How to fix your visual editor after a Wordpress 2.8 upgrade

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Sexy title, hey?

Yeah, baby, this is going to be nerdtastic!

Yesterday in my post about the fear of making phone calls I mentioned that Wordpress, the lovely software that runs this blog, was misbehaving itself after its upgrade to version 2.8.

Specifically, the visual editor was broken. The toolbar at the top of the editor no longer appeared and all my text was white against a white background. Which makes it essentially invisible. Not helpful.

So what did I do?

Well I forgot about it and went to bed.

Then the next day I forgot about it and went to the pub.

Then this morning I did a little internet search, found out that I was far from the only person experiencing this problem, made some tea and then fixed it.

As I know many of my lovely readers have their own Wordpress blogs (they often link to them in my comments), I thought I’d tell you how I did it…

How I fixed it

Basically, I did the following:

I re-installed Wordpress upgrade from Tools => Upgrade => Re-install automatically on the Wordpress Dashboard.
Cleared the cache on my browser.

Unfortunately this didn’t help, but it has helped for many folk on the Wordpress support forums.

So I had to do this instead:

Opened wp-config.php in a text editor
Added define( ‘CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS’, false ) near the top of the file.

This fixed it.

It’s not ideal though, because it actually makes the Wordpress admin panel run a little slower, for reasons I won’t explain because I don’t understand them.

Where can I get more information about this?

You can get more information here: http://wordpress.org/support/topic/279132

Well that was fun, wasn’t it?

I’ll be back to chat a little later!

JJ Jalopy.

If you enjoyed my writing, please share it with your friends. Thanks!

22 comments so far

Comment by Anthony Lemme
13 June 2009

Wow! That was sexy and a little confusing. By the end of it I was completely naked with no memory of removing my clothes. I think you spiked your blog. Either that or you blog put something in my drink! I feel violated!

Anthony
http://www.anthonylemme.com
The Most Powerful Personal Growth and Mind Development Tool on Earth
Anthony Lemme´s last blog ..We’d Rather Be Ruined Than Change
Comment by Single Boomer Dating Cougar Dating
13 June 2009

Indeed, I love your comment and warning label that this post was going to be nerdtastic. that was so funny!

many single women over the age of 35 and 45, those really square in the midst of the baby boomer generation find that men who are a tad nerd in fact make WONDERFUL husbands. We all need SOME excitement along the way to keep life interesting, but nerds are great in bed and are often more emotionally caring and nurturing to their wives and cherish her feelings.

JUST what women who are looking to get married are looking for in a man, indeed!

Best regards,

April Braswell

Single Boomer Dating Expert, Relationship Success Coach

Widow Support and Bereavement Counseling Outreach Workshop Orange County, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, CA
Comment by Cynthia
14 June 2009

Bleh, I hate when things don’t work. What a pain that so many people are having this problem.. it’s Wordpress, it’s supposed to just work!
Cynthia´s last blog ..Cleaning Up The House
Comment by John Ho
14 June 2009

JJ,

Thks for the tips. It’ll be useful when it’s time for me to face the demon.

John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Birthday Numeroscope (Vox Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
John Ho´s last blog ..Numerology Expert Says It’s His Son Scott’s Birthday Today!
Comment by Pam Schulz
15 June 2009

JJ – As always so helpful and informative. If we don’t have WP issues today, surely we will tomorrow. At least we know who to call on when we do! (Can you send “virtual” pints across the pond?)

Pam
Invest in Your Future
Pam Schulz´s last blog ..The Strength of Markets
Comment by Duane Cunningham
15 June 2009

Hi JJ,

Thanks for the info…I haven’t had any dramas yet!

Duane

Discover Secret Persuading Skills that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Expert Duane Cunningham!

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Comment by JJ Jalopy
15 June 2009

@Cynthia – I agree. Wordpress is usually so well behaved and so easy to use. It’s so confusing when it doesn’t play along…

@John Ho – No worries dude. Best of luck. Most people upgrade without any problems. I hope it goes well for you.

@Pam – Yum. Yes you can!! Look: http://www.buymeadrink.co.uk/

@Duane – High five bro!
Comment by Darryl Pace
15 June 2009

Dude, thanks for the tech tips. I’m currently having some wordpress difficulties as well, so it’s encouraging to see someone get a problem figured out. I’m going to check out that forum you mentioned.

Health, Fitness — Darryl Pace
Fitness Product Review
Darryl Pace´s last blog ..First Bodybuilding Show Experience
Comment by JJ Jalopy
16 June 2009

@Darryl – Bummer dude. I hope you get it all worked out. You need a Virtual Assistant… I’ve tasted the future!!
Comment by Craig Edmonds
22 June 2009

Hi,

You can also instal the wordpress fck editor plugin.

That worked for me.
Comment by Newport Beach, Widow Support, Bereavement Counseling, Divorce Recovery, Grief Support, Orange County, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Irvine
22 June 2009

Hey JJ,

thank for sharing that the WP Upgrade was a pain in the butt (PITB). Right now that upgrade just ain’t a top priority for me. I could be investing loads of my precious time into that and fixing it, looking… BUSY… but not being… PRODUCTIVE for Revenue Production.

So, I’ll refrain from it for now. And when I DO upgrade, I’ll be sure to stop by back here again!

thanks!

Best regards,

April Braswell
Comment by JJ Jalopy
22 June 2009

@April – Yeah. It’s a bummer when these things use up our precious time. Still… I always learn every time something goes wrong,

High Five Girlfriend!
Comment by JJ Jalopy
22 June 2009

@Craig – Great tip! Thanks very much. Love your logo. Tres Zen.
Comment by Jack Swamp
24 June 2009

define( ‘CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS’, false ) …helped me… thank you!
Comment by JJ Jalopy
24 June 2009

@Jack – It’s a pleasure! Thanks for letting me know!
Comment by Lisa McLellan
28 June 2009

Oh, I didnt know there was an upgrade, but now I’m afraid to do it. I don’t like “problems!” Thanks for the tip!

Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Services – Babysitters and Nannies
Comment by Steve
27 October 2009

Hey JJ ! I like the way you break it down, truly unique and one of kind character. I did as you instructed by disabling all the plug-in and re-activating them one by one after clearing out the cache. I have not found the responsible corporate but the evidence points that it is one or the other. My question is that despite the reasons,is there a way of working around it without disabling or getting rid of the plug-in?
Thanks JJ.
Comment by JJ Jalopy
27 October 2009

@Steve – Thanks very much for your kind words.

If one of the plugins is conflicting with Wordpress then I’m afraid you’ll have to disable it unless the plugin developer has released a fix.

Are you updated to Wordpress 2.8.5? This version seems to be working really well for me.