76 Digital Remix Theme

Date: 25th April 2008 at 5:02 pm | Filed under: blog, development, themes, wordpress | Author: Sam Burdge

I have updated my site with my new 76 digital remix theme for WordPress.

The new theme is built on a model I have created for a highly configurable, versatile set of premium themes which I will be releasing this summer. The premium themes will each come in three different versions – Editorial, Media and Ultimate (which combines the features of both editorial and media versions). The themes features will include:

Editorial Version

  • Dynamic site header
  • Rotating news on homepage
  • Feed aggregator to display news from other sites
  • Dropdown navigation for sub-pages
  • Sliding sidebar navigation
  • Sliding comments
  • Lightbox integration
  • Dynamic banner / google advertising integration
  • Gravatar support for authors and commenters
  • Widget ready
  • Plugin ready
  • Author profiles
  • Various post layout options
  • Multiple language support
  • Image gallery layouts
  • Easy to use setup page
  • Feed syndication
  • Various page layouts
  • Full Instructions
Media Version

  • Dynamic site header
  • Slideshow on homepage
  • Dropdown navigation for sub-pages
  • Sliding sidebar navigation
  • Sliding comments
  • Lightbox integration
  • Dynamic banner / google advertising integration
  • Gravatar support for authors and commenters
  • Widget ready
  • Plugin ready
  • Author profiles
  • Various post layout options
  • Multiple language support
  • Image gallery
  • Easy to use setup page
  • mp3 and video support
  • Feed syndication
  • Various page layouts
  • Full Instructions

I will also release a free 'light' version of the theme set, so watch this space!

1 Response to “76 Digital Remix Theme”

  • Comment by Premium WP Theme News Links | WP-Premiums
    Date: April 25th, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    [...] Burdge is currently working on his 76 digital remix theme, which he is using on his blog at the moment and plans to release in the summer. The theme will be [...]

Leave a Comment

WP Flash Titles Plugin 2.0

Date: 22nd April 2008 at 3:02 pm | Filed under: development, flash, plugins, wordpress | Author: Sam Burdge

This WordPress plugin allows you to display your post titles in any font, colour and size you want using Flash. It will also retain your original html styling of your titles and display that to users who don't have Flash installed. It is fully customisable via the Options tab in wordpress. It is search engine friendly and easy to implement.

Update:

Version 2.0 includes 2 basic changes.

  1. The way the options are saved has been changed to address the problems some users were having with this.
  2. More pre-installed fonts.

Example:

I am happy with my WordPress theme as it is, so I have set up this example page for you to see the Flash Titles in action: WP Flash Titles Example Page

Installation:

  1. Upload the wp_flash_titles folder to your wp-content/plugins folder.
  2. Activate the plugin from the Plugins page.

Usage:

  1. Go to Options -> WP Flash Titles to choose your font, size and colour scheme for your titles.
  2. You need to modify your template file slightly. First you need to locate the code that relates to the post title. This will typically be something like:
    <h3 class="storytitle" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">
    <a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" rel="bookmark">
    <?php the_title(); ?>
    </a>
    </h3>
  3. You then need to add two lines of code. First paste this line in directly before the page title code:
    <?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles')){wp_flash_titles($post->ID,'start')} ?>
  4. Then this line directly after:
    <?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles')){wp_flash_titles($post->ID,'end')} ?>
  5. To embed any font you want you must have Flash CS3. Open the source file 'wp_flash_title.fla' which is located in the 'Source' folder of the plugin. In flash simply change the font of the text area to any font you wish. Do a 'Save As' and then publish the swf. Once you have created the swf you must upload it to the folder: wp-content/plugins/wp_flash_titles/flash
    It will now appear in the list of fonts in the Options -> WP Flash Titles page!!

Download Plugin:


23 Responses to “WP Flash Titles Plugin 2.0”

  • Comment by Printer
    Date: April 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm

    Hi, thanks for this great plugin. Unfortunatly I can’t seem to get it to work. I followed the instructions. But I can not see an example image inthe options page, and when I insert all the option values after update options the option boxes are empty again. Any idea how this can be? I’m onWP 2.5

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 22nd, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    Hi Printer,

    Sorry, it was my mistake…I hadn’t updated one of the plugin files correctly. Please download again and re-install and it should work.

    Sam

  • Comment by Printer
    Date: April 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 pm

    Ah, thanks! the optionpage is working now. I seem to run in to another problem now. when I refresh my site it goes blank(empty). the dashboard ist working though. i have this code in my ‘index’ now:
    ID,’start’)} ?><a href=”" rel=”bookmark” title=”Permanent Link to “>ID,’end’)} ?>
    this should be correct is it?

  • Comment by Printer
    Date: April 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 pm

    ow, i see the code did not displayed corect in my comment.

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 am

    The code should be something like:

    < ?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles'))
    {wp_flash_titles($post->ID,’start’)} ?>
    <a href=”< ?php the_permalink() ? rel="nofollow">” rel=”bookmark”>
    < ?php the_title(); ?>
    </a>
    < ?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles'))
    {wp_flash_titles($post->ID,’end’)} ?>

  • Comment by Stephen
    Date: April 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    Hi,

    I am trying to use the plugin once again. The saving options problem seems to be fixed, thanks. BUT when I activate and try to use the plugin, only the first two posts on my home page get flash titles and all the others are completely missing. I have about 20 posts showing on my homepage btw.
    Any advice? Thanks!

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 24th, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Hi Stephen

    It could be one of a few things causing this. Let’s start with the basics, have you tried emptying your browser’s cache and refreshing the page?
    Does this behaviour occur on all pages of your site (monthly archives, single category pages, etc) or just on the home page? Do the titles that aren’t appearing contain any special html characters (&#@!”‘, etc.)?

    Sam

  • Comment by Stephen
    Date: April 24th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    Thanks for the reply. I see that it seems to be browser specific. In Safari it looks fine and in Firefox 3 beta I am having the problem of no titles after the first two.

  • Comment by brian
    Date: May 6th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    Thanks for the plugin, it’s great!

    I was wondering… how to configure the plugin if you want the background to be transparent?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: May 7th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Hi Brian
    I hadn’t thought to add an option for transparent…I’ll have to add that feature in the next release! For now you could use this workaround…

    change the line of the plugin’s code:
    so.write(”flash_title_’.$flash_title_id.’”);

    to:
    so.addParam(”wmode”,”transparent”);
    so.write(”flash_title_’.$flash_title_id.’”);

    Hope this works for you…
    Sam

  • Comment by Jayvee
    Date: May 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    Hey, great plug-in but sadly it won’t work in my site. The options panel don’t show the fonts.

    How do I fix that? =(

  • Comment by Jayvee
    Date: May 7th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    BTW I’m using WP 2.5.1

    Thanks.

  • Comment by Jayvee
    Date: May 10th, 2008 at 10:15 pm

    I already figured out the problem. I upgraded the swfobject.js file. Thanks for the plugin.

  • Comment by Mikester
    Date: May 12th, 2008 at 7:13 am

    I just couldn’t get it to work…… :-(

  • Comment by Stephen
    Date: May 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 am

    Hi, it is me again. Just wondering if you will be updating your plugin to work with the new Firefox? Thanks!

  • Comment by alectro
    Date: June 10th, 2008 at 8:27 pm

    Hi Sam, I followed the instructions but I cant see it working both on Index and Single.

    That’s the blog: http://www.laondagrafika.com/blog/

    Thanks!

  • Comment by alectro
    Date: June 10th, 2008 at 8:28 pm

    ID,’start’) ?>
    <a href=”" rel=”bookmark”>
    ID,’end’) ?>

    thats the code I put on that files.

  • Comment by Ryan Creighton
    Date: June 12th, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Hi! GREAT plugin idea! i desperately want to use it.

    The trouble is that when i install the plugin, i get this error message:

    Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error.

    When i go to the plugin page under Options, i see various errors like:

    WordPress database error: [Table 'untolden_wrdp1.wp_flashtitles' doesn't exist]

    There are numerous similar errors. i checked my database, and it looks like the tables that the plugin needs aren’t getting installed.

    Any suggestions? i’m running ver 2.2.2.

    THANKS!!

  • Comment by zulu
    Date: June 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

    Hi. Great plugin :) Got one problem: There’s a “free space” before the title, means title, date and post don’t begin at the same beginning *lol* know what I mean? Visit my site to check, I can also send a screenshot if wanted (I don’t know how long this plugin will be activated). How can I fix this? Thanks a lot!
    zulu

  • Comment by zulu
    Date: June 13th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    It’s me again! Another problem: The flash titles don’t link to full post as they used to do before, so I uninstalled the plugin now. But screenshot is ready to send ;)

  • Comment by Come Creare Titoli in Flash su WordPress Usando Qualsiasi Font | kosmo blog
    Date: July 7th, 2008 at 9:24 am

    [...] WP Flash Title è questo il nome del plugin che permette tutto questo. [...]

  • Comment by Fernando
    Date: August 6th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

    Hi Sam! Contratulations for the plugin, I think is amazing!

    You know? Im using the default theme for wordpress, the original code says:

    < div class=”post” id=”post-” >
    < a href=”" rel=”bookmark” title=”Permanent Link to ” >

    But when i replace this code for:

    ID,’start’)} ?>
    <a href=”” rel=”bookmark”>

    ID,’end’)} ? >

    … then the theme no work. :(

    I dunno where Im mistake. Can you help me? Thank you so much and sorry for my english language, still is very poor. :)

  • Comment by Fernando
    Date: August 6th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

    Hi again Sam…. i found my mistake, i forgot write class=”storytitle” in the code… is ok now… thank you so much again… your plugin is cool

Leave a Comment

WP Instructions Plugin

Date: 19th February 2008 at 10:07 pm | Filed under: development, plugins, wordpress | Author: Sam Burdge

As someone who regularly sets up WordPress sites for clients, often with bespoke themes and various plugins installed, I find it useful and helpful to include basic instructions for them. I used to send a text document to them by email when I handed the site over, but more recently have been including an instructions page as a tab in WordPress.

This plugin allows you to create a custom instructions page for a wordpress blog. Especially useful for those setting up WordPress sites for other people. You can use it to provide instructions for use of specific plugins etc.

Installation:

  1. Upload the wp_instructions folder to your wp-content/plugins folder.
  2. Activate the plugin from the Plugins page.

Usage:

To create your custom instructions simply edit the instructions.txt file in the wp_instructions folder. You can use html if you want. Numbered lists are a good format for giving step-by -step instructions.

Handy Tip:

As pointed out by David A (See comments for this post) you can use WordPress to create an instructions page and save it as private. You can then copy and paste the code from the code view of the WP text editor into the plugin's instructions.txt file, thus creating an html formatted instructions page without having to write any html yourself.

Download:


20 Responses to “WP Instructions Plugin”

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 2nd, 2008 at 5:19 pm

    Hi all,
    Just a quick note to users of this plugin - the plugin is currently set so that all user levels are able to view the instructions. If you wish to change this so that only users of a certain level (i.e Authors or administrators) are able to view the instructions you can change the following line in the plugin's code:

    add_menu_page('WP Instructions', 'Instructions', 1, __FILE__, 'wp_instructions_page');

    Replace the number 1 with the number that relates to the user level you want. For more info about user levels please visit this page on the wordpress site Levels and Users for WordPress.

    Also for non-english users you can always replace the word 'Instructions' with the translation in your own language.

    I hope these tips come in handy.

    Sam

  • Comment by Ken savage
    Date: March 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Hey Sam, nice plugins. thx for sharing.

    Woould you be willing to share the instruction you give out for new people accessing wordpress? I'm turning over a new site to another group in my company and this would save me a few hours of writing and creating screen shots.

  • Comment by David
    Date: March 4th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    The download is an empty file!?!?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 9th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    Hi Ken,
    All of the instructions I have written are generally to do with using specific plugins like Podpress or ANIga. They would probably not be that useful to you. You could always take some of the instructions from the wordpress.org site and summarise them.
    Sam

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 10th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    Hi David
    This problem (in IE only) should be solved now. Appologies for the inconvenience.
    Sam

  • Comment by David A
    Date: March 18th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    Hi, nice idea! However, I'm wondering if it can be modified to pull a specific page from Wordpress instead of using a text file. That way you could use WP's page editor to edit up your instructions with formatting.

    So far, it appears that if you were to create a page template with no header, sidebar, footer- just the page content code, then create a page in WP, make it private, and use that blank page template, it should work fine as a replacement for Instructions.txt under your plugin (provided the path is changed in the plugin).

    You'd probably need to use pretty permalinks to keep the path stable, or provide a selector within the plugin page to pick the right page, but otherwise it should work fine? Does this sound workable/useful, or have I strayed too far from the path (again) ? :)

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 19th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    Hi David,
    Thats an interesting thought. I will think about integrating such a feature for a future release of the plugin.
    Sam

  • Comment by David A
    Date: March 20th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    Hi again, I discovered that by using WP to create a Private page of instructions, you can copy and paste from the Code view into the Instructions.txt, and it displays perfectly.

    You will still likely need to upload the text file into the plugin folder (your server directories, like mine, are probably not writeable for security reasons), but at least you can use WP to write and maintain the instructions.

    Thanks again for such a great idea, and donation incoming!

    David
    p.s. The captcha system is giving me a headache, three tries and no luck so far. I'm triplechecking before submitting, and it sure LOOKS right…

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 23rd, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    Hi David
    Thanks. I'm glad you found it so useful.
    Sam

  • Comment by Weathervane
    Date: March 25th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    I can't find a download link for any of your plugins. Am I missing something?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 26th, 2008 at 10:57 pm

    @Weathervane: Hi, erm… the big button that says 'download file' under the heading 'Download:' at the bottom of each plugin post!

  • Comment by Kevin
    Date: April 8th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    The plugin doesn't work op wp 2.5 :(

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 12th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    @Kevin: I have tested it on WP 2.5 and it works fine for me. Have you tried re-installing the plugin?

  • Comment by Leon
    Date: April 14th, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Hi Sam

    Nice plugin. Was looking for something like this. The WP admin plugin manager states that there is a 1.0 version, but the HTML link refers to your flash clock plugin. Maybe you can fix this?

  • Comment by Christopher
    Date: April 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    Just installed it and I think it is a great little plugin - really useful, many thanks for your hard work.

    It did not seem to like it that I have not installed WordPress in the root (blog homepage is in different directory from where WordPress is installed), so had to edit the plugin to point it at the right directory for the text file.

    I also just noticed that WordPress is suggesting an update but linking to wp-digi-clock-plugin-01beta

  • Comment by Christopher
    Date: April 15th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Sorry, could have been more useful if I had included my edit.

    Changed get_bloginfo(’url’) for get_bloginfo(’wpurl’)

  • Comment by Casey
    Date: May 30th, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    I keep downloading and upgrading, but it keeps telling me that a new version is available. The zip I download produces a folder name wp_instructions_01, with another wp_instructions folder within. No matter which folder I put up there, the plugins page says there’s a newer version available.

    could you please check to see if the package is correct? I’m using 2.5.1. I read that your plugin was compatible with 2.5x…. please advise if this isn’t true, thanks!

  • Comment by WP Help : Pressing Pixels | A Wordpress Magazine
    Date: June 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm

    [...] I came across a plugin that did this but is was not easily updatable and had some issues with a couple of installations. So I’ve improved on it and here is WP Help inspired by Sam Burdge’s wp-instructions. [...]

  • Comment by Laran Evans
    Date: July 19th, 2008 at 5:21 am

    Hey Sam. Neat plugin.

    I did run into some issues due to the use of the fopen function.

    I wrote a plugin that generates a table of contents for content.

    Someone contacted me today saying that they wanted to integrate the table of contents with your instructions plugin. So I did. I also fixed the fopen bug.

    So, here’s a link to the integrated code (just the .php file, not instructions.txt) along with two screenshots. One screenshot is when my table of contents plugin is activated. The other is when it’s de-activated.

    http://tinyurl.com/5n3qj6

    Now I’m going to go check out the WP Help plugin :)

    Enjoy!

  • Comment by Laran Evans
    Date: July 19th, 2008 at 5:23 am

    I forgot to give the url of my plugin. Here it is:

    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-table-of-contents/

Leave a Comment

WP Flash Titles Plugin

Date: 15th February 2008 at 11:53 pm | Filed under: development, flash, plugins, wordpress | Author: Sam Burdge

This Plugin has been updated to version 2.0

This WordPress plugin allows you to display your post titles in any font, colour and size you want using Flash. It will also retain your original html styling of your titles and display that to users who don't have Flash installed. It is fully customisable via the Options tab in wordpress. It is search engine friendly and easy to implement.

Example:

I am happy with my WordPress theme as it is, so I have set up this example page for you to see the Flash Titles in action: WP Flash Titles Example Page

Installation:

  1. Upload the wp_flash_titles folder to your wp-content/plugins folder.
  2. Activate the plugin from the Plugins page.

Usage:

  1. Go to Options -> WP Flash Titles to choose your font, size and colour scheme for your titles.
  2. You need to modify your template file slightly. First you need to locate the code that relates to the post title. This will typically be something like:
    <h3 class="storytitle" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">
    <a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" rel="bookmark">
    <?php the_title(); ?>
    </a>
    </h3>
  3. You then need to add two lines of code. First paste this line in directly before the page title code:
    <?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles')){wp_flash_titles($post->ID,'start')} ?>
  4. Then this line directly after:
    <?php if(function_exists('wp_flash_titles')){wp_flash_titles($post->ID,'end')} ?>
  5. To embed any font you want you must have Flash CS3. Open the source file 'wp_flash_title.fla' which is located in the 'Source' folder of the plugin. In flash simply change the font of the text area to any font you wish. Do a 'Save As' and then publish the swf. Once you have created the swf you must upload it to the folder: wp-content/plugins/wp_flash_titles/flash
    It will now appear in the list of fonts in the Options -> WP Flash Titles page!!

Download Plugin:

Version 1 Beta is no longer available. Please visit the WP Flash Titles 2.0 page to download the new version.

19 Responses to “WP Flash Titles Plugin”

  • Comment by Brewskie
    Date: February 17th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    I am amazed at how nice this looks on my site!

    http://www.criticalreactor.com

    It looks as though I am using a custom font. But one that everybody can see.

    Thanks for your time you put into this. Good job!

    One small question however. Are there any free apps that can edit .fla files? Flash is pretty expensive :)

    Again..good job on this :)

  • Comment by Brewskie
    Date: February 17th, 2008 at 6:24 pm

    A small wish list:

    Animations.

    Like animate on load, hover , click etc.

    More fonts :)

    An option to have more than one instance. This would allow a cutsom logo/banner or whatever.

    Widgetized.

    This would allow flash anims for the blocks in the sidebars. Either for the title of the block or the whole content of them.

    By using flash for the sidebars there's a lot of cool things you can do. Like tabbed blocks :)

    Thanks again for this :)

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: February 17th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    Hi Brewskie
    Thanks for your comments. The Flash Titles really look great on your site! I have plans to add some of the features you mentioned for a future release and also have some more Flash based plugins in the pipeline… As for free apps that can edit fla files, I’m not sure sorry
    Cheers,
    Sam

  • Comment by Erik Tiekstra
    Date: February 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    Hi,I hope to be able to like your plugin, I just can't seem to download it. Also from the Wordpress plugin site the fla is missing..?!Could you help with that?/Erik

  • Comment by Brewskie
    Date: February 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Something strange happened.

    I went to make a small correction to the dimensions of the flash and when I saved the whole thing went blank. As in nothing was saved and it reverted to empty boxes in the admin.

    I haven't installed any other plugins since this one so I know it couldn't be the problem.

    I've been playing around with it for a while but I really can't figure out what would cause this behavior.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks!

  • Comment by Carnevalle
    Date: February 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am

    I'm having som problems with this plugin. First of, my installation is not in the root-directory, so the document_root path to the flash-directory is not working. But this is an easy fix.

    The bigger issue is, that at first it is working and displaying the flash titles, but if I try to edit the configuration it goes blank and there is no way back. What could the problem be?

  • Comment by kike
    Date: March 1st, 2008 at 5:55 pm

    It would be great to change also the link from the sidebar, I have some errors, the titles dont show and in the admin when I put update does not show anything, I have the latest version of wordpress. Please answer on my mail, thanks enrique from Argentine

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    A note to all users who have had dificulty using the plugin:

    1. Check folder and file permissions - refer to this article WP Digi Clock Plugin - Folder and file permissions - I know this relates to another plugin, but the principles are the same.
    2. If your wordpress is not installed in the root directory you may have problems using the plugin, unfortunately you may have to wait until the next release of the plugin for these issues to be resolved, sorry for the inconvenience.

    I hope this helps some of you.

    Sam

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 2nd, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Brewskie - try a fresh install of the plugin and see if that resolves the prob?
    Sam

  • Comment by Gilbert Purtee, Jr.
    Date: March 22nd, 2008 at 7:08 pm

    Cant update   goes blank perm set correct cant get it to work

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Hi Gilbert
    Can you give me some more info please? What platform is your server running?
    Sam

  • Comment by stephen
    Date: April 13th, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    I also get the disappearing prefs I am afraid. It seems to set all values to blank and thus no titles appear on my blog if enabled.

    As for platform info, I am not entirely sure what you mean, but I am running wordpress 2.5 on php 5.2.3, Linux 2.4.3, Apache 2.0.61…if you want the full phpinfo, I can send it to you.

    Thanks!

  • Comment by Johno
    Date: April 16th, 2008 at 8:40 pm

    Not working in IE7, but then I can’t get sIFR to work at all with IE7, Any ideas?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 17th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    Hi Johno

    Might seem obvious but, do you have flash installed / Javascript enabled in your browser?

    I’m not that familiar with sIFR, but my plugin works on a similar basis.

    Sam

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 17th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    Note to all users of this plugin. The new version is coming soon (within the next couple of weeks. There will be new fonts and new options available. The disappearing preferences some users have been experiencing will also become a thing of the past!

    Sam

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Version 2.0 is here. Hopefully any problems with version 1 have been resolved. Thanks to all commenters for your feedback.
    Sam

  • Comment by Anthony
    Date: May 12th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    Hi Sam,
    Your plugin works very great !
    But I want to know if there is a solution to have a relative height (for example 100%) for the block, ans not a fixed height. It’s because sometimes my titles are in three lines, ans sometimes in one single, and it display a white space after short titles… I hope you’ll undersand my request !
    Anthony (french blogger)

  • Comment by kit
    Date: August 7th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

    having similar issues with it not showing up in IE7. anyone find a fix yet?

  • Comment by kit
    Date: August 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    ok so i found that if i empty my cache and load a page it works no problem, but as soon as i go to another page it disappears and won’t show up until i empty my cache again. PLEASE helP!

Leave a Comment

WP Post Columns Plugin

Date: 15th February 2008 at 10:22 pm | Filed under: development, plugins, wordpress | Author: Sam Burdge

This WordPress plugin allows you to easily create columns within your posts. Usefull for sites with a magazine / newspaper style layout, or if you want text to appear on one side of the post with an image displayed opposite. It is much easier than creating html tables within posts, perfect for users with no coding experience.

As you can see from this example it is also possible to have text, before or after the columns, which spans the full width of the post.

It is currently a Beta version and therefore does not have an options menu in wordpress, so you need to configure the width of your columns in the plugin file itself (which is still really easy). It is based on something I built for a bespoke wordpress theme I was working on, and thought was useful enough to share.

Adding the columns to your post is incredibly simple, you just add the tag {columnX} to your post to begin the column and {/columnX} to close the column. (Replace the X in the above example with either 1 or 2, depending on which column you are opening/closing). You can only have 2 columns at the moment.

Plans for future releases:

For the next release I plan to add an options page where you can set the number of columns (2 to 4), column margins, borders etc.

Installation:

  1. Download the plugin file and unzip.
  2. Upload the wp_post_columns.php file to your wp-content/plugins folder.
  3. Activate the plugin from the Plugins page in WordPress.

Usage:

  1. To configure the width of the columns go to the Plugins page in wordpress. Locate the plugin from the list and click edit. Beneath the licensing info you will see clearly labelled 'Set up your columns width and right padding'. You can set the widths in px,mm,em,% etc.
  2. When writing a post you can use the tags {columnX} and {/columnX} to start and end each column. Replace the X in this example with either number 1 or 2 depending on which column you are opening or closing.

Updates:

24/4/2008 - Minor update to version 1.1 - Added extra preg_replace code to remove implicit <p> tags inserted by wordpress

27/4/2008 - Minor update to version 1.2 - added priority of 13 to add_filter to make compatible with 2.5.1 - preg_replace is called after shortcodes have been processed (priority 11)

Download Plugin:


42 Responses to “WP Post Columns Plugin”

  • Comment by emeff
    Date: February 18th, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Sounds interesting. Does it work for pages, too???

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: February 18th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    Yes, it works on pages too.

  • Comment by emeff
    Date: February 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am

    And it works great. Thank you!

  • Comment by Simon Reeves
    Date: February 20th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    I had a problem using it on my site, as it wouldnt float the 2nd column to the right of the first, instead it is on the right, but starts when the first column stops.
    Any ideas what could cause that at all?
    Thanks

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: February 20th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    Hi Simon,
    It is possible that your column widths were set too wide, so the two columns couldn't sit side by side. Try setting the widths narrower and using a percentage (45% and 45%) and see if that works.
    Sam

  • Comment by Matt Algren
    Date: February 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 am

    FYI, this plugin shuts down Simple Tags. Not sure why, but I had to turn it off till it's figured out.

    Nice work though, I really need this one.  
     

  • Comment by Smiddy
    Date: March 4th, 2008 at 2:44 am

    Great plugin! Just a quick question… having reduced the width of the column to a mere 25% I find that the post title and comment section are still in there original position as if the are still in one column. Any ideas?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 4th, 2008 at 7:46 am

    Hi Smiddy
    I don't know what could be causing this. Send me a link to look at and I should be able to help.
    Sam

  • Comment by Francois
    Date: March 4th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    Hi there, seems to be an intersting plugin. However, when I try to dl it I end up with an empty zip file ? Francois.

  • Comment by David
    Date: March 6th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    Brilliant - many thanks

  • Comment by Vaska
    Date: March 8th, 2008 at 5:08 am

    Hi, I'm unable to download the plug-in, I kept getting downloading zero-byte file. Please help?

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: March 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

    @ Vaska & Francois
    This problem (in IE only) should be solved now. Appologies for the inconvenience.
    Sam

  • Comment by Kenya
    Date: April 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm

    HI Sam,The plugin was working prior to updating to WP 2.5. Have you tested it on 2.5, any idea why it won't work for me anymore? Now it just shows the tags when I publish the column.Thank you,Kenya

  • Comment by Kenya
    Date: April 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    Hi Sam,The plugin doesn't seem to be working since I upgraded to 2.5.  Any idea why?  Now the tags show and there are no columns when I post.Thank you,Kenya

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 6th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Hi Kenya
    I just looked at your site, and the plugin still appears to be working (I could identify it's code). The reason the two columns are stacked one on top of the other is that the image is too wide and is therfore forcing the second column down, reduce the width of the image, or place it after the second column and the problem should be solved.
    Sam

  • Comment by Charles
    Date: April 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm

    Hi Sam,

    I\’m am running WP2.5 with the theme (Cutline 3-Column Split 1.1).

    As far as I am concern, I am doing everything as stated in your install documentation but can not get the the column when I post.

    Is there a functional website the I can take a look at to see what it looks like?

    Does the plugin works with WP2.5?

    Thanks

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 12th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

    Hi Charles

    It is working in this post (notice how the content splits into two columns). What happens when you try to use the plugin?

    Sam

    p.s I’m running 2.5 so it does work in 2.5

  • Comment by Charles
    Date: April 13th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    Sam,

    Your two columns split looks great, that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish.

    Despite reducing my column width from 45% to 25%, I am still getting an extended width page.

    I want to believe that my template is the culprit (Cutline 3-Column Split 1.1). I’m going to find out how to create a one column post and insert the column tags.

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 13th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    Hi Charles

    When you write the post it should be formatted like so:

    {column1}
    Column 1 content
    {/column1}
    {column2}
    Column 2 content
    {/column2}

    It should work with your template too.

  • Comment by Charles
    Date: April 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    Sam,

    I did EXACTLY as was suggested. I also reduced the width to 15% respectively.

    This is what it looks like:
    http://www.businessafterhours.us/2008/04/14/test-column.html

    Your patience is greatly appreciated,

    Thanks,

    Charles

  • Comment by Sam Burdge
    Date: April 14th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    Hi Charles

    I had a quick look, it looks like its working to me. The problem is that the columns are set too narrow. This is causing the longer strings of text ‘TTTTTTTT’ and ‘NNNNNNNN’ that are non-breaking to spill out of the boundary of the column.

    Sam

  • Comment by Documentary
    Date: May 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    Thanks for great plugin! just two question..

    Can i align a image in column2 in any way? when i use a smaler image it looks bad when its all the way to the right and the text is to the left.. And also when its text in both column i think its a bit to big space between them if the text is continuing in column2..

  • Comment by Gene
    Date: May 19th, 2008 at 3:18 am

    Interesting plugin, especially if WP is used as a “pseudo” CMS solution, is it still in development?

    Cheers,
    Gene

  • Comment by Gene
    Date: May 19th, 2008 at 3:40 am

    I created a test page using the above mentioned method:

    {/column1}
    {column2}
    Column 2 content

    But found that the first line of column 2 was 1 line down from column 1 (carriage return) so I corrected the layout by doing:

    {/column1}
    {column2}Column 2 content

    Cheers,
    Gene

  • Comment by Jon
    Date: May 19th, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    I’m also having problems with aligning an image to the exact width of the text. How do i make it nice and neat?

  • Comment by TPN :: The Global Geek Podcast » Blog Archive » The Global Geek Podcast #084 :: We Have Chunks: Part A
    Date: May 20th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    [...] WP Post Columns: Give posts columns, just like the newspaper [...]

  • Comment by Wordpress Plugin Centre - Wordpress Post Plugin - WP Post Columns Plugin - Sam Burdge
    Date: May 28th, 2008 at 4:55 am

    [...] WP Post Columns Plugin - Sam BurdgeThis WordPress plugin allows you to easily create columns within your posts. Usefull for sites with a magazine / newspaper style layout, or if you want text to appear on one side [...]

  • Comment by mmorts
    Date: May 31st, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    I’ll try it…

  • Comment by dirk
    Date: June 2nd, 2008 at 8:08 am

    Hi I uploaded your plugin to my host then dragged it to WP content/plugin file,but it does not show in my plugin list(where one activates plugins)

  • Comment by Michelle
    Date: June 9th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Sam, you’re an absolute star. I’ve been looking for just this kind of plugin for ages!

  • Comment by Kugelblitz
    Date: June 10th, 2008 at 4:15 am

    Thanks! Great Plug in works fine.
    One Question. Is it possible to define a min width of a column and if there is enough space to fill up the rest? My Layout is variable between 65 and 85em

    so s.th like that would be great.. unfortunately it does not work this way.

    $column1width = ‘32em auto’;
    $column1paddingright = ‘1em’;

    $column2width = ‘32em auto’;
    $column2paddingright = ‘0px’;

    Ps. How to make three Columns?

  • Comment by Maya
    Date: June 30th, 2008 at 2:17 am

    Sam,
    this is brilliant! I’m using WP as a CMS and this plugin is exactly what I needed. Thanks for sharing.

  • Comment by Cathy | Mommy Motivation
    Date: July 1st, 2008 at 3:20 am

    thank you so much for this - it’s perfect! :)

  • Comment by Peter Lurie
    Date: July 2nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Hi Sam!

    I REALLY love this plugin, but found it caused problems when used with Darren Hoyt’s theme “Mimbo Pro”. That theme uses custom images, and somehow