WP Scribe Box

1. 

   Plugin settings page

2. 

   Sample output

What are the plugin defaults?

The plugin arguments and default values may change over time. To get the latest list of arguments and defaults, look at the settings page after installing the plugin.

How do I use the plugin?

You must have an affiliate account with Studiopress, and a URL that you would use to refer visitors to purchase Scribe.

After going to Settings » WP Scribe Box and inserting your affiliate link, use a shortcode to call the plugin from any page or post like this:

[wp-scribe-box]

You can also use the following function in your PHP code (functions.php, or a plugin):

echo scribe_aff_box();

You can also use this:

do_shortcode('[wp-scribe-box]');

You must define the URL to be displayed. If you do not set the URL in the plugin’s settings page, or when you call the shortcode/function, the plugin won’t do anything.

You may also use shortcodes within the shortcode, ex:

[wp-scribe-box][my_shortcode][/wp-scribe-box]

And you can specify your own text to be displayed, if you do not want the default text, ex:

[wp-scribe-box affurl="my scribe affiliate link"]Click here to purchase Scribe[/wp-scribe-box]

or

if (function_exists('scribe_aff_box') {
  scribe_aff_box(array('show' => true, 'affurl' => 'my scribe affiliate link'), 'Click here to buy Scribe');
}

Examples

You want to display the Scribe Box at the end of your blog posts, as many affiliates do. Here is one possible snippet:

add_filter('the_content', 'include_scribe_box');
function include_scribe_box($content) {
  if (is_single()) { // it's a single post
    // append Scribe box after content
    if (function_exists('scribe_aff_box') {
      $content .= scribe_aff_box(); // assume affiliate URL is on plugin settings page
    }
  }
  return $content;
}

Always wrap plugin function calls with a function_exists check so that your site doesn’t go down if the plugin isn’t active.

For Genesis framework users, use the genesis_after_post_content hook:

add_action('genesis_after_post_content', 'include_scribe_box');
function include_scribe_box() {
  if (is_single()) {
    if (function_exists('scribe_aff_box') {
      echo scribe_aff_box(); // or: scribe_aff_box(array('show' => true, 'affurl' => 'my scribe affiliate link'), 'Click here to buy Scribe');
    }
  }
}

This will echo the Scribe box after the post content on each post.

Or you can simply check the “Auto insert Scribe box” checkbox on the plugin settings page and not have to use the shortcode or call the function.

I want to use the plugin in a widget. How?

Add this line of code to your functions.php:

add_filter('widget_text', 'do_shortcode');

Or install a plugin to do it for you: http://blogs.wcnickerson.ca/wordpress/plugins/widgetshortcodes/

Now, add the built-in text widget that comes with WordPress, and insert the shortcode into the text widget. See above for how to use the shortcode.

See http://digwp.com/2010/03/shortcodes-in-widgets/ for a detailed example.

Important: If using a widget in the sidebar, make sure you choose one of the smaller images so that it will fit.

I don’t want the buttons on my post editor toolbar. How do I remove them?

Add this to your functions.php:

remove_action('admin_print_footer_scripts', 'add_wpsb_quicktag');

I inserted the shortcode but don’t see anything on the page.

Clear your browser cache and also clear your cache plugin (if any). If you still don’t see anything, check your webpage source for the following:

<!-- WP Scribe Box: plugin is disabled. Check Settings page. -->

This means you didn’t pass a necessary setting to the plugin, so it disabled itself. You need to pass at least the affiliate URL, either by entering it on the settings page or passing it to the plugin in the shortcode or PHP function. You should also check that the “enabled” checkbox on the plugin settings page is checked. If that box is unchecked, the plugin will be disabled even if you pass the affiliate URL.

I cleared my browser cache and my caching plugin but the output still looks wrong.

Are you using a plugin that minifies CSS? If so, try excluding the plugin CSS file from minification.

I cleared my cache and still don’t see what I want.

The CSS files include a ?ver query parameter. This parameter is incremented with every upgrade in order to bust caches. Make sure none of your plugins or functions are stripping this query parameter. Also, if you are using a CDN, flush it or send an invalidation request for the plugin CSS files so that the edge servers request a new copy of it.

I don’t want the admin CSS. How do I remove it?

Add this to your functions.php:

remove_action('admin_head', 'insert_wpsb_admin_css');

I don’t want the plugin CSS. How do I remove it?

Add this to your functions.php:

add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'remove_wpsb_style');
function remove_wpsb_style() {
  wp_deregister_style('wp_scribe_box_style');
}

I want to use my own text instead of the text output by the plugin.

If you are using the shortcode, do this:

[wp-scribe-box]Your content here[/wp-scribe-box]

The text output by the plugin will be overriden by whatever you type inbetween the shortcode tags.

If you are using the PHP function, do this:

scribe_aff_box(array('show' => true, 'affurl' => 'my scribe affiliate url'), 'Click <a href="my link">here</a> to buy Scribe');

The second argument of the function is the content you want to use. You can use HTML tags and shortcodes in this string.

I don’t see the plugin toolbar button(s).

This plugin adds one or more toolbar buttons to the HTML editor. You will not see them on the Visual editor.

The label on the toolbar button is “Scribe Box”.

I am using the shortcode but the parameters aren’t working.

On the plugin settings page, go to the “Parameters” tab. There is a list of possible parameters there along with the default values. Make sure you are spelling the parameters correctly.

The Parameters tab also contains sample shortcode and PHP code.

0.2.3

• fixed PHP notices
• confirmed compatibility with WordPress 4.1

0.2.2

• updated .pot file and readme

0.2.1

• fixed validation issue

0.2.0

• compressed CSS file

0.1.9

• code fix
• admin CSS and page updates

0.1.8

• minor code fix
• updated support tab

0.1.7

• option to show the output only to users who are not logged in
• option to show full marketing text or only partial in the output
• minor code optimizations
• use ‘affurl’, ‘url’, ‘link’ or ‘href’ as the URL parameter name

0.1.6

• fix 2 for wp_kses

0.1.5

• fix for wp_kses

0.1.4

• some minor code optimizations
• verified compatibility with 3.9

0.1.3

• OK, I am going to stop playing with the plugin for now

0.1.2

• prepare strings for internationalization
• plugin now requires WP 3.5 and PHP 5.0 and above
• minor code optimization

0.1.1

• minor plugin settings page update
• another image added to the rotation

0.1.0

• minor bug with parameter table on plugin settings page

0.0.9

• added submit button to the top of the plugin settings form
• spruced up plugin settings page
• minor CSS edits

0.0.8

• All CSS and JS automatically bust caches
• removed screen_icon() (deprecated)
• updated for WP 3.8.1

0.0.7

• refactored admin CSS
• added helpful links on plugin settings page and plugins page

0.0.6

fixed uninstall routine so it actually works now

0.0.5

• updated the plugin settings page list of parameters to indicate whether they are required or not
• updated FAQ section of readme.txt

0.0.4

some security hardening added

0.0.3

• target=”_blank” is deprecated, replaced with javascript fallback

0.0.2

• minor code refactoring

0.0.1

created