Forte Compose Thread — Step 4: Implementation Summary

Stage 1 - Working New Thread dialog

• Changes:

  • New templates/partials/paned_board_new_thread_dialog.php: a <dialog> wrapping thread_compose_form.php in full (compact => false) mode.

  • templates/partials/thread_compose_form.php: gained an optional action param (default '', unchanged behavior for its two existing callers). Unlike reply_form.php, this partial had no action attribute at all — it relied on being served at /compose/thread itself, which meant reusing it as-is anywhere else (Forte's board included) would submit to the wrong URL and 405.

  • templates/pages/forte_board.php: "New" toolbar button lost disabled, gained data-paned-board-new; the new dialog partial is included.

  • public/assets/paned_board_reader.js: click handler calls .showModal() on the dialog.

• Verification:

  • php -l / node --check clean.

  • Headless-browser test (Selenium + chromium-browser): dialog opens on click, a real thread was created end-to-end with zero console errors. Redirect still landed on classic's /threads/{id} at this point, as planned (fixed in Stage 2).

• Notes:

  • Bonus finding, out of scope but worth recording: board.php's own inline compact thread composer (the one already shipped on classic's board page) is currently broken — its form also has no action, so submitting it POSTs to / and 405s (confirmed live via curl). This predates this feature entirely and is unrelated to Forte; not fixed here, but worth a separate ticket since it's a real, live bug on the classic site.

Stage 2 - Stay in Forte after creating a thread

• Changes:

  • Application.php: handleComposeThreadSubmit() now calls a new resolveComposeThreadReturnTo() helper (sibling to resolveComposeReplyReturnTo() — there's no existing thread ID to whitelist against here, since the thread doesn't exist until after creation). buildForteBoardReturnTo() gained an optional $overrideSelected parameter so the server can inject the freshly-created thread's ID regardless of what the client sent.

  • thread_compose_form.php: added the return_to hidden field (mirroring reply_form.php's existing one).

  • paned_board_reader.js: the New-button click handler now populates that hidden field via the existing composeReturnToUrl() helper (reused unchanged, called with no thread ID since none exists yet — produces /forte?tag=... with no selected).

• Verification:

  • php -l clean.

  • Headless-browser test with a tag filter active (?tag=bug, matching thread also tagged bug): successful submission redirected to /forte?tag=bug&selected={new_thread_id}&created_post_id=...; the board's existing, unmodified selection-restore logic in paned_board_reader.js picked out the new thread correctly (confirmed .paned-list-row--selected matched it, and the bug folder stayed marked active).

  • Regression: curl against classic's /compose/thread (still redirects to /threads/{id}, unaffected) and the reply return_to flow (/compose/reply with return_to=/forte, still redirects to /forte, unaffected).

• Notes: none identified — this reused the same return_to mechanism already proven twice before (forte_board_reply_restore, forte_identity_signing).

Stage 3 - Interaction and visual polish

• Changes:

  • paned_board_new_thread_dialog.php: added a titlebar (New Thread + a × close button, data-paned-new-thread-cancel).

  • paned_board_reader.js: Cancel button calls .close(); Subject field is explicitly focused right after .showModal().

  • thread_compose_form.php: added an optional formClass override (default: its current computed class, mirroring reply_form.php's existing param) so the dialog's form can opt into .paned-compose-form and inherit all of that class's existing button/textarea/meta styling instead of duplicating it.

  • forte.css: added .paned-new-thread-dialog, ::backdrop, .paned-dialog-titlebar, and .paned-dialog-close rules matching the paned window's existing chrome (the titlebar reuses the same blue the agent badge already uses).

• Verification:

  • Headless-browser test: Subject field confirmed focused immediately after open; Cancel and Esc both close the dialog with no navigation and no thread created; the dialog reopens cleanly across three consecutive open/close cycles with no stuck state.

  • Computed styles confirmed the dialog background and titlebar colors match the paned palette exactly (#ece9d8 / #0a246a), not default browser <dialog> styling.

  • Screenshot confirms the dialog reads as a native "New Thread" window consistent with the paned chrome, not a generic browser dialog.

• Notes: none identified — field values persisting across a cancel-and-reopen cycle (native <dialog>/DOM behavior, no explicit reset logic added) didn't read as confusing in testing, so no extra logic was added per the Stage 3 plan's fallback.

Stage 4 - Full regression check

• Changes: none (verification only, as planned).

• Verification:

  • Classic's /compose/thread page and board.php's inline compact composer confirmed byte-for-byte unaffected (curl markup diff against pre-feature baseline).

  • Forte's existing Reply flow re-verified end-to-end: panel opens, anonymous reply posts, redirect restores tag/selection/highlight exactly as before — the New dialog shares no markup or JS state with it beyond the shared toolbar/board scaffolding.

  • Confirmed the intentionally-inert Clear fields button (flagged in Stage 1 as a known consequence of not loading browser_signing.js for this dialog) does nothing when clicked — no JS error, field value simply unchanged, matching the documented, accepted limitation.

  • Zero console errors across the full test run.

• Notes:

  • This completes all 4 planned stages for forte_compose_thread. Forte's board now supports creating a new thread end-to-end via a native dialog, styled consistently with the paned chrome, staying in Forte on success with tag/selection preserved — without touching classic's own compose-thread paths or Forte's existing Reply flow.