the Alpine Press

Alpine PhotoTile for Picasa and Google Plus

eric — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:18:21 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Add titles and captions
Thumbnail pagination

General

The Alpine PhotoTile for Picasa and Google Plus is capable of retrieving photos from a particular user or album. The photos can be linked to the your Picasa page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

Features

Display Picasa and Google Plus images in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demos

Below is an example of the plugin in action using the Cascade style and the Fancybox option (click an image and the Fancybox slideshow will appear).

TAP

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for Picasa and Google Plus. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work is a Picasa or Google Plus ID. Enter this ID and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu. Please note that only public photos can be displayed, so check your privacy settings.
Open another page/window in your web browser and navigate to your WordPress site to see how the sidebar looks with the Alpine PhotoTile for Picasa and Google Plus included.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

Since version 1.0.1, the PhotoTile plugin has included a simple caching function that will store the results of a Picasa feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost as only one visitor will experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing a Picasa feed.

The cache time can be edited by going to the plugin’s settings page, located at Settings->AlpineTile: Picasa & Google Plus->Plugin Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find my Picasa User ID or Album ID?

Since Picasa has been combined with Google Plus, Picasa photo albums are also Google Plus photo albums. This also means that there are different ways of finding your ID’s depending on whether you start at the Picasa website or your Google Plus page.

Starting at Google Plus:

1. Log into Google Plus.

2. In the left sidebar, click “Photos”. From the top menu, click “Albums” and then click on one of your albums.

3. The URL address should now be something like:

“https://plus.google.com/photos/112515131248168353825/albums/5828938068968925825“,

where 112515131248168353825 is your User ID and 5828938068968925825 is the Album ID.

Starting at Picasa:

1. Log into Picasa.

2. From the list of photo albums, click on the one you want to show.

3. The URL address should now be something like:

“https://picasaweb.google.com/112515131248168353825/NewMexicoSummer2011“,

where 112515131248168353825 is your User ID and NewMexicoSummer2011 is the Album ID.

4. (Optional) If you click on the “RSS” link on the right side of the page, you will arrive at a url similar to:

“https://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/112515131248168353825/albumid/5828938068968925825?alt=rss&kind=photo&hl=en_US”,

where 112515131248168353825 is your User ID and 5828938068968925825 is the Album ID. Here the Album ID is shown as a number rather than text, as in the Google Plus example.

How do I set a photo album to public? How do I change my privacy settings?

Since Picasa has been combined with Google Plus, Picasa photo albums are also Google Plus photo albums. This also means that there are different ways of changing your settings depending on whether you start at the Picasa website or your Google Plus page.

Starting at Google Plus:

1. Log into Google Plus.

2. In the left sidebar, click “Photos”. From the top menu, click “Albums” .

3. Near the top left, there should be a button labeled “Sharing Settings”.

4. Make sure the album you want to show is set to Public and is unlocked.

Starting at Picasa:

1. Log into Picasa.

2. From the menu near the top of the page, select “My Photos”.

3. Above the left-most photo album should be a link labeled “Edit Visibility”.

4. Make sure the album you want to show is set to Public.

I’m getting the message “Picasa feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty.

I’m getting the message “Picasa feed not found. Please recheck your ID”. What does that mean?

This message can mean two things. First, it can indicate that the username or custom url were input incorrectly, causing the feed to fail. In this case, you should try to correct and re-save your IDs.

Second, this message can also mean that the server your WordPress site is being hosted on has prevented the feed from being retrieved. While it is rare, we have encountered web-hosts that disable the feed fetching functions used in the PhotoTile plugin. If this is the case, there is nothing we can do to override or work around the settings on your host server.

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Yes, you can display photos in posts or pages using what is called a shortcode. Rather than explaining how to setup the shortcode, I have created a method of generating the shortcode. Check out the Shortcode Generator on the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Picasa & Google Plus->Shortcode Generator).

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

The plugin caches or stores the Picasa feed for three hours (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Picasa is responsible for the delay.

How many photos can I show?

As of version 1.2.0, up to 100 photos can be retrieved and displayed.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

The Apline PhotoTile plugin actually takes less than a second to load. The reason you may see the loading icon for several seconds is because the plugin is programmed to wait until all the images and the rest of the webpage are done loading before displaying anything. The intent is for the plugin to avoid slowing down your website by waiting patiently for everything else to finish loading. If you are still looking to speed up your website’s loading time, selecting smaller photo sizes should always help.

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Picasa->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Alpine PhotoTile for SmugMug

eric — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 02:16:19 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Add titles and captions
Thumbnail pagination

General

The Alpine PhotoTile for SmugMugis capable of retrieving photos from a particular user or gallery. The photos can be linked to the your Instagram page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

Features

Display SmugMug images in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demos

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for SmugMug. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work is SmugMug Username. Enter this username and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu.
Open another page/window in your web browser and navigate to your WordPress site to see how the sidebar looks with the Alpine PhotoTile for SmugMug included.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

Since version 1.0.1, the PhotoTile plugin has included a simple caching function that will store the results of an SmugMug feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost since during this time, only one visitor will even experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing an SmugMug feed. The caching time can be adjusted on the plugin’s settings page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find the Album ID and Album Key?

The Album ID and Album Key are contained in the url of the gallery. For example, there is a gallery with the url “cmac.smugmug.com/gallery/2504559_f3ta9″. The last portion of the url contains the information we want:

2504559 is the albumID

f3ta9 is the albumKey (the key is case sensitive and you will encounter upper case characters in it)

I’m getting the message “SmugMug feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty.

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

By default, the plugin caches or stores the SmugMug feed for three hours (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that SmugMug is responsible for the delay.

How many photos can I display?

The plugin can retrieve and display up to 200 photos.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: SmugMug->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram

eric — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:41:44 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Add titles and captions
Shuffle photos
Thumbnail pagination

General

The Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram is capable of retrieving photos from a particular Instagram user or tag. The photos can be linked to the your Instagram page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

Features

Display Instagram images in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demos

Below is an example of the Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram plugin in action. The example uses the “wall” style and has the Fancybox option selected (click on an image and the Fancybox slideshow will appear).

TAP

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
Before using the plugin, you must authorize your WordPress website to access your Instagram account. This can be done by going to Settings->AlpineTile: Instagram->Add Instagram User and following the directions on the page.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work an Instagram Username. Select an available ID and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu.
Open another page/window in your web browser and navigate to your WordPress site to see how the sidebar looks with the Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram included.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

Since version 1.0.1, the PhotoTile plugin has included a simple caching function that will store the results of an Instagram feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost since during this time, only one visitor will even experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing an Instagram feed. The caching time can be adjusted on the plugin’s settings page.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m having trouble adding a user and I keep getting an error message. Can you help?

There are a number of reasons that the plugin might be unable to retrieve your user information. The most common problems I have seen are due to the settings on the server that is hosting your WordPress website. To try and deal with these issues, I have created the Instagram Tool to allow you to manually retrieve the information you need and to enter it into the plugin on the bottom of the Add Instagram User page.

I’m getting the message “Instagram feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty.

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

By default, the plugin caches or stores the Instagram feed for three hours (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Instagram is responsible for the delay.

How many photos can I display?

The plugin can retrieve and display up to 100 photos.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Instagram->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Alpine PhotoCube for Flickr

eric — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 20:30:00 +0000

THIS PLUGIN IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED AND WILL RETURN SOON

The Alpine PhotoCube for Flickr is a jQuery enabled plugin that fetches images from Flickr feeds and displays them in a dynamic and customizable 3D slideshow.

Quick Start Guide

The Alpine PhotoCube is simple to use and customize.

After installing and activating the plugin, go to the Widget page of your WordPress admin site.
Drag and drop the Alpine PhotoCube widget into the sidebar of your choice.
In the left column of the widget, choose whether you want photos to come from a Flickr user, group, or the Flickr community.
Enter the necessary ID. See “How do I find my Flickr user ID or group ID?” in the FAQ section below for detailed guidance.
Select the photo size from the options listed.
In the right column, choose the display style from the options listed.
Click save in the bottom corner of the widget and you are ready to go. You can further customize the widget by changing the remaining options to fit your liking.

Cube Demo

TAP

The demo above was generated using the shortcode:

[ alpine-photocube-for-flickr cube="cube_spin" cube_shadow="1" nav_hover="1" time="5" time_auto_delay="5" src="set" uid="70324072@N04" sid="72157629733676194" imgl="1" size="320" style="cube" num="7" crop="1" align="center" max="70" ratio_w="1.85" ratio_h="1"]

SliceBox Demo

TAP

The demo above was generated using the shortcode:

[ alpine-photocube-for-flickr slicebox="slicebox_random" slicebox_shadow="1" slicebox_num="5" nav_hover="1" time="4" time_auto_delay="5" time_auto="1" nav_play_buttons="1" nav_paused="1" src="set" uid="70324072@N04" sid="72157629733676194" imgl="1" size="320" style="slicebox" num="7" crop="1" align="center" max="70" ratio_w="1.85" ratio_h="1"]

Options:

Display style (Slideshow 2D, Cube 3D, and SliceBox 3D).
Number of Images (1 to 500).
Crops images to fit PhotoCube or display un-cropped image with background color.
PhotoCube aspect ratio.
6 2D Slideshow animations.
5 3D Cube animations with optional shadow effect.
5 3D SliceBox animations with optional shadow effect.
- The shadow effect is quite intensive for the browser to generate and can be disabled for improved performance.
Interactive navigation buttons.
Play/pause button.
Customizable timing and delay options.

Additional Features

Caching

The plugin includes a simple caching function that will store the results of a Flickr feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost as only one visitor an hour will even experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing a Flickr feed.

The cache time can be edited by going to the plugin’s settings page, located at Settings->Alpine Cube: Flickr->Plugin Settings.

Compatibility:

The 3D effects are created using HTML5 Canvas elements, which are currently supported by Internet Explorer 9.0+, Mozilla Firefox, Safari (mobile and desktop), Google Chrome, Opera (mobile and desktop), Android, iPod, iPad, and iPhone. The plugin has been tested in each of these web browsers. In the case that a user does not have an HTML5 Canvas supported browser, the plugin automatically reverts to 2D slideshow effects.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I find my Flickr user ID or group ID?

To find your Flickr user ID or group ID, use the website http://idgettr.com/.

Once you are on the website, you can find your user ID by replacing the word “username” with the username of your Flickr account, as show in the images below.

To find your group ID, you must first replace the word “photos” with “groups”. Then replace the word “username” with the username of your Flickr group.

Click to enlarge.

How do I find my Flickr set ID?

To find the ID of a set, go to the URL of the set you want and copy the numbers at the end of the address. For example, the set ‘Mac and Cheese’ has the URL http://www.flickr.com/photos/kylinuntitled/sets/72157628958212725/, therefore the Set ID is 72157628958212725, as shown in the image below.

Click to enlarge.

I’m getting the message “Flickr feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty. This might occur if you set the plugin source to Favorites, but you have not actually “favorited” any of your photos.

I’m getting the message “Flickr feed not found. Please recheck your ID”. What does that mean?

This message can mean two things. First, it can indicate that the user ID, group ID, or set ID were input incorrectly, causing the feed to fail. In this case, you should try to correct and re-save your IDs.

Second, this message can also mean that the server your WordPress site is being hosted on has prevented the feed from being retrieved. While it is rare, we have encountered web-hosts that disable the feed fetching functions used in the plugin. If this is the case, there is nothing we can do to override or work around the settings on your host server.

Is there a shortcode function?

Yes, rather than explaining how to setup the shortcode, I’ve created a method of generating the shortcode. Check out the Shortcode Generator on the plugin’s settings page ( Settings->Alpine Cube: Flickr->Generator).

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

The plugin caches or stores the Flickr photo feed for three hours or the time set on the Settings->Alpine Cube: Flickr->Plugin Settings page (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Flickr is responsible for the delay. While Flickr is fairly prompt about updating photo feeds, periods of high traffic (especially on weekdays between 10am and 4pm) can cause a delay in feed updates.

Alpine PhotoTile for Tumblr

eric — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 03:42:27 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Add titles and captions
Thumbnail pagination

General

The Alpine PhotoTile for Tumblr is capable of retrieving photos from a particular Tumblr user, custom Tumblr URL, or tag. The photos can be linked to the your Tumblr page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

Features

Display Tumblr images in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demos

Below is an example of the plugin in action using the Cascade style and the Fancybox option (click an image and the Fancybox slideshow will appear).

TAP

KylinUntitled

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for Tumblr. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work is a Tumblr ID. Enter this ID and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu.
Open another page/window in your web browser and navigate to your WordPress site to see how the sidebar looks with the Alpine PhotoTile for Tumblr included.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

Since version 1.0.1, the PhotoTile plugin has included a simple caching function that will store the results of a Tumblr feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost as only one visitor will experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing a Tumblr feed.

The cache time can be edited by going to the plugin’s settings page, located at Settings->AlpineTile: Tumblr->Plugin Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m getting the message “Tumblr feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty.

I’m getting the message “Tumblr feed not found. Please recheck your ID”. What does that mean?

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

The plugin caches or stores the Tumblr feed for three hours (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Tumblr is responsible for the delay.

How many photos can I show?

As of version 1.2.0, up to 100 photos can be retrieved and displayed.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Tumblr->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Alpine PhotoTile for Pinterest

eric — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:39:48 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Fix/improve Pin It button
Add titles and captions
Thumbnail pagination

General

The PhotoTile for Pinterest plugin can retrieve pins from a personal Pinterest account or pinboard. The photos can be linked to the your Flickr page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

Because Pinterest has not officially released their API to developers, the plugin’s functionality is fairly limited. In other words, Pinterest is not quite ready for people to make plugins and apps, so the only thing that the PhotoTile plugin can do is retrieve the most recent pins or pins from a certain pinboard.

Pinterest has rather odd size options: 75px, 192px, 554px, 600px, and 930px. In most cases, the size is only an approximation of the image’s actual size.

Plugin available at WordPress.org.

Features

Display Pinterest pins in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demos

Below is an example of the plugin using the Wall style with the “pin it” button, corner curve, border, highlight, shadow, and Fancybox options enabled (click an image and the Fancybox slideshow will appear).

TAP

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for Pinterest. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work is a Pinterest Username. Enter this ID and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu.
Open another page/window in your web browser and navigate to your WordPress site to see how the sidebar looks with the Alpine PhotoTile for Pinterest included.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

Since version 1.0.1, the PhotoTile plugin has included a simple caching function that will store the results of a Flickr feed for 3 hours. This function offers a significant performance boost as only one visitor will experience the short load delay caused by fetching and parsing a Pinterest feed.

The cache time can be edited by going to the plugin’s settings page, located at Settings->AlpineTile: Pinterest->Plugin Settings.

Pit In Button

The plugin includes an option to add a Pin It button to each image, encouraging visitors to repin.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Pinterest Board Tag?

The pin board’s tag is the text id that Pinterest uses to distinguish boards. The tag is all lowercase and uses dashes instead of spaces. The tag can be found by going to the URL of the pinboard. For example, the URL for KylinUntitled’s Design & Prints pinboard is http://pinterest.com/kylinuntitled/design-prints/ and therefore the tag is design-prints.

I’m getting the message “Pinterest feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

This message simply means that while no distinguishable errors occurred, the plugin found your feed to be empty. This might occur if you set the plugin source to a pinboard, but you have not actually pinned any of photos to that board.

I’m getting the message “Pinterest feed not found. Please recheck your ID”. What does that mean?

This message can mean two things. First, it can indicate that the username and Pin Board Tag were input incorrectly, causing the feed to fail. In this case, you should try to correct and re-save your IDs. Also, see “What is the Pinterest Board Tag?” above.

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent pins?

The plugin caches or stores the Pinterest photo feed for three hours or the time set on the Settings->AlpineTile: Pinterest->Plugin Settings page (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Flickr is responsible for the delay.

Can I show more than 25 pins?

Currently, no. Pinterest’s RSS feeds are limited to 25 photos. Until the official Pinteret API is released, the number of pins and the places from which they are retrieved will remain limited.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Pinterest->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Alpine PhotoTile for Flickr

eric — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 07:20:50 +0000

Features that are coming soon!

Below are a number of features that have been suggested and will be implemented as soon as I find the time to do so.

Add titles and captions
Thumbnail pagination

General

The PhotoTile plugin can retrieve photos from five different Flickr sources: a user’s photo feed, a user’s favorites, a group’s photo feed, a user’s photo set, and from the Flickr community. The photos can be linked to the your Flickr page, a specific URL, or to a Lightbox slideshow. Also, the Shortcode Generator makes it easy to insert the widget into posts without learning any of the code. This lightweight but powerful widget takes advantage of WordPress’s built in JQuery scripts to create a sleek presentation that I hope you will like.

When a photo is uploaded to your Flickr account, seven different copies of various sizes are saved. The sizes used in the PhotoTile plugin include 75px, 100px, 240px, 500px, 640px, and 800px, where the size represents the length of the longest side.

Plugin available at WordPress.org.

Features

Display Flickr images in a sidebar, post, or page
Multiple styles to allow for customization
Lighbox feature for interactive slideshow (Fancybox, prettyBox, or ColorBox)
Simple instructions
Widget & shortcode options
Feed caching/storage for improved page loading

Style and Demo

Below is an example of the plugin in action using the Gallery style and the Fancybox option (click an image and the Fancybox slideshow will appear).

TAP

KylinUntitled

The PhotoTile plugin includes 8 display styles: Vertical, Windows, Bookshelf, Rift, Floor, Wall, Cascade, and Gallery. (Click the links to preview the styles)

Quick Start Guide

After installing the plugin on your WordPress site, make sure it is activated by logging into your admin area and going to Plugins in the left menu.
To add the plugin to a sidebar, go to Appearance->Widgets in the left menu.
Find the rectangle labeled Alpine PhotoTile for Flickr. Click and drag the rectangle to one of the sidebar containers on the right.
Once you drop the rectangle in a sidebar area, it should open to reveal a menu of options. The only required information for the plugin to work is Flickr User ID. See “How do I find my Flickr user ID or group ID?” in the FAQ section for further guidance about finding your ID. Enter this ID and click save in the right bottom corner of the menu.
If you want to add the plugin to a post or page, you will need to use a Shortcode. A Shortcode is a line of text that tells WordPress to load a plugin inside a post along with what settings to use. The Alpine PhotoTile comes with an interactive Shortcode Generator to make this as easy as possible. To find the Shortcode Generator, click on Settings in the left menu of your admin area. Under Settings, click on AlpineTile. Lastly, click on the tab labeled Shortcode Generator and follow the instructions there.
It is recommended that you read through the additional options on the plugin’s settings page. To find the settings page, click on Settings in the left menu of your admin area. Under Settings, click on AlpineTile. Lastly, click on the tab labeled Plugin Settings. It is very challenging to create a plugin that does not interfere with other plugins or themes. Many common issues can be resolved by changing the Lightbox option, preventing the plugin from loading Lightbox files, or loading Styles and Scripts in the Header.
(Optional: To enable all the plugin’s features, add an API Key). To find the API Key page, click on Settings in the left menu of your admin area. Under Settings, click on AlpineTile. Lastly, click on the tab labeled Add API Key. The page will explain what an API Key is and how to get one.
Play around with the various styles and options to find what works best for your site.

Additional Features

Caching

The cache time can be edited by going to the plugin’s settings page, located at Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Plugin Settings.

Lightbox Slideshow

The plugin includes three Lightbox slideshow options, Fancybox, prettyBox, and ColorBox. You can choose which Lightbox to use at at Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Plugin Settings. You can also set custom parameters that will be passed to the Lightbox. If you want to combine several instances of the Alpine PhotoTile plugin into one Lightbox slideshow, you can enable the custom “rel” option (see Hidden Options below) and set the rel for each Lightbox slideshow.

Hidden Options

As we continue to add options to the Alpine PhotoTile plugin, we want to avoid making the plugin overwhelming for new users. For this reason, options that require an API Key or options that we do not expect to be widely used will be added as “Hidden Options”. This means that users must enable the option by going to Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Plugin Settings before it will appear in the Shortcode Generator or Widget Menu.

Current “Hidden Options” include options to:

Place a link with custom text below widget display.
Align photos to the left, right, or center.
Set custom “rel” for Lightbox slideshows.
Skip over certain number of photos (API Key Required).
Randomize photos in Flickr feed (API Key Required).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find my Flickr user ID or group ID?

To find your Flickr user ID or group ID, use the website http://idgettr.com/.

Once you are on the website, you can find your user ID by replacing the word “username” with the username of your Flickr account, as show in the images below.

To find your group ID, you must first replace the word “photos” with “groups”. Then replace the word “username” with the username of your Flickr group.

Click to enlarge.

How do I find my Flickr set ID?

Click to enlarge.

I’m getting the message “Flickr feed was successfully retrieved, but no photos found”. What does that mean?

I’m getting the message “Flickr feed not found. Please recheck your ID”. What does that mean?

Can I insert the plugin in posts or pages? Is there a shortcode function?

Can I insert the plugin anywhere on a page using PHP code?

Yes, using a shortcode and the WordPress function do_shortcode(), you can place the plugin anywhere on your WordPress website. The code should look something like this:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

If you want the plugin to conform to a certain width or height, you can edit the style of the surrounding DIV tag:


   
do_shortcode( '[alpine-phototile-for user="u" link="l" style="v"]' ); 
?>

Why doesn’t the widget show my most recent photos?

The plugin caches or stores the Flickr photo feed for three hours or the time set on the Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Plugin Settings page (see Caching above). If the new photos have still not appeared after this time, it is possible that Flickr is responsible for the delay.

How many photos can I show?

To respect Flickr’s Flickr API Terms of Service, the plugin is limited to displaying 30 photos.

What is an API Key and why do I need one?

Photo sharing websites like Flickr want to protect their users and to prevent abuses by keeping track of how their services are being used. Two of the ways that Flickr does this is by assigning API Keys to plugins, like the Alpine PhotoTile, to keep track of who is who and by limiting the number of times a plugin can talk to the Flickr network. While serveral hundred websites could share an API Key without reaching this limit, the Alpine PhotoTile plugin has become popular enough that users now need API Keys of their own.

An API Key is free and easy to get. Because this plugin uses multiple methods of talking with the Flickr network, signing up for an API Key is optional. However, users without an API Key will experience the following limitations:

Images size options limited to 75px, 240px, 500px, and 800px.
“Photo Offset” option will not work.
“Shuffle/Randomize Photos” option will not work.
Lack of helpful error messages if something does not work.
Possibly slower plugin loading time (It is hard to tell).
Future options added to this plugin will likely require an API Key.

How to get a Flickr API Key.

Follow the directions posted on the Add API Key page (Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Add API Key).

The “Shuffle/Randomize Photos” option does not work.

For the option to work, you must have an API Key added to your plugin (see How to get a Flickr API Key above).

Can I put captions below the photos?

No, I have not yet found a good way to add captions to the images, but I am working on it.

Why does it take so long for the plugin to load?

The plugin works in display mode but when I put the shortcode in my page, nothing happens and there is no error message. What’s wrong?

A number of users have reported this problem and unfortunately I am not sure exactly what is going wrong. However, one simple fix has been to go to the plugin’s settings page (Settings->AlpineTile: Flickr->Plugin Settings) and put a check next to the option “Always Load Styles and Scripts in Header”.

Please send us your questions and comments.

Cascade

eric — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:53:37 +0000

Cascade is a image-oriented theme ideal for blogging as well as photo/portfolio display. It includes easily customizable features such as font family and site title.

Features Overview:

Image-oriented layout
Minimalist design
Background color
Easily change text and header fonts
Responsive Layout
Built-in Fancybox
Widget areas in footer, post/page sidebar, after post content
CSS3 menu drop-downs
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin to improve website load time by staggering the loading of large images.

Complete Features:

General Settings

Upload to add favicon.
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin. To improve the loading time of content rich pages, the theme will stagger or delay the loading of large images that are out of view from the user.
Change general body font to Arial, Verdana, Courier New, or the Google Fonts Droid Serif and Bitter. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change header font to Arial, Verdana, Lucida Sans Unicode, Georgia, Courier New, or the Google Fonts Bitter, Droid Serif, Open Sans, Quicksand, and Nixie One. This will be applied to the site title, menu links, post titles, page titles, and all h1-h6 html tags.
Change body font size. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change header font size.
Adjust link color.
Adjust background color.
Insert custom CSS that will override any theme CSS.

Header Settings

Upload to add site title image. Title image will replace the site title text.
Toggle site tagline on and off.

Post Settings

Add widget areas to appear only of post pages.
Display featured images above the post title of post pages. The option can be disabled.

Boulder

kylin — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:25:01 +0000

Boulder is a minimalist 2-column theme ideal for blogging as well as photo/portfolio display. It includes easily customizable features such as font family, logos, and head display. The theme also allows the display of large feature images, as seem here.

Features Overview:

Blog-style 2-column layout
Large featured image display
Minimalist design
Background color
Easily change text and header fonts
Responsive Layout
Built-in Fancybox
Widget areas in footer, post/page sidebar, after post content
- Right sidebar includes two optional sub-columns
CSS3 menu drop-downs
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin to improve website load time by staggering the loading of large images.

Complete Features:

General Settings

Upload to add favicon.
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin. To improve the loading time of content rich pages, the theme will stagger or delay the loading of large images that are out of view from the user.
Add border and shadow to images.
Change general body font to Arial, Verdana, Courier New, or the Google Fonts Droid Serif and Bitter. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change header font to Arial, Verdana, Lucida Sans Unicode, Georgia, Courier New, or the Google Fonts Bitter, Droid Serif, and Poiret One. This will be applied to the site title, menu links, post titles, page titles, and all h1-h6 html tags.
Change body font size. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change header font size.
Adjust link color.
Adjust background color.
Insert custom CSS that will override any theme CSS.

Header Settings

Upload to add site title image. Title image will replace the site title text.
Upload to add site logo to left sidebar.
Toggle site tagline on and off.
Edit message to appear in left sidebar.

Post Settings

Add widget areas to appear only of post pages.
Display featured images above the post title of post pages. The option can be disabled.

Sassafras

kylin — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:16:10 +0000

Sassafras is a sleek and versatile blog theme. It includes easily customizable features such as font family, logos, and header display.

Features Overview:

Blog-style 2-column layout
Minimalist design
Responsive Layout
Mobile-friendly
Background color
Easily change text and header fonts
Built-in Fancybox
Widget areas in footer, post/page sidebar, after post content
CSS3 menu drop-downs
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin to improve website load time by staggering the loading of large images.

Complete Features:

General Settings

Upload to add favicon.
Optional Lazy Image Loading plugin. To improve the loading time of content rich pages, the theme will stagger or delay the loading of large images that are out of view from the user.
Add border and shadow to images.
Change general body font to Arial, Verdana, and Courier New, or the Google Fonts Bitter and Droid Serif. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change body font size. This will be applied to post and page paragraphs.
Change header font to Arial, Lucida Sans Unicode, Verdana, Georgia, and Courier New, or the Google Fonts Bitter, Droid Serif, Poiret One, or Raleway. This will be applied to the site title, menu links, post titles, page titles, and all h1-h6 html tags.
Change header font size relative to body font size. That may sound a little complicated, but it merely means that the header font size can be changed interdependently of the body font size.
Adjust link color.
Adjust background color.
Insert custom CSS that will override any theme CSS.

Header Settings

Upload to add site title image. Title image will replace the site title text.
Upload to add homepage title image. This theme includes the ability to upload a special title image that will appear on the homepage only.
Upload to add site logo to right sidebar.
Toggle site tagline on and off.
Edit message to appear in right sidebar.

Post Settings

Add widget areas to appear only of post pages.
Display featured images above the post title of post pages. The option can be disabled.