Hello All,

I'm setting up the Dynamic Headers plugin, (after many other failed attempts to control a different image displayed per page) and "almost" have it working. It did correctly display the image I've chosen for each page, but doing the hack and inserting the php code into the right spot has proved to be very time consuming...

When I inserted it into header.php in the wrong spot, it moved all images displayed to the top of page, and I want them all centered between the first and second horizontal lines

This is the code I'm referring to:

<?php if(function_exists('show_media_header')){show_medi a_header();}?>

Can someone please help?

I figured it out, but. I need a quick tip where my problem lies now to center the images between both horizontal bars. See the pic:

You would use CSS to center it but I can't tell you what without seeing the site.

Hello Larry,

Thanks for the reply. I can't point you to the site, as I'm developing locally using a Wamp dev environment. Let me tell you the steps I've taken, and where I'm at right now. I installed the Dynamic Header plugin, then inserted the code below:

<?php if(function_exists('show_media_header')){show_medi a_header();}?>

in the header styling area where the "%image" would normally go. Then I created a custom Widget in the header area named Header_Images. Once I cycled things a few times it appeared. Then I grabbed standard a text widget and pasted the php code into it.

I think the step I'm missing, (as you pointed out) is to now create a few lines of css code that names my custom widget - Header_Images, and set the styling for it in the css inserts section, correct?

Or, could I wrap the php code that's in the text widget with some HTML code to tell it to center it between the two horizontal bars? If so, would I use <div> tags with align=?

After I put this issue to rest, my last two styling tasks are to insert some php code that will display the current date somewhere in the right top header section, would the php code below do it?

<?php echo date('l, jS, F Y'); ?> I want to display dates in this format- Sunday, October 16, 2011.

And then the last task is to display different content in the right sidebar for each page. Is there is reliable plugin for that which works with the most current version of WP and Atahualpa?

Your thoughts...

Barry

First a few things. If you are using Atahualpa 3.6.7 or 3.7.1 you can't put any php code other than for a new widget area in the box where %pages is. If you have
<?php if(function_exists('show_media_header')){show_medi a_header();}?>
in that area you can take it out.

Also you can't use php in a standard text widget. You need to use a php aware widget such as this one. Your widget will have a class or id that you can determine with a tool like Firebug (an extension for Firefox). Then you use CSS to move it or remove the spacing.

Larry,

I followed your advise and installed a php aware widget, and popped the code into it. Then I looked at both the page source code and with Firebug. The Dynamic Headers widget is Javascript code and just appears between script tags. Is this its id, (AC_RunActiveContent.js)?

<script type='text/javascript'>AC_FL_RunContent = 0;</script><script type='text/javascript' src="http://localhost/testsite/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/dynamic-headers/AC_RunActiveContent.js"></script>

This is what I have in my Configure Header Area:

<p></p> %logo <?php bfa_widget_area('name=Date'); ?><p></p> %pages <p></p> %bar1 <?php bfa_widget_area('name=Header_Images'); ?> %bar2

The multiple images display correctly, but I'm still stuck how to reduce the added white space from the bottom of all images to the second bar...

What if I popped this into HTML/CSS Inserts:

<!-- styles for AC_FL_RunContent -->

<style type='text/css'>
#AC_FL_RunContent {width:997px; height:170px;}
#AC_FL_RunContent {padding:2px;}
</style>
<!-- end styles for AC_FL_RunContent -->

Barry

What are the instances of <p></p> in the following code for?

<p></p> %logo <?php bfa_widget_area('name=Date'); ?><p></p> %pages <p></p> %bar1 <?php bfa_widget_area('name=Header_Images'); ?> %bar2

When you put code in CSS Inserts you don't need the style type your would just add.

#AC_FL_RunContent {width:997px; height:170px;}
#AC_FL_RunContent {padding:2px;}

As to whether it will work without seeing the site it is difficult to say without spending a bunch of time staring at code.

Thanks for your help Larry. I've got things with the Dynamic Header plugin "almost" working now. It's displaying the correct images on all of the selected pages "until" I tried to load a .swf file for the first page, (even though it says it can display them).

It only displays white space where the swf of the same size should show... Has anyone else had any success using the Dynamic Header plugin displaying a flash animation without directly hacking php code in the header template?

The author does say this:

"Now you will need to add the template tag created by the plugin to your theme file where you want your dynamic header to appear (this will usually be in /wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/header.php)."

He's referring to this php code:

<?php show_media_header(); ?>

I thought by first creating the custom header widget that I have now, then by dropping a php aware widget onto it, inserting the code above, and then selecting the media to display at the bottom of each page edit section that I was done. Apparently not...

Originally Posted by NetMonkey

The author does say this:

"Now you will need to add the template tag created by the plugin to your theme file where you want your dynamic header to appear (this will usually be in /wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/header.php)."

He's referring to this php code:

<?php show_media_header(); ?>

I thought by first creating the custom header widget that I have now, then by dropping a php aware widget onto it, inserting the code above, and then selecting the media to display at the bottom of each page edit section that I was done. Apparently not...

That is all you should have to do. Hard to tell why the swf doesn't work. Do you have a link to the site yet?

Larry,

My plan has been to develop locally then when I'm done, do an export/import of the settings to the live Wordpress install on the server. I've chosen to do this because it was my thinking that the index.php file of the Wordpress install would take priority over the current index.html file that's there now, and I don't want my redesign in progress to display to visitors.

Is that correct, or is there a workaround for that so I could develop on the web server, or continually export/import settings to the web server?

the way I get around this has been to rename the wordpress index.php file wp_index.php - I just have to remember to navigate to it directly by name.

Yes some auto generated links back to the home page won't work properly in the new WP site, but I know about that so it isn't an issue for me

Larry or anyone else,

I just emailed Felix at Nicasio Design about the Dynamic Headers plugin, but sorry, no cigar. No free support offered... This is what a guy posted on Wordpress.org two years ago that worked for him with that version then of Atahualpa, and my question is will this still work with version 3.7.1?

Ok, I found a way to add the "dynamic headers" headers properly to the default theme with just a couple of changes:

Under Appearance, choose editor.

Start editing the header file (header.php).
Find <body <?php body_class(); ?>> and place the <?php show_media_header(); ?> under it.

Something like:

<body <?php body_class(); ?>>
<?php show_media_header(); ?>

Update the file.

Now, start editing the css file (style.css).
Find /* Begin Typography & Colors */.
Find #header and add display: none; under this section.
Then find /* Begin Structure */.
Find #page and change margin: 20px auto; to margin: 0 auto;

Update the file.

This should put the headers in the right place.

It brings a validation problem reported by the w3c validator, but I guess it's just a small change required from the plugin author:

Line 28, Column 30: required attribute "type" not specified

<script language="javascript">AC_FL_RunContent = 0;</script>

The downside to what you did is that it will not survive an upgrade of the theme. Is there some reason you didn't want to put a new widget area in the header and use the php aware widget you installed?

you can just add the CSS to CSS Inserts

Also there is a writeup in the GOLD Forums 'How to use the Dynamic Header plugin without messing up Atahualpa's layout'

Originally Posted by lmilesw

The downside to what you did is that it will not survive an upgrade of the theme. Is there some reason you didn't want to put a new widget area in the header and use the php aware widget you installed?

That was my original thought about the php hack not surviving an upgrade. I did create a custom widget named Header_Images. Then I installed the "Linkable Title HTML and PHP Widget. Then I added the code:

<?php show_media_header(); ?>

into the Linkable Title HTML and PHP Widget which I placed into my custom widget named Header_Images. It's been handling the rotation of images on all pages just fine, "until I selected" an swf file of the same size that the plugin sees as my static home page swf.

Now nothing displays on the static home page. The horizontal bars remain at the same distance apart showing just white space, the plugin doesn't execute the swf file... This sucks!

Hey guys, back again. I've "almost" put all of my styling issues to rest now. But I'm still faced with the problem of displaying my flash animation in the Dynamic Headers plugin. I've been designing websites since 1996, have created a large number of flash animations, and have "never" seen this issue. Albeit, this is a different animal because I'm trying to run flash inside a plugin that someone else coded...

Juggledad posted this in regard to my flash animation problem:

"Also there is a writeup in the GOLD Forums 'How to use the Dynamic Header plugin without messing up Atahualpa's layout".

I have no problem joining the Gold forum, and I will do just that today or tomorrow to contribute to all of the great work that's been done on this theme, and the "high level" of support all of you guys give routinely in this forum.

Also because the client wants the footer link off...

Here's the very interesting code/css troubleshooting element to my problem. The flash animation I created is a very simple one. The client didn't want anything elaborate. It has a black background, it's 990x170, (same size as all of the other graphics that the Dynamic Headers plugin controls) it displays white text that does fades in and out, and at the last frame it displays a graphic, then there's a stop, no loop, and the graphic displays. Simple right? Wrong...

Here's what happens - when I select the swf file for that one page, refresh the page in another open page in Firefox, (same behavior in IE) there is a lightening quick flash of black that fills the 990x170 area that disappears as fast as it appears, then only white displays where the black animation should be running, (giving you the impression it's not recognized and displaying white space as a placeholder).

But that's not the case. If you do a mouseover and right click, you're given the standard information you always see when right clicking on a flash animation. And if you sit patiently and wait for the last frame, the graphic at the end of the animation appears right on time...

I've tried changing the wmode=”transparent” variable to direct in their custom_header.php file, I've set the background to #cccccc, I've set the url, I've tried a number of things...

The one thing I haven't tried is hard coding this specific animation's settings in their custom_header.php file, (which I understand would not allow the code to pass variables for any other animation aside from this one). See below:

?>
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" width="<?php echo $width; ?>" height="<?php echo $height; ?>" id="mediaHeader" align="middle">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" />
<param name="wmode" value="direct" />
<param name="movie" value="<?php echo $swf_src; ?>" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" />
<embed src="<?php echo $swf_src; ?>" wmode="direct" base="http://smetals.com/wp-content/header-images/" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" width="<?php echo $width; ?>" height="<?php echo $height; ?>" name="mediaHeader" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />
</object>
<?php

So, now that you guys have a better understanding of what I'm facing, can you still say with confidence that by becoming a Gold forum member that "this" problem can be put to rest? Or do I have to contact the author - Felix at Nicasio Design and pay for support with him?

I just realized that my problem may be, (after reading the novel I've written here) that I haven't correctly made Atahualpa aware of the ID - id="mediaHeader". Is that my problem?


Barry

I think you are over thinking this issue.

Well I just did a quick test of putting a new widget area in place of %image and then using the Linkable Title PHP widget to add the code for Dynamic Headers. Then I uploaded an image and an swf file and assigned them to different pages and all worked as expected.

I also added a more complete description of the process in the Gold forum. The previous description talked about editing the functions.php which we don't recommend.

I was able also to create a new widget area in place of %image and then using the Linkable Title PHP widget to add the code for Dynamic Headers. Then I also uploaded all images and an swf file and assigned them to different pages and all worked as expected also. "Except" the swf is not executing correctly!

I'm getting the feeling it may have something to do with my flash animation specifically. It will only play the last frame of my animation. It's not as if this is a huge animation, it's only 37kb. But the only piece of it displaying is the last frame that displays a graphic...

Barry

Could you attach it to a reply and I will test.

Okay, here's the swf. It displays as it should in HTML. I zipped the swf because I noticed swf is not an accepted file format to upload here, good idea...

Didn't work for me either. How did you create it.

Wait, you mean to say that when you double click it, it doesn't execute and start playing in a browser window? Do you have the file association set as an app in Firefox?

I created it using Swish 2Max which creates industry standard swf files.

I just uploaded it to the site. You can see it execute here > http://smetals.com/home.swf

I do see it if I open in a browser window but not in Dynamic Headers. I then imported into Swish Max 3 and exported as and swf which now works. I don't know what the difference between the two Swish Max versions is but it worked for me. I have attached my edit. See if it works for you.

Larry,

I tried it, and for some strange reason it does display now. Weird version differences... The only difference is that it loops, and I put a stop in the animation after the last frame. Aside from that it's fine. I guess I'll upgrade to SwishMax 4 now so I don't have any further issues.

Thanks. I'll still become a Gold member, because as I said, the client wants the link off the footer. You can call this matter closed now!

Barry