Help! the LightBox isn't working on my blog

I have been asked this question time and time again, how come the LightBox effect isn't working on my site?

First off before you try anything else, switch to the TwentyTen theme and disable all other plugins except CataBlog. If the LightBox now works you know there is an error either in your theme or with a conflicting plugin. You may now enable all your plugins one at a time, checking as you enable each one to make sure the LightBox still works. If a plugin stops the LightBox from working it will not work with CataBlog.

If no plugins are conflicting then it is most likely your theme code. Switch to your theme and check if the LightBox breaks, if so you now know your problem. You need to check your theme's header and footer code. This code can be placed in any of the theme's PHP files but most likely will be placed in the header.php and footer.php files in your theme directory. Make sure that both <?php wp_head(); ?> and <?php wp_footer(); ?> are being called.

&lt;?php wp_head(); ?&gt; should be placed the line before the end head tag, </head>.

&lt;?php wp_footer(); ?&gt; should be placed the line before the end body tag, </body>.

Make sure both PHP function calls are in the appropriate place of your theme code and reload the page, the LightBox effect should now work.

Posted in Support | 95 Comments

Version 0.9.8 Released

Well CataBlog 0.9.8 has been released, what enhancements slash fixes are in this release, well really not much.

Those with a catablog.css file in their template folder might notice that the standard CataBlog CSS code is now loaded as well. I have decided that this is the preferred way to integrate the CSS and if you are concerned about loading too many external resources I recommend a plug-in to combine and gzip your CSS and JavaScript resources.

Other then that I made sure to add load indicators for adding and deleting categories, since some people with slower servers might want to know that something is happening when they click the links. Also I have recently learned that my custom taxonomy query only works in WordPress 3.0 and above. With this information I decided that it was time to have a better basic requirements check on activation. Currently CataBlog requires PHP 5 with the MultiByte String and GD libraries. Also a properly installed version of WordPress 3.0 or better with a writable uploads directory is required.

I am leaning towards fixing any lingering bugs and adding multiple language support for a 1.0 release before the end of the year. Enjoy.

Posted in Software Update | 5 Comments

New Version 0.9.7 Released

Well I released version 0.9.7 today. it has some new features and bug fixes, namely some description filter controls and import/export bug fixes. Check it out and download it.
Posted in Software Update | 11 Comments

Old Database Removed in CataBlog 0.9.5

This is a big day, CataBlog no longer is going into the WordPress database directly and making modifications. That was a bad method of creating custom content, especially since WordPress now has custom post types. All catalog items from now on will be custom posts. There is even a new custom taxonomy that you can use to organize different catalogs which is much more akin to how WordPress manages posts itself. Now you ask, how do I upgrade to the new database and make that annoying red message disappear from the top of my admin section. Follow these steps carefully to upgrade your database, most likely for the last time. 😉

Step 1: Backup Old Data
The first thing you will need to do is backup your old data. If you see the red message warning you that you have an out of date database table present then the Export feature will export a XML file with data from your old table. Go to Admin > CataBlog > Options > Export and save a backup file.

Step 2: Import Old Data
We will now import your old data that you exported in the previous step. This will create new custom posts with your old catalog data. Go to Admin > Catablog > Options > Import and select the file you downloaded in the previous step, check replace all data and then click "Import CataBlog Data". You should now see a list of successfully imported catalog items building, if there were no errors please go to the main CataBlog page to check that your catalogs are intact and safely imported.

Step 3: Remove Old Data
Last we should delete the old database table, this is very simple. Go to Admin > CataBlog > Options > Systems and look at the bottom of the panel. There should be a "Clear Old Database Table" button, click it after you are sure that the previous import step was successful. If you don't see the section about removing legacy data, it is likely the table doesn't exist.

Posted in Development, New Features, Software Update, Support | 13 Comments

CataBlog 0.9.3 is version 0.9 refined

Well now we are on to 0.9.3, I really recommend everyone who jumped over the 0.9 line to upgrade as soon as possible to this one. There are no major database changes and some of the really cool new features, like custom templates, are better thought out and more then capable. This version fixes a problem or two in the LightBox code that caused images not to load and bad labels. It also fixes some fundamental rendering issues with the new template system. These include rendering hard returns and hiding buy now buttons when the price of an item isn't set. Hope this is the best version yet, Cheers everyone, its Saturday Night! 🙂
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Small Patch – Version 0.9.2 Released

Well just in time for the 0.9.1 release, 0.9.2 is released. Really sorry for all the quick releases and development quirks. We're gonna bang this plugin out and make it work smoothly. This version has just a few changes and additions to the code, there are no database or file management changes. This means it should be a safer update then the last one. Also it offers a few goodies, like being able to release file restrictions to the catablog image folders for all users, including FTP users. Please report any bugs or finding, I appreciate all feedback.
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Version 0.9 Finally Released

Well it is finally here, I have released version 0.9 of CataBlog. It features a new view feature that lets you control how your catalogs HTML will be rendered. This feature opens an entirely new world of customization for CataBlog users. Change HTML elements, classes, ids, heck pretty much anything. Pay attention to the tokens ( %TITLE% ) in the default template views, those will be replaced with values from your catalog items. New meta data in the future will provide even more tokens and give everyone even more flexibility. This is an exciting feature in my opinion and I hope that it is well received. Enjoy,

- Zach

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