Panel FAQ

I don’t see the Comics menu in my dashboard, where can I find it?

To make the Comics menu appear in your dashboard, you need to install the Jetpack plugin because it has the required code needed to make custom post types work for the Panel theme.

Once Jetpack is active, the Comics menu will appear in the dashboard, in addition to standard blog posts. No special Jetpack module is needed and a WordPress.com connection is not required for the Comics feature to function. Comics will work on a localhost installation of WordPress if you add this line to wp-config.php:

define( 'JETPACK_DEV_DEBUG', TRUE );

The Comics dashboard: https://cloudup.com/cQn7PDFLwzQ

Is there a quicker way to add new comics than by uploading them through my dashboard?

Panel features an easy drag-and-drop method for uploading comics through the front end of your site. Just drag a comic image file onto any page on the public side of your site, and it’ll create a new Comic post for you. Add a title, category, and tags as you like, and you’re all set. Here’s a little video to see how it works:

Drag-and-drop comics on the front end: https://cloudup.com/csNWEYDlDdD (screencast)

Can I get a page that lists all my comics in chronological order?

Yes! Panel automatically generates an archive of all your comics, which you can see by adding this to the end of your site’s URL:

/comic/

Users can also access your Comics via an RSS feed by appending this to your site’s URL:

/comic/feed/

You’ll need pretty permalinks (any structure) for this URL to work. If you’re stuck with default permalinks – your links have a query string at the end, like ?p=123 – then your comics archive can be accessed by adding this immediately after your URL:

/?post_type=jetpack-comic

The Comics archive page: https://cloudup.com/cRIY1lZAWmA

Can I have multiple comics archives on one site, say if I have more than one comic series?

At this time only one comic archive per site is available.

Can I add a link to the next comic on the image itself, in addition to the arrows below the comic?

You can edit each comic to add a link to the next comic in the series.

Click the image in the visual editor, and then click the small blue “Edit image” icon.

Edit image: https://cloudup.com/c44sbpanEbx

In the overlay window, paste a link to the next comic page in the Link URL field. Click Update, and then publish or update your post.

Edit Link URL: https://cloudup.com/ch7FSVBGohL

Is there a way to import comics in bulk?

If you have a few regular blog posts with comic content, you can convert them to Comics in bulk, using the Convert to Comic bulk-edit option.

1. Open the All Posts dashboard: Posts → All Posts.
2. Check the checkbox next to any posts that are comics and then choose “Convert to Comic” from the Bulk Actions dropdown.




Your comic posts will now be listed under Comics → All Comics

Convert to Comic: https://cloudup.com/c8YZ4DtLyzg

Are there any keyboard shortcuts to let my readers navigate between comics more easily?

Your visitors can read through your comics by using the navigation buttons underneath each comic. They’ll have easy access to the beginning of your strip or to the latest entry, and they can instantly load the next or previous installment by using the left (←) and right (→) arrow keyboard keys.

Navigation: https://cloudup.com/cQfa7LJEoPe

Does Panel come with multiple page templates?

Panel comes with a full-width page template. If you would like to remove the sidebar from a Page, assign it the Full Width, No Sidebar template under Page Attributes.

Full-width template: https://cloudup.com/cArXliethok

Can I highlight specific posts on the homepage?

Panel has an optional featured-content area on the homepage, which you can set up by following these steps:

1. Tag any posts you want to feature with a specific Tag of your choosing, such as the word “featured”
2. Go to Settings → Reading → Featured Content and type in the Tag you chose in Step 1.
3. Save your settings. Your selected posts now appear on the home page.

Featured Content: https://cloudup.com/cZ7UfQ9iJ5E

If no Featured Content is selected, your latest posts will be displayed in this area.

Does Panel use featured images?

If a Featured Image at least 1500px by 400px is set for a post or page, it will display as a Featured Header Image, appearing as a full-width banner across the top.

Quick Panel Specs (all measurements in pixels)

1. The main column width is 750 except in the full-width layout where it’s 1019.
2. The Comic content column width is 940.
3. The Primary sidebar width is 200.
4. The Footer Sidebar widths are 300.
5. Featured Header Images are 1500 wide and 400 tall, cropped.
6. Comic Featured Images are 940 wide with unlimited height.
7. Featured Images on the front page are 300 pixels square, cropped.