• Fixed many instances of WP errors that were suppresed in live mode.
• Fixed issue with invalid arguments related to custom taxonomies.
• Fixed issue with converting old style recipes to new.
• Fixed the broken “recipe options” link.
• Added wp_enqueue_style for styles.
• Added wp_enqueue_script for javascript.
• Add option to ignore built in templates and use the “single-recipe.php” template in the folder.
• Added German Translation.
• Fixed an issue where new recipes would not show up if setting is set to publish automatically.

For some reason the WordPress site has version 1.3 but still shows version 1.2 – hopefully that will be fixed in the next auto update. As always, report any bugs  on our bug tracking page.

[poll id="2"]

This poll will expire at Midnight, August 31st, 2010. Make it quick!

Custom Taxonomies?

Yep, not only can you now change the names of the built in categories and cuisines, but you can actually add new taxonomies to your site for this plugin. A new set of template tags was added to display these:

• get_the_recipe_taxonomy($tax, $args, $post): This will get the list of entries for a given taxonomy and return it as a string. The $tax is the object name for the taxonomy as displayed on the Taxonomies Settings tab. The $args and $post are both optional as with other template tags.
• the_recipe_taxonomy($tax, $args, $post): Prints the results from the get_the_recipe_taxonomy() tag.

The older get_the_recipe_category(), the_recipe_category(), get_the_recipe_cuisine(), and the_recipe_cuisine() template tags were left in the code for backward compatibility. Please note that these may be removed in future version. I hope to add some stuff to the WIKI for this soon, but time is limited.

As always, please report any bugs you find. Enjoy!

The problem occurred when the user selected the same page to display the recipes, categories, and cuisines. With this setup, the recipe list would show, but the recipes would not. Nor would any of the categories or cuisines. I will look to see if it is possible to have this type of setup, but I have to assume it is not.

So, if your recipes are not showing, you should look at those settings. Make sure you have different pages set for each of those three pages, as well as the page for the form, so that things work properly. Actually, come to think of it, you should either select “Do not display” or a separate page for every one of those, otherwise the plugin code won’t know what to display on each page.

Upgrade Notice!

Previous versions had some serious issues with templating, and required files to be copied to your theme. This version eliminates all of that and you can actually remove any template files from your theme folder now. If you have made adjustments to the way your recipes display, they should still work, but this is fair warning that some adjustments may again need to be made.

I apologize, but this change was necessary to prevent having to build theme packs for every single theme out there, which is what was happening. This new version hooks into the content instead of the template to do the formatting, so your themes formatting should work on all pages. I have left in the template tags for recipe_header() and recipe_footer(), but they do nothing now. The template files recipe_header.php and recipe_footer.php are no longer used.

Printing Support?

Yes, but it is very early and may not work 100% at this time. I am still working on this but needed to get feedback from the community. There is a new template tag available called recipe_print_link() that will create the link in your templates. If you are using the built in templates the print link should appear. I would appreciate your comments and suggestions for this here or on the support forum.

Nutritional Data?

Thanks to Justin Handley of My Healing Kitchen for submitting code to make this feature possible. It is somewhat limited but will give you some basic nutritional data for your plugins. You will need to enter this data on the recipe edit page if you have it as it is not automated. A new template file is in place to create a somewhat standard looking nutritional information box, and new template tags, the_recipe_nutrients() and get_recipe_nutrients(), are available for use on templates.

There were so many others things done that make this plugin easier to use as well as more useful. I will leave it up to you to go and find them, and comment about them. As always, please report any bugs you find on our Bug Tracking page.

Thank you, and enjoy!

Name the Menu?

Yes, now you can change how this plugin will display in your menu! No longer do you have to put up with the “Calendar Press” menu name, which was kind of long, causing some menus to really look bad. Now, on the settings page, you can select the name of the menu, which defaults to “Events”. Not a very powerful new feature, but one you might enjoy. For those interested, I added this so on the RiverRail web site, I could make the menu say “Sessions” so that the local guys could figure out where to add their operating sessions.

Really, a widget?

Yep, the first one is now included in the plugin. It is nothing fancy, just lists the upcoming events, and you do not have much control over how it looks, but I will work on that later. Let me know if you feel I should have some set formats, or if you should be able to change the layout using a template. Either way works, but one is more work than the other and I want to spend my time on something my users will make use of.

What’s the future like?

I do have quite a few plugins that I am working on, and I go to school, and I need to find full time work, unless you guys can actually give me some money. So, new stuff is coming. You can get a look at what I am planning on the project Roadmap. I would also like you to submit bugs on our bug reporting page.

Thanks, and enjoy!

This will be the final release candidate before the official release of version 1.2 tomorrow. If you find any bugs please report them ASAP. Unless additional bugs are reported on our bug tracking site, the code is frozen until tomorrows release.

The updates tonight include:

• Changed post type from ‘recipes’ to ‘recipe’. If your recipes disappear, simply deactivate then activate the plugin.
• Changed the order of the arguments for the recipe template tags. Should be args first, then post if outside the loop. Both may be left empty.
• Updated language file and fixed some bugs in language calls.
• Started adding printable recipes. Default templates add a “print” link which load a printable version. Still working on the templates and the features, but you can get an idea of where this is going.

There may be some other small fixes and such, but nothing ground breaking. We are still on track for a Friday release of 1.2 with printing and some other new features. If you want to use a nightly build version, you will need to get it via Subversion on our SourceForge page.

Enjoy!

Required Settings

There are some important steps that must be done after installing this new version:

1. Visit the Recipe Press settings page.
2. Click on the “Display Settings” tab. You will need to select the page where recipes, categories, and cuisines will display. If you do not already have these pages, click on the checkbox to have new pages created. Any content on the page you select will be replaced with the appropriate plugin data.
3. Click on the Form Options tab and do the same as above for the page where the recipe form will display.
4. Save the settings.

There are a few more new settings as well, so take a look around and see what new stuff you can do. I will be adding even more over the next few weeks.

Download the Release Candidate

You will have to go to the SourceForge page to get the release candidate, then upload the files using FTP. I have uploaded the file and it may take a bit for it to be there, but you will want to get the file recipe-press-1.2-rc1.zip that should be located in the Release Candidates folder. Let me know what you think by commenting below, or by reporting bugs.

• Site-wide – add styles to every page of your site.
• On specific post types, including posts, pages, attachments, and any custom post types.
• On individual posts and pages.

Individual posts and pages?

Yep! Once you install and configure this plugin, you will see a new box on your editor that allows you to enter any custom style definitions you want for that post or page. The plugin will add these styles when the post is rendered. Since they will only be loaded on this page, there is no reason to include the post ID or any other markers to the definitions. Plus, the definitions will be added as the very last item in the head of the HTML so your changes will be the last ones loaded and therefore take priority over any other style sheet. You can even decide which content types will get the extra CSS boxes!

When can I get it?

I started work on the plugin this morning, and hope to release a test version later today. Watch for an update here.

How does it work?

Index Press looks through all of the post types selected on your site, counts the words and how often they are used, then stores that information in the database. By adding a short code to any of your pages, the index similar what you find on the index page on this site appears. Every word that is counted will appear with links to every page that word appears. You control on the back-end what words are ignored, the shortest word to index, and how many times that word has to appear on the site before it shows in the index.

Won’t this slow down the page with the Index?

No. The page with your index simply reads the data from the database and displays the results. The index is updated in two ways:

1. Every time a post or page is saved.
2. Any time you look at the plugin settings page.

Your index page will appear quickly, and can be in any number of columns you desire. An index like this is also great for SEO – the search engines will have a hey-day with all these links!

Help your visitors find the content they are looking for with the Index Press plugin.

Using the Featured Image

Now, when you feature a page you can select whether or not to use the featured image, and if you do, whether to use it as an image in the widget or as the “read more” link for that page. You can still set the size of the image when you are setting up the widget. This feature will override the “featured-image” and “featured-link” custom fields, though they are still supported if a page has no featured image, or your choose to ignore the featured image.

Featuring Different Post Types

This plugin now goes beyond just featured pages as you can now select what post types to feature. On the settings page you will be able to select all of the built in post types, including posts, pages, and attachments, as well as any custom post types installed on your site. The widget form will indicate the type of page in the dropdown form when you set up the widget.

I’ve seen hosting cheaper!

Yes, and so have I. In fact, I have used so many of those low-cost, cut-rate services that I could write an entire novel as to why you should not use them. Actually, quite a few of them are resellers, many with HostGator or another service, and cannot offer the customer service you are likely to need. I grew tired of down-times, unexplained outages, extra fees for this and that, and lack of support.

My personal web site has been with HostGator for nearly three years now, and I cannot recall any downtime on the site. That isn’t to say there hasn’t been any, it’s inevitable,  but none have affected me. There is of course going to be scheduled down time. But with HostGator, when they give a time frame, they always stay within those times.

What about support?

Top notch! When I have a need for support, someone takes care of it rather quickly. It’s not instant support, but if you expect that you better expect to pay more than $10 a month. I can say that HostGator’s support software is not the best in the world, and it has been confusing at times, but once you get to know how to open and respond to tickets, the support is really top notch.

And, right now, if you sign up using the coupon code wpquickstart, you’ll get $9.94 off a domain name and hosting package. There are no activation fees, so you actually get your first month of hosting for only a penny. Yep, 1 cent. What have you got to lose?

Footer Tools First

The first of these micro-tools is called the Thesis Footer Tool, and it essentially allows you to add content and code to your footer through a simple to use back-end management screen. More importantly, it allows you to change the attribution link on the site to your affiliate link, or, if your license allows, to completely remove it from the site. Yes, it’s simple, but that is what I was aiming at. Enjoy!

• Custom Post Types and Taxonomies means no special database tables needed for this plugin.
• Automatically adds events to the search feature in WordPress.
• RSS Feeds are available for events.
• RSVP system is working, though Waiting List capabilities are not supported.
• Works with most themes with an option on the settings page to set the width of the boxes on the calendar display.

There is more to come, and I will be adding more to it as requests and suggestions come in. You can get support on the Support Form or report bugs on our TRAC system. Of course, a small donation to keep me going doesn’t hurt either.

In addition, I have added styles to the index and a place where you can create custom styles on the settings page. These will be added to every page of your site at this time, so be careful what you add here. You can get a list of the different styles available on the Style Instructions page.

So, now it’s time for you to tell me what else this plugin should have. Go to the Support Forum and let me know what you think, or drop a comment below.

Sample Screenshot

The Index Press plugin for WordPress was created to provide a simple index of words used throughout a WordPress site by adding a shortcode to any page where an index should be listed. The plugin is in early beta stages at this time but will be released within a few short weeks, if not sooner.

The plugin uses a super fast indexing engine to gather information from hundreds of pages, and allows you to determine the minimum length of words to index, the minimum number of occurrences for each word, and the number of columns to display. The plugin will feature full CSS support for styling your index, and a back end manager that will allow you to indicate words that should never be indexed. More cool stuff will be added as the plugin matures.

I also fixed a bug where themes that do not already support post thumbnails would not display recipe images. As always, please report any additional bugs on our Bug Tracking page. Thank you.

Upgrade Notes

Version 1.0 uses the Custom Post Types feature of WordPress 3.0, and your existing data will need to be converted to use in this new version. When you first upgrade to this version, you may not see any recipes, however, you should see a menu item under the Recipes menu called “Convert Recipes”. This page will convert all of your existing recipes and categories to the new format, and will remove the old data. You should make a backup of your site database before running this conversion.

New Features

There are quite a few new features for this release, including adding recipes to multiple categories, cuisine tags, thumbnail support, and custom fields. You will need to go to the settings page for the plugin to activate any of the new features.

Displaying Recipes

In previous versions you would need to add a page with a short code to display recipes on. In this version, recipe are automatically displayed at http://yoururl.com/recipes. The recipe-list shortcode has been deprecated. I realize this prevents you from listing recipes on any page you like, and support for this will return in a future version. This change was necessary to fit in with the new Custom Post Type features. In addition to listing recipes, several other pages are available by default:

• Recipe list: http://yoururl.com/recipes
• Category list: http://yoururl.com/recipe-categories
• Cuisine Type list: http://yoururl.com/recipe-cuisines
• Submit form: http://yoururl.com/recipe-share

Currently, the categories and cuisines only work with pretty permalinks, and I am not sure there is a way to change that. If need be, shortcodes to display these will be added.

Menu Support

If you are using a theme compatible with the new Menus options in WordPress 3.0, you can add the pages above, including a public submit form page, to your menus. You may need to turn this feature on under the “Screen Options” tab on the Menus page. You can also add recipes, categories, and cuisine types to your menus.

I hope that you find this new version more powerful and easy to use. In the coming weeks I will be making some custom template packs for use with specific themes as some themes will not work properly with this version of Recipe Press. If you have any questions, you can post a comment here or visit the Support Forum. If you find bugs, I ask that you submit them on the Bug Tracking system for this plugin.