Title: index.php – single category hack? Last modified: February 7, 2017 --- # index.php – single category hack? * [luhmann](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luhmann/) * (@luhmann) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/) * I’m playing around with trying to hack WP 1.3-alpha 4 into a CMS, the way I did for 1.2, and I find some of my old hacks don’t work. Specifically, I don’t know how to make index.php default to a specific category or post. I used to use this: `if (!isset($cat)) { $cat = "1"; } But I don’t know where that would go in the new code. It used to go after ... However, I can’t seem to get this to work for me either (replacing the ellipsis with $cat="1";). Any ideas? * Thread Starter [luhmann](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luhmann/) * (@luhmann) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111577) * Well, I’m using a “theme” so it is “header.php” but yes, the same idea. I tried placing the code you specified after the following, to no avail: `` * [Joshua Sigar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alphaoide/) * (@alphaoide) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111578) * It’s supposed to be before wp-blog-header * Thread Starter [luhmann](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luhmann/) * (@luhmann) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111579) * Sorry, I should have said before. But I tried it both ways to be safe and neither worked. * [Joshua Sigar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alphaoide/) * (@alphaoide) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111584) * Does variable `$cat` exist in WP 1.3? *shrug* * [Kafkaesqui](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kafkaesqui/) * (@kafkaesqui) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111585) * It must, as I use it quite a bit. However, I’m not using 1.3’s template scheme. Can’t say why it’s not working for Luhmann. * [Ryan Boren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryan/) * (@ryan) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111593) * You have to place it at the beginning of the index.php that lives in home/root. Not the one in your theme. Or, you can try [this plugin](http://boren.nu/downloads/front_page_cats.phps). However, for that plugin to work, you need a fix I just checked in to CVS. You’ll have to CVS update or wait for the next nightly. BTW, theme templates do not need to require wp-blog-header.php. This is done before the theme is loaded. That’s why $cat must be added to the index.php in home/root. Yes, this is confusing. * Thread Starter [luhmann](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luhmann/) * (@luhmann) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111604) * Thanks! Adding it to index.php in root instead of the theme worked. The plugin looks great, I’ll switch to that after the next nightly build comes out. * [motoed](https://wordpress.org/support/users/motoed/) * (@motoed) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111992) * That’s great Ryan… Using this plug makes my Links list disappear though. Is there an easy way to add that back in? I’m using your port of Kubrick for 1.3A5 * [Ryan Boren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryan/) * (@ryan) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111993) * When you set $cat or use that plugin, home page queries end up looking like category queries. Kubrick thinks a category is being queried and loads the archive template instead of the home page template. The archive template doesn’t include the links list. I’m going to create another version of the plugin that injects the front page category query without making the theme system think that a category archive was requested. Instead, it will treat the query like a regular home page query. I’ll work on that tomorrow. * [Ryan Boren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryan/) * (@ryan) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111995) * A new version of the plugin is [up](http://boren.nu/downloads/front_page_cats.phps). You’ll need the latest nightly, 2004-12-02, for it to work. * [asknight](https://wordpress.org/support/users/asknight/) * (@asknight) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-111997) * see also : [http://wordpress.org/support/index.php?action=vthread&forum=3&topic=10759&page=-1#post-102779](http://wordpress.org/support/index.php?action=vthread&forum=3&topic=10759&page=-1#post-102779) * [gsoli](https://wordpress.org/support/users/gsoli/) * (@gsoli) * [21 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-112003) * Version 0.2 of Rboren’s [plugin](http://boren.nu/downloads/front_page_cats.phps) is excellent. It does exactly what I want my WP 1.3 + Kubrick site to do… display one category, not as an archive, on my front page. Unfortunately, this plugin also limits my “Manage Posts” page to only the category I’ve coded into that plugin, when the plugin is active. 🙂 Rboren, will you be able to fix? Or should I modify something in your code? Thank you! * [dss](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dss/) * (@dss) * [21 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/#post-112007) * **rboren**: Thank you. your plugin works where everything else i have tried totally failed for so many reasons. Thank You. Not to detract from my sincere graditude, but i would like to better understand how you accomplished this. My index.php is sorted out perfectly now from the plug, but to achieve this in “ pages” and other areas of my site is really important. I’ve looked at your dode. Literally, sat, thoughtless, staring at it. and it’s way over my head. You said that adding the $cat=x code to the index.php at the root of the site was the key, and yet all the code i’ve added there (when it worked) simply delivered an archive page instead of the index. so understand or not… thanks! Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/page/2/?output_format=md) The topic ‘index.php – single category hack?’ is closed to new replies. * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/) * 29 replies * 14 participants * Last reply from: [rdub](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rdub/) * Last activity: [20 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/index-php-single-category-hack/page/2/#post-112116) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics