Tag Archives: wordpress

A quick review of WordPress Timeline plugins

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I looked at several WordPress plugins tonight. My requirements were that I would be able to create a timeline based on Custom Content Types created by Pods, and then I would be able to sort by a custom field (meta_value) on that content type. I found a plugin which met my requirements on the second try. However, I turned up a few other potentials which I might want to look at for other projects.

These are the plugins I tried:

  • Utlimate Timeline - Works off of post date for the content type selected. What I want is for it to order based on a custom field in the post type selected. Otherwise a nice plugin - not too slow.
  • Timeline Grid - It worked and met the requirements!
  • Viavi WordPress Timeline - Did not work. Produced three errors in the admin section when loading the plugin. (If the codebase was a fork of Timeline Grid, then it is possible that there was a conflict because both were activated at the same time.)

Some other untested plugins:

Zapier and WordPress

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I found out today that the Zapier Service does not work with PODs Advanced Content Types, nor does it add content to custom fields in WordPress. - This service had so much potential...

I was hoping to use Zapier to move data from a Google Spreadsheet to PODs Advanced Content Type. It looks like I will have to rebuild the PODs Advanced Content Type as a Custom Post Type, or test out a plugin like:http://wordpress.org/plugins/wpsync/.

WordPress Plugin Testing and Use Notes

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GIS Mapping

Plugin Name: XML Google Maps
Plugin Version Reviewed: 1.14.1
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/xml-google-maps
Reason for trying the plugin: I tried using XML Google Maps here are my notes: http://wordpress.org/support/topic/requires-google-api-key. It didn't work for displaying NexGen Gallery images on an OSM map. It didn't even display the OSM map without inputing a google API key. There was only one thing I did not try and that was using the exact code as seen on the developer's website. I did the beginning "[xmlgm" and then "ID=x]". He used the ngg_gallery shortcode. 04. December 2013 - I went back and tried this again with a Google Maps API v3 key and I still can not get the map to display.
Date installed or tested: 27. October 2013

Plugin Name: WP Visited Countries
Plugin Version Reviewed: 1.1.2
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-visited-countries
Product (Developers') Site: http://wordpress.amellie.net/
Reason for trying the plugin: Uninstalled because when this plugin is deactivated it loses its data. Moved on to use another plugin (Map My Posts) for displaying posts on a map. My review is here: http://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-reviews/wp-visited-countries
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?: Yes - Loses data if deactivated.
Date installed or tested: 14. October 2013

Plugin Name: Leaflet Maps Maker
Plugin Version Reviewed: 3.7
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/leaflet-maps-marker/
Reason for trying the plugin: Looking to plot a bunch of posts based on a relationship. I did not use it because it is a service (pay) based plugin.

Plugin Name: Geoportail Shortcode
Plugin Version Reviewed: 2.4.4
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/geoportail-shortcode
Product (Developers') Site:
Reason for trying the plugin: I was looking for a way to dynamically apply GPX and KML files over a map. This plugin seems to do that. Geoportail. This plugin pulls is base layer from http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/, which seems to be the French governments' provision of geo-spatial data.
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?:
Date installed or tested: 04.December 2013 - Not actually installed. The data source was not detailed enough in the part of the world I was looking to display.

Plugin Name: OS OpenSpace Maps
Plugin Version Reviewed: 1.2.3
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/os-openspace-maps/
Product (Developers') Site:
Reason for trying the plugin: None. This plugin says it is just to display UK Ordnance Survey OpenSpace maps with markers and tracks.
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?: N/A
Date installed or tested: 02. December 2013

Plugin Name: Simple KML Generator
Plugin Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-kml-generator
Product (Developers') Site:
Reason for trying the plugin: This plugin looks really cool for taking points (perhaps collected through PODs) and applying a point to them and allowing the CMS to generate the KML file. I could see this working with dialect maps and wordlists.
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?:
Date installed or tested: 04.December 2013

WP GPX Maps
27 Oct 2013. I tried (am trying) WP GPX Maps, it requires that one uses a GPX file and then dynamically loads the photos into a map based on time stamp. This is good for persons without a process to geo-embed the metadata in the photos. However, I do this geo-tagging in my image processing workflow. So this means that I would have to create a GPX file from my images. This is not impossible to do but is extra work. I am currently able to do with an nice Java App called Geotag following a hint found here: http://sourceforge.net/p/geotag/discussion/729534/thread/69875478/. GeoTag requires ExifTool and GPSBabel. Both Applications I have previously installed.

But I still can't get the map to center where I want it to, or to show the images. I did get a successful export of a GPX file though a KLM file.

Custom Page Templates for Post and Custom Post Types
Some times I want to have a certain post to have a special format or some special feature added to the post - in particular on my personal blog when I want to publish a post with a "open draft" status. WordPress has a built in feature that Theme Builders can use called "Post Format" but this is limited to the ones provided by WordPress Core. So, in terms of keeping data moveable it would be poor form to reuse these for unique purposes. So, there is another kind of approach and this one is to take the model applied to Page Formats (rather than post formats), and then use a plugin to apply those formats to posts. The same challenge comes about when asking what to do about custom post types and how does one display them on the front end.

There are several plugins out there and it seems that some of them are copies of others. This is certainly where a some consensus and a better UI in Core would, I think, be helpful.
Listing the Plugins:
Custom Post Template: http://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-post-template/
Page Templates for Posts: http://wordpress.org/plugins/page-templates-for-posts/
Post Page: Use Page Template: http://wordpress.org/plugins/posts-page-custom-template/
Page Template Dashboard:
Reveal Page Templates:
Post Template:
Child Page Templates:
Custom Post Type Page Template:
Custom Post View Generator:

Image Presentation

NextGEN Gallery Comments
27 Oct 2013. I looked at this plugin but it only provides template files and requires editing theme files or plugin files. This means a longer checklist on updates. And since updates happen so often, and are so easy, and since I am not using SVN, it makes it logical to skip this "customization".

Font Usage
There are several ways to add free fonts to a WordPress site. The first is to use a third party service (which I don't like because it requires connection to that service). And self hosting via .woff fonts. There are compatibility issues with old browsers with .woff fonts but newer bowsers will all render them.
There are supposedly two plugins which will allow you to install and use .woff fonts.
Any Font and Use Any Font I looked at both of these and decided that neither really did what I wanted and that it would be better to define new custom CSS and host my own .woff font. The two tutorials I used are here: On StackOverFlow and JustCreative.com
I used the following site to create a .woff font: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/tools/webfont-generator

CSV Import
Plugin:CSV 2 Post
Plugin Version Reviewed: 7.0.4
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/csv-2-post/
Product Site: Not listed.
Reason:I am looking for an easy way to import content from XML or CSV to PODs Custom Content types. BulkPress is awesome for simple taxonomies. But for structured data I have yet to find something which works well. This plugin seems to work with the same idea as WP-All import, but with the exception that the navigation sucks and does not follow WP UI guidelines. It did make custom content form me with the correct titles, but none of the custom fields worked. I did not try a second time and gave up and un-installed it. I might come back to it if I don't find a better solution. My ideal solution would be that PODs would have a GUI data import feature.
Date installed: 18. November 2013

Selective Plugins

Plugin: Plugin Organizer
Plugin Version Reviewed: 4.0.1
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-organizer/
Reason: Many times I need a plugin for a specific job on a certain page. To accomplish this I have found the use of Plugin Organizer to be most helpful.

Academic Plugins
Citations

Plugin Name: ZotPress
Plugin Version Reviewed:
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/zotpress/
Product (Developers') Site:
Reason for trying the plugin: I wanted to bring in my endnote and Zotero citations to my blog. This plugin allows for one to connect to one's Zotero server groups. However, I was hoping for local management of citation or the ability to interact with a local server of Zoter as this blog post explainshttp://signalverarbeitung.blogspot.com/2012/08/zotero-data-server-installation.html.
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?: No.
Date installed or tested: 06.December 2013

Review it in the same light as: https://hugh.thejourneyler.org/2011/mephaa-bibliography/ highlighting some of the limitations.

Using Footnotes and Endnotes:
http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-footnotes/
seems to be the same as: http://wordpress.org/plugins/ajs-footnotes/
http://www.ajseidl.com/projects/ajs-footnotes/

Academic Press
AcademicPress
http://wordpress.org/plugins/academicpress/

Google Docs Integration:
I might consider moving these notes on Using Google Docs with WordPress to this post. I also might want to add my comments about Zapier.

Functioning in the Admin screens
Plugin: Post Type Switcher
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/post-type-switcher/

Product Site:
Reason: For those occasions where I need to make a page a post or vise versa.
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?:
Date installed: 12. December 2013
Plugin Version:

Plugin:
WP-URL: http://wordpress.org/plugins/term-management-tools/
Product Site:
Reason: For Moving Terms between taxonomies
Any Reason to not upgrade this plugin?:
Date installed: 12. December 2013
Plugin Version:

Posts in Pages type plugins

==To Do==
Determine which Posts-in-Page plugin is right for the job. - I actually think this is better done though a PODs template.
Posts to Page: http://wordpress.org/plugins/posts-to-page/
Posts in Page (installed): http://wordpress.org/plugins/posts-in-page/
Posts for Page: http://wordpress.org/plugins/posts-for-page/ !!! this one looks like it might have some potential.

I should also add the contents from the following posts:
Adding Maps...
Four interesting Plugins (not published)...

EditFlow and CPT management through a workflow

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EditFlow [http://editflow.org/] is a great plugin if you only have one content type and need to pass the content across several people. Unfortunately for me it does not support the creation of different workflows for different content types. That is why I found it a bit limiting. Interestingly, the guys developing PikList [http://wordpress.org/plugins/piklist/] and PODs [http://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/] approached the problem by suppressing the existing publishing meta-box and supplying their own. It seems that each framework (Piklist, PODs, and even ACF - Advanced Custom Fields) might have its benefits. But they are all vying for the same market place - the developer's time and the plugin folder on your WordPress install. I am not sure which I like most right now, ACF has it on admin UI/UX but PODs is really powerful. If WordPRess core added some management features for the existing capability in its APIs then we might not have this marketplace...

Plugin Abandonment

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In the open source development world there is a lot of emphases on developing software to solve specific problems, there is much less emphasis on solving those problems well. That is, solving those problems so the most people are serviced, or so that users of software have the flexibility they need (there is also often a lack of commitment to User Experience Design but this is a shameless side plug). And there is often a real lack of collaboration around competing solutions. This is evident in the software which is created for use by linguists (usually also coded by linguists for solving the linguists’ challenges) but this is also evidenced in a different sphere of programing in the WordPress eco-system. In the WordPress eco-system there is a plethora of plugins which are abandoned. WordPress is GPL’d and so these plugins are GPL’d too. However, the repository – the human visual interface to the repository – allows for coders to grab code, and modify it for their ends, but it doesn’t allow for merging once the plugin has been “updated”. (It is true that not all changes are “updates”, sometimes people need one-off solutions.) But the net result is that early 1/3rd of all plugins for wordpress are abandoned. Their developer has been paid and has now ended their relationship with the commissioning client, or the WordPress eco-system no-longer requires the service options provided by that plugin. Matt Jones created an info-graphic to illustrate this point and to bring awareness to the problem. My comments below are my reply to him, with some minor corrections .
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