Rose City Gardens » WordPress Plugins

Events Calendar Plugin

Web Wench — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:07:55 +0000

I did have a Google calendar embedded into a page template as my events calendar, but I couldn’t style it as much as I wanted to. It’s still a neat way to get a Google calendar into your page, but I wanted something that is a part of WordPress, not just embedded into the site.

So I found Events Calendar plugin and have been working on styling it to my satisfaction. See what you think:

Rose City Gardens Events Calendar

New! WordPress Bookstore

Web Wench — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:32:16 +0000

I built an Amazon store and stocked it with the latest WordPress and blogging books – check it out! I didn’t use a plugin, but instead made a modified template file and included my aStore in an iframe. I’ll make a video or screencast tutorial soon on how to do it – it was super easy!

I am also getting VERY CLOSE on completing the Tickled Pink theme – you should expect an announcement in the next few days. I don’t know if I”ll submit it to the Theme Codex or not – or even whether they will accept it, but I’ll have it available for download soon. I have to finish the accompanying Simple:Press theme, Pinkish, as it will be part of the package.

I’ve also got another theme in the works that uses NextGEN Gallery – right now it’s just a bare outline in Photoshop and I’ll have to flesh it out but it won’t be long before it’s a nice theme for a gallery or portfolio site!

And – nothing to do with WordPress or with the Gardens, but: Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on winning the Democratic nomination!

SimplePress upgrade

Web Wench — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:50:05 +0000

SimplePress is faster and better now with the 3.1.1 build. This release was mostly about optimization, and the crew at Yellow Swordfish did a great job with the back end. Still there are a few new features that make SP even better than before!

I’ll be shutting down during the upgrade. I’ve finished upgrading my other WordPress sites, and ran into minor problems with my server config that might mean display oddities in the forum, but stay tuned, we shall be beautiful again soon!

Here’s the feature list for SimplePress at Yellow Swordfish:

Supports WordPress version 2.04 to the latest 2.5.1
Fully integrated with WordPress user registrations and logins
Installs on WordPress MU
Creates ‘pretty/seo friendly’ permalinks
Underpinned by a powerful user and permission system
Can create private forums
Forums can be ‘Members Only’ or can allow for Guests
Private Messaging system
Admins can allow for post moderation (approval)
Build in Search tool
Fully customisable skins and icons
Most rendering functions are ‘pluggable’
Member Profile updating and can change own passwords
Supports Page Password
Choice of Editors (TinyMCE or QuickTag)
Options Signatures, Signature Image, Avatars, and Rankings
A variery of Template Tags – recent posts etc
Progammable Hooks for user extension
Optional Spam Prevention tools
Optional Cookies to track Guests and Members
Fully Localised for language support
Optional and various RSS feeds and email subscription to topics
Various display options to suit your needs and theme
An Admin toolset to perform many tasks from within the forum itself
Blog Posts and Forum Topics can be linked
Support for the Democracy Polls plugin
Support for the Gravatars 2 plugin
Forum Statistics – incuding who is online
Complete uninstall/removal option

SimplePress™ Forum Buttons

Web Wench — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:57:09 +0000

I’ve been in a happy daze all week that’s only partly due to the Vicodin I got from the clinic on Monday, when I nearly broke my hand while wrestling with the dog. Since I discovered SimplePress™ by Andy at Yellow Swordfish, I’ve been on a mission, hunting down CC and GPL icons to use in the Garden’s forum skin. In the process I created a couple of GDKs to speed up the process for future buttons, and am offering them for download here, along with a finished set.

These buttons are inspired by and very similar to the “three-en” icons in the SimplePress download. The first download contains the finished buttons and a readme file. The second contains two GDKs – one for the smaller buttons with icons, and one for the regular buttons with text. The GDKs do not include the topic, forum, group or inbox icons.

These downloads are “kissware” – the only payment expected is that you do something nice for someone – kiss your spouse, hug your kids, play with the dog. You can kiss me by bookmarking and sharing this post, or by joining the community. Kiss the community by using the GDKs to make new button sets to share – you get the picture!

UPDATE: The download links for the SimplePress buttons have been deleted. They were way outdated, and I just didn’t have time to keep them up. I’ll be making a new theme soon and releasing a new GDK.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:38:04 +0000

I’ve upgraded the Gardens to the new versions of WordPress and bbPress. While WP 2.5 rocks my world, bbPress does not. I want a much tighter integration, so I’m pitching the hours I spent making this theme for bbPress, and retiring those forums. For now. I may change my mind later.

Onward and upward! I used SimplePress from Stuff at Yellow Swordfish. I’ve already installed it at BK2K Web Design and it’s quite nifty!

Soon to come – a new theme release, and tutorial movies! Stay tuned…