GDPR WP Pointer dismiss link can be unreachable

[imath]

WordPress Plugins can add admin menu pages and move the Tools menu very low in the page, so low it's no more possible to reach the "Dismiss" link for regular users. Here's an example with BuddyPress activated :

I'm attaching a "workaround" patch to this ticket, but I think WP Pointer should allow the arrow to be positioned at the bottom of the box to avoid this kind of situation. Here's a screenshot of the workaround :

[audrasjb]

Related: #43942

[audrasjb]

Hi @imath thanks for the ticket,

Note: I reproduced this edge case by using the following viewport:

• height: less than 550px
• width: more than 960px

[iandunn]

I think this is essentially the same problem as #43996, which was closed as wontfix. If it's a common occurance, though, maybe we should reconsider, especially since this has a patch. We'll need to make sure the patch doesn't have any side-effects, though, so testing on various real-world sites would be very helpful.

[imath]

@audrasjb

Well I think more than the screen resolution, it's the number of admin menus added by plugins that you need to consider. For instance on my good old MacBook Pro (1280 x 800), this happens when there are 3 new admin menus positioned before the tools one (eg: BuddyPress with the Groups and Activity components active). If there are 4 new admin menus, there's no problem.

So there's probably a number of menus for each screen resolution ;) Here's a function to find yours by replacing 3 with another number:

function random_admins_menu() {
	for ( $i = 1; $i <= 3; $i++ ) {
		add_menu_page(
			'random' . $i,
			'random' . $i,
			'manage_options',
			'random' . $i,
			'index.php',
			'',
			70
		);
	}
}
add_action( 'admin_menu', 'random_admins_menu' );

[audrasjb]

You’re absolutely right @imath this is not (only) a viewport issue.
I think the next bug scrub is scheduled Monday, and this ticket should be fixed since it is now milestoned for 4.9.6 :)

[desrosj]

The main issue that @imath is trying to address here is that it is really easy for the actual dismiss button is below the fold when there are custom menu items (which is different than #43996). This patch fixes that for me. I tested with the menu collapsed, and expanded/collapsed on RTL.

It does not fix the issue in #43996 where screen sizes causing the menu to scroll detach the notice from the menu item (which still may be a wontfix).

[iandunn]

In 43246:

Privacy: Reposition pointer to ensure dismiss link is always visible.

r43158 introduced a new admin pointer for the privacy tools added in 4.9.6. With the previous positioning, though, sometimes the Dismiss link would be fixed off screen, making it impossible for the user to dismiss the pointer. This happened when there were enough extra menu items, or when the viewport height was short enough.

This commit repositions the pointer to work around that problem. One down side of this workaround is that the arrow will not always be positioned next to the Tools menu, where it should be. That's an acceptable compromise given the current time constraints, though. A long term solution would be to make WP_Pointer robust enough to handle this use case.

Props imath, audrasjb, desrosj.
Fixes #44045.

[iandunn]

Replying to desrosj:

The main issue that @imath is trying to address here is that it is really easy for the actual dismiss button is below the fold when there are custom menu items (which is different than #43996).

Er, you're right. 44045-workaround.patch​ tested well for me too in various browsers and both LTR/RTL.

Reopening for 4.9 backport consideration.

[SergeyBiryukov]

In 43253:

Privacy: Reposition pointer to ensure dismiss link is always visible.

r43158 introduced a new admin pointer for the privacy tools added in 4.9.6. With the previous positioning, though, sometimes the Dismiss link would be fixed off screen, making it impossible for the user to dismiss the pointer. This happened when there were enough extra menu items, or when the viewport height was short enough.

This commit repositions the pointer to work around that problem. One down side of this workaround is that the arrow will not always be positioned next to the Tools menu, where it should be. That's an acceptable compromise given the current time constraints, though. A long term solution would be to make WP_Pointer robust enough to handle this use case.

Props imath, audrasjb, desrosj.
Merges [43246] to the 4.9 branch.
Fixes #44045.

[desrosj]

Moving to the new Privacy component.