Now, I was confronted with having to come up with my own design code. I’ve seen some tricky code before, but this takes the cake! I spent 40 hours trying to hammer out the details over three days, seriously backing me up on my Blogs. When finished I got ready to use the code for a post over here at Blogging Extreme only to be over-ruled by the editor stating that I had spent so much time refining the thing, that I should now place it on the Blog as an E-Book. Man, ……… I’m wasn’t even ready to do that! 20 hours later, here I am. READY; SET; DOWNLOAD!

You can now download from the homepage, the price is $9.95. I’ve run several tests on the coded instructions and they work fine. It does assume that you have some basic experience with GIMP. Once you play around with the coded instructions for a couple of hours, you will see how it easy it is to do whatever you want it to do. I’ve really just laid the ground work, with some improvisation, you should do just fine.  You can really design any type of E-Book with any type of back ground; any size you want.

As for now, the manual does not cover how to design round CD’s or multiple books in one image.  As I have the time, I will update the manual to include these types of images. If you have an hints or tips on the subject, be sure to leave your comments below.  And yes, I did do the image you see on the homepage with these same instructions in the manual. Pretty cool, huh!

Here it is: When editing a “Draft” you have the ability in WordPress to Preview these changes, as you are logged in to the admin area, in the preview you will notice the word “edit” next to the date and your name. When you press this edit to clean up your copy you will open a new tab in firefox or a new browser window in Explorer. Now it only does this one time, however you now have two tabs or two browser windows open for you to edit in. Once you save in one, you will not be able to save in another. The trouble is, when you hit the preview button and after reading your post you decide to edit and hit the edit link, you should be forced to back-up, like hitting the back button on the tool bar of you internet browser, not the ability to open a new tab or new browser window. Man, ………. I seen some bugs, but this is a killer.

After I had work through my copy and realized my problem, I was like four hours doing this post, and I was forced to stay with it, because I was looking at a deadline.

Once you publish your post and you decide to edit that post, you still get this behavior with WordPress. I’m sure there is a work around, I just don’t know it yet. I just wanted to get this info to you as soon as I realized the problem. So, do yourself a huge favor and when you hit the “Preview Changes” button; after you are through editing, just turn off the tab or window!  If you know of a work around, leave a comment and help us out, please. Thanks. See you next week!

When looking to add your URL to your Twitter feed,  it makes sense to drive home the name of the blog instead of a string of numbers along with the fact that the search engines really don’t like Tiny URL’s.  So I came up with this solution that by-passes the Plug-In route, (I need another Plug-In like a hole in the head).  So ……. try this;  the theory is pretty straight forward, first go to your “Dashboard” in the Admin Area of your WordPress Software.  Then go to “Settings” and click on “Permalinks” and go to “Common settings” and click on “Custom Structure”.  Add this code:  /%postname%/ …… now click “Save Changes”.

I usually like to see the whole URL of my post to show,  meaning;  site name, category, post name.  The Permalink “Custom Structure” looks something like this: /%category%/%postname%/  If yours is set-up in a similar fashion you will have to drop out the /%category%/  Of course it does not effect function,  you just won’t see it show up in the URL of your blog.

Now when you add your URL to your Twitter feed,  you no longer have to add:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation

You simply add this:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what

That’s it.  Now,  if you have two posts that start with the word “what”,  WordPress will seek out the earliest post. If that is not the post that you want, you will have to add another word or letter.

Like this:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what-i

Get it ?  Good ! ………. Nuff said !  If this doesn’t work for ya ……. sorry,  I tried !  You’re back to the alphabet soup thing. 

I’ve got an update.  Since I published this post. Allan over at iwoodpecker.com passed along this killer tip to the above.  You can actually go with a numerical system if you want.

Like this: http://bloggingextrme.com/p0001

That way you don’t have to worry about two posts that start with the same word.  Just remember,  to avoid the number showing up in the post title, edit at the perma-link level and don’t forget to place the  “p”  in front of the number.

Thanks Allan!!! Great Tip!

While I’m pretty sure that the codex is a lost cause, I have hope for WordPress TV. Video after all is the going rage these days for the blogger. However, while working with WordPress TV I have noticed some bugs that you should be aware of.

I just can’t put my finger on it. How is it that the WordPress software is bullet proof, but the support is so weak? I just don’t get it. I digress !

One of the cool things about WordPress TV is the ability to actually embed the video inside your post. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Youtube this ! But WordPress TV is at least a little better in quality than the other video services that allow you to embed. To control traffic to their sites some of the better one’s don’t even let you embed. So to have a good quality video to embed inside your blog about blogging is like kinda cool.

When you reach the video that you want to embed, you will see the word “embed” in the top left of the video. Once you click on the control menu button, you will see a drop down menu that gives you several choices. Unfortunately, those choices don’t include anything that will fit your template more than likely, so you will have to adjust the dimensions in the embedded code.  I’ve provide the code so that you can check out the dimensions change.

<center><embed src=”http://v.wordpress.com/wp-content/plugins/video/flvplayer.swf?ver=1.15″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”585” height=”400” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” flashvars=”guid=NBZ853Xn&amp;width=400&amp;height=224&amp;qc_publisherId=p-18-mFEk4J448M” title=”Introducing WordPress 2.9 Carmen”></embed></center>

The “Copy To Clipboard” thing is kinda cranky too, so be patient. It doesn’t always want to copy or paste for that matter.

Here it is for those who need a quick look see:

When you’re done your footer should have the following appearance at the bottom of your blog.

Have at it Kids and Good Luck !

Step #1

The first thing to do is to register the widgeted footer areas in your theme’s functions.php file. Using the Lifestlye theme as an example, here’s what the code looks like right now:

if ( function_exists(’register_sidebars’) )
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Top’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Left’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Right’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’468×60 Header Banner’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));

And here’s what it will need to look like to register the additional areas:

if ( function_exists(’register_sidebars’) )
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Top’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Left’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Right’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’468×60 Header Banner’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #1′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #2′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #3′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #4′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));

Step #2

The second thing you’ll want to do is establish the proper style for the widgeted footer area. Because most StudioPress theme’s footer areas are defined as “footer”, I’m going to define the main “div” for the widgeted footer area “footer-widgeted”. You’ll need to add all of the CSS shown below to style.css, but I’ll break them out so you can see what each section is. Make sure if you’re theme’s width is less than 960px, you’ll need to adjust that below.

Main Container Styling

#footer-widgeted {
width: 960px;
margin: 0px auto 0px;
padding: 0px;
}

Paragraph Stlying

#footer-widgeted p {
color: #333333;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px;
}

Hyperlink Styling

#footer-widgeted a, #footer-widgeted a:visited {
color: #333333;
text-decoration: none;
}
#footer-widgeted a:hover {
color: #333333;
text-decoration: underline;
}

Unordered List Styling

#footer-widgeted ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;
padding: 5px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 5px 0px 0px 20px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li li {
list-style-type: square;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li ul li {
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px 0px 3px 0px;
}

Widget Headline Styling

#footer-widgeted h4 {
color: #333333;
font-size: 16px;
font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px 0px 5px 0px;
padding: 0px;
}

Widget Styling

#footer-widgeted .widget {
background: none;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px 0px 0px 0px;
border: none;
}

Widget Columns Styling

.footer-widgeted-1 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-2 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-3 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-4 {
width: 215px;
float: right;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 0px 5px 0px;
}

Step #3

Last, you’ll need to add the proper code to your footer.php file. Most StudioPress themes are coded similarly, so this should work. Inside your theme’s footer.php file, look for this code:

<div></div>
<div id=”footer”>

Essentially, you’ll be placing the code below in between the two lines you see above. As a result, you’re code should look like this:

<div></div>
<div id=”footer-widgeted”>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-1″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #1′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #1 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-2″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #2′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #2 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-3″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #3′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #3 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-4″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #4′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #4 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<div id=”footer”>

That should do it. If your footer came out looking like a can of worms,  sorry,  try again.  Patience will win the day with this one!

Pull up your CSS and paste this code into the “Content” area at the bottom (it will be easier to find if you need to edit in the future):

.follow-me {

background: url(http://www.your-web-site-name-goes-here.com/images/twitter.png) no-repeat left center;

padding: 2px 0px 2px 20px;

}

You’ll now need to upload a “twitter image” to your images or media library on your server. Be sure to watch the size of your image. Or better yet grab this image below and you can mess around with it later if you want to. Just get up and running now.

Next edit your themes index.php file; look for the content call:

<?php the_content(__(’Read more’, ’studiopress’));?><div></div>

Immediately after, place this code:

<a href=”http://twitter.com/username”>Follow Me on Twitter</a>

Remember to change the word “username” above with the username of your Twitter Account and that should do it.

One note of caution. If you do not have an “index.php” file edit your “single.php” file instead. You will have the same result. See ya next week !

I have a number of interest outside of my blogs, unfortunately I don’t really have enough time to devote to them. Such is the case with Blue Ridge Digital Downloads.com.
This is the e-book end for all my blogs. I choose this angle so that I would not have to keep 11 different camp fires going at one time by supplying e-books to all my sites. And I do work on the site, just not as much as I should.

As I was surfing the other day; (just got a new hp6120f) I decided to drop in on the downloads site and low and behold ……….. shit ……… Microsoft has the site listed as a phishing site. (I was wondering why I haven’t made a single sale this year)

Most of my work is done on Linux and Firefox (the Vista thing did me in from the standpoint of my interest in Microsoft) so I had no idea what was going on over at the downloads site. I have always had a windows machine and I check cross platforms with my blogs. But I have failed to do this with the rest of my sites.

All of the information gathered (Name and E-Mail) is used to build my list and all of the sales go through Paypal so what’s the problem. Jezzz …. these guys!

First thing; remember to do the cross platform thing, at least with Explorer and Fire Fox. Next, it is probably a good idea to do an SSL even though all monies are handled by pay-pal. And remember that new content is always King with the search engines. For all I know it might have been that Bing found no new content on the site and got nervous with the results.

While everyone loves to kick Microsoft, remember that we all owe a great deal to the company. They have made a great many cool things for us to use. I know that I got my start with Microsoft. Really, I was active before Microsoft, but they really gave me a solid foundation to build on.

Morale of the story: Even though I have moved on from Microsoft, does not mean that I or anyone else can totally forget about them. Oh ……. and by the way, after filling out a form and submitting it to Microsoft they corrected my status ………. Thanks Microsoft!

Happy New Year Everyone !

I thought I would give it a rest with this weeks post and introduce you to a great little blog from a shameful self-promoter named Jordan Cooper. I actually pick up the contact through David Risley’s site. So without further ado, I present Jordan Cooper; a poet who doesn’t really know it.

Ohh ……. before you leave me, check out this video of Jordan!

Merry Christmas Everyone and God Bless You All !

I Hope to See You All Next Year and Thanks for Following !

I have always taken the stance that what I say on someone else’s website or blog will stay with that site so that whoever reads it can place it in context.

While I was rummaging about this weekend doing the Google thing, I found a curious entry on the index of one of my blogs. It’s a site called backtype.com

I can’t tell you how many times that I have visted a website and after careful inspection, I have no idea what in the world the site is about. This site has a very clear definition; and I quote: “BackType is a real-time, conversational search engine. (Say What?) Conversational search is a new way of searching the web to surface what reputable people are saying about topics and webpages that interest you. We index and connect online conversations from across the web in real-time, so you can see what people are saying about topics that interest you.” (italics mine)

I seen some great ways to back-link ……… but this takes the cake. When I arrived at the site, I could read everything I had ever said online, at anyones website ……… oh man ……… all on one page no less and apparently in “real time”.

Man ………….. why didn’t I think of that ? Check it out, and remember to be careful what you say out there in cyberspace. Big Brother is Blogging.

MySQL is an integral part of any blog and when it comes time (which is usually every other week or so it seems) to up-grade your version of WordPess; look out. I never have any real problems with upgrading except with MySQL. My problems have been so numerous that I now just, leave well enough alone until a year or two passes and then I just tear the blog down and re-build it, upgrading WordPress and the database at that time.

This hi-tech solution that I have developed has never failed, however, this ain’t exactly the way it was designed to work. Instead of trying to work through a mucked up database, I find it much easier to just re-install MySQL. The only real thing you need to take with you when you re-build your database are your posts and such. You can do this by using your export/import settings in your WordPress Dashboard.

Another cool thing about re-installing a new database is that you can re-name the database at that time. You see if you host your site with a hosting service you will not have the server privileges to do this, even though MySQL will allow you too, most hosting services do not ………….. this took me about three days of hardship to learn when I first started out.

So before you beat yourself to death over at the MySQL website (I ain’t even going to provide you a link), wondering what to do next and how in the world anyone was so stupid as to start down this road of designing this software to begin with. Just scrape what you have and start over. Than you too can “Master MySQL Overnight“.