The World Anvil Changelog

Brought to you by Dimitris, the founder and Chief Grease Monkey of World Anvil

Hello everyone! This page is meant to be a list of the most important development updates. If you have any questions about changes that were made, or you'd like to give me your opinion, please feel free to reach out on our Discord Server at the #development-feedback.


November 29, 2024

[FEATURE] Feedback system

- We want to hear your feedback! Click the Help button at the top right and find the Feedback button.
- The Feedback box will also appear from time to time; this is a great way to tell us what you like and what you're missing so we can keep improving the platform!

[UPDATE] RPG characters

- If an RPG character is connected to an article, they will now share the same profile picture/portrait. Both the player and the GM can update this image from either side.

November 19, 2024

[FEATURE]

- The News are now available in the new News button in the top menu.

[UPGRADE]

- Much better warning in case autosave fails (such as adding an unsupported character or anything else).

[UPGRADE] Search upgrades

- Added the ability to search for Manuscripts
- Added Statblocks to "Continue Working"
- Added the ability to FULLY search Notes
- Added the ability to search even if your quick edit modal is open on top of the quick edit

[UPGRADE]

- Wordcount and last save date now appear at the bottom of the edit modal.

[CONTENT]

- Dungeons & Dragons 5e (2024): new blocks Bastion and Bastion Special Facility. Thanks to Tillerz for designing it!

See a bastion sheet example

November 12, 2024

[MINOR UPGRADE] Map edit mode

Links in pins (on edit mode) used to refresh the map editor. We've changed that to:
- Links to articles open the article in edit mode (on the same page).
- Links to other maps will open the other map for editing (after a confirmation message).
- Links to categories will open the category preview modal (edit modal will be implemented later).

We have also started working on the specification for the overhaul of the Maps system!

[UPGRADE] Timelines

- Cleaner simpler Event Editing
- Added support for [center] [left] [right] BBCode tags in event descriptions
- Having an era end on the same year as the next era starts is now OK
- Fixed issue where tooltips were too tall
- Cleaner timeline description editing

November 1, 2024

[UPGRADE]

- Game Masters now have full access to viewing and editing the character sheets of their players—even if they are private!

September 25, 2024

[CONTENT]

- We have all the sheets for the new 2024 update for D&D 5e. This includes the character sheet and statblocks for monsters, items, spells, classes, and more. Thanks to Tillerz for designing it!

See a character sheet example

October 20, 2024

[NEW FEATURE] Substack embed

Use the [substack:SUBSTACK_URL_NAME_OR_USERNAME] BBCode tag to embed your Substack subscription form to your world.

October 11, 2024

[UPGRADE]

- There's now an Advanced Edit button in the article template selection menu when creating an article
- The article template selection menu has a smaller width to accommodate larger screens
- In the same creen, the blocks are shorter to show more and make them easily accessible
- On article creation, the copy buttons for mention links and blocks are more easily accessible
- Multiple updates to the world dashboard to display part of the homepage and addd quick edit buttons

[FIX]

- The Discord Webhook issue affecting some users is now fixed

October 9, 2024

[MAJOR UPDATE] Visual Editor

The New Visual Editor is here! It's like the old WYSIWYG but ... SO SO SO MUCH BETTER!

- Use @ to mention anything
- Use "/" To add EVERYTHING
- Click on things you added to preview them and go to them
- Spellchecker works
- Autolinker works
- DRAG'n'DROP your images straight into your articles!
- And so much more!

The new Editor is available as the Default for all new Worlds and the creation of
- Articles
- Secrets
- Notes
- Events / Timelines

Full Editing will be coming soon for current worlds as well!

Read all about this update

October 1, 2024

[MAJOR UPDATE] Prodromos v1.1.4

- Creating articles is even quicker than before.
- Creating and editing secrets now happens in a modal to make it faster.
- The new quick create modal for articles is also used for editing articles from the search bar or the Article Manager.
- Many more upgrades!

Read all about this update

September 25, 2024

[CONTENT]

- Warhammer 40k Deathwatch character sheet (designed by Tillerz)

See a character sheet example

September 6, 2024

[CONTENT]

- ShadowDark character sheet (designed by Tillerz)

See a character sheet example

September 4, 2024

[UPDATE] Article editor changes

- The article editor is now chosen per world rather than in account settings. Learn how here

[UPGRADE] Secret updates

- You can now set a secret to public, in effect making it "Revealed".
- With RPG features enabled, you can now use secrets to store secret information that only you will be able to see (even if the secret is public or assigned to a subscriber group)
- For Grandmasters of the Guild and above tiers, you can now assign custom CSS classes to secrets.
Learn more about secrets.

[UPGRADE] Notification updates

- From now on, if your article is private, notifications you send to followers will only be sent to people that can see the article through subscriber groups.

September 3, 2024

[CONTENT]

- Alternity character sheet (TSR, 1999 edition) (designed by Tillerz)

See a character sheet example

August 29, 2024

[UPGRADE] Subscriber group-specific Discord webhooks

- Subscriber groups now have the ability to have a Discord Webhook URL assigned to them
- When sending a discord notification for an article PUBLIC articles will send to the World's Discord Webhook URL (As set from the World's configuration)
- When sending a discord notification for an article PRIVATE articles the Notification will only be sent to the Discord Webhook URLs of the subscriber groups assigned to that article and that currently have a webhook URL assigned to them.

Available to Masters of the Guild and above tiers.

August 28, 2024

[CONTENT]

- Edge of the Empire Character Sheet (designed by Tillerz)

See a character sheet example

August 22, 2024

[FEATURE] Global Article Footer

You can now set a Global Article full-width Footer for your World that will appear at the bottom of all your articles. How: World Configuration > Display > Global Content

As requested here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/39443d45-2897-48a7-8cce-471e72e8c0a4/view

Available to Masters of the Guild and above tiers.

[CONTENT]

- Event type: Celestial renamed to: Celestial/Cosmic

[DESIGN] Vehicle template

- Minor changes to the prompt section of the Vehicle template to minimize height and tightening it up a bit
- Renamed "BEAM" to "WIDTH" (Beam was not understood by some users for what it is, so we are simplifying it)

As requested here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/cbe18aca-0edd-4af1-b672-1883f91d819e/view

August 8, 2024

[CONTENT]

- Added the Cosmere RPG Character Sheet (designed by Tillerz)

See a character sheet example

August 1, 2024

[CONTENT]

- Added "Invasion" as a new Military Conflict type.
- Added Corporation, Law Firm as a new Organization type

April 12, 2024

[ANNOUNCEMENT]

The time has finally come. "Disable Autosave" is no longer an option. the 98 users that did have autosave disabled are now switched to autosave as well.

This feature has caused myriads of bugs, made development slower and caused edge cases that the team had to work to fix taking precious time from fixing and upgrading features for 2,750,000 users (minus the mighty 98)

April 11, 2024

[UPGRADE]

I am happy to announce that Manuscripts now WORK on Android Mobile Devices as well

April 9, 2024

[MAJOR FEATURE] Prodromos v.1.1 Release

The new version of the New UI is up! And with it we have a bunch of UI/UX Upgrades to the basic features AND some new QoL updates!

  • Most (not all) list of things now load on the same page - No reloads!
  • A brand new TODO list that works like a charm!
  • Note Creation update! Create a note faster than ever!
  • A fresh out of the over Notifications system !
  • A fast and easy between Worlds / Campaigns / Characters with SEARCh (for those with 9123123 worlds .. we see you!)
  • New Search! Faster easier better AND
  • Continue Working for articles, maps, timelines as part of the Search (USE THE Ctrl+K LUKE!)
  • Better Help on the lists and easier access to Help resources!
  • A lot of tuning on features to make them easier to use
    • The team is working already on version 1.2 which will bring you even more amazing goodies! STAY TUNED Thsi years is going to be
      Legend... wait for it ... wait for it (the ary is coming later)

April 5, 2024

[UPGRADE] Content tree descriptions in List mode now render BBcode

March 20, 2024

[UPGRADE] The [color] tag is now available to everyone! Also it now allows for both font and background colour. The colours need to be HEX colors and can include transparency. It works with or without hash, so if you had previous tags with a hash it will still work <3

Examples
[color:ff00ff77]This is Pink[/color]
[color:000|ffff00]This is a black on Yello Highlight[/color]
[color:000|ff00ff77]This is a black on Pink Transparent Highlight[/color]

[UPDATE] Order- A-Z now simply resets the position of all articles of the category.

as requested here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/8992161d-e816-448b-9fb9-31dd682b8693/view

February 29, 2024

[MAJOR FEATURE RELEASE] Maps Redesign (Maps v.1.5)

Faster, easier and friendier creation for
- Marker Pins
- Labels
- Circles
- Polygons
- Lines
- Layers
- Marker Groups

You no longer have to refresh after creation of elements
Color pickers for the systems that need it
Smaller simpler forms
Lighter UI with more space dedicated to the map


Learn more about the release Learn how to use them

February 23, 2024

[FEATURE] New BBcode "KoFi" so you can link to your KoFi account. e.g [kofi:dimitris], Dimitris being your World Anvil username (or anyone else's.

[UPGRADE]] The Manuscript Part links now are upgraded and can look like the Manuscript cover! Just add |block at the end like so: [manuscriptpart:33b906a7-5cc1-4bbf-902e-5f5abf5ea36b|block]

February 22, 2024

[UPGRADE] BBcode on Timelines!
Timelines and event descriptions on the new Timelines can now have BBcode. Specifically, the following BBcode is available: p, br, hr, h1, h2, h3, h4, b, i, u, s, small, sup, sub, strike, table, th, td, tr, ul, ol, li, in. Also img, url and Article Links.

[FEATURE]] Timeline Default Background
You can not set a background image for your timeline. This image will be displayed behind all events, unless you override it with an ERA background or color.

[FEATURE]] Set Event Timelines
You can now quick set in which timelines an even will be present by simply editing the event (from the sidebar) on any of the timelines it already exists.

February 19, 2024

[BUGFIX] Fixes on the Diceroller and Character "In-session" Screen

February 8, 2024

[MAJOR FEATURE RELEASE] Timelines v.2.0 - Horae

Learn more about the release Learn how to use them

February 7, 2024

[UPGRADE] No more white horrible looking map backgrounds! You can now set the background image of your maps.
To se, go to: Edit Map > Map Settings > Basic (Near the bottom)
Available to Master Guild members and above.

January 28, 2024

[MINOR UPDATE] Moved "Delete World" panel and button under the "Open Tools & Advanced Actions" in the World Configuration page

[MINOR UPDATE] Removed ?preview=1 from view links

January 26, 2024

[BUGFIX] Fix for genre and tag labels for Marianna Trench Theme

[BUGFIX] Fix for issue related with 504 erros when searching in the GM Screen (DSTS).

January 25, 2024

[BUGFIX] Several fixes on the new UI related to the recent release.

[UPGRADE] New UI Image Uploader: Ability to only copy the ID of an image

.... Also added Sparky the Udan on the search if no results are found.

January 24, 2024

[UPGRADE] New search now does a FULL SEARCH on Secrets. (As suggeted by the community here

[UPDATE] Cover and Avatar images can now be up to 2.5mb

[MINOR UPDATE] The removed from Artemis "World Scrapbook", if it had any content, can be located under:
World Configuration > Open Tools & Advanced Actions (right hand side) > WORLD SCRAPBOOK (LEGACY)

January 23, 2024

[ALCHEMIST RELEASE] Alchemist release of Project: Horae

January 22, 2024

[FEATURE] New User Interface. A complete rehaul of the sidebar, top bar and quick access buttons. Stronger Mobile support and faster navigation!

Note: This is just the 1st of 3 drops related to the main World Anvil Interface - WATCH THIS SPACE!

Fill the Survey, Let us know what you think

[UPDATE] After 7 glorious years World Anvil is returning to a Dark Theme as the default theme. Marianna Trench (Dark Slate) is no World Anvil's Default theme

[UPDATE] The Manuscripts Label default colours have been switched to a darker version to match the default theme.

January 19, 2024

[FEATURE] New Prompt in Character/Person template "Representation & Legacy"

As requested: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/1f1a4489-2b8f-4b4b-a0c3-8092412060e2/view by Willow H.R. Harper and the rest of the community.

[FEATURE] Added BlueSky as an option for your social media profiles

January 12, 2024

[FEATURE] Ability to set an article as COPYABLE. The following will be copied from the original article to the newly created (within your currently active world)

  • Title
  • Icon
  • Excerpt
  • Vignette (Main Content)
  • Sidebar Sections (all 4 of them)
  • Footer Sections (Fullfooter / Footnotes
  • Attached RPG Block
  • CSS Class and Styles

Now you can create beautiful articles and **allow other to copy those articles** to THEIR worlds. (as a side effect *you can also copy your own articles*)

Articles are by default non-duplicable (is that a thing?!). But you can set them to be in the Article Edit screen under preferences. Once you do the "DUPLICATE ARTICLE" button will appear at the footer of your article's presentation.

Read the Documentation

January 10, 2024

[UPDATE] Removed toaster notification appearing on the top right, when deleting a notification

January 5, 2024

[UPDATE] The DSTS (Digital Storyteller Screen) now has a dark mode!

January 4, 2024

[UPDATE] New Location for the wordcount and last save information. Once an article is autosaved the last time it was saved and the wordcount will be displayed more prominently on the sidebar of the article. Possible errors with saving will also be shown there.

Check out Related community suggestion

January 2, 2024

Happy new Year everyone! I hope the new year will bring you some amazing worldbuilding successes and new friends to help you and celebrate them with!
If you haven't already...

please fill the Forge the Future 2023 survey

it will help us make World Anvil even better for you!

[FEATURE TRICKLEDOWN] Masters now have the same Ads rules as Grandmasters ... NO MORE Ads for your world visitors for all masters!

[UPGRADE] The "Global article introduction" block contents (that you can set under World Configuration > Display > Global Content), now also appears under the title block of the category pages.

December 15, 2023

[UPGRADE] Articles under categories will continue to be ordered by the order/weight value, BUT if no order/weight is set the articles are ordered ALPHABETICALLY.