Understanding admin_print_scripts-(page-hook)

I’d like to know this as well. I have one plugin that works fine, but has all the javascript included in the html output. There must be a way to split them and let them load in the background.

I’ve found these tutorials:

Using JavaScript and CSS with your WordPress Plugin

How To: Load Javascript With Your WordPress Plugin

Both emphasize that you have to hook into page_hook. What are page_hooks?! I did a search in codex. Nothing came up.

How do I know what my page hook is? Is it in the body class?

And why are these tutorials only talking about javascript for admin pages? In my case the javascript is a form validator.

EDIT: This page has some more clues:

Note: [wp_enqueue_script] will not work if it is called from a wp_head action, as the <script> tags are output before wp_head runs. Instead, call wp_enqueue_script from an init action function (to load it in all pages), template_redirect (to load it in public pages only), or admin_print_scripts (for admin pages only). Do not use wp_print_scripts (see here for an explanation).

The $formvalidation in the code above doesn’t do anything of course. I had it there as a placeholder. Not sure what to put in there.

Codex gives this info:

$handle
(string) (required) Name of the script. Lowercase string.

Or according to one of the tutorials mentioned earlier:

The handle is a unique name that you will use to reference your script later.

Reference how?

If my function looks something like this:

function loadjavascript() {
	wp_enqueue_script( 'form_validation', '/' . PLUGINDIR . '/event-registration/js/validation.js');
	include(TEMPLATEPATH . '/events.php');
	exit;
}
add_action('template_redirect', 'loadjavascript');

EDIT: This actually seems to work! validation.js now shows up in the header…

How would I “reference” it in the script?

More clues on this page.

Next, we need to define the JavaScript function myplugin_cast_vote, the onClick action for the button, which will read the information the user entered, compose a request with SACK, and send it to the plugin for processing. As mentioned in the introductory section, this JavaScript function and the SACK library need to get added to the HTML head section of the web page the user is viewing. One way to do that is to add it to all viewer-facing screens using the wp_head action (you could also be a little more selective by using some of the is_xyz() Conditional Tags tests):

More on Conditional Tags…

This seems to work:

function loadjavascript() {
	if ( is_page('events') ) {
	?>
	<script src='/wp-content/plugins/event-registration/js/jquery.validate.js' type='text/javascript'>	</script>
<?php
}
}
add_action('wp_head', 'loadjavascript' );

The original question was:

How can I use admin_print_scripts-(page-hook) to attach a javascript script to the post/edit pages only?

The conundrum cptnwinky was referring to is really how to add javascript to a header from a plugin. There is a lot of information in the codex about how to do this for admin pages, but nothing about how to do it in user-facing pages.

Thanks for your latest solution to add javascript to a template page. Again, that wasn’t at all obvious to me. It’s good to know for my purposes.

But it still doesn’t answer the question how to add javascript to the header from a plugin for pages other than admin pages.

I answered cptnwinky’s question above. The answer is the admin_enqueue_scripts hook.

As far as I understand, you didn’t answer his question at all. admin_enqueue_scripts only works for admin areas of the plugin, not for post/edit pages.

Moreover, cptnwinky brought up admin_enqueue_scripts himself, you did not suggest it. His question was about understanding this function, how to use it outside admin pages, how to apply it to post/edit, how to “hook” it.

But I still have no idea what you want to do. You say “the question how to add javascript to the header from a plugin for pages other than admin page”… What pages?

You have to be specific. Do you mean the main blog page? An archive page? A single post page? What exactly is it that you’re trying to do? You’re not trying to “add javascript”. You’ve already got javascript. Where do you want it to be? What conditions?

Your “question” is simply far too vague for a proper response.

With all due respect, absolute BS. You just can’t read.

Question: How to add javascript file addresses – or whatever the f*** they’re called – from a plugin to the headers of specific pages outside admin areas. Those pages could be a blog page or an archive page, but also any custom page.

How to get a plugin to add the required javascript link to a specific page offering functionality to the user.

According to the aforementioned tutorials and information in the codex admin_print_scripts can NOT be used in those pages. What to use in those cases? Also it is not clear to me what the page_hook of a custom page would be.

You haven’t come close answering any of these questions. You have been condescending and rude from your first posts. I understand I have to be nice to the moderators or risk never getting answers or even being banned, but I’ve had it with you.