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How to install Avatars in a WordPress Multi Site environment

Getting this plugin to work under a WordPress (WP) Multi Site (MS) configuration can be tricky, but as the instructions for WP MS installations say, you are expected to know what you are doing and have basic WordPress development, PHP, HTML, CSS, and UNIX/Linux administration experience. See http://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. However, here are some steps that have worked for others configuring this plugin for WP MS.

1. In the Network Admin area, network activate the plugin.
2. Now under Users » Avatars look for the User Uploads option, check the box and save.

When to use the Legacy Method for User Uploads

Often the legacy method for User Uploads is required when using sub-domains. Therefore, this is also regularly required for WordPress Multi Site setups.

Setting the User Upload directory

The directory uploaded Avatars are stored in is set by the field next to the enable user uploads option. There is an example /avatars given in the instructions beneath the field. This directory must be relative to your web-root. For example, if all of your HTML files and your WP installation are in a directory public_html provided by your web host, this is the web-root. So the /avatars directory goes here, i.e. ~/public_html/avatars. Make sure the privileges are set correctly.

Where are the Avatar options

The options for the Avatar plugin are available on the User » Avatars page, at the bottom.

Show the Avatar of the logged in User

If you are trying to show, say somewhere in a sidebar, the Avatar of the user who is logged-in try code something like this:

<?php
    global $current_user;
    $known = !empty($current_user->nickname);
?>
<div style="float: right; margin: 4px;">
<?php if($known) echo get_avatar($current_user->id, 30); ?>
</div>

Get the Avatar setting content higher up the User Profile page

I've not tested this extensively, but it is possible to move the Avatar setting section higher up the User Profile page by making these changes to the plugin (alter the code at your own risk!). Find the two lines with show_user_profile and edit_user_profile, comment them out, and add the profile_personal_options line - the code now looks like this:

add_action('profile_personal_options', array(&$this, 'avatar_uploader_option'));
//      add_action('show_user_profile', array(&$this, 'avatar_uploader_option'));
//      add_action('edit_user_profile', array(&$this, 'avatar_uploader_option'));