Manually link to existing content or a custom url through a meta box on the writing page.
Related Links gives you the possibility to manually link other posts to your current post. But you can also link pages, media or any custom post-type. And in addition you can use custom urls to link to external files. The plugin adds a Metabox to the writing page with a list of all available content.
How do I show the links in my theme?
Use the Related Links widget to show a list of the related links.
How do I show the links in a specific template?
Use the related_links() function directly in your template files. This will return an unordered list with an <ul> wrapper. Use this code for example in your `content.php’ template:
<?php related_links(); ?>
How can I modify the output of the link list?
You need to use the get_related_links() function. A simple example that shows a list with all link names and the type of link:
<?php $related_links = get_related_links(); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $link['url']; ?>"><?php echo $link['type']; ?>: <?php echo $link['title']; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
What are the properties returned by the `get_related_links()` function?
The get_related_links() returns an array containing every related link. when you loop through this array every link consists of another array with the following keys:
- key
id: equals to $post->ID or null for custom links
- key
url: equals to get_permalink() or the manually entered url of a custom link
- key
title: equals to $post->post_title or the manually entered title of a custom link
- key
type: the $post->post_type or null for custom links
How do I only show the links for a certain post_type in my theme?
Set the $post_type in get_related_links($post_type) to 'post', 'page' or any custom post-type. A simple example that show a list of links:
<?php $related_links = get_related_links('page'); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $link['url']; ?>"><?php echo $link['type']; ?>: <?php echo $link['title']; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
How do I show the related links of another post (not the current one)?
Set the $post_id in get_related_links(null, $post_id) to the id of the post. A simple example that show a list of links:
<?php $related_links = get_related_links(null, 1); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $link['url']; ?>"><?php echo $link['type']; ?>: <?php echo $link['title']; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
How do I link directly to a media file?
You need to check the 'type' and then get with wp_get_attachment_url() the attachment url from the 'id'.
<?php $related_links = get_related_links(null, 1); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<?php if ($link['type'] == 'attachment') :
$url = wp_get_attachment_url($link['id']);
else :
$url = $link['url'];
endif; ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $url; ?>"><?php echo $link['title']; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
How do show the type of a media file?
You need to check the 'type' and then get with wp_get_attachment_url() the attachment url from the 'id'.
<?php $related_links = get_related_links(null, 1); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<?php
if ($link['type'] == 'attachment') :
$url = wp_get_attachment_url($link['id']);
$mime = explode('/', get_post_mime_type($link['id']));
$mime = $mime[sizeof($mime) - 1];
else :
$url = $link['url'];
$mime = null;
endif;
?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $url; ?>"><?php echo $link['title']; ?><?php echo isset($mime) ? ' (' . $mime . ')' : ''; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
How to prevent a PHP error when the plugin is not activated?
Put the get_related_links() function or your whole code into an if clause. Like this your theme will still work even if the plugin is deactivated.
<?php if(function_exists('get_related_links')) : ?>
<?php $related_links = get_related_links(); ?>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($related_links as $link): ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo $link['url']; ?>"><?php echo $link['type']; ?>: <?php echo $link['title']; ?></a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
<?php endif; ?>
