How to expand short description by default?

Hi there @dave8441 ??

Is there a way to expand it by default, maybe with code or a plugin?

Kindly note that the enhancement was reasoned in the related GitHub issue #33537.

The code that was committed to keep the short description field collapsed by default is highlighted in green, here. Thus, removing the highlighted code from the plugins/woocommerce/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-meta-boxes.php does not collapse it by defeult.

@jkont I’ll go ahead with cc’ing you as well here, to make sure you see this.

I hope that helps!

Hi @anastas10s,

After reading #33537, I understand the viewpoint of the developers. But there is no perfect solution to the dilemma. Novice website builders will always make poorly designed sites, and collapsing the SD by default will not prevent that. The opposite of what the developer’s intention is may occur if the user does not notice the SD field, and ends up leaving it blank altogether.

It might be true that limiting the SD to one or two sentences is “best”. However, as said, some of us put bullet points in the SD, myself included. There is nothing inherently wrong with going beyond the “one or two sentences”, and trying to force that limit or a “best practices” opinion on users may not be wise. Since many of the pages I designed are near the top of Google search results, I will continue using my current methods.

Please let me know if the developers are unwilling to change their decision. If not, I will implement the workaround you mentioned above.

P.S. To make entering text easier, I would also like a workaround to lengthen the cramped 1-inch tall SD window.

Hello @dave8441,

After reading #33537, I understand the viewpoint of the developers. But there is no perfect solution to the dilemma. Novice website builders will always make poorly designed sites, and collapsing the SD by default will not prevent that. The opposite of what the developer’s intention is may occur if the user does not notice the SD field, and ends up leaving it blank altogether.

As someone who constantly edits their test site, I don’t find it convenient either but I guess there was a good reason for it.

Please check PePe’s workaround and let us know how it goes. You can also create an auto clicker in JavaScript when the page loads locally in your browser, but that’s outside our scope of support here. ??

Please let me know if the developers are unwilling to change their decision. If not, I will implement the workaround you mentioned above.

You can take this to GitHub, the developers are most active there. ??

P.S. To make entering text easier, I would also like a workaround to lengthen the cramped 1-inch tall SD window.

As for making the SD window taller, you can add the following code to your site:

/* --- Make SD taller   --- */
add_action( 'wp_print_scripts', 'Change_CSS' );
function Change_CSS() {
	
	if( ! is_admin() ) { 
		return; 
	}
	
	?> <style>
	#excerpt_ifr{
  
  min-height: 500px;

}
	</style> <?php
}

Cheers!

Hey everyone ??

First-up, thanks for reaching out!

Just wanted to add a couple of things here, with the first being that WooCommerce is open source. This allows anyone to mold it to their particular needs.

You can take this to GitHub, the developers are most active there. ??

Additionally, I’d like to invite you all to raise your concerns directly on the related GitHub issue, as they are named, so that developers read them directly.

I’ll go ahead with cc’ing y’all involved in this thread so far, to make sure you get notified.
cc @beascott @dave8441 @jkont

Hi @anastas10s,

Additionally, I’d like to invite you all to raise your concerns directly on the related GitHub issue, as they are named, so that developers read them directly.

Per your suggestion, I posted there a few days ago. The developers were already considering reverting this change, see
this thread on GitHub. Let’s hope they do.

Hi @dave8441

Thanks for raising this concern to the proper channel. Please do not forget to subscribe to be posted for updates.

Cheers!

Good news! Per the developers on the GitHub website, the change will be reverted in WooCommerce 7.2 (December). The short description will no longer be collapsed by default.

Hi @dave8441

Thanks for sharing the update with the community.

I’m also pasting a screenshot here for reference as well:

Github thread: Collapse the short description module by default #34619

Image Link: https://snipboard.io/1wVzPs.jpg

Thanks!

Thanks @anastas10s

The code that was committed to keep the short description field collapsed by default is highlighted in green, here. Thus, removing the highlighted code from the plugins/woocommerce/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-meta-boxes.php does not collapse it by defeult.

That worked great! Removing the code also increased the window height to the previous setting. It is still a bit shorter than optimal, but it helps.

Thanks @babylon1999 for the code to make it taller.

`/* — Make SD taller — */
add_action( ‘wp_print_scripts’, ‘Change_CSS’ );
function Change_CSS() {

if( ! is_admin() ) {
return;
}

?> <style>
#excerpt_ifr{

min-height: 500px;

}
</style> <?php
}`

However, I was unable to add this code at Appearance>Customize>Additional CSS. The error message says “Looks like something’s gone wrong. Wait a couple seconds, and then try again.” As a test, I tried adding other code and that worked just fine. Ideas anyone?

Hello @dave8441,

This is a function that checks if you’re the admin and only then appends the CSS changes, the additional CSS section in your theme takes only pure CSS code. My apologies for not explaining it in my previous reply.

You’ll need to add it to your functions.php file or use a plugin like Code Snippets.

Hope this helps!

Hi @babylon1999

I added your code to functions.php and it works great! The short description window is much taller now. Thanks for your help!

You’re welcome. @dave8441 glad my colleague was able to help you with your issue. If you have any new questions, please create a new ticket.

Cheers!

It was stupid to force this change, especially so close to the holidays. You’re just adding steps to workflows that don’t have time for added steps. Even having to custom delete code wastes time researching the problem, researching the solution, backing the sites up in case tragedy strikes when changing function code, and then implementing the “fix” across literally HUNDREDS of sites one at a friggin time. Woocommerce/Wordpress is starting to develop the same issues as Adobe in that it all seems to be developed by people who don’t actually USE the products they code. If they did, they would have known how stupid this change was.

Hello @ppe29,

This change will be reverted in December with the release of WooCommerce 7.2: https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/pull/34619

If you have any other questions, please create your own thread.

Cheers!