[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #26890: Add a switch themes link to the Theme Customizer

[WordPress Trac]

#26890: Add a switch themes link to the Theme Customizer
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 Reporter:  celloexpressions  |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement       |      Status:  closed
 Priority:  normal            |   Milestone:
Component:  Customize         |     Version:  3.4
 Severity:  normal            |  Resolution:  wontfix
 Keywords:  has-patch         |     Focuses:  ui
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Changes (by celloexpressions):

 * status:  reopened => closed
 * resolution:   => wontfix
 * milestone:  4.2 =>


Comment:

 A lot has changed since I first opened this ticket a year ago. Long story
 short, the Customizer API improvements introduced in WordPress 4.0, and
 especially 4.1, make it possible, even easy, to implement theme browsing
 in the Customizer.

 '''I've created what started as a quick experiment and quickly became a
 viable solution for core: the [https://wordpress.org/plugins/customizer-
 theme-switcher/ Customizer Theme Switcher plugin].'''

 A backwards-panel-like custom section and custom js-templated controls
 integrate with the existing themes API and CSS to bring the themes.php
 experience into the Customizer, entirely with the 4.1 Customizer API.
 Theme-switching is implemented simply by reloading the Customizer to
 preview a different theme, with the existing AYS confirmation preventing
 users from losing their changes. If the Customizer Transactions API makes
 it into 4.2, theme switching could be enhanced by the addition of the
 ability to persist customizations across Customizer reloads and theme
 switches, per @westonruter's explanation above. In the future, when the
 Customizer API has evolved sufficiently, we can remove the customizer-
 reload requirement, but there's no need to wait for that functionality to
 implement the very usable UI.

 I'm closing this ticket in favor of proposing the
 [https://wordpress.org/plugins/customizer-theme-switcher/ Customizer Theme
 Switcher plugin] for core merge in 4.2. There are some good UX thoughts
 here, and they are taken into consideration with my post from last summer
 in the plugin's implementation. Now that the basic functionality is in
 place in the plugin, I'd like help evaluating the user experience and
 making iterative improvements. I'll be around in #core-customize on Slack
 and would like to continue work & feedback on the plugin there for the
 next couple of days before the feature-plugin meeting this Tuesday.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/26890#comment:14>
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