My Tweets Page
Word count: 76 |
Posted on October
29th,
2009
If you would like to use the Twitter page on your site, you will need to make a new page and name it whatever you wish but make sure it has the slug name of ‘twitter’. Choose the Twitter Page as your page template.
Open the file called page_twitter.php and look for the following lines of code:
<?php
include_once(ABSPATH.WPINC.'/rss.php');
wp_rss('http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/14542206.rss', 99);?>
You need to change the ID number to your own, i.e. 14542206
And that is it – all done!
How to use the JW ImageRotator
Word count: 413 |
Posted on October
27th,
2009
To the left you can see an example of the JW ImageRotator in action. It is also being used on the front page of this site and in the sidebar area of the Gallery page. In the example on this page we show how to embed the JW ImageRotator into a post [defining the images to whatever size you wish and wrapping text around]. A standard black border with margins and padding is included within the CSS, to save the hassle of having to do this every time.
Each example is contained within a separate folder within your files. An example of this as follows:
root directory/images/portraits
In this folder there are:
- the images being used [all the same size as specified in the Embed code above]
- imagerotator.swf
- portraits.xml
The JW ImageRotator also has a player control panel feature which can be used [sits at the bottom of the images] – but in this case it has been disabled.
To use the JW Imagerotator within a post we add the code as below and changing the size and paths accordingly.
<embed src="imagerotator.swf" width="200" height="150" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="file_name.xml&transition=blocks" />
WordPress then will change this [when you click on Visual mode within the Post Editor] so that it appears as the following:
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="200" height="150" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="flashvars" value="file=path_to/name_of.xml&transition=blocks&shownavigation=false" /><param name="src" value="path_to/imagerotator.swf" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="200" height="150" src="path_to/imagerotator.swf" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="file=path_to/name_of.xml&transition=blocks&shownavigation=false"></embed></object>
By wrapping the embed code in any element using a class, i.e \’ir-left\’ or \’ir-right\’ the position, borders and padding etc are added automatically.
You also need to drop your photos/images into a directory and then call them using the code above. A few simple adjustments to a basic .xml file [editable in any text editor] and you are all set to go.
The .xml file in this instance contains the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <playlist version="1" xmlns="http://xspf.org/ns/0/"> <trackList> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/1.jpg</location> </track> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/2.jpg</location> </track> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/3.jpg</location> </track> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/4.jpg</location> </track> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/5.jpg</location> </track> <track> <title>About</title> <creator>Us</creator> <location>/images/portraits/6.jpg</location> </track> </trackList> </playlist>
It sounds more daunting than it really is – you just need to do it a couple of times and then you will see it is really easy. The great part about it too, is it can be placed virtually anywhere on the site – in pages and posts, in the header, in the sidebar and footer. Very handy indeed!
For more details on the JW ImageRotator visit these links:
JW Imagerotator
Flashvars
Playlist Files
———————————–
Alternatively, you could display your profiles using the Simpleviewer gallery option. [More details about this theme-integrated method on the Gallery page.
Peel-Back Corner
Word count: 331 |
Posted on October
26th,
2009
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Peel-Back corner is gaining momentum across the Net and is surprisingly easy to add [or remove].
First thing then, I will show you how to remove it.
Open your header.php file and look for the following piece of code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="/js/peel.js" ></script>
You can either comment it out [by adding , so that you can use it later or if you prefer, remove it completely.
If you decide to remove it completely, you should also delete the directory in your theme files called 'peel'.
For those who wish to keep it but put their own little slant on things, read on...
The Peel-Back corner is also very easy to edit.
Open the 'peel' directory and look for the file called 'peel.js'. This is a javascript file and even if you do not know much about code, it is very easy to make the necessary changes.
Open the peel.js file in a text editor and look for the following line [line 3]
jaaspeel.ad_url = escape('http://www.freshlypressed.net');
Change the http:// address to wherever you wish the Peel-Back to link.
Next, take a look at the next two lines of code:
jaaspeel.small_image = escape('/WP284/wp-content/themes/FreshlyPressed/peel/fp75.png');
This is the first of two images you need to change. The first one is the little image you see in the corner before you peel back. You can place any image here. A recommendation though – make sure it is 75×75 pixels and I would also recommend you save it as a png.
One last step:
Slightly further down in the code you will see the following:
jaaspeel.big_image = escape('/WP284/wp-content/themes/FreshlyPressed/peel/fp500.png');
This is the larger image that you see when you peel the corner back. It is 500×500 in size and you just need to edit it and place your own in it’s place.
Save it all and make sure your images in the correct location [as specified in the code above] and hey presto – you have your own, new Peel-Back.
Life huh – it’s so easy sometimes!
Difficulty Level: Easy to Medium
Option to Add Your Own Custom Avatar
Word count: 127 |
Posted on October
26th,
2009
By adding this little bit of code [below] to the functions.php file, this theme has the ability for you to change your own avatar within the WordPress Dashboard – Discussion section.
So, go open your functions.php file and make the two small changes which refer to ‘FreshlyPressed’ above. Upload your image to the correct directory and then go into Admin – Discussion and down the bottom of the page you will see your shiny new, customised avatar ready to use as the default.
// CHANGE THE DEFAULT AVATAR IN WordPress
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
add_filter( 'avatar_defaults', 'newgravatar' );
function newgravatar ($avatar_defaults) {
$myavatar = get_bloginfo('template_directory') . '/img/freshlypressedgravatar.png';
$avatar_defaults[$myavatar] = "FreshlyPressed";
return $avatar_defaults;
}
Easily Editable Meta Description for Individual Pages
Word count: 285 |
Posted on October
26th,
2009
“SEO, SEO, SEO!“, screams the Net wherever you surf these days. And one big area they will rave about when discussing Search Engine Optimisation [SEO], is making sure you use valid and well thought out Meta Descriptions.
The trouble with the basic WorPress installation though, is that it does not allow you to make much headway in this area. Yes, I know there are many plugins available to cater for this need, but just for moment, let’s NOT use a plugin for this.
By adding the following code to our little functions.php file, we can make it so that in all of your pages [not posts], you can write a valid, and more importantly, DIFFERENT meta description by simply writing in your excerpt box.
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="<?php bloginfo('html_type'); ?>; charset=<?php bloginfo('charset'); ?>" />
<meta name="description" content="<?php
if (is_single() || is_page()) {
# Single post / page.
# Use the 'description' custom field.
echo get_post_meta($post->ID, 'description', true);
} elseif (is_category()) {
# Category page.
# Use category's description
echo trim(strip_tags(category_description()));
} else {
# Default meta description
# Blog's description
echo bloginfo('description');
}
?>" />
Of course, you may need to use only simple plain text for your adverts and this is an example of how this appears as well.
