should it just remain the same?

[nacin]

It would be good to add another paragraph (well, a sentence) explaining that WordPress updates to new maintenance and security releases automatically — if, of course, the site is compatible. Could borrow the logic from about.php.

[rmcrober]

I took a look at the logic in about.php, and for sites that are compatible I added a couple sentences to explain the auto updates.

This is my very first attempt at submitting a patch for core, so ... I won't be sad if you toss it out and go with a more graceful patch. :)

[ocean90]

update-core.diff​ seems to be broken.

[RDall]

Working on a new patch now… Trying out directly creating a diff via SVN vs GIT method.

[RDall]

Changed documentation regarding auto update and added link to auto update configuration page on the codex

[RDall]

Added additional info in the How to Update Screen

[RDall]

Changed wording to better reflect the ability to auto update as apposed you updates will be automatically applied or you have to click apply. I also added wording to the How to Update Screen.

I'd love to have someone form the documentation team look this over.

[kpdesign]

@RDall: I'll take a look at the patch, and get back with you.

[kpdesign]

Some suggested changes to the text for both tabs.

For the Overview tab:

This screen lets you update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repository. When updates are available, the number of available updates will appear in a bubble on the left hand menu as a notification.

It is very important to keep your WordPress installation up to date for security reasons. Since 3.7, WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. You'll still need to click "Update Now" when a new major version has been released.

Please check below to see if your site has the ability to apply the updates automatically.

For the How to Update tab:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure - just click on the "Update Now" button when you are notified that a new major version is available.

Since 3.7, WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. Please check below to see if your site has the ability to apply the updates automatically.

To update themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate "Update" button. Check the box at the top of the Themes or Plugins section to select all, and update them all at once.

I know this increases the content from 2 to 3 paragraphs, but the additional link to be added in the right sidebar will expand the height of the Help screen anyway.

[RDall]

Added kims text suggestions

[RDall]

Replying to kpdesign:

I know this increases the content from 2 to 3 paragraphs, but the additional link to be added in the right sidebar will expand the height of the Help screen anyway.

I think the three paragraphs of text works better because of the additional link I added in the earlier patch to the ​automatic updates page in the codex. Love it when a plan comes together.

[DrewAPicture]

Would be nice to get some eyes-on from other members of the docs team here as well.

[Hanni]

I'm not sure if it's just me, or a British/American thing, but the tenses here - "Since 3.7, WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. " read awkwardly for me. I'd suggest "has had" or even starting the sentence with WordPress has the ability.. and ignoring since 3.7, since it's somewhat superfluous - we're talking in the present tense and the person reading it will only be reading it if they have a version of WordPress which supports automatic updates.

"When updates are available, the number of available updates will appear in a bubble on the left hand menu as a notification." > "When updates available a bubble notification containing the number of available updates will appear in the .." perhaps? Is it called the "left-hand" menu? Nav?

[kpdesign]

Good points Hanni. :)

I've incorporated your suggested changes. Can you take a look and let me know what you think?

Overview tab:

This screen lets you update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repository. When updates are available, a bubble notification containing the number of available updates will appear in the admin menu.

It is very important to keep your WordPress installation up to date for security reasons. WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. You'll still need to click "Update Now" when a new major version has been released.

Please check below to see if your site is able to apply the updates automatically.

How to Update tab:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure - just click on the "Update Now" button when you are notified that a new major version is available.

WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. Please check below to see if your site is able to apply the updates automatically.

To update themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate "Update" button. Check the box at the top of the Themes or Plugins section to select all, and update them all at once.

[RDall]

One though I had was should we include Nacin's ​The definitive guide to disabling auto updates in WordPress 3.7 In the right hand sidebar links.

The reason I ask the question is because it's on Make WordPress and not the Codex and I am not sure if a user should be directed to developer discussions.

What say you?

[nacin]

No, we should not include information on how to disable updates. We should include more information about them, which is likely to lead them to some advanced documentation eventually. Disabling it is for developers. No user in their right mind should be disabling updates. If we make that information readily available, they will simply question why we are doing so. They are reliable, safe, and really should never be disabled by someone not knowing what they're doing.

Separately, I don't think we need to say "since 3.7". They don't need to know when the feature was introduced; help text should be a bit more timeless than that.

I'll take the responsibility of reviewing/committing whatever is drafted and agreed upon here.

[RDall]

Thanks Nacin. I am totally for the auto updates. It was just something I thought I would bring up. I will create another patch with Kim's suggestion text.

[Hanni]

Pondering further, is "a bubble notification containing the number of available updates will appear in the admin menu." to that level of detail needed?

Just a notification containing the number of available updates will appear? I'm sure there's a better way to say this but it's eluding me.

[kpdesign]

@RDall: I would wait until we're done iterating on the text before creating another patch.

@Hanni: I think we do need to point out where the notification will appear. New users may not know where to look for it. So maybe: "When updates are available, a notification will appear in the admin menu."

@Nacin: Should we include a link to the Background Update Tester plugin? ​http://wordpress.org/plugins/background-update-tester/

[Hanni]

Replying to kpdesign:

@RDall: I would wait until we're done iterating on the text before creating another patch.

@Hanni: I think we do need to point out where the notification will appear. New users may not know where to look for it. So maybe: "When updates are available, an available updates notification will appear in the admin menu."

@Nacin: Should we include a link to the Background Update Tester plugin? ​http://wordpress.org/plugins/background-update-tester/

Sounds better to me with regards to the text there. Don't see why we'd include a link to the plugin: updates are being touted as a seamless feature which remove a layer of complexity for the user so should't simultaneously introduce other potentially complex options, IMHO.

[kpdesign]

Replying to Hanni:

Sounds better to me with regards to the text there. Don't see why we'd include a link to the plugin: updates are being touted as a seamless feature which remove a layer of complexity for the user so should't simultaneously introduce other potentially complex options, IMHO.

You're right about the plugin link.

I edited my previous post while you were replying, and reworded that text. Better/worse?

"When updates are available, a notification will appear in the admin menu."

[Hanni]

Sounds better to me.

[RDall]

Third time is a charm… Adds Hanni and Kim's suggested text.

[Hanni]

@RDall looks like you've used the wrong version of the text in that patch; I'm still seeing "Since 3.7..."

[RDall]

Replying to Hanni:

@RDall looks like you've used the wrong version of the text in that patch; I'm still seeing "Since 3.7..."

Ya looks like I will have to delete the branch and commit a new one… any diff I cut is having issues… Sorry about that folks disregard.

[RDall]

Changes made to text on Hanni and Kim Suggestion.

[kpdesign]

25688.4.diff​ contains all of the suggested changes.

I'm happy with the text in that patch. @Hanni, can you review it please?

[Hanni]

I worry that part of the text has lost its friendly tone:

It is very important to keep your WordPress installation up to date for security reasons, so when you see a number appear, make sure you take the time to update, which is an easy process.

has become

It is very important to keep your WordPress installation up to date for security reasons. WordPress has the ability to apply maintenance and security releases automatically. You'll still need to click "Update Now" when a new major version has been released.

Additionally, it's telling the user about the "Update Now" button in the "Overview" tab, before doing so more logically in the "How to Update" tab, so, perhaps we can rephrase this. Arguably the previous text "so when you see a number appear, make sure you take the time to update, which is an easy process." still applies in this first section of the tab, no?

[kpdesign]

@Hanni: Once again, good points. :)

I reworked the text to include your suggestions. Re: calling it the "admin menu" for the notifications, the Inline Help on the Dashboard refers to it as the navigation menu, so I changed that for consistency.

I also added an inline link, on both tabs, to the section of the Updating WordPress Codex page that explains what automatic background updates are.

Thoughts?

Overview tab:

This screen lets you update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repository. When you have updates available, a notification will appear in the navigation menu.

It is important to keep your WordPress installation up to date for security reasons. Updating is an easy process, so when you see a notification, make sure you take the time to update.

You will need to update when a new major version has been released. WordPress is able to ​automatically apply maintenance and security updates in the background. Check below to see if your site is able to apply these updates automatically.

How to Update tab:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple process - click the "Update Now" button when you are notified that a new major version of WordPress is available.

For maintenance and security releases, WordPress is able to ​automatically apply the updates in the background. Check below to see if your site is able to apply these updates automatically.

To update themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate "Update" button. Check the box at the top of the Themes or Plugins section to select all, and update them all at once.

[RDall]

Patch with internal links… Still gives fatal error on line on line 468.

[RDall]

Hi all trying as hard as I can I still can't get the patch to work with the internal links, Even with @DrewAPicture's help this morning.

This level of patching is somewhat over my head and as much as I like to finish this off. It might just be easier or timely for someone to fix the error rather then me stumbling through this…

I can then learn from the proper patch.

The error is in:

Fatal error: Call to a member function add_help_tab() on a non-object in /wp-admin/update-core.php on line 468

[ocean90]

@RDall Your are calling add_help_tab() on a string. You have to do get_current_screen()->add_help_tab() and get_current_screen()-> set_help_sidebar().

[RDall]

But when I change line 467 and 477 to

get_current_screen()->add_help_tab()( array(

and 483 to

get_current_screen()->set_help_sidebar

all I get is a white screen. Syntax? I got nothing…

[JustinSainton]

Hey @RDall,

When I used the proper get_current_screen() function, it seems to work fine for me - no white screen. Can you try to apply 25688.6.diff​ and see if that does the trick for you?

[RDall]

Now I can't even apply a downloaded patch… 

fatal: corrupt patch at line 62

And when I try to apply the patch directly from WordPress it gives me this error.

patch unexpectedly ends in middle of line
Hunk #2 FAILED at 461.
1 out of 2 hunks FAILED -- saving rejects to file wp-admin/update-core.php.rej

This is on a completely new branch as well?

I am just going to have to pull back and let the experts handle this… I am just spinning my wheels here :-(

[kpdesign]

Incorporates latest text changes, adds entities for special characters

[kpdesign]

@RDall: I've incorporated the text changes and changes for special characters in 25688.7.diff​, with minimal code changes. I've tested it on my local install, and it works for me. Please try applying this patch and see if it works for you.

[helen]

Replying to RDall:

Now I can't even apply a downloaded patch… 

You have to download and apply the raw attachment, not the Trac-formatted display of a patch that patches link to by default. The little icon next to attachment names gets you the raw attachment.

[RDall]

Okay!!! @Helen I figured out the difference.

I can't drag the diff file into the terminal. I have to manually type it in.

So this worked:

git apply ~/Desktop/25688.7.diff

But this didn't

git apply /Users/32silverkeys/Desktop/25688.7.diff 

Subtle differences… Regardless I was able to apply Kim's patch and it worked perfectly and keeps the similar structure of the code. Thanks for showing me the way Kim!

This was a valuable learning experience… Both for Git and how internal links within help docs are formatted…

(ps. I say lets commit this puppy and we can all go to the pub…)

[DrewAPicture]

paring knife

[DrewAPicture]

25688.8.diff​ pares down a lot of the redundant text between the two tabs in 25688.7.diff​:

Note: A lot of this is the old strings reworked into current core style, e.g. bolding the actions, quoting the buttons, other small language tweaks. The notifications string and auto-updates string in the 'Overview' tab are new.

Overview:

On this screen, you can update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repositories.

For security reasons, it is important to keep your WordPress installation up to date whenever possible. When updates are available, notifications will appear in the Toolbar and navigation menu. If you see a notification, make sure to take the time to update.

In most cases, WordPress can automatically apply maintenance and security updates in the background for you. Check below to see if automatic updates will work with your site.

How to Update:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure; just click on the “Update” button when you are notified that a new version is available.

To update themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate “Update” button. Check the box at the top of the Themes or Plugins section to select all, and update them all at once.

[SergeyBiryukov]

25688.9.diff​ makes the link a part of the translatable string, to follow the pattern of other Codex links in core. sprintf() would make sense if the same link was used in other places (like in #25079).

[DrewAPicture]

Replying to SergeyBiryukov:

25688.9.diff​ makes the link a part of the translatable string, to follow the pattern of other Codex links in core. sprintf() would make sense if the same link was used in other places (like in #25079).

Cool. I think in other places we may have split it out just to keep the URL out of the string, but I could be mistaken.

[DrewAPicture]

Shorten notifications string

[DrewAPicture]

With 25688.10.diff​, I shortened the notifications string in the Overview tab to be less redundant.

Again note: A lot of this is the old strings reworked into current core style, e.g. bolding the actions, quoting the buttons, other small language tweaks. The notifications string and auto-updates string in the 'Overview' tab are new.

That gives leaves us with the following from .10:

Overview:

On this screen, you can update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repositories.

For security reasons, it is important to keep your WordPress installation up to date whenever possible. If you see an update notification appear in the Toolbar or navigation menu, make sure to take the time to update.

In most cases, WordPress can automatically apply maintenance and security updates in the background for you. Check below to see if automatic updates will work with your site.

How to Update:

Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure; just click on the “Update” button when you are notified that a new version is available.

To update themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate “Update” button. Check the box at the top of the Themes or Plugins section to select all, and update them all at once.

[DrewAPicture]

<nacin> DrewAPicture: let's not commit it. needs a lot of work. will loop back to it.

[Clorith]

Adding in something about when it checks for updates would be ideal, right after 3.7.1 came out we had a surge of people wanting to know why their site wasn't updated yet, as the timing on how and when it checks for updates isn't easily available anywhere.

[jenmylo]

Here's what I'd do to Drew's.

Overview Tab:

On this screen, you can update to the latest version of WordPress, as well as update your themes and plugins from the WordPress.org repositories.

For security reasons, it is important to keep your WordPress installation up to date whenever possible. If you see an update notification appear in the Toolbar or navigation menu, make sure to take the time to update.

How to Update tab:

WordPress
Updating your WordPress installation is a simple one-click procedure; just click on the “Update Now” button when you are notified that a new version is available. In most cases, WordPress can automatically apply maintenance and security updates in the background for you. A message at the top of this screen shows whether or not automatic updates will work with your site.

Themes and Plugins
To update individual themes or plugins from this screen, use the checkboxes to make your selection, then click on the appropriate “Update” button. To update all of your themes or plugins at once, you can check the box at the top of the section to select all before clicking the update button.

[trepmal]

With @jenmylo's suggestions

[iammattthomas]

In 26818:

Updates screen Help page should explain the auto-update feature. Fixes #25688, props jenmylo, trepmal.

[iammattthomas]

and props DrewAPicture; sorry about that.

[nacin]

In 26825:

Tighten up the help documentation on the updates page, and add a section for updating translations. see #25688.

[kpdesign]

This sentence seems to be missing a word after "important":

"Keeping your site up to date is an important for your site's security, and makes the internet a safer place for you and your readers."

Should it be "Keeping your site up to date is important for your site's security, and..." instead?

[nacin]

In 26828:

Fix typo in help string. props kpdesign. fixes #25688.