Archive for January, 2010

WordPress Theme Releases blog Tools blog Tools for 01/30 31 January 2010 at 01:57 by Rewrite content

EleganceWordPress Theme Releases for 01/30

Elegance Lite

Two column, widget ready grid based theme with 960.gs framework

TweetPress

Gunungkidul

Clear Blue Sky

Clear Blue Sky

Two column theme to make your blog look exactly like your Twitter profile

A modern sky blue, two-columns theme with a clear, fresh look.

TweetPress

Gunungkidul

Elegance Lite is a 2 Column light weight theme with right sidebar. This stylish theme has Admin Options to easily change the Header Logo and Background Color of Theme. Apart from all regular features, it also has support for Threaded Comments and Sticky Post. Comments have Gravatar Support.WordPress Theme Releases for 01/30

Article Source : WordPress Theme Releases for 01/30

+ Plugin Review: WordPress Advanced Ticket System By Rewrite content 30 January 2010 at 05:28 and have No Comments

Plugin Review: WordPress Advanced Ticket System

The other day, I had asked plugin developers to dish out their wish list for the plugin repository. Olivier published a comment recommending a plugin called WATS or WordPress Advanced Ticketing System as a way of handling support on your own website. Plugin Review: WordPress Advanced Ticket System

Once I approved the ticket, I was able to login and view its status.

If you want to use WATS in conjunction with your main WordPress install, you can add new categories that can be configured to be open to submission. WATS has a front end ticket creation tool but the information for how to add this to a site was no where to be found until I browsed the plugin authors page. You can use the following shortcode to add the form to a page or post: [WATS_TICKET_SUBMIT_FORM].

After installation, users need to visit the Wats Options page within the Settings menu to configure the plugin. The top of the settings page has a donate button if you want to send a little coin to the plugin author which is not intrusive or bothersome. While configuring the plugin, you can click on each menu title to show detailed information about that settings group.

Overall, the plugin performed as expected. My only complaints lie in the user interface but those could be addressed in an update. For those looking for a ticketing system that bolts on easily to WordPress, this plugin looks like it could be what you’re looking for.

The only problems I met when configuring this plugin is the user interface. Like I mentioned above, you can click on the settings title to show a hidden message that gives more details for the settings group but it’s not obvious this can be done. Also, while adding and editing the ticket priorities, I noticed that there is an icon to edit existing priority levels but the icon did not have a tool tip so it was not obvious that it was used to edit entries. Last but not least, the first button I see under the listings is REMOVE. The ADD button is further down below a status indicator. I think things could be rearranged to make a little more sense. For example, place the ADD, REMOVE buttons next to each other with a text field only appearing after the ADD button has been clicked. Directions for how to use this area of the configuration page also need to be added before this group of settings.

Article Source : Plugin Review: WordPress Advanced Ticket System

+ Travel WordPress Theme – Postcard By Rewrite content 29 January 2010 at 09:01 and have No Comments

Postcard is a travel WordPress theme from WooThemes designed for travel blogging. This unique theme is ideal for blogging about your travels, allowing you to map your progress, share your experiences, photos, and keep in touch with family and friends while you’re on the road. The theme features Google maps integration for geo tagging your …

+ WordPress Plugin Releases for 01/28 By Rewrite content 29 January 2010 at 03:12 and have No Comments

Branded Login ScreenWordPress Plugin Releases for 01/28

New Plugins

Replace the default login screen on your blog with a custom branded screen

Edit Author Slug

This plugin is used to exchange currency values online. Main use is for American weblogs to convert their Dollar amounts into Euro currency values. It’s an easy to install, activate and forget wordpress plugin.

SEO Ultimate

WP Post Footer

This is a demo for WordPress plugin developers. It shows how to create your own form for Screen Options panel.

Q2W3 Screen Options Hack Demo

A more powerful version of wp_list_pages() which allows you to specify a start depth.

List Pages at Depth

A collection of plugins to make WordPress feel more like a CMS. It has some small adjustments and some bigger ones. Also includes some other plugins like Multiple content blocks, Page manager and a FAQ plugin.

Updated Plugins

Easily create a library of code snippets that can be inserted at the end of blog posts. Perfect for adding ‘Call to Action’ content at the end of a blog post to ask readers to take further action.

WordPress Loop

This plugin that creates an integration between your WordPress blog and your Twitter account. It allows you to pull your tweets into your blog (as posts and digests) and create new tweets on blog posts and from within WordPress.

This all-in-one SEO plugin can handle titles, meta, noindex, canonical tags, 404 monitoring, linkboxes, robots.txt, and more. Version 1.5 adds more built-in documentation.

iRobots.txt SEO

Twitter ToolsWordPress Plugin Releases for 01/28

This plugin allows you to change the Author slug, without having to actually enter the database.

Table of Contents Creator

NdB Currency

CMS

Table of Contents Creator automatically generates a highly customizable dynamic site wide table of contents that is always up-to-date.

The WordPress Loop widget was written to allow users that don’t know their way around PHP to easily show their content in any way they’d like. The widget has over 35 options to choose from. Customize your WordPress loop by one or more post types, categories, tags, custom taxonomies, authors, dates, custom fields, and a whole lot more!

iRobots.txt SEO is a fully customizable, optimized and secure robots.txt virtual file generator.

Article Source : WordPress Plugin Releases for 01/28

+ Use CSS Sprites to Beautify your WordPress Post Dates By Rewrite content 28 January 2010 at 19:34 and have No Comments

.month, .day, .year – Sets the width and height of the individual elements that make up our whole date Sprite. Our months and days are 33px wide by 30px high. The years are 33px wide by 60px high. When you put these elements together they make a box 66px wide by 60px high.  It also attaches the graphic we made in step #1 so we can position it for each individual element in the Sprite.Use CSS Sprites to Beautify your WordPress Post Dates

What you will accomplish in this tutorial:

  • A graphics program (I use Adobe Photoshop CS4)
  • A simple text editor

Editorial Note: This post is geared toward theme designers. Prior knowledge of CSS and WordPress is recommended.

  • The dates on your blog’s posts will be super styled using CSS Sprites

.d-01 background-position: -51px 0;
.d-02 background-position: -51px -27px;
.d-03 background-position: -51px -57px;
.d-04 background-position: -51px -91px;
.d-05 background-position: -51px -122px;
.d-06 background-position: -51px -151px;
.d-07 background-position: -51px -185px;
.d-08 background-position: -51px -214px;
.d-09 background-position: -51px -249px;
.d-10 background-position: -51px -275px;
.d-11 background-position: -51px -309px;
.d-12 background-position: -51px -338px;
.d-13 background-position: -51px -373px;
.d-14 background-position: -51px -404px;
.d-15 background-position: -51px -436px;
.d-16 background-position: -51px -462px;
.d-17 background-position: -100px -0px;
.d-18 background-position: -100px -27px;
.d-19 background-position: -100px -57px;
.d-20 background-position: -100px -91px;
.d-21 background-position: -100px -122px;
.d-22 background-position: -100px -151px;
.d-23 background-position: -100px -185px;
.d-24 background-position: -100px -214px;
.d-25 background-position: -100px -249px;
.d-26 background-position: -100px -275px;
.d-27 background-position: -100px -309px;
.d-28 background-position: -100px -338px;
.d-29 background-position: -100px -373px;
.d-30 background-position: -100px -404px;
.d-31 background-position: -100px -436;

Step #1

.month top: 10px; left: 0; width: 33px; height: 30px;
.day top: 30px; left: 0; width: 33px; height: 30px;
.year bottom: 0; right: 13px; width: 20px; height: 60px;

Step #2

.y-2009 through .y-2014 – Same as above only we use them for the years.

Step #3

Ever wonder how to super style your blog’s post date?  I am going to show you how to do this using CSS sprites in about 18 minutes.

Basically you want to create a grid using months, days, and years.  As you can see, my grid has the months in one column then the days in two columns and finally the years vertically in a column. Once you get your dates on the “grid” you can save the file. Hint: Make sure your text is equally spaced from top to bottom and from left to right.  This makes the math easier when each date has the same white space.

.postdate – Sets the width and height of the entire date.  In this case we are going to make our date fit into a box 66px by 60px.

Let’s get started…

Fire up your graphics program.  You can download a PSD or PNG template to help with the layout of all of the dates in our Sprite.

On to the coding… Don’t worry it’s really easy, especially if you are using my PNG or have used the PSD file (It includes guidelines to keep your “grid” nice and neat plus you can then cut and paste the CSS code in this step directly into your themes’ stylesheet without any math.)

Replace with these lines:

Explanation:

Search for something along this line in your loop:

What you will need:

/*Date Sprite */
.postdate
position: relative;
width: 66px;
height: 60px;
float: left;

.y-2009 background-position: -150px 0;
.y-2010 background-position: -150px -60px;
.y-2011 background-position: -150px -120px;
.y-2012 background-position: -150px -180;
.y-2013 background-position: -150px -240px;
.y-2014 background-position: -150px -300px;

.month, .day, .year
position: absolute;
text-indent: -1000em;
background-image: url(images/date_img.png);
background-repeat: no-repeat;

Step #4

.m-01 through .m-12 – You guessed it!  These are our months.  This part of the CSS positions our graphic to display the months.  As you can see I set  the image to move on an X Y axis based on where it appears on the image. The easiest way to figure out where the top left corner (0,0) of each month, day, or year is on the larger image is to open up Photoshop and select the Marquee tool.  Select from the top left down and over to the right to just above the top left corner of you month, day or year and note where your pointer is using the info panel’s stats.

The CSS is as follows:Use CSS Sprites to Beautify your WordPress Post Dates

.m-01 background-position: 0 0px;
.m-02 background-position: 0 -30px;
.m-03 background-position: 0 -62px;
.m-04 background-position: 0 -94px;
.m-05 background-position: 0 -125px;
.m-06 background-position: 0 -155px;
.m-07 background-position: 0 -185px;
.m-08 background-position: 0 -217px;
.m-09 background-position: 0 -248px;
.m-10 background-position: 0 -279px;
.m-11 background-position: 0 -310px;
.m-12 background-position: 0 -341px;

.d-01 through .d-31 – Is used for exactly the same thing as .m-01 – .m-12 except their used for the days rather than the months.

Article Source : Use CSS Sprites to Beautify your WordPress Post Dates

+ How to Add Content and Completely Manipulate Your WordPress RSS Feeds By Rewrite content 27 January 2010 at 19:37 and have No Comments

if($gpost !== '')
$content = 'Guest Post: '.$content;How to Add Content and Completely Manipulate Your WordPress RSS Feeds

return $content;
}
add_filter('the_title_rss', 'wpbeginner_titlerss');

1. Add a Custom Field to your WordPress RSS Footer

elseif ($spost !== '')
$content = 'Sponsored Post: '.$content;

For example if your title was “Commercial WordPress Theme – StudioPress” and it was a sponsored post, then you can change it to “Sponsored Post: Commercial WordPress Theme – StudioPress”. Same if someone wrote a guest post etc.

“.$coolcustom.”

To accomplish this, open your functions.php file and add the following code in there:

n”;

Note: This hack is not for beginners. Only users who feel comfortable with editing functions.php file and have some knowledge of php should try this. Beginner users should either use the plugin mentioned in the article above, or consult professionals like us to do it for you.

Source: We used Joost’s RSS Footer plugin for a lot of guidance in writing this tutorial. The title RSS hack part we got from a French tutorial site and we added our own variables and gave it the ability to be custom titles per custom field.

If you just want to add the same text then you might as well use the plugin called RSS Footer by Joost because it is easier. But if you want to do it yourself this is how you do it. Open your functions.php file add the following code:

2. Adding Additional Text to Post Titles in RSS

$content = $content.$postcat;
return $content;
}
add_filter('the_title_rss', 'wpbeginner_cattitlerss');

In this first example, we will show you how you can use custom field to display specific text/object in your WordPress RSS Feed. This trick will allow you to show different text, advertisement, image, or anything else for each post. First open your functions.php and paste the following codes in the php tags:

function wpbeginner_postrss($content)
global $wp_query;
$postid = $wp_query->post->ID;
$coolcustom = get_post_meta($postid, 'coolcustom', true);
if(is_feed())
if($coolcustom !== '')
$content = $content.”

function wpbeginner_titlerss($content)
global $wp_query;
$postid = $wp_query->post->ID;
$gpost = get_post_meta($postid, 'guest_post', true);
$spost = get_post_meta($postid, 'sponsored_post', true);

Explanation for the code:

Some of you will say but you just did what RSS footer plugin does with a function. Yes and NO. Yes we are adding the code at the footer of the post, but this text is not the same exact text for each post. It is different because you specify different text for each post via custom fields. This trick will be very handy to comply with the new FTC guidelines for blogs that have all different type of posts.

Does your blog have guest posts, sponsored posts, and review posts? Well if you do then you will find this very useful. Some bloggers have custom styling to display each different type of post, so their users can distinguish between them. But when these posts go in a reader, all the stylings are gone. That is when this trick comes in handy. In this trick we will add any text either before or after the title.

}
return $content;
}
add_filter('the_excerpt_rss', 'wpbeginner_postrss');
add_filter('the_content', 'wpbeginner_postrss');

function wpbeginner_postrss($content)
if(is_feed())
$content = 'This post was written by Syed Balkhi '.$content.'Check out WPBeginner';

else
$content = $content;

Explanation: We are calling a function wpbeginner_postrss to add in each post a content before the post saying This Post was written by Syed Balkhi and after the content Check out WPBeginner. But we add the function if(is_feed), so it will only be displayed in RSS Feeds.

return $content;
}
add_filter('the_excerpt_rss', 'wpbeginner_postrss');
add_filter('the_content', 'wpbeginner_postrss');How to Add Content and Completely Manipulate Your WordPress RSS Feeds

function wpbeginner_cattitlerss($content)
$postcat = “”;
foreach((get_the_category()) as $cat)
$postcat .= ' ('.$cat->cat_name . ')';

A while back we shared how you can control your WordPress RSS Footer with a use of a famous plugin called RSS Footer by Joost. While the plugin is great, but it is very limited. You can only add text to the footer, and it is always the same text displayed on each post’s footer. What if you want to display different text for each post in your RSS post? What if you want specific posts to have a different title in RSS Feeds? What if you want to display a specific custom field in your RSS Feeds? Well this is why we present you this article which will show you how to add any type of content in your WordPress RSS Feeds. This hack will put you in control of your WordPress RSS Feeds and you can manipulate it in anyway you want.

3. Add Same Text on all Posts in RSS

else
$content = $content;

Explanation: We are using the function wpbgeinner_cattitlerss to get the category ID for each post and then displaying that right next to the title. So if the title is “Get Contact Form 7″ now it would be “Get Contact Form 7 Plugins“. You can see that there is no if then variable in this code. We use $content for the main title and $postcat variable to define the category name. You rearrange that if you like.

Now most of you are wondering how this code is functioning. So here is an explanation. We create a function called wpbeginner_postrss which runs a global wp_query to search in each post if a custom field called “coolcustom” is defined. If Cool Custom is defined then it shows the value after the post content. If there is no custom field defined, then the function by default shows just the post content and nothing else. We use the variable $content to display content. We are using if(is_feed) function and adding the custom text or other content to the main post content itself which you can see by the second filter. But it will only be displayed in the RSS Feeds due to our user of if(is_feed) function. By doing it this way, we avoid all the compatibility issues.

Now that was just displaying custom fields in the title. Do you want to display Category name on each title? Well then you should simply paste the following code in your functions.php file:

We are using the function called wpbeginner_titlerss which runs a global wp_query to search in each post if it contains either $gpost or $spost. These two elements are basically looking for two specific custom fields called “guest_post” or “sponsored_post”. If anyone has these custom fields added with a value true, then the code will add it in the text. If not then you will just see the normal title. You can see first the code looks for if $gpost is true, if that is not true whether $spost is true. If that is not also not defined, then it displays normal content. But if either one of them was true, then it displays the different text you specify here. We are using $content string to display the post title.

This would be very helpful if you wanted to sell ads on specific posts in RSS, add custom FTC guidelines or just wanted to have more control over your RSS Feeds.

Article Source : How to Add Content and Completely Manipulate Your WordPress RSS Feeds

+ Classifieds Premium WordPress Theme By Rewrite content 27 January 2010 at 09:45 and have No Comments

3 homepage structures to choose from
4 colour schemes
Strategically built layout …Classifieds Premium WordPress Theme

Classifieds is a premium WordPress theme from Templatic that allows you to create your own classifieds website with WordPress. The theme features options for free or paid classifieds listings, image uploader for ads, 3 different homepage structures and 4 colour schemes options to choose from.

FeaturesClassifieds Premium WordPress Theme

Article Source : Classifieds Premium WordPress Theme

+ 1 Year Domain Registration for $1.17 from GoDaddy By Rewrite content 27 January 2010 at 08:52 and have No Comments

While we are on the subject, how did you name your blog? Was it based on the domain name you could register or did you think about it for a while?1 Year Domain Registration for $1.17 from GoDaddy

Just enter BOWL2010 in the coupon form to see the discounted price of 99 cents along with the additional 18 cents ICANN fee. If any of you are aware of other coupons to lower the price, please post in the comments. Thanks SlickDeals 1 Year Domain Registration for $1.17 from GoDaddy

For all of you looking to register your new blog domains, GoDaddy is having another domain sale as they often do.

Article Source : 1 Year Domain Registration for $1.17 from GoDaddy

+ WordPress Theme Releases for 01/26 By Rewrite content 27 January 2010 at 02:58 and have No Comments

simple Magazine RedWordPress Theme Releases for 01/26

Simple Magazine Red

Wedding Blogging

Are you WordPress theme developer? Submit your themes to get them listed in these release posts.

TNT Dark Green Golden Temptation

TNT Dark Green Golden Temptation

5 Free Wedding Wordpress Themes

Three column, fixed width, widget ready and gravatar ready theme

Two column theme gravatar-enabled, widget-ready, and perfect for posting wedding pictures

Two column, widget ready theme (12 widgetized areas including 3 footer widget ready areas) with easy integration with twitter and FeedBurnerWordPress Theme Releases for 01/26

Article Source : WordPress Theme Releases for 01/26

+ Plugin Developers: What Is Your Wishlist? By Rewrite content 27 January 2010 at 02:17 and have No Comments

I propose to add the field e.g. ‘Problem description’ required for input if visitor click ‘Broken’ button in the Compatibility widget.Plugin Developers: What Is Your Wishlist?

However, first, plugin authors need to be able to resolve support threads about their plugin. Otherwise, they’re going to have a pile of duplicate threads.

I’ve talked with a number of plugin developers and they have all said the same thing. The compatibility box is useless if feedback can not be tied to the rating. Sure, a support topic can be opened for the plugin but there is nothing tying that forum post to the broken rating. Mark Jaquith weighed in with an even better idea.

I’m no plugin author, but I’d like to know from those who are what tools or processes need to be in place in order for you to continue using the repository versus your own setup. Obviously with your own setup, you can do whatever is necessary surrounding your plugin. The repository has its limits, especially when it comes to supporting plugins through the WordPress.org support forum that I hope Mark’s idea can address in the future.

So as a plugin author, what is your wish list for the plugin repository to make things easier on you?

Back in October, we told you about the new compatibility box that was added to the plugin pages within the repository. However, we’ve learned that this feature has one major drawback which is the crux behind this idea proposed by shinephp.Plugin Developers: What Is Your Wishlist?

They should get a chance (or a mandate) to provide feedback, and that feedback should open a new support thread.

Article Source : Plugin Developers: What Is Your Wishlist?

+ 55+ Most Wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks, and Hacks By Rewrite content 26 January 2010 at 03:40 and have No Comments

Custom Page Template55+ Most Wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

Once you have published this page go to Settings

Template Name: WPBeginnerT1 */ ?>

WordPress Theme Cheat Sheet for Beginners

1. How to use a Custom Page as a Home Page in WordPress

This is one of the most wanted hacks that users want to know how to accomplish. First you need to learn how to create a custom page. You will need to duplicate your page.php or create a brand new .php file and add the following code at the very top:

There are times when you come across a feature in a blog, and you just start thinking to yourself: How can I get this in my WordPress blog/site as well. Everybody have experienced this feeling. Sometimes you know you want it, and don’t know where to look for, or even what to look for. In this article we will be sharing some of the most wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks, and Hacks that you will definitely find useful.

You can change the template name. Change any styling, that you want in that page. Go to your WordPress admin panel and create a new page and select this template.55+ Most Wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

These tutorials are classified under various skills level. For some tutorials, you will need to know basic HTML and some WordPress Knowledge. Use the link below as one of your resources:

Article Source : 55+ Most Wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

+ Do You Have Class? By Rewrite content 26 January 2010 at 02:37 and have No Comments

I have hard time understanding the basis of this article but I wanted to link to it because I know many in the WeblogToolsCollection audience are coders themselves and it would be interesting to see the conversation that arises from Andrew’s post. WordPress coders have no class. At least, that’s what Andrew says in his post that discusses object oriented code being used in a non-object oriented environment. Do You Have Class?

WordPress developers tend to start as users who learn PHP in fits-and-starts when they need to accomplish something. They move from echo statements in themes, to functions, to classes, picking up ‘best practices’ as they go.Do You Have Class?

Let Andrew know what you think by commenting on his blog.

What do I mean by a non-object oriented environment? Well, firstly WordPress still does not require PHP5 for core code so there are limits to how many of the techniques it can use anyway. Secondly, WordPress has been around for a long time and has been developed by many contributors looking to achieve specific things with each patch without having a particular architecture imposed, except by committee.

Article Source : Do You Have Class?