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prova.fm
07-13-2010, 05:59 PM
Either I've been hit by the stupid bug today, or I'm falling victim to poor documentation on WP. I'm setting up a new WordPress 3.0 blog with multiple authors (not the MU multi site stuff). How do I create a page that shows a list of all the authors? Mashable has one (http://mashable.com/about/), Technorati (http://technorati.com/people/a/)has one, ...

I've been Googling all day, but all I get is endless reviews of the 5 new features of WP 3.0, including the ability to style a single author's page (creating an author-David.php page & styling it).

This site (http://bavotasan.com/tutorials/how-to-display-an-author-list-with-avatars-in-wordpress/) says it's included in WP. This site (http://wpmu.org/daily-tip-quick-tag-to-list-all-authors-on-a-wordpress-blog/) give php code to insert it in the sidebar (Why does everyone cram so much junk in the sidebar?).

I'm unfortunately quite new to WP. I have used WP's theme editor & can make changes to index.php, functions.php, sidebar.php, etc... I understand what each page does, function wise. I'm sure I could eventually code in my own author page, but there HAS to be a simple built-in way.

Could someone explain the simplest way to create a page that lists all the authors (just like Mashables)?
Do I have to edit my theme, create a "page," utilize some custom codex?

Thanks,
-David

vangogh
07-14-2010, 02:31 AM
I think both sites set up a custom page template and then coded things to look how they wanted. Once you have a custom page template coded you create a WordPress page with the same name as the file. So if the file is authors.php, you create a page and name it authors. If you look at the Template Tags page in the Codex (http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Tags) there's a section for template tags you can use to pull author information. Scroll down a bit to see it.

In your custom page template use the author tags to pull whatever info you want to show and style it however you like. That looks to me like what both Mashable and Tecnorati did.

In the new TwentyTen theme there's a file called author.php, though I think that's set up to show posts from a specific author and not a list of the authors. The two sites you linked to have different solutions. The second uses wp_list_pages (http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/wp_list_authors), which simply displays a list of author names. If that's all you want to show then add that inside the loop of the custom page template and you're all set.

The first site offers a different solution since wp_list_pages only lists the authors name. It's giving a solution to also show the avatars for each author.

The general process though is create a custom page template, code it to display whatever info you want it to display, and then create a WordPress page with the same name as the file name.

prova.fm
07-14-2010, 11:58 AM
Thanks for the tip. I searched for ever & couldn't find anything. I'm very surprised WP doesn't have this feature build in some how. But, c'est la vie. I didn't know about making your own pages. That's helpful since I was adding a conditional in the page.php. I was wishing I could create my own page. Your instructions might be accurate with older WP, but it's not that smooth with WP 3.0. I Googled & found, you have to add " // Template Name: About " in your new page, then deactivate, reactivate, rub your monitor, change themes, change back, & eventually a drop down list appears to the right of your "add page" screen.

The author.php is what all the new hubub is about with WP3.0. It shows all the posts for 1 author. You can style that, too.

On your suggestion I went ahead & coded my own list. Thanks for the links.
-David

vangogh
07-14-2010, 12:06 PM
It's more that WP doesn't know specifically how you want to show your authors. Most blogs are still single author so it's not something they would put into the theme by default. Creating your own pages is a great thing. I do that all the time. Have you seen the WordPress Template Hierarchy (http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy). Click the image down the page for a nice big view.

Basically WP will look for a specific file and if it doesn't exist work it's way back up the hierarchy to determine which file to use for displaying a page. I don't know if this has been updated for 3.0, but it should work the same.

Speaking of 3.0 I haven't really had time to dive into it yet. I'm aware of certain changes, but not quite up to speed with all of them yet. Unfortunately the codex probably isn't either.

prova.fm
07-14-2010, 06:17 PM
The codex seems pretty accurate. I've used several functions, mostly with the featured_image, & my overall feel was that the codex had up-to-date info. I also get the feel 2.9 code is similar to 3.0 (& was short lived???). Everyone seems to love it. I don't know the difference. I am doing some pretty neat things with it (But I think it's previous WP code that's allowing me the great flexibility). From what I've read, there's 5-10 new features, & I don't need any of them (multi site, ....).

I've also seen & read about the file hierarchy. I haven't wanted to get too crazy with my designs, so I'm sticking to the common theme. I know with an author page, you can create a unique .php for each author by creating author-<nicename>.php. WP checks for that file first, & makes its way down to author.php & even index.php I think. Too much work.

I am trying to figure out one last thing.... When uploading an image to a post, It gives 3 size options: thumbnail (150x150), medium(somethingxsomething), large() & original.
I think there's a way to set the limiting size factors for each. Does anyone know how to do this? I want all images to be 630px wide, so I want to set the large size option to: large(630x400). If I can do this, I won't have to resize the images on my computer. I did this for the "featured image" but don't know what function to edit for all post images. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
-David

Harold Mansfield
07-14-2010, 06:27 PM
There are a few plugins that will let you list your authors in the sidebar, and here's a little tip. If you activate the multi site features, (even if you don't use it) the top tool bar has a log in and a drop down list of blog authors.

Here's an article that lists a few multi author tools:
35 Tips Tricks To Manage and Handle Multi-Author Blogs (http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/35-tips-tricks-to-manage-and-handle-multi-author-blogs/)

...and here's a couple of sidebar plug ins that will list your authors:
WordPress › Author Avatars List « WordPress Plugins (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/author-avatars/)
WordPress › List Authors « WordPress Plugins (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/list-authors/)

prova.fm
07-14-2010, 07:29 PM
Thanks eborg, I'll take a look.

vangogh
07-14-2010, 07:39 PM
I want to set the large size option to: large(630x400). If I can do this, I won't have to resize the images on my computer.

I'd resize it on you own. If the original image is smaller it won't look it's best and if the original image is larger then your wasting time while it downloads. The original image is still downloaded in the browser. Best is to resize the image on your own and optimize it by saving it for the web to reduce the file size. It's a pain I know, but it's still the best option. I've never used the image uploader inside WP. At least not for my own sites. I don't really use the WP editor at all.

Harold Mansfield
07-14-2010, 08:14 PM
Thanks eborg, I'll take a look.

Hey, I see you've changed your site. It looks really good now.

vangogh
07-14-2010, 08:48 PM
David I've been meaning to ask you are you using a plugin to handle the contests? If so, mind sharing which one?

prova.fm
07-14-2010, 10:20 PM
Eborg, Thanks. It keeps getting better... with work.

Vangogh, The contests is a custom program I wrote. Prova.fm isn't actually the WordPress site I've been referring to. I'm setting up another site that's strictly a blog. Prova.fm is Joomla. I wrote the whole thing around the contest format. If you're interested in using the contest format, I'd be happy to let you. It could target a different demographic than your typical customers, I'm sure. I might have some ideas that could handle your one-off work, or less profitable clients. You'd probably know better than I would, what you'd benefit the most from.

Let me know. Oh, & it wouldn't be anything you'd have to buy. You've helped me out tons. I'd like to return the favor.
-David

vangogh
07-15-2010, 08:20 PM
Oh. For some reason I was thinking Prova.fm was on WordPress. Part of why I asked is the contest set up is the list on the home page looks a little like a customized bbPress forum and I was curious if that's what it was. I wasn't planning on starting contests on my own, but I appreciate the offer of help.

Harold Mansfield
07-25-2010, 03:09 PM
There are a few plugins that will let you list your authors in the sidebar, and here's a little tip. If you activate the multi site features, (even if you don't use it) the top tool bar has a log in and a drop down list of blog authors.


Just wanted to correct that this isn't exactly true. It's the Buddypress plug in that lists the blog's authors.