UO Blogs was upgraded to WordPress 5.1.1 on Sunday, April 28, 2019.

Creators and administrators of blog sites at UO Blogs are encouraged to check their sites to ensure they’re still working properly.

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Here are some highlights of WordPress 5.1.1:

New Editing Interface (Optional)

The new “Block Editor” (a.k.a. “Gutenberg”) is now available as an optional alternative to the existing (“Classic”) editing interface: https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/.

The Classic Editor will remain the default for UO Blogs. To enable the Block Editor on your site, go to the site’s Dashboard, hover over Settings, click on Writing, and select Block Editor.

CampusPress says: “[W]e think that most users will find [the Block Editor] easy to use and in the end, it is a better editing experience for WordPress.”

Improved File Uploads

Extra numbers and letters will no longer be added to the names of uploaded files.

New Default Theme

New UO Blogs sites will now use WordPress’s Twenty Nineteen theme by default: https://wordpress.org/themes/twentynineteen/.

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Help with UO Blogs

If you have any questions or notice problems with your site, please submit a help request through the UO Service Portal:

1. Go to the “Web Development & Hosting” service entry: https://service.uoregon.edu/TDClient/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=26593
2. Click the green “Request Help” button.
3. Log in with your Duck ID.
4. Complete the form. (Where specified, select “Help with an existing website,” then select “UO Blogs” as your web hosting solution.)
5. Click the green “Request” button.

UO Blogs will be undergoing maintenance very early on Sunday, April 28.

Specifically, CampusPress — the company behind UO Blogs — will be upgrading the version of WordPress that UO Blogs uses. After the upgrade, we recommend that you check all of the UO Blogs sites you administer to ensure they’re still working properly.

Upgrade Timing

The upgrade will begin at midnight Pacific Daylight Time (3am Eastern Daylight Time) on Sunday. CampusPress expects to complete it within 8 hours. There may be a few minutes of downtime.

Upgrade Features

Here are the most noticeable changes in the new version of WordPress (5.1.1):

• New editing interface (optional): A new “Block Editor” (a.k.a. “Gutenberg”) will be made available as an optional alternative to the current (“Classic”) editing interface. The Classic Editor will remain the default for UO Blogs, but you can enable the Block Editor on your site(s). CampusPress says, “[W]e think that most users will find [the Block Editor] easy to use and in the end,it is a better editing experience for WordPress.” Learn more: https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/.
• File uploads: Extra numbers and letters will no longer be added to the names of uploaded files.
• Default theme: New UO Blogs sites created after the upgrade will use WordPress’s new “Twenty Nineteen” theme by default: https://wordpress.org/themes/twentynineteen/.

Contact Points

If you have any questions, or notice problems after the upgrade, please submit a help request through the UO Service Portal:

1. Go to the “Web Development & Hosting” service entry: https://service.uoregon.edu/TDClient/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=26593
2. Click the green “Request Help” button.
3. Log in with your Duck ID.
4. Complete the form. (Where specified, select “Help with an existing website,” then select “UO Blogs” as your web hosting solution.)
5. Click the green “Request” button.

Requests submitted through the UO Service Portal will be responded to during business hours (Monday-Friday). During the upgrade only, if there’s something you want to alert CampusPress to, they invite you to contact them directly at contact@campuspress.com. However, after the upgrade, your best contact point for support will be the UO Service Portal.