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VC WordPress Theming

Randy Hicks — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:15:46 +0000

I’ve been developing with WordPress for about 2.5 yrs and this morning I really wanted to write something about all the work that I do, but am realizing that I just don’t know what to say with out writing a freaking book on the DevTime of WordPress. Not to mention there are so many people out there who have already laid down the law on what WordPress is.

So to curb my need to publish I though I would share a WP function that I have found to be a huge time saver, and something WP uses a lot. As you’ll see below it’s not much to speak of and it’s fairly basic in the scheme of things, but it will save a lot of time when comparing incoming variables with default variables.

wp_parse_args()

You can find this in wp-includes/functions.php -> line 2887 wp3.0 beta1



/**

* Merge user defined arguments into defaults array.

*

* This function is used throughout WordPress to allow for both string or array

* to be merged into another array.

*

* @since 2.2.0

*

* @param string|array $args Value to merge with $defaults

* @param array $defaults Array that serves as the defaults.

* @return array Merged user defined values with defaults.

*/

function wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults = '' ) {

if ( is_object( $args ) )

$r = get_object_vars( $args );

elseif ( is_array( $args ) )

$r =& $args;

else

wp_parse_str( $args, $r );

if ( is_array( $defaults ) ) return array_merge( $defaults, $r ); return $r; }

Here is an example being used in the form function of a widget class, which is a great place to set defaults variables.



function form( $instance ) {
$widget_options = get_option('_my_widget_options');
//Defaults

$defaults = array(

'title_display' => 'Text',

'text_title' => '',

'image_title' => '',

'link' => '',

'post_cat' => $widget_options['post_cat'],

'post_count' => $widget_options['post_count'],

'word_count' => $widget_options['word_count'],

'read_more' => $widget_options['read_more'],

'strip_tags' => $widget_options['strip_tags'],

'show_thumbnail' => '',

'show_video' => '',

'css_class' => ''

);
$r = wp_parse_args( $instance, $defaults );

extract( $r, EXTR_SKIP );

echo 'do cool stuff here...'; }

So yeah, really exciting stuff right? Maybe not, but hey if you’re into php & WordPress you should check this out for sure. It’s been around for while so there is really no excuse.

My Recent Work

Randy Hicks — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:35:39 +0000

I’ve been on the keyboard for the last 3.5 months and it’s been quite a crazy time. So far 2010 has been more busy then I ever expected. My recent work has been expanding my theme by leaps and bounds. It’s odd that every site I build kills all the previous ones. (it’s almost time to update my site, I just wish I had some time :)

There is a lot to go over so I’ll just list off the latest projects. (Most of these are Skörinc, but one or two came from BuzzPlant)

The Rock and Worship Roadshow – Rebuild – http://therockandworshiproadshow.com/
Stephen Mansfield – New Development – http://mansfieldgroup.com/
Amy Grant – New Development – http://www.amygrant.com/
Shane & Shane – Rebuild – http://shaneandshane.com/
Brody Harper – Rebuild – http://brodyharper.com/
What’s In The Bible – New Development – http://whatsinthebible.com/
Groupaway – New Development – http://groupawaytravel.com/
THiNQ – New Development – http://drinkthinq.com/

I want the Box of WordPress Legos!!

Randy Hicks — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:15:36 +0000

I think one of the most frequently asked questions I hear on a regular basis is; “Can WordPress Do That?” The answer is always the same…. Yes!!!

The best response to any question like that is, “Who’s building it?” Honestly the question isn’t about weather or not “WordPress” can do something or not. Sure “out of the Box WP” can only do you so much. You add a dozen good plugins, a standard theme and you’ll have yourself a serious platform.

I find that the best approach to explaining a Platform like WordPress is comparing it to a Pile of Legos. “In My Mind” every Version of WP is like an updated version of my favorite “Web Legos”. The WordPress Community and Automattic have been so kind as to create all these different pieces for us to use.

For me the idea of building something for a Web Site isn’t about just building something for one person. Every time I build a page I think about how I might use it in the future and I build it with development in mind…
“Could This be a Plugin”,
“Should This be a Plugin”,
“Should I work this into the Admin”,
“Should this be a Template”….
(and the list goes on and on and on…)

What it comes down to is that “WordPress is an Engine that lets the Average Person Interact with a Database”

Step 1. Build Your Own Legos – HTML / CSS FrameWork.
Step 2. Add WordPress Legos – PHP Functions & Plugins.
Step 3. Populate the Database Via WP Admin. the smart legos..
Step 4. Write Posts about Sailor Lego Men in Nasty Tank-tops….

This has been a message of Blogs for Blogs Network…

WordPress Media UpLoader

Randy Hicks — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:23:07 +0000

The other day a friend of mine asked me if there was a place in the WP Admin where he could upload his images and get the url “easily“. My first response was just type in wp-admin/media-upload.php and there you go!!!

Apparently I under estimated his Laziness and the Laziness of the blogging community as a whole. (in a very sarcastic way) So, here is what I did… ↓

I pulled the media-upload.php file into the WP Admin through a link in “Media” menu. I didn’t put in any bells or whistles to WOW you, Simplicity is key!!! Oh, and I put in a button so you can open a PopUp of the Uploader.

↓ Download VC_MediaUploader ↓

WordPress Galleries Got You Down?

Randy Hicks — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:14:42 +0000

You ever put in a Gallery in a Post and it acts weird and looks off and there just seems to be no hope. And then you look at the html only to find out there is a style right in the middle of your code…

Well, here is a little something I decided to pay attention to yesterday. It’s been around for a while, but you know how it is when there are a million things going on. (and honestly this isn’t high on the priority list)

None the less this will help out those of you that are daring enough to open up your functions.php file and put in a little css.

And if you want the full effect, go to the wp-includes/media.php file line 587 and check out the part of the gallery_shortcode function you’re filtering.

Download gallery_style.php ps – if there is a mistake in this let me know and I’ll update it!!! :cool:

Is that WP 2.7 ???

Randy Hicks — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:16:16 +0000

As some of you know I’m huge WordPress fan and sort of a Dork about it, and many of you know that there is a huge update coming out soon. Could be this week, who knows??? None the less I decided to go ahead and update my blog and see what happens. Nothings happened…

I’m sure there are plenty of reasons to wait for the stable release to update a blog that has major worth and needs a good solid stable WP to run it, but not here. I’m usually running things about half mast, unfortunately I put all my time into other peoples work.

All the same, I can honestly say WP2.7 is going to be a great release. I’ve been building my themes with it for the last 3 weeks, since before the beta 1 release and now I can’t stand going into 2.6. In fact I just spent the last hour cleaning up my categories and using the “quick edit” options and “bulk edit” option.

Admin Navigation has been cut in half, How?… Now there is one click to get to widgets instead of two or possibly three. Upload and install Plugins strait from the Plugins page. (although the plugins search is still just as crap as ever so good luck with that outside of the most popular plugins) All pages are customizable with “Screen Options” and moveable pallets. Not to mention they got some handy little icons that are kinda nice.

I’ll admit there is always room for improvement and I can already think of a few, but I’m not about to bitch about such an awesome upgrade. :cool:

WP2.7 Parent Child Themes

Randy Hicks — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:37:10 +0000

As some of you folks out there know WP2.7 is getting closer. (im not sure how close, I haven’t been keeping up on the news) There’s a lot of new stuff and a fresh new admin section. I’ve been following the updates through the nightly builds, testing out some new theme options that come with this 2.7. New Comment Features which you should check out. here, here, & here. oh yeah and a Demo.

My Big Excitement!!! :cool:

WP 2.7 has a some new features for their Parent Child Theme operations, the biggest of which to me is the use of template pages in your child theme that override the Parent Theme. (what are Parent Child Thems??? read here & here)

This is a big deal because now Designers can concentrate their efforts on a master Parent Theme that can handle multiple layouts, better functions, admin options, special template pages && special loops. Every thing can be controlled from the child theme functions page and css. (im not talking about distributed work here, this is all in-house stuff)

What Have I Done 8-O

What I did was build a house without putting it together. Using actions you can put anything anywhere from the functions page. You can even create special loop(s); give it a query, format the loop contents and insert it into any available action. (i freaking wet my pants when i figured that one out)

Why does this matter?

If your HTML and CSS frame work are solid and you don’t plan on changing it anytime soon. Than all you’re adding are Functions, Usability and New Features. You can continually be adding and adding to your Parent Theme’s capabilities with out having to worry about what it looks like.

And!!! if you have three different sites all using the same Parent Theme but different Child Themes you can Update all three at once vs going into each one and messing with core stuff that’s irritating and tedious.

Things to Remember!!!

Don’t jump on this train to quick and start blindly into the tunnel. Do a little research first see what others have done and try and figure out why they did it.

For me the Best Example of a great Parent Theme is Thematic by Ian Stewart… ;-) The biggest help I found was that after seeing what was under the hood I realized I already had everything I needed I just had to organize it and simplify it.

Do your homework… and no this theme is not a child… this theme was a one night stand with an iStock photo… mmmm yummy iStock…

2 Sites and a Guy you should Subscribe to…

Randy Hicks — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:48:16 +0000

In side your reader some where there is an “A” list, the people you’re sure to read every time you actually go ‘to’ or ‘through’ your reader. I’ll admit I don’t read every post I see, which is why I guess titles are important. Heck if I read the titles I wrote, I wouldn’t read my own blog:(

All joking aside here are my top two Informational sites and a guy that knows some stuff about wordpress.

#1

If you’re ever in need of a plugin review or some free themes to hi-jack this is your place. Not to mention their is a crap load of good info streaming through this place. They actually come with the standard WordPress install down at the bottom of your dashboard. Check them out if you haven’t already…

#2

Here you’ll find just about everything under the dark shroud of the interwebnet and maybe even an ebay or two. It would seem their isn’t any secret their not willing to give out. And when I mean give out, they actually offer the scripts for download…

#3 Adii

I’m not exactly sure what to say about this guy, although I guarantee you’ve seen his work. It’s hard to say what it is that he talks about specifically. I thinks it’s more of the fact that over the last 6mo he’s joined forces with some other well respected guys and I like what their doing. Be sure to go by Woo Themes and browse a little. I think you’ll like it.

So that’s it, go and have fun… I know, I know, you don’t really have space in your reader for more… We’ll if you’re not into WordPress than this post isn’t for you and go here instead….

WordPress 2.6 and Automatic Upgrade

Randy Hicks — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:01:52 +0000

This is just a quicky, I’ll save all the good stuff for Web App Wed… But in the mean time here is a little info for you WordPress self-hosted users.

I would suggest checking out this plugin before you go and download and upload a crap load of files manually. Don’t forget!!! Always do your homework on a plugin before you use it, and if possible test it on someone else first. no I’m not testing it on you…I already tested it on some of my theme sites and this one as well.

A little WP 2.5

Randy Hicks — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:49:58 +0000

I decided the other day to go ahead and go for it. I upgraded my WP to 2.5 even though it’s still a little raw. I thought that i would go ahead and get a feel for it so i could be up to par with what going to be the new WP standard. This way i’ll know if i should be using it for my clients or waiting for a better version.

There are a few new features that i think everyone is going to love. The Add Media is absolutely great. They cut out the need for a couple of plugins and helped out with placement of multimedia objects. (im really not that big on putting video on here anyway, but it’s still nice to know there thinking about me.)

Here are a few screen captures to take a peak at.

Another great option that has been added is that there are now three options for putting an image into a post.

Thumbnail
Medium
Full Size

What’s the big woop? well you can go to Setting / Miscellaneous and enter you sized for Thumbnail & Medium. You can still re-size it the way you’re used too. The actual big woop is the combination of these things when your uploading a huge image you dont have to scroll through you Post window to get to the corner. (again and again) – just another way to skin the cat -

ps – if you’re not a WP user thats nice, but ive used Blogger and its finiky and somewhat unreliable. The next time you get pissed off you should go check out WP. Im not telling you what to do, but do it anyway
:-)