=== Serial Posts === Version: 1.2.2 Author: Ade Walker, Studiograsshopper Author page: http://www.studiograsshopper.ch Plugin page: http://www.studiograsshopper.ch/serial-posts/ Tags: posts,series,serial,related,post listings,custom Requires at least: 2.8 Tested up to: 3.4 Stable tag: 1.2.2 Allows you to assign Posts or Pages to a Serial, using custom fields, and then displays a list of all Posts and Pages assigned to the same Serial. == Description == This plugin allows you to assign a Serial name, using custom fields, to your Posts and Pages and then automatically displays a list of other Posts/Pages which have the same Serial name when viewing a Post or Page which belongs to the same Serial name. You can create as many Serials as you need, therefore allowing you to create multiple groupings of Posts/Pages. Designed for authors who wish to group Posts and Pages into series - independently of the usual Wordpress Category and Tag structure - its usage does not have to be limited to this. You can create as many different Serials as you wish, and assign these to any Posts and Pages that you wish to group together, to create a wide variety of "related post" or other Post/Page groupings. **Key Features** ---------------- * The Serial Posts list can be displayed using either the [serialposts] shortcode in the Write Post/Page Editor, or by using the Serial Posts template tag in your theme template files. * The position of the Serial Posts list on your page is determined by where you insert the shortcode in your post, or where you insert the Serial Posts template tag in your template file. * You can create as many different Serials as you wish. Limitation: Currently it is not possible to assign more than one Serial name to any one Post or Page. * User options for including the currently viewed post in the list, with or without a link. * Configurable Heading for the Serial Posts list. * Valid xhtml output. * Highly customisable CSS styling of the Heading and Serial Posts list. **Further information** ----------------------- Comprehensive information on installing, configuring and using the plugin can be found at http://www.studiograsshopper.ch == Installation == 1. Download the latest version of the plugin to your computer. 2. Extract and upload the folder **serial-posts** and its contents to your **/wp-content/plugins/** directory. Please ensure that you do not rename any folder or filenames in the process. 3. Activate the plugin in your Dashboard via the Admin **Plugins** menu. 4. Configure the plugin's Settings page in Admin **Settings**. **Upgrading from an older version** ----------------------------------- You can use the Wordpress Automatic Plugin upgrade link in the Admin Plugins menu to automatically upgrade the plugin. == Frequently Asked Questions == **Why would I want to use this plugin?** ---------------------------------------- * If you are using WordPress to publish online books or tutorials, and you want to present material (ie your posts) in an "oldest first" form, and you want to do this independant of categories, tags, custom taxonomies etc, then this plugin is for you. * A typical usage would be for a story or article published in several "chapters", each chapter being a separate Post. * If you simply want a list of related posts there are much better solutions than this plugin! :-) **Can I create more than one Serial?** -------------------------------------- Yes, you can create as many different Serials as you wish. However, you cannot assign a Post or a Page to more than one Serial. **Why is the list of Posts displayed with oldest at the top of the list?** -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is intentional so that each post appears like a chapter in a book or a serial - which is the whole point of the plugin in the first place. **Where can I get support or report a bug?** -------------------------------------------- Further information about setting up and using the plugin can be found in the plugin's [Configuration Guide](http://www.studiograsshopper.ch/serial-posts/configuration/) and a comprehensive [Tutorial](http://www.studiograsshopper.ch/serial-posts/tutorial/). If, having read the information linked to above, you cannot solve your issue, or if you find a bug, you can post a message on the plugin's [Support Forum](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/serial-posts/). Support is provided in my free time but every effort will be made to respond to support queries as quickly as possible. **License and Disclaimer** -------------------------- This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License 2 as published by the Free Software Foundation. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. The license for this software can be found here: [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html) Thanks for downloading the plugin. Enjoy! == Using the plugin == To illustrate a typical usage of the plugin, let's imagine that you are writing a short novel and publishing it a chapter at a time, each chapter being a separate Post. In each Post (ie chapter, to use the example above), create a custom field called Serial, with a value of "story" (without the quotes, of course). Then, insert the shortcode [serialposts] at the bottom of your Post content in the Write Post/Page editor. Now, when you view any of the "chapters", you will see the list of Serial Posts at the bottom of each "chapter" Post. This gives your readers a great way of navigating from one "chapter" to the next. The display of the Serial Posts list can be customised in the plugin's Settings page (see the *Configuring the Settings page* section below). Advanced users who, for whatever reason, prefer to use a Template Tag in their theme templates rather than the shortcode in the Post/Page Editor, can use the Serial Posts Template Tag: <?php serial_posts(); ?> == Configuration and set-up == Further information can be found in a comprehensive "how to" at http://www.studiograsshopper.ch/serial-posts/tutorial/ == Configuring the Settings page == In the Dashboard, go to Settings and open the Serial Posts Settings page. * **List Display options**. This is where you can customise the Serial Posts heading and list of posts. The Heading is made up of three elements: "Text before Serial name" "Serial Name" "Text after Serial name". * **Text before Serial name**: Enter the text that you would like to appear in the Heading BEFORE the Serial name. If you don't want to show any text before the Serial name, just blank out the field before saving your settings. * **Text after Serial name**: Enter the text that you would like to appear in the Heading AFTER the Serial name. If you don't want to show any text after the Serial name, just blank out the field before saving your settings. * **Hide Serial Name**: By default, the Serial Name always appears in the Heading. Check this box to prevent display of the Serial Name in the Heading. Note: checking this option will also hide the "Text after Serial name". * **List type <ul> or <ol>**: Select either unordered list <ul> or ordered list <ol> from the dropdown. * **List <ul>/<ol> class**: To allow even greater control over the styling of the list, you may specify a class name for the list's <ul> or <ol> tag. The default is "serial-posts". Note that the plugin replaces any whitespace with hyphens. * **Include current post**: Check the box if you want to include the currently viewed Post/Page in the list of Serial Posts. Default is CHECKED. If you uncheck this box, the currently viewed Post/Page will not appear in the Serial Posts list. * **Show current post as a link**: If you have checked "Include current post", you may check this box if you want the current viewed Post or Page to be shown as a link. Default is UNCHECKED. If you check this box, the currently viewed Post/Page will appear as a link in the Serial Posts list. That's it! The Settings Page is now configured. == Changelog == = 1.2.2 = * Released 4 January 2012 * Bug fix: Fixed reset notice from appearing when it shouldn't = 1.2.1 = * Released 3 January 2012 * Bug fix: Fixed settings not saving/resetting * Bug fix: Temporarily disabled contextual help due to WP 3.3 incompatibility * Enhance: Added SGR_SERP_HOME constant = 1.2 = * Released 21 January 2010 * Bug fix: li tags now output with class name "serial-posts-list-item" * Bug fix: Corrected sanitisation of ul_class option * Feature: Added dropdown option to allow either UL or OL tag for list * Feature: Added class name "serial-posts-heading" to list's h3 tag = 1.1 = * Released 16 December 2009 * Feature: Tidied up Internationalisation * Feature: Added Settings API functions for admin page * Bug fix: Improved options sanitisation and db query security * Feature: Reorganised code into files * Bug fix: Can now be used with Pages as well as Posts * Bug fix: Added global $post to main function * Feature: Added "Hide Serial name" option in Options page * Feature: Code upgraded, now requires WP 2.8+ = 1.0 = * Released 31 December 2008 * Feature: Added shortcode [serialposts] * Bug fix: Fixed xhtml output error = 0.9 = * Released 17 December 2008 * Public release