Grid: Should manual mode be the default?

[noisysocks]

Feedback from @jameskoster:

Generally, manual mode feels much more ergonomic to use. Should that be the default?

I'm not sure. @tellthemachines and I originally thought of Manual as a power user feature for things like stacking. I do see the argument that folks enjoy interfaces like Squarespace Fluid Layout, though.

What do you all think?

[talldan]

I'm still getting to grips with some aspects of grid, but thought I'd share some thoughts from my recent use.

I agree that manual feels more ergonomic, though with some caveats that still need to be improved (mainly all the stacking related issues). In auto it can be a little bit hard to predict the results of some actions (resizing/reordering inner blocks), which isn't the case in manual, it does what you expect. For me this is the main point of distinction in terms of usability.

Some more vague thoughts:

• I'm wondering if it could get to the point where manual mode works so well that auto mode doesn't have much value 🤔
• Auto/Manual could be distinct block variations given how differently they work, though I think it might be challenging to come up with good names/icons for them.

[andrewserong]

This might be more of an implementation question, but I suppose another thing to consider is blocks that use the grid layout type but that won't involve manually positioning elements. The main example that comes to mind is the Post Template block where grid is used for the grid layout, but as the number of children is dynamically generated, the manual positioning feature won't be needed there. I think for that block "manual" was more about specifying a number of columns rather than the positioning behaviour 🤔

Could it be a matter of the default being set by a block variation or a block's default values — so, a block could be designed to pick a default type, rather than changing the default of the grid layout type itself? If so, then the question might be more about whether inserting a new Grid block should default to auto or manual, rather than the layout type itself.

[noisysocks]

cc. @WordPress/gutenberg-design

[paaljoachim]

Manual and Auto are to me looking a bit from the outside as one not so deep into this as almost the same thing. Can we just merge these? See also: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/64289#issuecomment-2277095370

[richtabor]

I keep leaning towards the idea that there is an experience where you don't have to decide between Auto and Manual. It's a tough concept to grasp as-is.

Have we explored where auto is assumed, as then items just flow, but if any item is positioned outside of that auto placement, it's then "manual"?

We need to identify an ideal scenario(s) for grid, even interesting layouts designed with grid - to help guide the UX.

[jasmussen]

It seems both fun and useful to try a collective exercise to build out the following bento-box/highlight grid from the 6.6 site using the CSS grid feature as they exists in the editor today:

For everyone willing to partake—and it should ideally be not just designers, but anyone—please share after the fact the result, as well as what went well and what needs improvements. You can share the code sample inside this markup:

<details><summary>Code sample</summary>

[Click "Copy all blocks" in the editor and paste it here]

</details>

The layout seems reasonable to accomplish, and as part of the effort it can hopefully help identify whether the better experience is auto, manual, or even a third amalgam as Rich suggests (which resonates with me, by the way). What do you think? Who's up for it?