Skip to main content
Meta Stack Exchange

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

Required fields*

35
  • 44
    Having an option to have it side by side could be useful on wider desktop screens. Commented Jan 26, 2021 at 22:44
  • 27
    Being unable to see the rendered output while typing Markdown would be utterly unacceptable. Absolutely must be fixed. Commented Jan 26, 2021 at 23:17
  • 16
    @Catija In the case of posts that aren't longer than one screen, I actually can see what I type in both raw Markdown and a rendered preview: the page is scrolled so that the bottom 2-3 lines of the editor box are visible, so they're both visible at the same time. The same also applies when I'm editing the top sections of posts that are longer than one screen. When editing the bottom sections of longer posts, however, you're right, I can't see both at the same time, but that's only some of the time, not all of it. (continuing) Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 1:41
  • 16
    @Catija For a lot of posts - the default edit box size gives plenty of preview. Also - what about placing the render alongside, rather than under, the edit box? Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 2:44
  • 11
    What you mean huge screen ? I work on 24'' and this is for me standard. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 3:19
  • 11
    @Catija - the image I provided was from a 1920x1080 screen (image resolution is 1920x1048 because I cropped the taskbar) - is 1080p considered a 'huge screen'? Plus, the content section being too skinny was something specifically called out by the community when the responsive design changes were announced. I don't see why Left/Right sides can't be moved out to give the Q&A more space. Another post by Monica (pre-incident) asks why the right-hand column is even needed - there's enough space in the left column to fit most of the RHS stuff. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 5:23
  • 8
    @Catija Is there a keyboard shortcut to switch between Markdown and non-Markdown preview? Without any shortcut, it's barely usable for now. I think this is asbolutely needed, even during an alpha test. Good luck to the team! And congrats SE for always innovating :) Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 8:39
  • 4
    @Catija A useful feature but not a replacement for the fundamental ability to see the result as I am typing. I routinely type—with Markdown syntax—while watching the preview rather than the actual text field. I do not want WYSIWYG, I like controlling my Markdown and moreover it simply isn’t how I work, I write * not Ctrl+I and retraining my fingers is approximately 0% within my interests. I don’t write documents in word processors, I write code. What is shown here is akin to what is found in Github—which I find miserable near to the point of unusability. This is a massive regression. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 14:43
  • 6
    I'm with @Robotnik here: sizing concerns would be irrelevant if the content area was fully-responsive (both large and small), but because there are constraints the editor can provide a misleading view of what will be visible / what will be cut off. Stuff like max height for code blocks makes that even more of an issue. Not everyone cares about presentation, but the system should accommodate those who do! Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 17:05
  • 7
    @Toastrackenigma No, the ideal one is probably size-by-side maintaining both scroll and caret position, but that has already been nixed since SE is adamant about their poor design decisions revolving around widths despite fairly massive community opposition. Which just puts this feature request as another example of the core functionality of the site being sacrificed on the altar of pushing new products. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 17:10
  • 13
    One thing that isn't mentioned in this post: I use the current, live preview a lot when writing posts. When writing regular sized posts on a regular sized screen, I keep my eyes on the live preview instead of the editor >90% of the time, probably only taking them off if I have to add an image (as just pasting those in doesn't work and requires a click to confirm). Toggling to get this preview is nowhere near as fluent or useful, and the argument that you can 'edit right in the preview' makes no sense to me as you can't actually write MD in the RT editor. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 17:11
  • 7
    @KRyan I've written hundreds of short posts across the network. I'm 100% willing to accept that my usage is atypical but I think it's fairer to say that everyone uses the platform differently and have different experiences. For example, some may only look at the rendering while drafting and others never look at it except when actually previewing. The reality is that everyone is different and all experiences are valid. We need to understand them all so we can find a solution that works for people. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 17:38
  • 24
    @Catija The tone of your every comment on this request has been very much “Who needs this? No one needs this. This is dumb and pointless and we shouldn’t waste our time.” So while I agree entirely with your position that we all use the platform differently, and have different needs, and there is an importance to finding a solution for everyone, you are the one who has been dismissing the needs of people with different use cases and advocating against there being any solution for us. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 17:59
  • 6
    @Catija All right, that is not the impression I had gotten—side-by-side is one thing, but your apparent dismissiveness and negativity began before that was ever suggested. My suggestion, then, is that a “show/hide preview” toggle under the Markdown editor, similar to what we currently have for editing posts, be provided (and remember its state). That would result in no loss of functionality for those who prefer what we have (and we would reap other significant benefits, such as the in-line formatting in our Markdown, which I love, just not enough to give up the preview willingly). Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 18:08
  • 20
    This is absolutely a deal-breaker for me. I rely so much on being able see the produced output that I regularly resize the current editor text box to maximise the preview area so I can have full control over what the final rendering of my hand-crafted Markdown looks like. I just can’t get that same immediate feedback and control from the new editor. Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 23:49