Inline / in-content images don't appear as thumbnails in Calypso post/page list

[eduardozulian]

Quick summary

When you add an inline image to a post, that image does not appear in the post list next to the title in Calypso.

It started with a couple of reports in p2EDhh-2eU-p2 (we couldn't reproduce it) but I managed to replicate it on simple and AT sites.

• The report above mentions that this could be related to using old themes, but I tested with at least two newer ones, including Twenty Twenty-Four.
• There is a related issue in WebP images do not show in Calypso Posts/Pages list #91733, but that's apparently only for webp and includes features images.

The workaround for simple sites is to change to wp-admin.

Steps to reproduce

1. Using Calypso, go to Posts
2. Start a new post
3. Add an inline image
4. Publish the post

What you expected to happen

See the thumbnail right next to the post, just like we do with featured images.

What actually happened

In Calypso, the images aren't there on simple or Atomic sites:

There's also an empty markup with no img src:

<a href="/post/eduardoistesting.blog/5144" class="post-type-list__post-thumbnail-link"><img class="post-type-list__post-thumbnail"></a>

For wp-admin they appear on simple sites:

But are missing from AT sites in wp-admin:

Impact

Most (> 50%)

Available workarounds?

Yes, easy to implement

Platform (Simple and/or Atomic)

Simple, Atomic

Logs or notes

No response

[mdtanjid0]

Another user is facing the same issue: 8368017-zen

[ktyfuller604]

A user with both inline images and a featured image set has noticed the issue with their latest posts. Starting with a June 9th post.

8343414-zen

[mrfoxtalbot]

I cannot reproduce this @eduardozulian. Do you see any patterns that would help us reproduce this consistently? Maybe the image format or size?

[mrfoxtalbot]

@ktyfuller604, @eduardozulian, @mdtanjid0 I still cannot reproduce this.

Are you still able to reproduce it consistently?

[ktyfuller604]

I checked the example I had (8343414-zen). The newest post has a thumbnail in the list of posts, but none of their four June posts have a thumbnail. It looks partially resolved.

[mdtanjid0]

I have checked 8368017-zed and am still experiencing the same issue. It shows with the Classic view, but not with the default view. An example post ID (114122).

[eduardozulian]

@mrfoxtalbot I have no extra info on why or how this is happening. I've tested with png and jpg but, but I'm aware it's being difficult to replicate. But the issue is still present on my end.

[mrfoxtalbot]

I still cannot repro this in the post below :S

https://mrfoxtestingsite.wordpress.com/2024/07/01/inline-images-dont-appear-in-calypso-post-page-list-92033/

Featured Image is NOT set:

But images show fine in Calypso and WP-Admin

@eduardozulian, could you add me the sites where you are seeing this so I can take a closer look? Thanks again!

[eduardozulian]

@mrfoxtalbot, I added you as an editor to eduardoistesting.blog!

[zemirajput]

Another user is facing the same issue: 8546300-zen

[github-actions]

Support References

This comment is automatically generated. Please do not edit it.

• 8368017-zen
• 8343414-zen
• 8546300-zen
• 8638516-zen

[eduardozulian]

Another case: 8638516-zen

Simple site, custom domain, Premium plan. Inline images are only displayed in WP Admin.

[mrfoxtalbot]

Apologies for the belated triage @eduardozulian. I can confirm I am able to replicate this on your site and on my own site (simple site).

The reason I was confused is that I did NOT expect Calypso or WP-Admin to show inline images there. My understanding was that the thumbnail would only show actual featured images.

Are we 100% sure this box is indeed supposed to show featured images? @dsas, could you help us confirm/triage this?

Thanks!

[dsas]

It's supposed to show the post_thumbnail (featured image) or the first image in the content that is wider than 100px and where the width * height are at least 7500px (only works for jpegs, gifs and pngs)

It gets the thumbnail here which is set when the post is prepped for display.

The wp-admin logic is slightly different, if a featured image exists then it uses that otherwise it gets the first image that's from the media library (has a wp-image-ID class in html).

I quickly tested this on a testing site and couldn't reproduce, but whether it works depends upon the image dimensions, types and how it got into the post. @mrfoxtalbot / @eduardozulian could anything I've said explain what you're seeing?

[eduardozulian]

@dsas, I don't think so. I see that every image is wider than 100px, and they go over 7500px (assuming I need to multiply height and width).

Here are the posts I shared in the first screenshot, plus the attached media, if you'd like to take a look:

• Public site, inline JPG | Media file
• A post with an inline PNG | Media file
• Another post, with an inline image | Media file

Except for the first example, the other two images are pretty large.

[supernovia]

Noting I just tested with a 4mb inline gif in case it was related to another issue, but I couldn't duplicate this even with large gifs and pasted images.

[tanjoymor]

I'm not able to reproduce this on several different test sites and accounts. However, I noticed that @eduardozulian test site was created in 2015. I found and tested another site created in 2015 and see the same issue on it. However, of the tickets reported in this issue, none of the site are that old and there is a mixture of variables.

8368017-zd-a8c - problem posts have images added in the Classic block

8343414-zd-a8c - problem posts are using webp

8546300-zd-a8c - no thumbnails at all since 2020, one example: JPEG 1699 ✕ 988 - Image Block

8638516-zd-a8c - (Blog ID 236084129) no thumbnails on posts since Aug 20th, one example: PNG 816 ✕ 1308 - Image Block

I wonder if the title of this issue should be updated, because none of these are using "inline" images as in this option:

[eduardozulian]

@tanjoymor, good call. I was referring to adding an image as part of the content (in this case, simply adding an Image block), but I can see how this can be confused with the actual inline image option that I always forget about. Sorry for pointing you in the wrong direction!

I updated the reproduction steps to specify the Image block and the issue title. Feel free to update it again if needed!

[inaikem]

Unable to reproduce consistently. It seems a number of factors contribute to the issue: Classic Block, WebP, and potentially image sizes. I suggest opening a 2EDhh-p2 post for wider HE review and suspect we'll deal with a lot of these issues through updated documentation vs technical fix.

Keeping this open for now.

Cc: @tanjoymor

[tanjoymor]

Published a P2 post: p2EDhh-2mI-p2

Looking to gain a broader involvement from HEs to gather reports and do some testing to see if we can drill down on the different causes, as there seems to be a number of different reasons this happens.

Closing this issue for now, in favor of the P2. We can reopen this with more specifics once we're able to get a bit more specific clarity on it.