[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #39693: Fix missing assignment of widgets on theme switch

[WordPress Trac]

#39693: Fix missing assignment of widgets on theme switch
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 Reporter:  melchoyce    |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  assigned
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:  4.9
Component:  Widgets      |     Version:
 Severity:  normal       |  Resolution:
 Keywords:               |     Focuses:
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Comment (by westonruter):

 @melchoyce If we improve the widget-sidebar assignments on theme switch, I
 think it is important to note that it would only improve the situation
 when switching to a brand new theme that hasn't been active before. Once a
 theme is active, it gets its own copy of which widgets are in which
 sidebars (stored in the `sidebars_widgets` theme mod, and used in
 `retrieve_widgets()`).

 Improving the logic for switching will not improve the user experience
 when switching to a theme that was previously active. If I was on theme A
 and had widgets 1,2,3 in a sidebar “Foo” and then I switch to a new theme
 B, where widgets 1,2,3 get added to “Bar”, and I add widget 4 to that
 sidebar as well… if I switch back to theme A then widget 4 will be be
 absent from “Foo” in the re-activated theme. I can imagine this being
 really confusing for users, and really confounding for users who try to
 preview a theme switch via the Customizer. The only way I can think of to
 permanently that issue is to implement widget groups (#19912), but that
 then introduces another layer of abstraction which I understand confuses
 users in the nav menus system.

 All of this to say, it feels like delivering this without also
 implementing #27404 (Allow adding inactive widgets to widget areas) will
 be an incomplete solution.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/39693#comment:48>
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