# Advanced Categories Widget

_Build a better category list._

The Advanced Categories Widget is a powerful and flexible category widget for WordPress that makes building and displaying custom category lists a snap.  

Organize your site in style with this highly customizable category widget!

## Features

* Build multiple lists!
* Select which categories to display.
* Choose how to order your categories: name, post count, etc.
* Set the order for displaying the categories.
* Supports category thumbnails.
* Set and preview custom thumbnail sizes, or choose from your site's registered image sizes.
* Show a description of each category.
* Set and preview the length of the description.
* Select the list format to match your site's markup. Choose from:`ol`, `ul`, or `div`.
* Show post count.
* Choose the default (basic) CSS styling or roll your own.

![list in sidebar](assets/screenshot-5.png?raw=true "Easily create category lists!")


#### Multiple Lists Support

Do you have a lot of categories? Do you want to highlight different categories in different sections of your site? With the Advanced Categories Widget, you can easily create more than just a single category list.

#### Custom Thumbnail sizes

With the Advanced Categories Widget, you can set <strong>and preview</strong> a custom thumbnail size to display in your sidebar. Already have the perfect size thumbnail? The widget also detects all registered images sizes and creates an easy way to choose which to display. And with WordPress 4.4, responsive images are natively supported using built-in core functionality.

#### Custom Category Descriptions

_Draw your readers in by displaying a brief description of each category in your list._ The Advanced Categories Widget provides an easy way to set the length of the excerpts that will appear. And with a handy preview feature, you can see a sample excerpt set to the length you choose, before saving your settings.

#### Default CSS Styles

The Advanced Categories Widget comes installed with a default stylesheet option to get you going.  (The styling is based on the twentysixteen core theme.) Selecting the Default Styles option will give you a quick start to styling your categories list.  For more control over the look and feel of your list, the widget also has a number of classes available to further customize its appearance to match your theme.


## Developer Features

This widget was built not only with end-users in mind, but also plugin developers.  Almost every aspect of this widget is extensible through filters and action hooks.  You can even add your own form fields to the widget form!

* Need to remove a field from the widget form?  Not a problem!  Every field is passed through its own filter for easy customization.
* Need to modify the output of the widget?  Easy!  The output is passed through numerous filters, allowing you to customize the post list to meet your project's requirements.
* For a full list of action hooks and filters, please see the plugin documentation: http://darrinb.com/plugins/advanced-categories-widget


## Installation

### From the WordPress.org plugin repository:

* Download and install using the built in WordPress plugin installer.
* Activate in the "Plugins" area of your admin by clicking the "Activate" link.
* No further setup or configuration is necessary.
* Head on over to the Widgets screen or the Customizer to start building your lists!

### From GitHub:

* Download the [latest stable version](https://github.com/dboutote/Advanced-Categories-Widget/archive/master.zip).
* Extract the zip folder to your plugins directory.
* Activate in the "Plugins" area of your admin by clicking the "Activate" link.
* No further setup or configuration is necessary.

## FAQ

#### Where can I find additional additional documentation?

The plugin's official page: http://darrinb.com/plugins/advanced-categories-widget

#### Can I contribute?

Of course! Have an idea for a feature?  Reach out on the plugin's official page.  Want to dive into  the code?  Jump right in!  Feel free to submit pull requests for new ideas & enhancements!