Admin menu doesn't expand/collapse in 3.3 beta 1. Why?

Seems to be working fine with expanding menus in my install. I upgraded from version 3.2.1, and wonder if there’s an upgrade that might been missed out in Your install. Or You should possibly check out that You have tried out the new architecture? It’s altered somewhat since 3.2.1 and much to my want and need, I’d say…

I don’t Terje has quite got the OPs point, OP is complaining that instead of the toggle-able menus it’s now all based on hovering over each individual item, as a result you can now only see 1 hole menu at a time.

I completely agree with OP, I’ve been using 3.3 for a while now and the admin menu style is very frustrating, they’ve been executing well but the underlying idea is terrible.

The expanding menus are working just fine for me too (WordPress 3.3-aortic-dissection). When did you last update 3.3?

I upgraded from WordPress 3.2.1 to the 3.3 Beta 1 and I still see the collapse/expand icon and it works normally for me.

Ok allow me to clarify:
My menus are like this on 3.3 Beta 1:
https://i.imgur.com/kW44I.png

The issue being that you can’t expand multiple menus to get an overview of various sections as they open on hover.

Think about this: sometimes plugins spread their options over multiple sections (tools, settings, plugins etc) so in theory you’d have to check each menu every time you install a plugin just to discover new menu items, which is truly absurd.

Ahh, that makes sense now. I personally like the change. The problem you bring up exists with or without this change. In WordPress 3.2.1, you have to go down each top level menu item, click a mouse button to expand the menu, see if the plugin option link is within the menu, if not you can collapse the menu or move on to the next one.

With the new flyout menus, you eliminate the need to make so many clicks with your mouse button. You still have to find where the plugin options link is located but you don’t have to click your mouse button to find it.

Also keep in mind that it’s quite possible that at some point down the road, the Feature Pointers in WordPress 3.3 may have an API added on to them so that Plugins can point out new features or point out where the configuration option pages are located right after installation/activation.

I always use the admin dropdown plugin, so I hadn’t noticed this behaviour…. I just shut it off, and right, that is a bit of a pain. But the pointers may help as per @jeffr0

Slightly OT, in IE7, the flyouts have a transparent bg, making the contents of the flyout clash with the page contents, rendering the menus unreadable

Also keep in mind that it’s quite possible that at some point down the road, the Feature Pointers in WordPress 3.3 may have an API added on to them so that Plugins can point out new features or point out where the configuration option pages are located right after installation/activation.

You would be correct, sir ??

Menus no longer expand vertically in 3.3, this is not a mistake nor is it temporary, it’s by design. There’s no 100% happiness with this one. I suspect as many people complained about expand all/collapse all taking up too much vertical space as will complain about it’s loss.

Menus no longer expand vertically in 3.3

Uh? Mine do! The only change I’ve noticed( apart from the pointers) is that only one sub-menu can be expanded at any one time. Is that what you meant?

Yes, esmi, that’s what I meant ?? You can’t ‘expand all’ or even more than one at a time anymore. Which is still by design ??

They only expand vertically if selected. This change will make the WP-Admin more of a maze for the new user, especially when dealing with Tools / Plugins and Settings menus as there are no convention on where a settings page should go. I have seen plugins that add 3+ items to the menu in different areas, I’d have no chance of finding them all now without the ability to expand them all.

You can’t ‘expand all’ or even more than one at a time anymore. Which is still by design ??

This is an poorly thought out design, I can’t fathom how someone thought it was good for UX, the core would need to take more control of the admin menu hooks so options can only be added in certain places, right now it’s possible for any menu to pop up anywhere and remain hidden until I mouse over it to find it.

there are no convention on where a settings page should go

There never has been, to be fair.

right now it’s possible for any menu to pop up anywhere and remain hidden until I mouse over it to find it.

Yes, as it’s possible in 3.2 for a menu to be anywhere and remain hidden till I expand all to find it. It’s a six of one, half a dozen of the other issue, which is why I said there’s no way to please everyone on this.

In 3.2 if you expand a menu, it stays open, and you can notice when new things appear. Not the case in 3.3.

But you can just hover over the items in 3.3 to see if anything has changed. I believe that is the

six of one, half a dozen of the other

in this situation.

It bugged me at first, but now I’m kinda cool with it. Although in IE7, I can’t read the flyouts as the bg is transparent

I don’t think the people who would have a problem finding the new plugin menu in the first place would be the ones who notice a menu changed anyway.

We notice because we’re experienced and know what to look for (and because some plugins are well documented and show you where in screenshots/FAQ). Newbies are always going to have a problem.