Merge Tags: Version 1.1

This plugin has been integrated into Term Management Tools.

While frantically merging tags on a site using this plugin, I realised that it would be easier if you could use the checkboxes, instead of typing each tag by hand.

Now it’s possible. In the bulk action dropdown you will find the Merge option. When you select it, a new field pops up, where you can write the destination tag:

The old interface is still there, for cases where you have tags that are very wide apart.

Also, the plugin is now ready for translations.

Translations

Belorussian – FatCow
German – Natalya Pastukhova
Polish – Krzysztof Kudłacik

Query Multiple Taxonomies: Version 1.0

Say you have two custom taxnomies defined: genre and artist.

Currently, you can do the following types of queries on your site:

?genre=jazz

?genre=jazz&cat=1

But you can’t do this:

?genre=jazz&artist=chet-baker

WordPress will just ignore one of the parameters.

This plugin fixes that.

Smart Archives Reloaded: Version 1.8

Previous versions of this plugin allowed only a single type of archive, controlled entirely from the settings page.

Version 1.8 is a lot more developer friendly: any options set on the settings page can be overwritten:

In your theme, you can now write:

<?php smart_archives('format=list&exclude_cat=123,543'); ?>

This works for the shortcode too. In any post or page, just write:

[smart_archives format=list exclude_cat=123,543]

What’s neat about this is that you can have more than one archive, or have the archive display differently in different parts of your site.

Trusting users with their HTML

One of the most longstanding complaints that WordPress gets is related to HTML formatting:

switching from HTML to Visual editor, wordpress changes things. Not everything, but enough to make it very annoying – if I’ve gone into HTML and coded things a certain way, I do not want wordpress to second-guess me.

The first thing we have to realise is that there are 2 types of users:

• regular folks that just want to write the damn post and publish it
• power users that need <iframes>s embedded in <div>s that form an unordered list of tag soup

So how do we please both?

Continue reading…

Front-end Editor: Version 1.4

Over the last several weeks, there has been a steady stream of improvements going into Front-end Editor, largely as a result of your feedback. I’m happy to see people are using the plugin in interesting ways.

First of, several users requested a way to allow only certain posts to be editable. This is easily done now, with a few lines of code. See examples here.

Secondly, there are two new editable fields: If you’re on a category archive and your theme uses single_cat_title(), you will be able to edit the category title on the spot. The same goes for tags.

Other improvements:

• added $echo parameter to editable_post_meta()
• don’t load CSS or JS if the current user can’t edit any of the fields
• switched from Autogrow to Growfield (fixes IE compatibility)
• added Georgian translation (thanks to Levani Melikishvili)

Thanks to those who suggested improvements and did beta testing.

Comment Autogrow: Version 1.1

Since the launch of this plugin, several people have reported that autogrow wasn’t working properly in IE. After trying to fix the JS, I’ve came across a better jQuery plugin: Growfield.

I’ve also included the init script in wp-footer to avoid an extra HTTP request.

What does this mean for you? No more errors in IE and a slightly faster page load.

Random Post Link: Version 1.0

his plugin ensures that a user will not see the same post twice.

It does this by keeping a list of single posts that the user has seen and then checking that list when redirecting.

Usage

Just put this line anywhere in your theme where you want the link to appear.

<?php random_post_link(); ?>

You can specify the text you want on the link like so:

<?php random_post_link('Feeling lucky'); ?>

Category Checklist Tree: Version 1.0

If you’ve ever used categories extensively, you will have noticed that after you save a post, the checked categories appear on top of all the other ones. This can be useful if you have a lot of categories, since you don’t have to scroll.
Unfortunately, this behaviour has a serious side-effect: it breaks the hierarchy. If you have deeply nested categories that don’t make sense out of context, this will completely screw you over.

That’s what this plugin is for: it preserves the category tree at all times. Just activate it and you’re good.

There’s a related plugin that you might also find useful: Category Checklist Expander.

Deviant Thumbs: Version 1.9

Previous versions of this plugin relied on two rather fragile features:

For retrieving the items from DeviantArt, it used Yahoo Pipes. This service severly restricted usage recently, which resulted in no thumbs being shown.

For loading site pages faster, the plugin used file-based caching. The problem with this is setting proper file permissions, which is never fun.

That’s all gone now: version 1.9 uses the SimplePie class, bundled in WordPress. It retrieves items directly and also takes care of the caching.

Plugin support moved to WordPress.org

Having a plugin with even 1000 downloads means that sooner or later people are going to come asking for help or giving suggestions. Over the last few months, I have come to realise that the comment section just doesn’t cut it.

You will notice a “Help” button on each plugin page. It will send you to the designated forum on WordPress.org. So, from now on, if you have a problem / question / feature request, that’s the place to go.

I will be monitoring the support topics, but I also hope that users will help each other, when possible.

Please do not email me, unless you’re willing to pay for my services.