=== Page Blocks === Contributors: softwud Donate link: http://wordpress.softwud.com/ Tags: pages, templates, cms, widgets, sidebars Requires at least: 2.3.3 Tested up to: 2.7.1 Stable tag: trunk This plugin extends WordPress pages by allowing widgets to be placed above and below the page content reducing the need to code custom page templates. == Description == The Page Blocks plugin *extends* your WordPress pages by combining the dynamic content of widgets with the static content of pages. Up to four "blocks" can be added to each page (two above and two below the page's content), and widgets can be added to each block in the same way they are added to sidebars. Content can be edited simply through the admin backend, removing the need for custom page templates for all but the most complex of blog designs. Two examples of what can be done with the plugin are shown in the Screenshots section: * A home page with a welcome message in the page content above a widget displaying News posts on the left and a widget displaying the most recently created post on the right. * A page showing a dynamically generated "Thank You" message for a customer returning from PayPal in a single page block at the top of the page using a standard text widget and the Exec-PHP plugin (before and after images). More detailed information is available on the [Page Blocks Plugin Website][page_blocks_website_link], as well as support and contact information. You can also contact SoftWUD through this site if you'd like a custom theme, plugin, or widget developed. [page_blocks_website_link]: http://wordpress.softwud.com (Page Blocks Plugin Website) #### Features * **No file editing needed** Blocks are configured through the Page Write / Manage and Widgets admin pages. There is no need to edit PHP code or modify your theme in any way. * **Blocks *will* work even if the theme is changed** As long as the theme you use employs the WordPress "Loop" mechanism (and pretty much all themes do) then there won't be any problems. Even if the "Loop" has been modified. * **Each page can be configured with a different set of page blocks** There are four blocks that can be enabled for each page - ***Top Left***, ***Top Right***, ***Bottom Left***, and ***Bottom Right***. For example you may have a Top Left on one page, a Bottom Left and Bottom Right on another, and all others may have none at all. * **Each block can have it's own CSS styling rules** The plugin provides default CSS styling for the blocks assuming that all four blocks are enabled on a page. However CSS styling rules can be applied through the Page Write / Manage admin page to override these, or even your own theme's styling rules. * **The plugin *supports* password protected pages** If you protect your page content with a password, the page blocks will also be hidden until the user enters a valid password. == Installation == #### Installing the Plugin Note: More detailed instructions are available on the [Page Blocks Plugin Website][page_blocks_website_link] website. 1. Download the Page Blocks plugin to your machine and extract the files. 2. Create a directory called *page-blocks* in your WordPress plugins directory (by default this will be /wp-content/plugins). 3. Upload the files to the *page-blocks* directory. 4. Ensure that the *page-blocks* directory is readable and writeable by your webserver. 5. Activate the plugin through the WordPress Plugins admin page. 6. Once the WordPress Plugins admin page refreshes various messages will be displayed above the list of available plugins. You should see that the plugin has been activated successfully. If you see any messages with a red cross icon next to it then the activation has failed and a log file (if one could be created) will be displayed. You can either copy and paste the contents from the Plugins admin page or download the debug\_log.txt file from the *page-blocks* directory before visiting the [Page Blocks Plugin Website][page_blocks_website_link] for further help. #### Using the Plugin Note: More detailed instructions are available on the [Page Blocks Plugin Website][page_blocks_website_link] website. 1. Either create a new WordPress page or edit an existing page using the WordPress Write / Manage Page admin page. 2. Tick or untick the checkbox next to each of the blocks you wish to show / hide. 3. If you want only one of either the Top or Bottom blocks, add the following CSS styling rule in the corresponding block's Style field: `width: 100%;` This will ensure that the block occupies the full width of the page (dependent on how your theme is set up). This can also be combined with other CSS styling rules e.g. `width: 100%; background-color: red;` to give the block a red background as well. 4. Save your page changes. ***Note***: Just saving your changes at this point is not enough to make the page blocks visible. In order to make them appear it is necessary to add *at least* one widget to each block. 5. Select your page using the Page Blocks Widgets dropdown at the bottom of the WordPress Widgets admin page, select the Page Block you wish to edit, and add / configure widgets (drag widgets onto the Page Blocks in WordPress version 2.3.3). 6. Save your changes, repeat steps 1 - 6 for each of the other pages you want page blocks on, and you are done. [page_blocks_website_link]: http://wordpress.softwud.com (Page Blocks Plugin Website) == Frequently Asked Questions == Note: More information is available on the [Page Blocks Plugin Website][page_blocks_website_link] website. = How do I make the page blocks show on the WordPress "Front Page" ? = The WordPress "Front Page" (by default the page that shows blog posts) is a special type of WordPress "page" and isn't handled in the same way as other WordPress "pages". The plugin doesn't yet have the ability to display blocks on the "Front Page", however this feature will be added to the next major release of the plugin. = How do I change the widths of the top and bottom page blocks? = Add one of the following styling rule into the textbox for the corresponding page block on the WordPress Write / Manage Page admin page: `width: [value] [units];` where: [units] is one of the following - %, px, em, or any other CSS unit [value] is a value between 0 and 100 for a percentage, or a value appropriate for the [units] specified [page_blocks_website_link]: http://wordpress.softwud.com (Page Blocks Plugin Website) == Screenshots == 1. Example showing two columns below the home page contents 2. Example showing a page without the dynamically created message 3. Example showing the same page with the dynamically created message [page_blocks_website_link]: http://wordpress.softwud.com (Page Blocks Plugin Website) == Version History == * **1.0.2** Patch to version 1.0 to make plugin compatible with PHP v4.x. The plugin was also tested to ensure that it still works with WordPress v2.7.1. * **1.0.1** Patch to version 1.0 to fix an unexpected problem with the way the WordPress Plugins Directory generates plugin zip files from the SVN repository, as well as some improvements to the plugins readme file. * **1.0** Initial release of the Page Blocks plugin.