There’s a project out there called PIE. It is in beta. I tested version 1 yesterday. Version 2 is out today. I’ll take it for a spin soon.  I have no idea what version will be up by the time you read this post.  But I do know they post the latest at the top and date the files, nice.

It took me a couple of hours to figure out all the pieces. There were bits of information spread all over the place. Too many assumptions that we would all just “know” certain things.

I’ve removed the assumptions and will show you exactly how to get CSS3 functionality pushed to IE browsers from your blog. Making it “pretty” for IE is now possible.

(When I wrote yesterday’s post CSS3 Is Here Now I hadn’t found this yet)

CSS3 PIE

The first thing you want to do is download the files you will need.  PIE for IE

You will find three files inside the zip file.

PIE.htc
PIE.php
PIE_uncompressed.htc

PIE.htc is probably the only one you will need.  But if after doing all the instructions here it still doesn’t show up change the behavior line to PIE.php

Upload these three files to your current theme directory.  Ex.  If you are using TwentyTen, upload them to wp-content/themes/twentyten/

Second, Where you have added the CSS3 styles you will need to add:

behavior: url(/wp-content/themes/yourthemedirectory/PIE.htc);
Followed by the CSS3 style WITHOUT THE -moz- in front of it.
Using yesterdays example that will look like this:

#calloutbox {
behavior: url(/wp-content/themes/yourthemedirectory/PIE.htc);
border-radius:10px 10px 10px 10px;
box-shadow:3px 3px 7px #333333;
-moz-border-radius:10px 10px 10px 10px;
-moz-box-shadow:3px 3px 7px #333333;
}

Do this where ever you have inserted CSS3 styles in your style.css file.

Final note. Don’t forget to put the leading “/” before the wp-content/ etc. If you do the styles will show up on the home page only. This was part of the digging out all the details.

Now you can have the same rounded corners and drop shadows in IE.

Not all CSS3 commands are supported with PIE (yet) but the basic ones you want to dress up your site are supported and easy to implement.

Now you can have your CSS3 styles in IE too.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab CSS3 for IE

LOL, Good One Frank

Why Wait to Use it?

I’ve started using some CSS3 styling here at the lab and on another site I’m currently developing.  I love it.  The formatting and “Eye Candy” ability with CSS3 is pretty amazing.  It used to be if you wanted rounded corners or drop shadows you had to create them as images and call them to be displayed.  Now you can add a couple lines of code and do both on the fly.  Want more curve, change a number, want a deeper shadow, change a number; it is that easy.

I’ll show you two examples in this post and provide the CSS3 behind the effect.  NOTE:  YOU WILL NOT SEE ANYTHING DIFFERENT IN IE.

You do have to have a “modern” full featured browser like Chrome, Firefox, Flock, or Safari (but safari requires it’s own code) in order to view CSS3.

Remember the post on add a callout box to your post?  I’ve added a little CSS3 styling to dress them up even more.  Below is a box and styling code.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab CSS3 Is Here Now

I noticed something strange when I installed the All-In-One SEO Pack on my new Twenty Ten installs. There was an issue with the post title being displayed.

It would put the post title and the blog title together then repeat the blog title. Causing the last word of the post title to be right up against the first blog title.

Ex.
Upgrades6105 N Samantha Grove | 6105 N Samantha Grove

It should read:

Upgrades | 6105 N Samantha Grove

I thought the issue was with All-In-One-SEO.  It turns out it is with Twenty Ten.

Twenty Ten 1.0 solutions

If you are using Twenty Ten 1.0 and All-In-One-SEO Pack go into the settings for All-In-One and uncheck “Rewrite Titles”

Twenty Ten 1.1 header rewrite

There is no issue with 1.1.  The theme header file was rewritten to comply with a standard used by most WP Themes.

From Nacin on the upgrade:

The only real change is that I removed the half-baked code using the wp_title hook in order to customize the page title, and instead the code was moved back into header.php and simplified a little.

I can call it half-baked because I was the one who wrote it. It interfered with some plugins and so we yanked it.

It seems All-In-One is “some plugins” in this case, and probably others that rewrite post titles.

This is your heads up Lab Rats.  If you don’t want your Title Tags looking screwed up and messing with your SEO then upgrade Twenty Ten to 1.1 or uncheck “Rewrite Titles” on the All-in-One options page.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Twenty Ten 1.0 And All-In-One SEO Post Title Issue

Typically when adding your own structures to a CSS file you put them at the end of the file.  They are easier to find down there and know where the original code ends and your additions/modifications begin.

Twenty Ten CSS will throw you a loop

I started making changes that way, but none of my changes were showing up.  Turns out the Devs at WP put some Mobile Browser and Print Styling at the bottom of the style.css

/* =Mobile Safari ( iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch )
————————————————————– */

Further down you will find:

/* =Print Style
————————————————————– */

The best thing to do is go right above the Mobile Safari remarks and put your additions/modifications there.

Granted, sometimes you have to have put them higher in the code.  For those occasions, especially deletions I often will remark out the original code and place the new code directly below it.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Modifying Twenty Ten CSS

If you have already started making modifications to your copy of Twenty Ten you should backup the theme files and then install the latest version.

Footer Tracking Codes

Don’t forget if you have already inserted Tracking codes for Woopra, Google Analytics, Hittail, etc. you will need to put these back in the new footer.php.

Once it is installed you can add back the modifications you made to the CSS. I know this is a pain. But they have made alphabetical changes to the layout of the CSS which you will want to have on your existing site.

It is never easy having to look in two different places for code because of a version change. So before you start making changes get version 1.1 of Twenty Ten on your site.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Twenty Ten 1.1 Released

Twenty Ten allows for a long title and a short description. But what if your site is the other way around. You have a short title but want a long description.

You don’t have to change your description to fit the allotted 220 pixels. Here is where you can change both.

Site Title

#site-title {
float:left;
font-size:30px;
line-height:36px;
margin:0 0 18px;
width:700px;
}

Change the width to what will allow your title to display on a single line. If you only need 200px for your title set it to:
width: 200px;
That will buy you 500 pixels to exchange for use with the site description.

Site Description

#site-description {
clear:right;
float:right;
font-style:italic;
margin:14px 0 18px;
width:220px;
}

The default setting is 220px for the description width. I can easily change this to 700 or 720px and use a longer description.

What about the size of the description font?

It is kind of small and being italic it isn’t easy for readers with let’s say “older eyes” to read it. There isn’t any font size declared in the site description. This means there is a default size that it is using. How do you make it bigger?

This is easy. Add the following:
font-size: 16px

Or whatever size you want.  16px is simply an example.

Be sure to do it inside the closing bracket for the site description. It would now look like this:

#site-description {
font-size: 16px;
clear:right;
float:right;
font-style:italic;
margin:14px 0 18px;
width:720px;
}

If you don’t like the italic simply remove the font-style:italic; or if you want to keep it in the code change it to font-style:normal;

Now you have a custom Site Title and Site Description for your blog.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Site Title and Site Description

TwentyTen the Category

Twenty Ten is the new default theme for WordPress as of release 3.0 .  I’ve been setting up sites using it for a couple of months now.  It is a great theme and there is a lot you can do with it.  I tweak it a lot.  Therefore, I’ve decided to start a new category dedicated to Twenty Ten Theme and modifications that can be made to it quickly and easily.

Some quick changes can make it look completely different.  The new header area and background layout area provide a great playground for variation in theme.

The WP team recommends any changes be made to a child theme and not the default.  I know one reason why and you need to be aware of this.

Every time you update WP the Twenty Ten Theme is replaced as well.  Any custom CSS you put in the default them is wiped out.  Same is true for any changes you made to the code in the various parts of the theme.  So Be advised YOU NEED TO BACKUP TWENTY TEN EVERY TIME THERE IS AN UPDATE!!  especially if you have made modifications.

I don’t like working with child themes.  Maybe someday, but I’ve had a little experience with them and find it very labor intensive to make changes.  I like firebug on one tab and the CSS editor in another.  Make a change and update.  Maybe I’m missing something.  But for now I edit the default theme itself.

Short, short posts

Some of these post are going to be very short.  Most of what I’ll cover are tweaks in the CSS that will make a difference in the appearance of the theme.  They will all be filed under TwentyTen.

Some will be a little longer.  It takes more than a few words to describe how to change the header image size and width.  Or change the layout to make the sidebar or content areas bigger.

If you are looking for ways to tweak Twenty Ten come here.

If you don’t find what you are looking for leave a comment, I’ll see what I can do and write a post on the tweak.

Example Post

Clear Both for Header Tags

You will find this statement in the CSS.

h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
font-weight: normal;
clear: both;
}

The clear both will make it impossible to display an image beside an h3 tag in your post.

The simple solution.

There is typically no reason to clear both on any header tag below an h2 tag.  Therefore change this to:

h1, h2,  {
font-weight: normal;
clear: both;
}

Your h3 and below tags can now be used with an image displayed either right or left.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Twenty Ten the New Default Theme

The other day I was asked “Hey, Dave, you upgraded to WordPress 3.o yet?”

Kinda, I have most of my sites on WP 3.0.  The newer ones were easy.  Three of those were already on 3.0 Beta or 3.0 RC.

The small sites running 2.9.2 were a snap as well.  I don’t know if I mentioned it earlier or not, but if you are running any kind of cache plugin you will want to de-active it before you upgrade.  Since WPMU is now integrated into 3.0 there can be an issue with a cache plugin.

I found another this week while upgrading the Tucson Real Estate blog.  It has quite a few plugins running and some special code in place to speed up page load times.  Because of this I hesitated to run the upgrade till I had more than a few minutes to dedicate to it.

I can’t stress enough that you:

1. Backup your Database
2. Backup your wp-content directory
3. Have a copy of 2.9.2 available to FTP back if needed
4. Be prepared to restore your database from OUTSIDE WP itself
5. Optional but recommended for this update (DE-Activate all Plugins)

I had all this in place when I pushed the button for auto upgrade.   All except the De-active all plugings.

Yep, you guessed it.  FATAL ERROR.  BIG TIME.

I restored the DB and uploaded the 2.9.2 files back in place.

This time I de-activated all plugins except for a few that I needed to keep the theme functioning.  And a couple I thought totally safe.

The upgrade was successful.  Now I started activating plugins in groups.  My second group brought back the Fatal Error.  I deleted those plugins with FTP but to no avail.  You guessed it.  Restore all again.

This time it was one at a time re-activation.

NexGen Gallery Fatal Error

The NexGen Gallery plugin was the one.  There wasn’t anything wrong with NexGen Gallery.  There was an update to the plugin.  But I hadn’t take the time to see if the upgrade was needed before the upgrade or after.  It turned out to be before.

Once I deleted the nexgen gallery by FTP and refreshed I was able to get back to the admin panel.  Using FTP I put the nexgen gallery plugin back into the plugin directory.  Before activation I updated the plugin then activated.  All was fine.

So I’ve found two ways to take a site into FATAL ERROR territory.  (Not a fun place to go)  But there was no panic.  I knew I had all the files I needed and the knowledge to fix any issues that would arise.  It is nice not to see FATAL ERROR and have your heart in your throat.

What about the Lab?  No, it is still on 2.9.2.  I have a lot of plugins active here at the Lab.  I’m going to run a fresh backup of the database and files then de-activate all the plugins before hitting that auto upgrade button.  I might get to it yet this weekend.  When I do I’ll let you know.

Is it Safe to Upgrade to 3.0?

Yes, I think it is.  This major upgrade was released on June 17th.  We are at July 10 and there have been no bug fix releases.  This is testimony to what a great job the WP community has done in getting 3.0 ready for release.  Don’t cut corners and you should do fine.  But I can’t stress enough de-activating plugins for this release.  Especially if you have a lot of plugins running on your site.  And when you turn them back on, do it one or two at a time.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab A Couple of Gotcha’s with WP 3.0 Upgrade to Avoid

Yes, I’m back working with BuddyPress. Now that it is a plugin, available since WP 2.9.2 I’m trying to use it for a non-profit organization membership directory.
How’s that going?
Like stepping back to the wild west of programming.  BuddyPress is only on version 1.2.5  Still very early in development.  However, it is time for it to make some changes in how it thinks about itself and how it functions.

Not a One Trick Pony

I don’t know what was initially on the minds of the BP development team.  I think it was along the lines of adding a social media component to WordPress.  Like building your own version of Ning.  Members can have their own blogs, groups, and forums are available.  As an admin I can enable and disable certain functions.  Which is helpful, but limited.

BuddyPress doesn’t need to be a one trick pony.  There are so many things it can be used for in a variety of settings.  If there were some additions to the admin functionality.  It is time for BuddyPress to evolve.  Time to think outside of just the Social Media Environment box and expand its user base in the process.  BuddyPress shouldn’t be just for the geeks.  ( I’ll admin I’m a brown belt geek ).

I have many suggestions in mind but for now I’m going to address one change/addition that would make BuddyPress a perfect fit for many businesses and organizations which will take a pass on it now.

BuddyPress Profile Management

About the only thing an admin can do with profiles in BP is to expand them and create new sub categories for profile groups.  This functionality is good, but lacking and there is one HUGE way it needs improvement.

Admin Edit Only Profile Fields

As an admin I need to have the ability to make some profile fields Admin Edit Only.  Why?  Many organizations, businesses and groups have memberships.  Those members have designations, categories, dues, renewal date, status, etc. .  It is necessary to have these fields in a profile so the member can “View” them but not “Change them”.  Right now there is not way for an admin to “lock” fields in a profile.

This single limitation eliminates Buddypress from consideration for a lot of businesses and organizations.

I know I’m not alone here are some of the posts and threads I’ve found while searching for an answer.

Possible to “Lock” Buddypress xprofile fields

Plugin for Admin interface to profiles

Restrict xProfile group to Administrator-only write access

How to manage users & their extended profiles?

There’s more, this is just a sampling, I hope someone at BuddyPress can focus on these Profile issues SOON.

User Profile Admin and Edit Lock Capabilities

This is one place where BuddyPress can do itself a huge favor.  Address these issues and the use of BuddyPress for Organizations and Business will grow exponentially.   Exponentially?  Really, or just hyperbole?

YES, really.  I know of a number of places I could use it for business solutions and customer interface and feedback with these additions.  Right Now, it is off the table as a solution for most of my clients that need this type of tool in their on-line marketing arsonal.

It is time for BP to expand its vision and how it views itself.  Time to go beyond the narrow community, forum, blogs and groups functions within a single vertical market and increase the user base.  Add these Admin capabilities mentioned above and you have a whole new BuddyPress.  Doors of opportunity are seldom this easy to open.  Anyone at BuddyPress listening?  I hope so.  I would love to use it more.

From: Real Estate Blog Lab BuddyPress A Few Simple Additions Needed for Great Growth Potential

PS. Up front, if you use the site command you still might want to read this post.

I’m often asked “How’s my site doing”  I’m not getting much traffic and I don’t know why?

The first thing I do is run the site command in a Google search to see how many pages are in the Google index.  It also shows me how the title tags are being indexed and the excerpts being generated.

The Site command

I’m pretty sure many of you already know about the site command, for those that don’t it works like this:

• Open Google and enter site:yourdomain.com

This will return how many pages are indexed and show the links to them.

Ex.  site:tucsontired.com  today will return 54 pages in the Google index.

Where is my site indexed on other sites

This might be the little twist you didn’t know.  You can also use the site command to find where your site is mentioned on the web.

How?  Add a space between the command and the url.  And put the url in quotes Ex.  Site: “tucsontired.com”  This will now return 436 results and show me where my site is indexed on other sites.

Try it out for your site.  Since today is the second 4th of July in 2010, (Since most count today as the holiday) and you have some geek time on your hands check this out.  Find anything interesting?

From: Real Estate Blog Lab Do you utilize the site command?