Feature Request: Add Setting for Default Post Format

[pmaiorana]

I use Press This mainly for link-blogging, and I imagine that is a primary use-case for many others too. It’s really easy to miss the post-format dropdown when creating a new post, and that can completely change how the post looks once published.

It would be great if Press This let users pick a default post format (like “Link”) so every new Press This post starts with that format already selected.

A simple setting for “Default Post Format for Press This posts” would solve this nicely.

I've made a little plugin to add this functionality for my own use:
press-this-default-post-format.php

...which adds a setting to /wp-admin/tools.php:

[kraftbj]

@pmaiorana I'm working on an updated version of Press This. There is some automated logic to choose a suggested post format based on what's being shared (https://github.com/WordPress/press-this/pull/65/files#diff-6f5d026dbadd9d654f56cea5b1c8261d97960c86976ccf1b344daead7f2cfa14).

The logic has a PHP hook where if PHP suggests something, it'll use that instead of the JS logic above.

With what you're using, would you expect your setting to override any automated format suggestion logic or literally be the default when other formats aren't matched?

In other words:

                        CONTENT ANALYZED
                              │
                              ▼
                    ┌─────────────────────┐
                    │  Algorithm detects  │
                    │  video/quote/link?  │
                    └─────────────────────┘
                              │
              ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
              │ YES                       NO  │
              ▼                               ▼
        ┌───────────┐                  ┌─────────────┐
        │  "video"  │                  │ "standard"  │
        │  "quote"  │                  │  (default)  │
        │  "link"   │                  └─────────────┘
        └───────────┘

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

OPTION A: Your setting is a HARD OVERRIDE (always wins)

        ┌─────────────────────┐
        │  Your setting set?  │
        └─────────────────────┘
                  │
       ┌──────────┴──────────┐
       │ YES                 │ NO
       ▼                     ▼
  ┌─────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐
  │ Use YOUR│        │ Run algorithm   │
  │ setting │        │ (video/quote/   │
  └─────────┘        │  link/standard) │
                     └─────────────────┘

  Example: You set "aside"
  • Share a YouTube video → "aside" (your override wins)
  • Share a quote         → "aside" (your override wins)
  • Share anything        → "aside" (always)

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

OPTION B: Your setting is a FALLBACK DEFAULT (algorithm wins)

                    ┌─────────────────────┐
                    │   Run algorithm     │
                    └─────────────────────┘
                              │
              ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
              │ MATCH                  NO MATCH│
              ▼                               ▼
        ┌───────────┐              ┌─────────────────┐
        │ Use algo  │              │ Your setting    │
        │ result    │              │ set?            │
        └───────────┘              └─────────────────┘
                                          │
                               ┌──────────┴──────────┐
                               │ YES                 │ NO
                               ▼                     ▼
                          ┌─────────┐         ┌───────────┐
                          │ Use YOUR│         │ "standard"│
                          │ setting │         └───────────┘
                          └─────────┘

  Example: You set "aside"
  • Share a YouTube video → "video" (algorithm wins)
  • Share a quote         → "quote" (algorithm wins)
  • Share a plain link    → "aside" (your default used)
  • Share an image        → "aside" (your default used)

Which behavior would you expect for your use case?

[pmaiorana]

Ah, great question! I think for my personal interests and use-case I would want it as an override... I want to be able to trust that the post is always going to be formatted/presented as I expect, and not have the cognitive load each time of having to confirm that the algorithm got it right.

[kraftbj]

Awesome, great. The upcoming version now includes filters for both approaches:

• press_this_post_format_override - Your Option A. When set, it always wins regardless of content analysis.
• press_this_post_format_suggestion - Your Option B. Lets you modify or replace the algorithmically-suggested format.

Example for your use case (always use "aside"):

add_filter( 'press_this_post_format_override', function() {
    return 'aside';
} );

I'm not entirely sure how a UI for this would look, and I lean toward decisions over options—but still undecided. This might be a good fit for something like Press This Extended to provide a settings page for users who want this without writing code.