Editor script v1.5.0; Migrating to Firefox 57
v1.5.0 of the editor script is out! This version fixes an issue where the script does not redirect for private blogs and some Jetpack blogs. If you don’t have such a blog, then this update shouldn’t affect you. Thanks go to doc for reporting the issue.
As usual, your script should have updated itself, but if not, you can head over to Greasy Fork and install it manually.
This change also affects the bookmarklet, so if you use the bookmarklet method, please replace it with the new version (delete the old one and re-add the new one). You can get the updated code on the workarounds page.
For the technical details, you can go look at commit e41fe77. It seems that sometime in the last two years, WordPress.com changed the structure of the editor page, so the query used was incorrect. The change was simply changing the query selector to better target the element with the link.
As many of you know, Firefox 57 has been out for a couple of months now. In it, Mozilla dropped support for XUL add-ons, leading to many add-ons becoming incompatible with Firefox 57. Greasemonkey and Scriptish, two popular add-ons for Firefox that enable you to run user scripts like the editor redirect script, are both XUL add-ons and therefore incompatible with Firefox 57.
Some of you have brought your migration issues to my attention, so I figured I’d share the procedure here so the rest of you can spread the word. Apologies for taking so long to get this out.
Just to note, the scripts themselves don’t need any changes.
- Make sure Greasemonkey has been updated to the latest version. It should be at version 4 or higher.
- Reinstall the scripts you want (quick link to all my scripts).
- Try out the script. If it works, then stop here.
- Make sure that both Greasemonkey and the scripts are enabled. Restart your browser if you still have troubles.
- If Greasemonkey fails to work or is not complete enough for you, uninstall it and install your scripts with Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey instead.
Greasemonkey has worked when I tested it, but the reports I’ve heard say that it doesn’t, so you may want to consider skipping to the last step and using one of the alternatives.
I’ve also updated the relevant section in the workarounds page.
If you have any troubles, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to help you troubleshoot.
`The Penguin' says... 
Pingback: How To Use the Classic Editor on wordpress.com Blogs and Never See the Beep, Beep, Boop Editor Again! by Lo – Dandelion Salad
Thanks again, Penguin! You’re a life saver. Cheers!
Hi Penguin, I’ve been using your brilliant hack for the classic wordpress editor with no problem. Even after Firefox upgraded to 57 it still worked. BUT, shortly after FF upgraded again to v. 57.04, a couple of weeks ago, something weird happened to Twitter embeds. All I could see were the text of the tweets, no media, and the embed didn’t have the “official” Twitter appearance. It was OK on Chrome and (gasp!) Internet Explorer, also on Safari on iphone, but not in Firefox.
Eventually after numerous tries and attempts I deleted my Firefox account and started from scratch, adding very few add-ons. (In fact since the upgrade to 57 hardly any of my old add-ons work any more). I finally figured out it was the greasemonkey extension that was causing the problem. So I’m now working without your wonderful hack, and have simply bookmarked the classic editor URL (for as long as WordPress keep it…).
Does any of this make sense to you? Did I blame greasemonkey when it might have been something else? I’m too scared to install it again in case it all starts again. I really do like my Twitter embeds…
Huh, interesting. There’s no way for me to tell if it was actually Greasemonkey, but you can try using Tampermonkey instead. I hear people have had more success with it than Greasemonkey. It shouldn’t be too different from the way Greasemonkey worked. If it messes with your Twitter embeds, you can always just uninstall it again.
Resetting your Firefox profile was probably a good idea. Firefox 57 is different enough that getting rid of the old cruft is beneficial.
Something even weirder. I just synced my laptop firefox account with my desktop. But I still have greasemonkey and your script on my laptop despite the sync. And guess what. On my laptop I have no trouble in seeing Twitter embeds. Both my laptop and desktop are on Windows 7, so I cannot figure this out.
Oh well, mysterious are the wonders of Firefox and Windows… ;-)
Mysterious indeed. It could very well be quite a number of things, and I haven’t the slightest idea what it might be.
I just decided to try the new Firefox yesterday (I’ve been on Chrome for years). When I tried to edit one of my WP posts, I got the new editor, of course. Was afraid it was going to be a dealbreaker until (a) I remembered your hack, (b) figured out I needed to install Greasemonkey instead of Tampermonkey, (c) tracked down your newest hack, and (d) succesfully installed it. When I clicked on an edit button, Voila!!! I’m doing my happy dance and you can consider yourself hugged!
Welcome to Firefox! I can’t say it’s something I use much anymore (I’ve moved off it many years ago), but between it and Chrome, I’d choose Firefox every time.
I’m glad to hear you got it working. Happy blogging!