But what if you don’t want this appended directly to the end of your post, maybe you want to display this somewhere else on your posts page. In my case, I wanted to add a little more logic and display different options based on if the more tag actually existed in the post or not. If it did exist, I wanted to show a button link saying something along the generic lines of “Read the Full Post”, and if no more tag was in use I simply wanted to show a different button link saying “Permalink”. Here’s a simple modification that will let us pull this off.

First, find in your theme where you are currently outputting the_content(); (or get_the_content();). This would usually be in index.php, home.php, loops.php, or somewhere similar depending on the actual theme you are using. Change this line to read:

echo the_content('');

Take note of the apostrophe’s (”), this is telling WordPress NOT to output the default more text along with the post content. Then, wherever we want to actually show our custom read more, we would do something like this:

	<?php if ($pos=strpos($post->post_content, '<!--more-->')): ?>
		<a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>#more-<?php the_id() ?>" class="button"><span>READ FULL POST</span></a>
	<?php else : ?>
		<a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" class="button"><span>PERMALINK</span></a>
	<?php endif; ?>

What we are doing here is looking through the content of post_content using strpos² to see if the default more tag exists within the post. If it does, we take action and show our custom Read More button. If the tag does NOT exist, we are going to simply display a similar output with different text, indicating that specific post is already being showed in its entirety and proving a Permalink button. They both lead to the same place, the only thing changing is the indicator for that post.

1. WordPress Codex : Customizing_the_Read_More
2. PHP.net: strpos

A stackoverflow post on Forcing a SimpleXML Object to a String was the guiding light I needed.

The Error

Warning: It is not yet possible to assign complex types to properties in wp-includes\formatting.php on line 1234

The Solution

Typecast the object as a string before attempting to manipulate it.

$foo = array( (string) $xml->channel->item->title );

The Problem

Firefox Web Developer Toolbar addon is not showing icons or text, or both.

The Solution

A very very easy solution, as long as your Firefox toolbar positioning isn’t extremely customized. A few quick steps and you will be able to display the toolbar again.

1. Right-click on the Toolbar and choose ‘Customize’
2. Click ‘Restore Default Set‘ or Drag any missing buttons from the ‘Customize Toolbar’ window to the toolbar.
3. Click ‘Done.’

And that’s it, make sure Icons and Text are selected from the drop down menu if you require both and your all set.

1. source: Web Developer Toolbar Broken / Empty / not showing, Fixed

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/web-developer-toolbar-wont-display-firefox-fix/feed/ 3 http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-poetry-redeux-ryans-response/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-poetry-redeux-ryans-response/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:27:36 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=139 As usual, ryan wins this round.

<?php
//jackandjill.php
$kidsnames = $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
$kidsnames = basename($kidsnames, ".php");
$firstkid = substr($kidsnames,0,4);
$joinword = substr($kidsnames,4,3);
$secondkid = substr($kidsnames,7,4);
$kidsnames = $firstkid . " " . $joinword . " " . $secondkid;
function makewherecode($whereto){
if($whereto == "halibel"){
$newplace = substr($whereto,0,1);
$newplace = $newplace . substr($whereto,3,1);
$newplace = $newplace . substr($whereto,2,1);
$newplace = $newplace . substr($whereto,2,1);
return $newplace . "\n";
}
}
function hextostr($hex)
{
    $string='';
    for ($i=0; $i < strlen($hex)-1; $i+=2)
    {
        $string .= chr(hexdec($hex[$i].$hex[$i+1]));
    }
    return $string;
}
$rhyme =  nl2br($kidsnames . " went &uarr; a " . makewherecode("halibel"));
$getting = array("pail","water");
$line = "to fetch a " . $getting[0] . " of " . $getting[1];
$rhyme = $rhyme . $line . "<br>";
$line = $firstkid . " fell &darr; <br>";
$rhyme = $rhyme . $line;
$brokewhat = "63726f776e";
if (hextostr($brokewhat) == "crown"){
$line = $joinword . " broke his " . hextostr($brokewhat);
}
$rhyme = $rhyme . $line . hextostr("3c62723e");
$line = $joinword . " " . $secondkid . " came tumbling after.";
$rhyme = $rhyme . $line;
echo $rhyme;
?>

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-poetry-redeux-ryans-response/feed/ 0 http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-is-poetry-example-im-a-little-teapot-php/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-is-poetry-example-im-a-little-teapot-php/#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:32:10 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=136 The gauntlet has been dropped, Ryan has been challenged!

<?php
//im-a-little-teapot.php
$whatami = $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
$whatami = basename($whatami);
$whatami = basename($whatami, '.php');
$im = str_replace("-", " ", $whatami);
function what_do_i_do($var, $poem) {
	if (strripos($var, "teapot")) {
		return nl2br($mypoem = $poem . "when i get all worked up");
	}
}
$im != "im a little teapot" ? die : $mypoem = $im . "\n short and stout\n"; $teapot = "me";
$container = array("handle", "spout");
foreach ($container as $part) {
	$mypoem = $mypoem . "here is my " . $part . "\n";
}
echo what_do_i_do($im, $mypoem);
if (empty($error)) {
	trigger_error("YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!", E_USER_WARNING);
	$mypoem = "TOOOOOOT! \n";
}
echo nl2br($mypoem . "tip " . $teapot . " over and pour " . $teapot . " out");
?>

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/code-is-poetry-example-im-a-little-teapot-php/feed/ 0 http://www.jasonferguson.me/tumblr-style-chat-posts-for-wordpress/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/tumblr-style-chat-posts-for-wordpress/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:35:54 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=98 The problem with Tumblr, for me anyway, is the loss of direct control over the code and ability to host my submissions locally. I know tumblr has been around for a while and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, but anyone who has been on the net for a while knows that just because a site is here today, that doesn’t mean it will still be here tomorrow. Tumblr doesn’t have an export option, so needless to say I’m a little wary about posting anything I might want to be able to look at or back reference a few years from now. Does anyone remember scribble.nu, run by Dustin Vannatter¹ of the then OHHELLO network (Swank Army!). It was one of the first blogging platforms, before blog’s were even called blog’s and they were still just called journals. For a time everyone who was anyone had a scribble.nu journal running inline with their current site. The same goes for sites like MODblog², from Mike Pacific and Gorman of DeskMOD³ fame. I’m sure everyone has sites they have used at one time that just couldn’t handle the traffic or for one reason or another just died a unfortunate death.

I’ve have been toying around with Tumblr a little bit recently though and I am enjoying how it automatically handles different types of content and formats it without any thought on my part. Right now this is something that is still lacking in WordPress, which I touched base in a round-about way on my last post.⁴

Tumblr makes it incredibly easy to post different types of submissions and have them styled automatically without any per-entry coding, not forcing us to remember which posts require what custom fields like we have to do in WordPress. I had thought WordPress 3.0 was going to help solve some of these problems by introducing Custom Post Types, but unfortunately it’s still not quiet there yet and Custom Post Types aren’t quiet what some of us expected them to be (although the new functions are extremely useful if you use them in the way they were designed for).

So, as part of a larger project I have been working on, here is a quick and easy way to implement tumblr-esque “chat” posts into your site. The following code will take any content between the [chat] and [/chat] shortcodes, automatically format it and apply a specific style. Currently it sorts anything that matches into relevant DL and DT html tags, and applies a highlight class to every other row. So very quickly I can turn this:

Fight Club (1999)
Narrator: You’re making a big mistake, fellas!
Police Officer: You said you would say that.
Narrator: I’m not Tyler Durden!
Police Officer: You told us you’d say that, too.
Narrator: All right then, I’m Tyler Durden. Listen to me, I’m giving you a direct order. We’re aborting this mission right now.
Police Officer: You said you would definitely say that.

Into something a little prettier, like this:

Fight Club (1999)

Narrator:

You’re making a big mistake, fellas!

Police Officer:

You said you would say that.

Narrator:

I’m not Tyler Durden!

Police Officer:

You told us you’d say that, too.

Narrator:

All right then, I’m Tyler Durden. Listen to me, I’m giving you a direct order. We’re aborting this mission right now.

Police Officer:

You said you would definitely say that.

function tumblr_chat_post_shortcode($atts, $content=null) {
$chatoutput = "<dl class=\"chat-transcript\">\n";
$split = preg_split("/(\r?\n)+|(<br\s*\/?>\s*)+/", $content);
	foreach($split as $haystack) {
		if (strpos($haystack, ":")) {
			$string = explode(":", trim($haystack), 2);
			$who = strip_tags(trim($string[0]));
			$what = strip_tags(trim($string[1]));
			$row_class = empty($row_class)? " class=\"chat-highlight\"" : "";
			$chatoutput = $chatoutput . "<dt$row_class><strong>$who:</strong></dt> <dd>$what</dd>\n";
		}
		else {
			// the string didn't contain a needle. Displaying anyway in case theres anything additional you want to add within the transcript
			$chatoutput = $chatoutput . $haystack . "\n";
		}
	}
// print our new formated chat post
$content = $chatoutput . "</dl>\n";
return $content;
}
add_shortcode("chat", "tumblr_chat_post_shortcode");

If shortcodes just aren’t your style and you want something to work on posts transparently, that’s not very difficult either. All we have to do is create a new category (in this example we are using “chats”), and the code posted below will automatically process and format any submissions. Using the built in add_filter functions wordpress provides, it’s easy to modify content before it gets displayed to the browser, allowing us a way to format posts differently based on the category they are in.

function tumblr_chat_post($content) {
global $post;
	//$content = $post->post_content;
	if ($post->post_type == 'post') {
		$postcats = wp_get_object_terms($post->ID, 'category');
		foreach ($postcats as $mycat) {
			if ($mycat->name == "chats") {
			remove_filter ('the_content',  'wpautop');
				$chatoutput = "<dl class=\"chat-transcript\">\n";
				$split = preg_split("/(\r?\n)+|(<br\s*\/?>\s*)+/", $content);
					foreach($split as $haystack) {
						if (strpos($haystack, ":")) {
							$string = explode(":", trim($haystack), 2);
							//list($who, $what) = explode(":", $haystack, 2);
							$who = strip_tags(trim($string[0]));
							$what = strip_tags(trim($string[1]));
							$row_class = empty($row_class)? " class=\"chat-highlight\"" : "";
							$chatoutput = $chatoutput . "<dt$row_class><strong>$who:</strong></dt> <dd>$what</dd>\n";
						}
						else {
						// the string didn't contain a needle. Displaying anyway in case theres anything additional you want to add within the transcript
							$chatoutput = $chatoutput . $haystack . "\n";
						}
					}
					// print our new formated chat post
					$content = $chatoutput . "</dl>\n";
					return $content;
			}
			else {
			add_filter ('the_content',  'wpautop');
			// I don't exist in the defined category, so no processing is needed
			return $content;
			}
		}
	}
	else {

		// I'm not a regular post, so no processing is needed.
		return $content;
	}
}
add_filter( "the_content", "tumblr_chat_post", 9);

Either of these functions can be placed in your themes function.php file and will work automatically as long as your chat transcripts are formatted in a Name: Message structure. This is a fairly simple example on how to use wordpress hooks and shortcodes to modify your post before it gets outputted to the browser, which provides us with some interesting ways to implement specific styled post types without hacking apart the “Custom Post Type” functions WordPress released with version 3.0, something that is just not suited very well or meant for for these type of tasks.

1. Dustin.Vannater.com : Things I’ve Done
2. Interview of Mike Pacific from DeskMOD.com
3. Stamford Advocate: Danbury man manages Web Site from his bedroom
4. The Problem with WordPress Custom Post Types

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/tumblr-style-chat-posts-for-wordpress/feed/ 6 http://www.jasonferguson.me/the-problem-with-wordpress-custom-post-types/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/the-problem-with-wordpress-custom-post-types/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:25:36 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=87

A lot of “names” in wordpress on the net are politely bashing people because they are trying to use Custom Post Types in the wrong way, but really in my (and clearly a lot of other users) opinions, what they are trying to do is what should be defaultly working in the first place.

Custom post types should be exactly that, custom post types. It should give me the ability to define a custom submission area with specific meta content completely separated from the normal “Submit New Post” area. If you have ever built something for a client, and not just for personal use, you would see how extremely useful this would be. But what we have now with this new feature isn’t custom “post” types like it’s named, it’s actually custom “content” types.

Right now we are stuck with using custom fields and trying to explain to clients in explicitly detailed instructions how to properly define key pairs for specific post types that all still need to be displayed inline with the regular “blog”. Why is it so hard for people to understand that being able to use custom post types as an ability to specifically define certain REAL post submission meta boxes and separate them out in the dashboard is a useful thing.

Part of the current version of custom post types works perfectly for this, the functionality is all there clearly. The problem is it not only separates these post types in the dashboard, but removes them as “posts” completely and aren’t included in the standard loop, taxonomy, or outputted in the default rss feed period without some somewhat serious coding and work arounds. If your using a plugin or theme that makes use of this feature to create custom posts, and then disable it, you completely lose the ability to natively view the custom posts you have submitted. Yet there they are still sitting in the database.

I’ve seen a lot of different people responding to Custom Post type questions trying to be used in this regard in a similar way, parroting each other, ie “Separation in the admin panel is not a good reason to create a whole new “type”. Not if what you really need is to separate existing posts by some other factor. That’s what taxonomies are explicitly designed for.”

And in that context, yes I absolutely agree, if you just need to separate the posts out for a specific taxonomy your much better just sticking with the amazing new taxonomy improvements introduced with WordPress 3.0. But more and more often it seems like people don’t understand the problem being described in the first place. It isn’t about taxonomies like everyone is jumping over each other to point out, it’s about having true custom post types that work inline with normal existing posts.

---

If I have a post category in a clients site called “Useful Applications” and another called “Quotes” with specific meta submission requirements that I want to be able to display inline with normal posts and not completely separated, then I should be able to display specific meta submission options for those types, almost exactly how the custom post feature works now. (ie: For Quotes I might want to only show a Quote Author and actual quote field. If I have a custom taxonomy for those type of posts, I only want to show that taxonomy for those posts.)

What I don’t want is to have a generic “Submit New Post” page filled with irrelevant meta fields and taxonomy options in order to cover each post types needs. Or just as worse, using custom fields on that same global submission page and trying to explain to the client (who has just enough technical ability to check his email) how to actually use it.

The new Custom post type features works perfectly for this, but the inability to treat these the same way we do normal posts is mind boggling. If I want to “opt out” and have my custom post type be absolutely separated from normal posts, with a completely separate taxonomy and excluded from the normal loop entirely or on case by case basis, then I should have that ability. But that should be an opt out, not the default settings.

WordPress hasn’t done anything in pretty much as long as I’ve been using it that remotely aggravated and disappointed me as much as this. I’m not saying I don’t see a use for the way custom post types currently work, because I absolutely do, but I definitely think the ball was dropped and an extremely useful ability for it was forgotten.

---

From where I’m standing there is just a big difference in how easy it is to create a custom post type compared to the wordpress knowledge it takes to write a custom write panel. For reference, check out;

• Creating Custom Write Panels in WordPress @wefunction.com
• add_meta_box Function Reference @wordpress codex

Compared to:

• Extending Custom Post Types in WordPress 3.0 @kovshenin.com

Creating a new post type in order to have a specific, separated write panel is only overkill because of the way they implemented custom post types in the first place, which is something a lot of people are blogging incorrectly about by describing these new functions as a way to build tumbler-esque themes with customized wordpress write panels.

The current method of creating a basic write panel for a regular post is pretty rough compared to how incredibly easy the custom post types method is. Again, I’m not saying I don’t see a use for the way custom posts are implemented, because I definitely do, but there is still a huge difference in what’s required to be able to create these write panels for real posts within the normal wordpress loop, which is exactly the reason so many people are incorrectly trying to use custom post types and getting so frustrated with it in the first place.

There is a lot of incorrect blogging right now about how Custom Post Types can be used. For more information on what Custom Post Types actually are and what they are not, I highly suggest the following posts:

WordPress 3.0 and Custom Post Types @Ottopress.com
Custom Post Types in WordPress @Justinadlock.com

I highly recommend reading through them and checking out the commented responses, there’s also some good information about the limits of Custom Post Types in the comments of a pretty great post by Richard Sheperd titled “Create your first WordPress Custom Post Type“.

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/the-problem-with-wordpress-custom-post-types/feed/ 0 http://www.jasonferguson.me/transparent-png-background-turns-into-a-gradient-in-ie8/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/transparent-png-background-turns-into-a-gradient-in-ie8/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:19:37 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=65 While cross checking between Firefox and IE8 I came across an odd bug on a site I was working on. Whenever I tried to apply Internet Explorers gimped css opacity settings to a block level element that was wrapped by another div with a Alpha Transparent PNG background, the container background would gradient/fadeout from left to right, rather than displaying the alpha transparent png in it’s normal state. For example:

PNG Trasparency shows correctly in Firefox

Alpha Transparent PNG shows as Gradient in IE8

I spent around two hours in Google trying to figure it out, trying every combination of opacity filters and old png hacks I could find. Setting Zoom: 1, Z-index, and a couple other hacks that other people seemed to have luck with. In the end, when re-saving my original png background to one with a darker alpha-transparency in hopes of having better luck figuring out what was going on, I stumbled across a solution that ended up working perfect for me.

The problem was my original png was 1×1, and for whatever reason IE8 was not liking trying to tile that and handle the alpha transparency at the same time. When I accidentally saved that image with a much larger copy I had on my clipboard, 100×100, it ended up fixing whatever problem Internet Explorer was having with processing the png’s transparency.

PNG Alpha-Transparency fixed in IE8

Problem: IE8 is turning my transparent PNG background into a gradient
Solution: Increase the image dimensions to a large size, ie: 100×100

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/transparent-png-background-turns-into-a-gradient-in-ie8/feed/ 10 http://www.jasonferguson.me/july-desktop-litestep-enabled-win7-x64bit/ http://www.jasonferguson.me/july-desktop-litestep-enabled-win7-x64bit/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:53:49 +0000 jervis http://www.jasonferguson.me/?p=49

Litestep theme: Switch LS [link]
Visual Style: 7Pro Final for Win7 x64bit [link]
Firefox Theme: Deuces [link]
Wallpaper: The Great Wave off Kanagawa [link]
Ad-Free MSN Live Messenger thanks to A-Patch (Lite)

]]> http://www.jasonferguson.me/july-desktop-litestep-enabled-win7-x64bit/feed/ 3