WordPress.org

1. laurasimmons
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   I have installed wordpress and the theme boxy blue. However there are a few things I can't figure out how to do. Can any one help me?

   The thing are as follows: There is a section at the top right hand side of this theme that says "About info goes here, etc". I have no idea how to delete or change that.

   This theme comes with track backs and ping backs. I only want ping backs, how do I change that setting?

   Lastly, I created several categories in my admin panel, but on the blog roll section I only the word category, I don't see my categories. Aren't they supposed to show up?

   Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

   Laura Simmons

2. cutiesexpressions
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   can u show me the theme?

3. laurasimmons
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   the url is http://www.realchocolatetruffles.com/blog. Does that help. the theme boxy blue is on the themes site for word press. Did you know about that feature? If not, let me know and I will see if I can find the url again.

   Thanks

4. cutiesexpressions
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   that url comes bk invalid

5. Shallotte Computer Repair
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   Here is the theme in question, from another site:
   http://themes.wordpress.net/columns/2-columns/416/boxy-blue/

   The 'About' section that I believe you are referring to, is the About page. If this is correct, you can edit this in Manage > Pages

6. cutiesexpressions
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   the above post is correct, u just login into your admin of wordpress and click manager pages and u can edit it. good luck

7. gestroud
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   You'll need to open up your theme's sidebar.php with a text editor to change it.

8. laurasimmons
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   No the portion i am speaking of is not the about page. I don't know why the url came back invalid, did you copy and paste it? i just checked it.

   Also no one responded to the question about categories or getting rid of track backs.

   I am a newbie gestroud can you tell me how to open up my theme's side with a text editor? Would Notepad work?

9. gestroud
   Member
   Posted 4 years ago #

   The url came back invalid because the period at the end got added to the url accidentally; happens frequently. No biggie.

   For the trackbacks and pings, you'll probably find that they are hard coded into your theme's single.php file.

   I've totally forgotten how Blogroll categories worked on 2.3.3, but you'll probably find the answer here. You might consider upgrading to WordPress 2.5.

   Yes, Notepad is a very good text editor for Windows systems.

10. gestroud
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Here's some info for editing files

11. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Thanks gestroud. Looks like this will take a little time. I believe I did download WordPress 2.5. I don't know why you think otherwise. I just downloaded this a few weeks ago.

    Are the directions for how this works on 2.5 different?
    I'll check back tomorrow night first thing when i get home from work.

    I guess I am not used to the problem with periods at the end of a link.

12. gestroud
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    It probably shouldn't take more than five or ten minutes - really very painless

    Oops about the WP 2.5 thing, but I looked on the right column of this page where it says WP version and it says 2.3.3. My apologies. :-)

13. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    I am not sure you looked at my blog because it doesnot have a wp 2.3.3 note on the right column. It only has a wp 2.5 note at the bottom.

    The blog is http://www.realchocolatetruffles.com/blog

    By the trackbacks and pings are probably hard coded, do you mean I can't remove the track backs without a IT person?

    What about the top right hand side where it says the info goes here? Are you familar with that?

    As far as your comment about it should only take 5 to 10 minutes - really very painless, what are you referring to?

    Thanks
    Laura

14. ClaytonJames
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    What about the top right hand side where it says the info goes here? Are you amilar withf that?

    Hi, laurasimmons!

    If you use your favorite editor to open the sidebar.php file in the boxy-blue theme folder, the first thing you will see is this:

    <!-- begin sidebar -->
    <div id="menu">
    <div id="nav">
    <div class="about">
    About information goes here.
    Nifty information like where you live, if you have a dog, what you like on your hotdogs, ect. <a href="/about/">More</a>
    
    </div> <!-- end .about -->

    You should be able to change it to suit your needs.

    This theme comes with track backs and ping backs. I only want ping backs, how do I change that setting?

    You can have a more "granular" control, so to speak, by navigating to your dashboard > settings > discussion, and checking your settings on the "allow pingbacks and trackbacks" tick box. You can also fine tune this feature per post by changing the settings in the "trackbacks" and "comments and pings" areas located at the bottom of the page when you create a post.

    Lastly, I created several categories in my admin panel, but on the blog roll section I only the word category, I don't see my categories. Aren't they supposed to show up?

    They will probably not show up until you write a post for each category. If I create a category named "Texas", it most likely won't show up in the sidebar until I write a post and assign it to the category "Texas". Make sense? I hope I helped some...

    By the way, I happen to like the contrast between black and reds, it seems to be one of the few combinations that looks really good with various shades of brown or gold. It looks like you have a good start.

    Best wishes,

    Cj

15. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Someone who actually uses their name? Someone who actually reads the entire question? Wow I am impressed.

    Thanks for your reply Clayton. I like the color too. A web designer created it for me. It was one of the few things I paid for that I think was worth it.

    I really appreciate this info. I only have one question left. Do I need some PHP training to open my sidebar PHP file?

    Thanks ooddles and ooodles

16. gestroud
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Hi Laura,

    I can tell you must be pretty stressed out.

    Is it really necessary for people to use their real names on the internet? And how do you know that that is his real name? :-)

    It shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes to accomplish everything you wanted to achieve.

    I read the entire question. And I answered them. I even pointed you to places that would help. You are welcome.

    The 2.5 vs. 2.3.3 is in reference to this page that you are reading right now at this minute. Take a look at the right sidebar where it says "About This Topic." Read down a little bit and you will see that it says that you are using version 2.3.3. That was the source of the confusion. You are responsible for filling that information out. It helps people provide solutions.

    "Hardcoded" means that the code is written directly into a file. In the case of the trackbacks and pings, it might be hardcoded into single.php. Some theme designers do that. You should not need an IT person to edit them. All you need to do is read the link I gave you about editing files and follow the instructions.

    You need an FTP program like Filezilla to open sidebar.php so that it can be edited with a text editor like NotePad. Read the FTP program's documentation on how to accomplish this

    You really seem to be enthusiastic about getting your site in order, and I commend you for it. But you might want to take a little more time reading the documentation and getting familiar with the terminology, or you'll find yourself pulling your hair out.

    Peace

17. ClaytonJames
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Hi again, Laura!

    I'm glad you feel like you are making some headway. gestroud is pretty much saying the same thing, we all just have different ways of getting there. You don't need any special tools to edit the files. You can do it with a plain text editor. If you use Windows, NotePad will work just fine if you don't already have a favorite text editor. Never use a word processor (such as MS Word and the like). Bad things will happen to your formatting :-)

    As gestroud points out, you will actually need to have access to the sidebar.php file that is in your theme folder. I suggest that you make sure that you have a backup of all of your files before you edit anything. I strongly suggest it. You will need to retrieve the sidebar.php file from your theme folder using your FTP client. From there you can edit it right on your desktop, or even from within the FTP client itself if it allows, then simply save the changes and place it back in the theme folder.

    From the sounds of it, you may have a little reading up to do on the basics. Go slow, and always make sure you have a good backup of your files just in case something doesn't go the way you thought it would. I can't stress that enough... Especially if you have invested hard earned cash in custom templates.

    You really seem to be enthusiastic about getting your site in order, and I commend you for it. But you might want to take a little more time reading the documentation and getting familiar with the terminology, or you'll find yourself pulling your hair out.

    I agree with gestroud 100%, and I hope that after you get through the first few stumbling blocks, you will get as much enjoyment out of it as most of the rest of us do.

    P.S.. If Laura is your real name, I commend your ability to not feel as though you need an extra layer of anonymity. I must readily admit that Clayton James, is indeed a pseudonym. Plus, it's just a lot cooler than "Stan"... Oh, oh... now the cat's out of the bag.

    :-)

    Cj.

18. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Yes the terminology is intimidating. And no I am not a patient person. I have read through some of wordpress's documents and have a hard time following some of it and a really hard time finding what I want.

    It is very exhausting to look through pages and pages of information to find one or two little nuggets.

    As far as using your real name goes, there are a ton of Laura Simmons out there and since you don't know where I live, what's the deal. I never have understood people's need for anonymity. I just think it's nice to call people by their real first name.

    And no I didn't realize there was a place to specify which version I was using. When I said I was a newbie I really meant NEWBIE!

    Well Gestroud, I guess Stan oops Clayton just worded it in a better way that I could follow. And yes I am stressed out because I didn't realize I would going to have to do this much searching and learning.

    By the way do either of you know about the plugin for seo?

    In my defense, I have been unemployed for over 4 years now. The economy in Ohio is the second worse in the nation and I am $9,000 in debt from trying pay per click, buying various software programs, paying authors for content, etc. trying to learn affiliate marketing. This blog is a test tool. In four months I have made $5.00 from Google. Desperation does not breed the clearest mind.

    Thanks for your help. I'll let you know if this works in a day or two since it is my top priority.

19. gestroud
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Well, you narrowed the Laura Simmonses down to Ohio :-) (Don't worry, I'm not a stalker)

    Here's a good SEO plugin: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/

    Here are some links to free content so you don't have to pay authors. Just look for the category you want and see if they have anything. I usually add the desired categories' RSS feeds to a Feed Reader like Google Reader and find the articles I want to use

    Adfusion.com
    Ezine Articles.com
    Go Articles.com
    My Web Author.com (a WordPress site)
    News USA.com

    There are dozens of others; just do a search for "free article content." Quality varies, but there's always something useful.

    Avoid anything, everything, and anyone that requires you to pay money for SEO, site promotion, affiliate links, etc. Run when you see them. I have a feeling that the only people who have found them profitable are the owners. I strongly urge everyone to read The Internet Marketer's Nightmare and download the free e-book. I think you'll be surprised.

    There's no need to defend yourself at all. These are desperate times.

    Best wishes. Hope everything works out. Keep asking questions - good way to learn.

    G. E. Stroud
    and that is my real name. :-)

20. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Well thanks to both of you. You have both turned out to be gems. I keep learning more and more. You have to watch people selling you things many of them (not all) are only interested in taking the money out of your pocket and putting into theirs. People say you get what you pay for, but sometimes you don't even get that.

    I am of Italian descent and think more like a European. I believe that God put all of us on this earth to help each other. I find a great deal of fulfillment in helping people. If I had Oprah's money I would probably give more away than she does and that's quit a bit.

    Thanks for the best wishes and you are both right, I just didn' know where to look and the last person who tried to help me said for $90 an hour she would do the work for me. she lead me to the codex site.

21. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    Well I follow the directions about the sidebar php file. However, the changed is not showing up on my blog. It seemed very simple from the picture I saw. And yes it only took a few minutes.

    Trackbacks and pingbacks are on one tickbox so I can't change that, guess I'll just see how it goes.

    Thank you Mr. Stroud and Stan.

22. laurasimmons
    Member
    Posted 4 years ago #

    You know what I forgot, that a simple return or space could be the problem. However, it does look right. I think I'll ask my IT friend.

    Mr. Stroud I will be looking at the info you gave me over the next day or two and give you my feed back about it if you would like.

    I love affiliate marketing but it definitely is harder than I was lead to believe.

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