In the most recent WordPress Wednesday News on the Blog Herald, I covered a ton of resources, news, tips, and WordPress Plugins for the upcoming release of WordPress 2.3, due September 24, currently still in beta testing. I wanted to share some of the news with you here.
In summary, tags will be built-in, and new Plugins and utilities for importing different Tag Plugins are being released. Changes to the database will break some WordPress Plugins that deal with tables for categories, so check the new WordPress 2.3 Plugin Compatibility List.
Here are some of the latest news announcements, tips, articles, reviews, and about the upcoming release of WordPress, one of the most anticipated releases in a long time:
- Weblog Tools Collection has put together a list of WordPress 2.3 Features, with links to a ton of sites covering news about WordPress 2.3. It’s an excellent reference to bookmark so you are ready for the new version coming out next week.
- Aaron Brazell gives us “10 Things You Need to Know About WordPress 2.3”, a fantastic look at the key changes and feature improvements in WordPress 2.3.
- Weblog Tools Collection also lists several new Tagging Plugins for WordPress 2.3 from Plugin authors jumping on the new built-in tagging feature. These include Advanced Tag Entry WordPress Plugin and Click Tags WordPress Plugin.
- WordPress 2.3 Related Posts Plugin is another new Plugin and generates a list of related posts using the new WordPress 2.3 built-in tagging system. It also adds the related post list to the blog’s feed.
- How To Add WordPress 2.3 Tags To Your Current Theme by Rich Gilchrest is a step-by-step guide to changing your WordPress Theme to include the new tag template tags.
- Ryan Boren explains the WordPress 2.3 Database schema changes, including the new, changed, and removed tables that may break some WordPress Plugins dependent upon direct SQL queries on the categories, link2cat, or post2cat tables.
- Post Status Transitions allow those with “lower” user levels and permissions to submit their blog posts for “review” and release by the Editor or Administrator for multi-blogger blogs.
- The inclusion of AtomPub Support is exciting, giving us more feed control.
- URL Redirection for changes in Page and post titles, slugs, and links, helping reduce the number of 404 Page Not Found Errors on your blog.
- The Peter Westwood has created the Tag Importer for Bunny’s Technorati Tags which should make it into the final WordPress 2.3 release. Tag importer utilities for Jerome’s Keywords and Ultimate Tag Warrior are already included.
- Ryan Boren – WordPress 2.3 Taxonomy Schema shows how the new tagging system will work in WordPress 2.3.
- WPDesigner – WordPress 2.3 Beta Review and Checklist includes more explanations on using the new tag template tags.
- Plugin Update Notification will alert you to a Plugin that needs updating from the WordPress Plugin Directory, hopefully leading towards faster and easier Plugin updates. ALERT: If you want your Plugin to take advantage of the new Plugin Update Notification feature, it must be listed within the WordPress Plugin Directory. Design Praxis has written How to Maintain Your WordPress Plugin from a Windows Workstation using Subversion, a step-by-step guide to help you set up, upload, and maintain your WordPress Plugin on the WordPress Plugin Directory Subversion site.
- ALERT: With the announcement of the new WordPress 2.3 Plugin Compatibility List, if you are a WordPress Plugin author, make sure you check to see if your Plugin is compatible with the new version and get on the list.
I’m all a flutter about the new version. I was hoping that we’d see some of the new features on WordPress.com like tags, giving us a chance to test drive them, but many of these features you will see first i your full version upgrades.
And yes, like other major upgrades, some eggs will be broken, but I’m thrilled at some of the changes and willing to tolerate the breaks in order to get the benefits. Great work, WordPress development team and testers!
Site Search Tags: wordpress news, wordpress 2.3, wordpress release, wordpress version, wordpress wednesday news, wordpress tags, import tags, tagging, redirects, wordpress features, wordpress plugins, compatibility list, wordpress help
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.
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22 Comments
Great collection while I inherit to upgrade.
Good compilation Lorelle, I wrote an article quoting you and hope to enjoy the upcoming WordPress 2.3.
Hey, Lorelle, do please let me know if you come across any other WordPress 2.3-specific plugins so I can add them to the semi-daily listings on WLTC. 🙂
I guess I am one of the many who have read all the articles posted here barring 1. That’s how excited I am about WordPress 2.3, about 3 days left now. Nonetheless, it is a great list. Thanks Lorelle
“tag tempate tags”? Methinks WordPress has a nomenclature problem. Will we soon be discussing tag tags or perhaps tag tag tags?
Sounds good; from what I’ve read, though, I won’t have to abandon my categories – I like having them.
I agree tags is a good step forward, and something that many want; I’m just not one of them, so I’ll be pleased for everyone else if tags are there, but sad for me if I lose my categories!
Well, I voted for Taggity Tag Tags, but was overruled on the basis of rationality.
Pesky rationality!
Tagging Tags Template Tags – or something like that. I like Taggity best, though. 😀
Jim: Keep an eye on my Blog Herald WordPress Wednesday News as that is where I will publish any I find, but I’ll try to fire some off to you if I find them. I usually find them through you! 😀
Emma: Tags are not categories but categories are tags. There is nothing to “abandon”. Categories are like your table of contents. Tags are your blog’s index list. Micro-categories is what some call them. I think of them as the back of a book index word list.
Great Article, Lorelle!
Can you talk about my portuguese article about WP 2.3? http://veines-noires.org/arquivos/2007/09/wordpress-23-saiba-tudo-antes-de-atualizar/
Thank you for the good job!
I know this isn’t that important, but I just wanted to throw out that I had done up a 2.3 Theme Compatibility List as well. Thanks for the great post Lorelle!
spencerp: The compatible Themes list is great, but what makes them “compatible”? The fact that they have the tags template tag in them or what? Thanks.
How can I put my avitar or photo along with my posts?
“but what makes them “compatible”? The fact that they have the tags template tag in them or what? Thanks.”
Lorelle, yeah. That’s the main reason for me doing that Compatible List up. Perhaps it’s stupid, perhaps others won’t KNOW the real reason for creating that Compatible List up, I don’t know.
There’s one for WP 2.2, so I figured what’s the harm for doing one for WP 2.3? 😛 I had my two themes already ready for 2.3 tags back when tags were in 2.2-alpha – then went branch.
I guess I did it in hopes that others will update their themes for tags, and then add it to the list.
R. Hoeppner: With your posts or comments? Search for gravatars or avatars and WordPress to get your answers.
spencerp: It makes sense to have a WordPress Theme list. I have no problem with that. I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss another tag or item that would make WordPress Themes compatible beyond tags. Thanks! It’s very hard work.
“spencerp: It makes sense to have a WordPress Theme list. I have no problem with that. I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss another tag or item that would make WordPress Themes compatible beyond tags. Thanks! It’s very hard work.”
Ah, I see. You didn’t miss anything. 🙂 As far as I know, Tags are the only thing that will need accounted for when upgrading a theme.
However, I’m not sure about the Tag Cloud Widget? As far as I know, there isn’t a Tag Cloud coded into the Prepackaged WP themes. Some might want to prepackage this into their themes, but that’s entirely up to them.
Other than that, there really isn’t anything else to worry about. Like you said in your post, just follow Rich’s guide to add Tags to your themes. 🙂
For some people, like me for example…I used IF ELSE functions for tag coding. This way, rather then making up two different versions of your theme(s). A version to work on WP versions 2.2 and under, and another theme version to work on just 2.3.
I’d use the IF ELSE statements in your current themes. For example:
<?php if ( function_exists( 'the_tags' ) ) : the_tags('Tags: ', ', ',''); endif; ?>
Whew! Good to know, and thanks for including the conditional statement. That is the best method for including such a new tag into a WordPress Theme so it will cover multiple versions. I should have mentioned it here, but I had that ready for the Blog Herald announcement on Wednesday. Dumb me. 😀 Thanks for CYA.
hmmm I’m experiencing problems with WP 2.3.
I removed the link to your screenshot because it had information you do not want the public to see. Please keep URL addresses to the “underbelly” of your blog private. 😀
The problem, as the error states, is with a WordPress Plugin. Make sure you deactivated all of them before you installed WordPress (or do it now) and activate them one by one until you find the error. And problems like this are best asked on the WordPress Support Forums. You will get help there faster and they can better respond to your problems.
I’m back Lorelle. 😀 I found another thing that needs addressed, regarding themes and updating those themes…
For example:
“i had this error in the frontpage after upgrade to 2.3
WordPress database error: [Table ‘a19108.wp_categories’ doesn’t exist]
SELECT cat_id, cat_name FROM wp_categories WHERE link_count >= 1 ”
“i deactivate all plug-ins, one by one, and the message didn’t disappear
the problematic code is:
Archives
get_results("SELECT cat_id, cat_name FROM $wpdb->linkcategories");
}
else {
$link_cats = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT cat_id, cat_name FROM $wpdb->categories WHERE link_count >= 1");
}
foreach ($link_cats as $link_cat) {
?>
”
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/135561?replies=5
Themes will spit DB errors, then users come to WP.org forums reporting errors because the original themes might use OLD CODE in them. This is ONE thing that’s causing alot of Database Errors and them posting about them in the forums…
Just giving this to you now, might want to touch on this subject alot then. 🙂 😉
Crap. Thanks, spencercp. I’m on the road traveling and have VERY limited access to the Internet right now – not to mention time. I’ll look into this. What is causing the split in the older Themes? Hmmm. Queries? Specific Plugins? I have that I can’t get into this right this very minute. Work sucks. 😀
“Crap. Thanks, spencercp. I’m on the road traveling and have VERY limited access to the Internet right now – not to mention time. I’ll look into this. What is causing the split in the older Themes? Hmmm. Queries? Specific Plugins? I have that I can’t get into this right this very minute. Work sucks”
You’re fine, it’s no rush. 🙂 AFAIK, it’s basically just original code that’s placed in SOME theme files, example: functions.php, sidebar.php, and other general files as well.
Because most themes were made to query those older database tables. Same goes for alot of various plugins. Themes and Plugins in general queried the database tables for WP 2.2 and previous versions.
With 2.3 out, three original database tables were dropped during upgrade from 2.X versions to 2.3… it’s causing alot of hysteria. Plugins and themes will need revamped basically saying.
Maybe not total revamping, but double checking through files, see if database query calls for old tables exist, then revamp those files accordingly.
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/135564?replies=8#post-620698
I just released a plugin that may be of help to those upgrading to WordPress 2.3. It’s called “Upgrade Preflight Check”. What it does is scan through your other plugins and themes to look for problems that may cause errors with WordPress 2.3. It’s best to run it before upgrading, but it could also help identify the source of errors after upgrading.
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