The next major release for the most used CMS in the world is almost at our doorstep with the release of WordPress 3.9 Beta 2.  WordPress 3.9 is due at the end of April and the Beta comes with a number of new features as listed below:

Updated TinyMCE

Updated TinyMCE which brings better features and stability to the Visual editor of WordPress.

Improved Word to WordPress Paste

This is probably one of the best features for non-tech savvy users who tend to copy and paste directly from Word. Previously if you copied from Word, it will copy all the word styles so your text would not look how you wanted, but this should not be a problem moving forward.

Widget Management in Customiser

Taking the customiser to a new level , you will now be able to add and preview widgets in real life. Also ability to upload, crop and manage header images, without leaving the preview has been added.

New look to the theme installer

The theme installer now looks like the theme browser, more sleek, better sorting and more visual. Please click here to preview 

Live previews for Galleries

This is another great feature. While previously this just displayed an icon of the gallery, now you can preview the gallery through the visual editor.

Drag and Drop Images Directly on the editor

Another great functionality addition means that you no longer have to go into Add Media and select the image, you can now drag and drop images directly into the visual editor.  Now if only they would implement copy and paste..  🙂

Better Audio and Video Playlists

Now you can create Audio and Video playlists just like you have been creating galleries.  The audio and video players also are directly embedded in the visual editor.

Easier Image Editing Capabilities

Its even easier now to edit images.