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I think WordPress plugin review team decision to no longer accept framework is wrong. And this is why.

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plugin-wp

Recently WordPress plugin review team write a reminder post “Please do not submit frameworks” (Ipstenu/Mika Epstein).

And the reason is:

We require that plugins be useful in and of themselves (even if only being a portal to an external service). And while there are many benefits to frameworks and libraries, without plugin dependency support in core or the directory, it becomes another level of hassle for users.

In a comment, Darrin, who had a framework plugin (Advanced Term Fields) submitted and approved last month asked:

Are you saying the best way to handle this scenario is to include the parent framework in each child plugin, as opposed to alerting the user that “This plugin requires XXX plugin in order to function properly”?

And Mika answered:

Currently, yes. That would have been the best way.

I don’t really agree with this.
I think it should go to the opposite direction. And this is why. Read More I think WordPress plugin review team decision to no longer accept framework is wrong. And this is why.

How to Install Font Only In Photoshop CC

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photoshop-cc-font-win-10

This is a quick guide to install font only for Photoshop CC (not windows).

I was updating one of my theme Chelonian and I copy-paste CSS from another theme. Chelonian is using Dashicons and the other theme is using Genericons. So I accidentally use genericons CSS in my style.css instead of using dashicons for calendar icon. Read More How to Install Font Only In Photoshop CC

How to use Customize API “postMessage” Method for Color Options

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customizer-color-option-postmesssage

I’m not actually a fan of themes with tons of design options. I think as a designer, it’s our job to design theme.

However, it’s not always a bad idea to let user express their creativity.

Last weekend, I create another theme. Nevertheless, a simple one with classic design. And this time I create several color options for it. Usually I prefer “refresh” transport method for my themes, because it’s works, easier to code (and maintain in the future). But because this is a simple theme, I get it done relatively quickly. So I decide to “play” and use “postMessage” transport method for the color options.

There are problems I found when implementing this, and I want to share my solution.

Here’s the theme, you can download and check the source code:

Download or Fork at Github

Read More How to use Customize API “postMessage” Method for Color Options

How To Remove WordPress Admin Color Scheme Option

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Admin-Color-X

Well, there was a time when I need to remove admin color scheme option. And this how I do that.

I was building a complex site with several user role, and to make it easier to know which user role I use to login, I set each user role to use different admin color scheme and disable admin color option in profile edit.

It’s actually pretty simple. And I will also explain the coding process, how to learn to code something in WordPress. (I’m sure it’s pretty useful trick if you wants to learn to code/problem solving in WP). Read More How To Remove WordPress Admin Color Scheme Option

How to use Customize API “postMessage” Method to Hide/Show Element

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hide-masthead-customize

That was actually a question by a fellow WordPress designer/developer when he realized his code didn’t work (I’ll explain the problem below).

It’s actually a simple mistake and can be avoided if we use “refresh” transport method when creating customizer option. But I do understand that “postMessage” transport method is better (but needed more code).

So here’s a little example. I create a twentyfifteen child theme with customizer setting to hide/show header area. Read More How to use Customize API “postMessage” Method to Hide/Show Element

How to Create Admin Notice On Plugin Activation

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plugin-activation-notice-example

Adding admin notice on plugin activation can be super useful. For example we can:

  • Add link to the settings page,
  • Giving info about minimum requirement of their server,
  • Tutorial links,
  • Promote pro version of our plugin,
  • Ask the user to rate our plugin,
  • Ask donation,
  • Or simply telling them that they are awesome.

If you ever try to create an “Admin Notice” on plugin activation. You’ll know that using admin_notices action inside your “activation hook function” will not work. But there’s a workaround for that. Read More How to Create Admin Notice On Plugin Activation

How to Add Settings Section in WordPress Default Settings

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Additional-Reading-Settings

It’s very easy to create settings page in WordPress. But sometimes in our plugin we only need a single/few options. And creating dedicated settings page just for this option is overkill.

That’s what I think when I write “f(x) Private Site” Plugin yesterday. You can download the plugin for a full code example:

Download Plugin

When it make sense, we can add settings to WordPress default settings page such as “General Settings”, Writing Settings”, “Reading Settings”, etc. And this is how to do that. Read More How to Add Settings Section in WordPress Default Settings

Running Android Emulator in Your PC

Andy-Android-Emulator

Note: After several month, Andy start to give me issue. Cannot uninstall it. Broken. Please be careful.

Have you ever feel that your android phone and tablet in some case works better than your PC?

I think GMail Apps in Android is amazing. I wish I have that in my laptop. I don’t like to assign a browser tab constantly open just for email.

If you feel the same way, I think you need to at least try Andy.

It’s not only for Windows, It also support Ubuntu and OSX

Read More Running Android Emulator in Your PC

Validation in WordPress Dashboard Widget API

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WP-Dashboard-Widget-Options

WordPress Dashboard Widget API is my favorite API in WordPress and sometimes dashboard is my preferred admin page to add simple settings in client site. It’s the screen they will see when they logged in. Why not use it more?

In this post I want to share a little about how to properly save the dashboard meta box “Configuration” with the build in nonce validation.

I read a lot of tutorial but no mention about this, I don’t even find any reference in Codex page. Read More Validation in WordPress Dashboard Widget API