Archive for the ‘WordPress’ Category

Handy References for horizontal list, colors, and moving WP to a new server

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

I always tell my kids that the most important thing to know is how to find answers to the stuff you don’t know.  I would add that it is also helpful to know where to find references to the things you know, but don’t need to memorize.

Here are some of my handy references:

For how to make a horizontal list (I can never keep this nugget in my brain)

http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/horizontal01.htm

For color help:

http://colorschemedesigner.com/

For MySQL help when moving a site to a new domain/server:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/how-to-move-wordpress-blog-to-new-domain-or-location/

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WordPress MultiSite Global Navigation Menu Synchronization

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Is it kosher to copy someone else’s post title? I need to post this here so I remember it. Worst problem: finding a solution and then never being able to find it gain when I need it.

I did this a long time ago and simply put the following in my header.php:

<div id="access" role="navigation">
			  <?php switch_to_blog(1); ?>
<?php wp_nav_menu( array( 'container_class' => 'menu-header', 'theme_location' => 'primary' ) ); ?>
<?php restore_current_blog(); ?>
			</div><!-- #access -->


I just ran across Oste Design which says, I think, approximately the same thing.  This goes in the theme file.


//store the current blog_id being viewed
global $blog_id;
$current_blog_id = $blog_id;

//switch to the main blog which will have an id of 1
switch_to_blog(1);

//output the WordPress navigation menu
wp_nav_menu(
   //add your arguments here
);

//switch back to the current blog being viewed
switch_to_blog($current_blog_id);

				


				
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WordCamp Albuquerque for Kids

				Sunday, September 18th, 2011

				

					
 

WordCamp AlbuquerqueThere is nothing quite so amazing, fun, and inspiring (I could think of more adjectives, but I will leave it at that for now) as watching a classroom of children get excited about WordPress.  The two hours that Sean Wells and I spent with our group of young students at the WordCamp kid’s session flew by.


For those who are wondering:


WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.


When we first visualized a WordCamp in Albuquerque it was an absolute no-brainer that we would have a kid session.  WordCamp Phoenix had just had a very successful session for kids and as a homeschool mom, it didn’t make any sense to not include it in our event.   I didn’t know what to expect going into the session except for the couple of email conversations I had with Abbie Sanderson about the session she taught in Phoenix.  We were prepared for pretty much anything, open to whatever the kids had to go over.


We started out the session with a few questions for the kids, asking them to tell us their names and what they wanted to do with a website or how they were going to use their website.   I was surprised at how entrepreneurial the group was, a boy who is going to rent his toys out on his website and a girl who is making fancy cakes and selling them.


Here is a list of what we covered:


    

  • The layout of the Dashboard
    • 

  • How to set privacy settings (this was more for the parents than the kids)
    • 

  • How to search for a theme and activate it
    • 

  • How to customize Twenty Eleven (background and headers)
    • 

  • How to add widgets, move them, and how to find them when you theme loses them from the sidebar
    • 

  • How to add a new post and the difference between posts and pages
    • 



After each topic we paused to help everyone with any issues and to give the kids time to work with the new concept.


 


 

				


				
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Translate a pdf using Google Translate

				Sunday, September 18th, 2011

				

					
 

My Dad just came back from wcabq (WordCamp Albuquerque) and he and I are totally geeking out.  He discovered that you can use Google Translate to translate a PDF.  Now, in all fairness, this is not a new concept, but it is new to me, so I am excited.


I had some great conversations at WordCamp about Spanish/English websites so this is really just one more step toward a completely bilingual site.  Maybe I will get into that in a later post.  In the meantime, here is how you use Google Translate  to translate a pdf:


1.  Upload your pdf to the internet somewhere, I uploaded mine to the Media Library here on my site.


2.  Go to Google Translate


2.  Put the url for your document in the google translate box on the left and it will show up on the translated side on the right as a link.




4.  Click on the link in the right side box and Google will give you the translation.


 


 

				


				
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Border-radius, WordPress, and IE

				Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

				

					
 

I just spent the last I-won’t-even-tell-you-how-many hours trying to figure out why all the google results on border-radius were not working for me.  Now suddenly it works.  So here is my process for the next time I try to use border-radius.


    

  1. Download the stuff from css3pie.com
    2. 

  2. Upload files to the root.  I saw references all over the place that the PIE.htc needed to be in the theme directory, that didn’t work for me.  It is in the root, hence the php bloginfo(‘url’) bit in the next bullet.
    3. 

  3. Put this code in the header.php.  Replace the elements with yours #whatever or .whatever.  Now here is the thing, there was an indent before #home1 and it was keeping #home1 from getting the rounded corner, even though the rest of them were working.

      

    • 

      <code><style type="text/css">
#home1, #home2, #home3, #home4,
#home4 .widget, #home5 .widget, #home6 .widget,
#home5, #home6, #supplementary.two { behavior:url(<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>/PIE.htc); }</code>
</style>
      

      • 

    

    4. 

  4. Put this in your stylesheet, change the px amount and background to whatever you want:
    

    background: #ccc;
    
-webkit-border-radius: 8px;
    
-moz-border-radius: 8px;
    
border-radius: 8px;
    

    5. 



Seems crazy that the last I-won’t-even-tell-you-how-many-hours comes down to 4 bullet points, but such is the web.

				


				
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Your Dashboard: Managing the Space

				Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

				

					
 

The WordPress dashboard has a lot of stuff on it, most of which you will never need.  In case you missed it in previous posts, here is a screen shot of the dashboard (click on it to increase the size):




You can get rid of any most of these sections permanently by going to the upper right hand corner of the screen.




Click on the “Screen Options” link and you will see (again, click on the image below to view it better):




Each box corresponds to a section on the dashboard. You can tick or untick any of the boxes to make those sections go away.  You can also decide whether you want to see the dashboard laid out in 1,2,3,or4 columns.

				


				
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Your Dashboard: Managing Recent Comments

				Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

				

					
 

Recent Comments


When you create a post (we will get to this later) people can usually comment on your post.  When someone comments, depending on your settings, those comments will be visible to the public.  You will see the comments that have been posted or are pending.  In this list you have 2 comments.




You can see the author’s avatar (picture), their name, the title of the post they are commenting on, the status (Pending), and the text of their comment.  Finally, when you hover over the item (see the mouse arrow?) your dashboard gives you an little set of links to Approve, Reply, Spam, or Trash the comment.


You can also click the View all button to go see all the comments that have been made on your blog.


We will delve into comments again so you can see how much more control you can have over them.

				


				
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Your Dashboard: Right Now

				Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

				

					
 

Your website at a glance:




Called “Right Now”, you can see how many posts you have, how many pages, what categories the posts are in, how many tags you have created, how many comments people have made on your post(s), and whether those comments are approved, pending, or spammed.


You can also see what theme you are using and how many widgets, what version of WP you have installed, and finally a quick button to access your theme area to change to another theme.

				


				
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Your WordPress Dashboard

				Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

				

					
 

As you start learning how to use your WordPress (hereafter called WP) site you will need to learn a few new vocabulary words.  Are you familiar with the desktop on your computer?  You have a desktop on your new WP site, it is called the dashboard.  Your dashboard (control panel, back office, etc) is your starting point for everything you will ever do on your WP site.




What can you access from your dashboard?  Glad you asked!  Read on!

				


				
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