So, it’s not the greatest of milestones, but my first plugin in the WordPress Plugin Repository, Edit Author Slug, has reached 1,000+ downloads. I still have lots more I’d like to do with the plugin, and I have a few more plugins in the works. Hopefully, this will be the first of many such milestones.
A couple of hours ago, I tagged Edit Author Slug 0.4 for release. This new version brings a few enhancements. As I stated in the release announcement of Edit Author Slug 0.4-beta1, you can now gain full control of your Author slugs and links. This new version allows you to, not only update the Author Slug, but the Author Base as well. I’ve also greatly expanded and improved code documentation. Thanks to Marcis G., Belorussian I have added to the list of translations. Finally, but in my opinion most importantly, I’ve added some extra security checks to help harden Edit Author Slug against XSS attacks.
Edit Author Slug 0.4-beta1 is now available in the WordPress Plugins Directory. You can find it under “Other Versions” in the Plugins Directory, or via the direct download link at the bottom of this post. This new version adds the ability to change the Author Base, which WordPress sets to ‘author‘ by default. This means that Edit Author Slug now gives you full control of your author links. Below I’ve added a before and after example of the new power of Edit Author Slug.
Before 0.4-beta1
http://example.com/author/user-name/
http://example.com/author/firstname-lastname/
With 0.4-beta1+
http://example.com/ninja/master-splinter/
http://example.com/ninja/donatello/
This new option will be found under Settings > Permalinks in your dashboard.
Download Edit Author Slug 0.4-beta1
Update
I forgot to mention that the plugin should be very stable. The main reason for the beta is to allow translators to get their translations in before I officially release the plugin. If you’re a translator, and you’d like to add your language, grab the download, and get to work. You can find the template in the plugin folder under languages/edit-author-slug.pot. My preferred contact information can be found there.
Localization is now possible for Edit Author Slug 0.3+. Ideally, this would have been possible from the beginning, but I was lazy. I’ve included a file — edit-author-slug.pot — which can act as a template for your localized po/mo files. Contact details are in the file, so if you decide to translate the plugin, just send me the files, and a note with the language you’re translating, and I’ll get them added in an update.
I don’t use Basecamp, but if I did, I would add this app awesomeness to my iPhone arsenal. Beautiful UI work, by Select Start Studios.
So , when I sat down to code version 0.2, I made some significant changes to one of the functions. In the process, I removed an important check to determine if that author slug had actually been changed before attempting to update. This caused issues when trying to update your profile info, or that of another user, giving an error stating that the author slug was already in use. Well, obviously, the slug was in use, which lead the display of an erroneous error message. I didn’t thoroughly test the bug, but it may also have prevented profiles from being updated at all. The issue has now been resolved, and is another reminder of why you always test, retest, then re-retest before committing code for public consumption. Download Edit Author Slug 0.2.1
Update: Thanks to Stefano Aglietti for reporting the issue.
I wish I had thought to do my own version of Axe Cop with my brother. Maybe my daughter will have an awesomely active imagination, and I can have fun with it.
Version 0.2 of my plugin, Edit Author Slug, has been released. Go check it out if you’ve never tried it, update if you already use it. Nothing new and exciting you’ll likely notice, but it makes a few things work better behind the scenes.
I’ve had some sort of internet presence for a while now, and I’ve had this domain for a while too. I keep thinking I’ll have the time and inspiration to do something awesome with this site, but so far, no matter the inspiration, the time doesn’t permit me to do what I’d like to do with brandonallen.org. So, here we are. I gave into the realization that I needed something here, and this is the result. I’ve gone with WordPress with the Thematic theme, as I know WordPress really well, and Thematic because it’s incredibly flexible and customizable. Speaking of flexibility and customization, I’ll be doing a lot of that here. I figured having a site, and working on bits a pieces as I have the time, is better than never getting something up. I haven’t fully planned what I’ll be doing here, but it will most definitely include posts on WordPress, ExpressionEngine, design, and web development. I’ll eventually get a portfolio up, I would assume. Both design and photography. I’m sure some stuff about my daughter will make it past the editors, although I’ll be keeping those posts to a minimum — a) so I don’t bore you, and b) for privacy reasons. Don’t be surprised if quotes from Twitter, random thoughts, and just little bits of awesome make it on here. Feel free to join in and help me on my quest to bring awesome back.
Edit Author Slug 0.5
I just tagged Edit Author Slug a few minutes ago in the WordPress plugin repository. It has gone live on WordPress Plugins Directory, and will likely be available via auto-upgrade within the next 24 hours. No major changes in this release, as this release was mostly about usability enhancements.
Edit Author Slug now adds an “Author Slug” column to the user list in the Dashboard (Users > Authors & Users for 2.9.x and Users > Users for 3.0+). Thanks to Yonat Sharon for the code jumpstart. I altered the processing of the author slug before saving, which has allowed for a wider variety of characters. You are no longer restricted to alpha-numeric characters and numbers. Aside from that there were a few minor bug fixes. Most of the bug fixes were just things I wanted to do better. Hope you continue to find the plugin useful!