[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #17979: Avoid losing widgets when switching themes

[WordPress Trac]

#17979: Avoid losing widgets when switching themes
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 Reporter:  lancewillett             |       Owner:  ryan
     Type:  task (blessed)           |      Status:  closed
 Priority:  high                     |   Milestone:  3.3
Component:  Widgets                  |     Version:  2.9
 Severity:  normal                   |  Resolution:  fixed
 Keywords:  has-patch needs-testing  |
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Comment (by PaulGregory):

 Far too late to say so, but I really fail to see how this was a bug.
 Assigning widgets to "Inactive Widgets" when they could not be allocated
 to an active sidebar by matching IDs? Perfectly logical. Surely people
 understand that WordPress isn't psychic? No, instead we have some brute
 force to fit them into active sidebars - even if it means the "Logged In
 Users Only Sidebar" items get shunted into "Home Page Only Sidebar".

 If one theme has a special "404 page sidebar", then why assume it has an
 equivalent in every theme? If users are expected to move things around,
 how "In The Wrong Place" widgets safer than widgets that don't show until
 they've been taken out from "Inactive Widgets" and put in the appropriate
 place?

 I doubly fail to see why it warranted the creation of a set of auto-
 expiring backups, and the whole thing trying to second-guess whether you
 wanted the old widgets or the new widget positions.

 Questions:
 1. If I install a theme and click Preview, does that show me the theme
 with the current widget arrangement or the arrangement that would be in
 place if I activated the theme properly?
 1. If I have "Right Sidebar" in two themes, and a plugin that lets users
 pick between them, do widget changes in the active theme no longer affect
 the inactive theme?
 1. I've lost track. Does this genuinely ignore ID and favour position?
 1. Does this mean that theme developers should register sidebars in a
 particular order for maximum compatibility?

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/17979#comment:114>
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