Archive: September, 2008
WD Category Listing 1.0 Released
WD Category Listing, v1.0, as just been put up for download. This plugin is the first of many more plugins to come from I Am Web Dude. If anyone finds any bugs with this plugin please be sure to leave a comment on the plugin page. I hope everyone enjoys this plugin and makes good use of it. Also, if you use it leave me a link so I can see it in action on someone else’s blog! 
WD Category Listing
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wp_list_categories() function? Well look no further! WD Category Listing will allow you to build your own category trees; as well as create more than just one.
Features
- Create custom category trees that can be used anywhere in your theme.
- Edit previously saved trees so you can add and/or remove categories from displaying.
- Either display your category tree with parent nesting, or no nest at all.
Version 1.0.1 Stable – Download
- Server running PHP 5
- WordPress 2.6.2+ (This plugin may work on earlier versions, but don’t hold me to it!)
- Download the wd-category-listing.zip.
- Upload the wd-category-listing folder to
/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin.
- Start creating your categories!
- Click on the “Settings” link in the header of WP-Admin.
- Click on “WD Category Listing” in the sub-menu.
- Give your category tree a name.
- Select if you want the tree to having nesting enabled or not.
- Select the categories you would like to be displayed for this tree.
- Click save to save the tree.
To edit an existing category:
- Click on the “Settings” link in the header of WP-Admin.
- Click on “WD Category Listing” in the sub-menu.
- From the “Current Trees” list, click on the title of the tree you wish to edit.
- Modify the tree to your liking.
- Click save to save your changes.
To use a category in your theme:
In any template of your choice, insert the following code:
<?php WD_categoryListing( 1 ); ?>
The number inside of the parentheses can be changed to any ID that is associated to one of your existing trees.
Custom Function Parameters
Besides declaring the ID of the category you wish to display you also have one other parameter you can add when calling the function. Inside of this parameter you can format a string to customize your category’s display.
title_li – Do you want to disable the title of the category so you can set a custom title somewhere else in your theme? Use the following code:
<?php WD_categoryListing( 1, 'title_li=' ); ?>
start – Want to display something before you category tree? Simple.
<?php WD_categoryListing( 1, 'start=<span>Show Me First</span>' ); ?>
end – Same thing as start, but display something after your tree.
<?php WD_categoryListing( 1, 'end=<span>Show Me After</span>' ); ?>
Currently those are the supported customization parameters, and you can also use all three at once, two together, etc.
<?php WD_categoryListing( 1, 'title_li=&start=First&end=After' ); ?>
- Added the “start” and “end” parameters.
- Added missing
</li>elements.
- Initial Release
Version 1.0.1
Today I have launched version 1.0.1 of I Am Web Dude. In this update you will notice many different things off the bat, and at the same time you will not see a lot of what has happened. From changing the way the homepage looks like, to the adjustment of some source code, a lot has gone into polishing version 1.0.1. I’m hoping this change will work out and allow you to enjoy your stay here even more.
On the homepage you will notice that I have cut down the posts to only display one post’s excerpt and then list the five previous entries below it. This decision was made to hopefully clear up the homepage and allow some focus to be directed to the tutorials and other sections of the page. With the change of what posts are displayed I have also added the Recent Resources section. This will display the five latest plugins, source code snippets, etc. This will give you easy access to get to what is fresh on the site. Once content starts building up these sections will start to look more and more attractive as their content will be top notch!
On that note, I would also like to announce that I will have my first official WordPress up for download later this evening. This plugin will be extremely useful for content driven websites, and I Am Web Dude is currently using it in the sidebar. More on this in another post in a couple hours! I just need to get the README created and the plugin submitted to WordPress’ plugin repository.
Once I have my new plugin posted I will be jumping in and revising the AJAX tutorial as what I have now is pretty low quality and could be way better; plus it’s missing a live preview of the code in action… Bad!
So I hope everyone likes this update! Please let me know if you think I need to change, remove, or fix anything!
First Pixel2Life Tutorial Approved!
Today my first tutorial was approved by Pixel2Life. You can view the tutorial’s approval state here. By having this tutorial posted on Pixel2Life hopefully this place can start building some traffic.
With the approval of this tutorial I am pleased to announce that I have enabled public commenting. You no longer are required to be registered and logged in to tell me your thoughts. Hopefully this will satisfy more users and increase the amount of people that start sticking around.
On that note, I am still working on some visual adjustments to the site so expect some updates throughout the day!
(Yup, work is slow and while Suthan works a little on 1Three I’m going to get this place polished up )
Updates Coming Soon!
Sorry for the stagnant state of the site, but I’ve been extremely busy with work and adjusting to my full-time school schedule the last week. Now things are finally starting to come together and my time is being budgeted better so more updates to the site will come shortly.
I have a quite a few tweaks that I’m going to make to the layout, and one of those consists of public commenting. Right now you have to be registered and logged in to comment, but this is just because I don’t want a flood of activity while I try to get the rest of the site up and running. So look forward to more commenter’s here in the near future.
Also, a revised version of the Introduction to AJAX tutorial is coming as well. This version will be more focused on implementing the Object-Oriented side of PHP so the script-side will be up to the current standards.
For those of you subscribed to the RSS and/or visiting here daily looking for updates, I thank you for your patience!
What would you want in a Gallery script?
I’m currently working on a gallery script that I will be implementing into 1Three. I need some ideas of features everyone would like to see in this system.
Currently I plan on implementing:
CMS Side:
- Add/Edit/Remove Images
- Approve/Deny/Edit Comments
- Lightbox Implementation
Front-End:
- View Images (Lightbox)
- Ratings
- Add Comments
Leave your thoughts on this as I’m looking to make an interesting Gallery script that I can also put up for download here in the future.
Thanks everyone!
AJAX Tutorial and Development Resource Walkthrough Posted
I have just posted two entries for everyone to check out. These are just the first of many more to come. I hope these two resources are used to your advantage! Let me know if you think I need to modify/remove anything, or if I completely missed something
- Introduction to AJAX – Instant Form Validation
- Google Chrome – Using the Inspector Tool to Optimize Load Times
Introduction to AJAX – Instant Form Validation
So you want to start using AJAX to accomplish nifty content management without forcing the user to reload their browser? It’s not as hard as one would think, it just takes some time to memorize. So lets get to it shall we?
What you will need for this tutorial:
- Basic understanding of PHP (PHP5 is used in this example).
- Basic understanding of SQL (MySQL is used in this tutorial)
- The will to learn some JavaScript to understand the functionality of AJAX
Google Chrome – Using the Inspection Tool to Optimize Load Times
So I’m sure most of you have had the chance to play around with Google’s new Chrome web browser, if not, I suggest you do. You can obtain a copy of the Beta browser here. Chrome is still in beta, which means that the browser still has its bugs, so I only recommend using this browser if you are just trying to get a head start on making your websites compatible with Chrome.
If you feel you want to step into Chrome and start using the browser, you will find that it has one extremely handy tool built into its core. This tool is known as the Inspector, which is a tool that can be used a couple tasks. To name a few, you can inspect individual HTML elements, debug JavaScript, and what this tutorial is about, inspect all of the files being loaded while you hit your website.
Busy day here at I Am Web Dude
Alright, so it’s only been a day since I first opened the place and I already found a few things that I needed to fix that I did not notice while working on this locally. That is why it pays off to allow other people to look at your work so they can possibly point out things you don’t see 
I have created the Bug Reports section for everyone to report bugs they find and to see the progress of current bugs that have been reported. This section will have a custom layout eventually, but for now it will do. I have also created the first Bug Report article, go check it out.
So as you can see, there still is quite a bit to do, but I’m working on it I also hope to have the first tutorial up by the end of the week. It won’t be much as
That is all for now, good night!
