This is the first part in a series of articles I will be writing on encoding Flash Video (flv files) using the Adobe CS3 Video Encoder. I intend to cover all aspects of flv encoding to help you to attain the best results possible. If you are using another software to encode your flv files, such as Adobe After Effects or Final Cut Pro, many of the principles will be the same.

Read on…

I have recently received emails from a couple of users of my WP Digi Clock Plugin who have been unable to update the clock's settings via the Digi Clock options page in WordPress. Unfortunately I do not have time to give individual support for my free plugins as I am too busy building sites, earning a living etc. However, I think the reason some of you have been having trouble is due to file/folder permissions on your server. When you update the clock's options the wp-clock-params.php file for the clock is updated (this file stores your clock settings), if the permissions for the file, and the digi-clock folder itself are not set correctly it will not be able to update.

The permissions should be set as follows:

wp-digi-clock (folder) – 755
wp-clock-params.php (file) – 644

Here is a brief explanation of file and folder permissions on a unix server:

The three user types are:

1. user - the user (the owner of the file or directory), who you are on the system is determined by username and password at login time
2. group - a group of users, e.g.: administrators, plain users, etc.
3. world - anyone else, e.g: anonymous users or anyone who is not the owner, or of the same group as the owner, of the file or directory

The three access types are:

1. read - the file or directory can be read
2. write - the file or directory can be written to, or deleted
3. execute - the file (scripts or executables) can be run, or the directory can be entered

To set permissions, in the simplest form, you use a three digit code: the first digit represents the access given to the user, the second digit represents the access given to the group, the third digit represents the access given to the world. The values that make up each access type are:

4 = read
2 = write
1 = execute

To apply more than one type of access to a user type, simply add the values together to get access permissions of the desired types:

7 = read, write & execute (4 + 2 + 1)
6 = read & write (4 + 2)
5 = read & execute (4 + 1)
4 = read
3 = write & execute (2 + 1)
2 = write
1 = execute

Putting together these digits determines the 3-digit permission code that makes up the file's permissions.
E.g. User: read, write & execute (7) + Group: read & execute (5) + World: read & execute (5) = 755.

This easy to use plugin will embed a flash digital clock into your wordpress blog, either in a post or page, or within your blog's template (in the sidebar / header / footer etc.). The background and font colours are managed via the options menu. The clock can display the time as set on the user's local machine or as set by your web server with an optional offset. It also has options for 12hr and 24hr clock.

Installation:

1. Download the plugin file here: WP Digi Clock Plugin (1.0)
2. Upload the wp-digi-clock folder to your wp-content/plugins folder
3. Activate the plugin from the plugins page
4. Go to Options -> WP Digi Clock to choose your colour scheme and time format options

Usage:

To embed in a post or page:

type in [ wp_digi_clock ] (removing the spaces) anywhere in a post or page.

to embed in your page template (header, footer, sidebar):

use the function wp_digital_clock($x), with $x being a number or identifier for example:

<h2>TIME</h2>
<li><?php wp_digital_clock('1'); ?></li>

This article is intended to address issues involving the use of add_post_meta and delete_post_meta in WordPress plugin design. These functions can be used to add or delete custom fields for a post, useful for plugin design as the value for the custom field can be entered via a form in the write page. The add_post_meta code would look something like this:

Read on…

Something I've noticed recently, whilst installing many different WordPress plugins on my site and on other sites is the inconsistency in JavaScript popup window code used in many plugins, allowing for the same popup to be opened numerous times or for a popup to hide in the background behind another page. The basic code to open a popup is:

window.open('http://bla.com','myWindow','status = 1, height = 300, width = 300,
resizable = 0');

However, if you add this code as the onclick for a button or anchor tag it will open a new popup each time it is clicked regardless of the fact that the window may already be open. Adding return false; will prevent this from happening, but then if the window is at the bottom of the pile clicking on the link will do nothing.

To ensure the window is brought to the front the code should be executed like this:

myPopup = window.open('http://bla.com','myWindow','status = 1, height = 300,
width = 300, resizable = 0'); myPopup.focus(); return false;