Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
I
Writing Settings
Writing Settings, shown in Figure 2.4, affect what happens when you write posts and pages. There
are only a few Writing Settings, though they can be important:
•
Size of the Post Box
—This is the depth of the main post box on the Dashboard page. Making the
post box taller pushes some options below it off the page, without getting you more width, the
real missing element. We suggest ignoring this one and doing most of your work in Full-Screen
mode, which is reached via a toggle button at the top of the post box. (This toggle button is,
ironically, inaccessible unless you make the window quite wide.)
•
Formatting
—The WordPress Should Correct Invalidly Nested
XHTML Automatically check box is one of those “gotcha” set-
tings that might contribute to problems without your ever
knowing why. If you leave it unchecked, which is the default
setting, WordPress allows incorrect XHTML to remain in your
posts and pages. That can cause display problems in browsers
that, reasonably enough, prefer their XHTML to be nested
validly. You're not likely to remember, when the occasional
user complains of an intermittent problem, that you left this
check box unchecked.
tip
In these Settings descriptions,
we only address the settings
that are tricky or particularly
important. We leave out obvious
(to us) or obscure settings. (No
offense intended, we realize that
such settings can become impor-
tant and nonobvious in some sit-
uations. It's just that we haven't
run into all of them, or can't
spare the space to cover them.)
For settings not covered here,
we refer you to the onscreen
Help in WordPress.
If you check the box, problem solved: The invalidly nested
XHTML will be corrected. However, some plug-ins might now
have problems, if you use WordPress.org software and use
plug-ins. We could tell you to remember this setting in case
that happens, but you (and we) are unlikely to.
Figure 2.4
Writing is
your main
activity in
WordPress,
so get the
settings
right.
