[sourcecode language="PHP"]
function gallery_columns($content){
$columns = 2;
$pattern = array(
‘/([gallery(.*?)columns="([0-9])"(.*?)])/ie’,
‘/([gallery])/ie’,
‘/([gallery(.*?)])/ie’
);
$replace = ‘stripslashes(strstr("1", "columns="$columns"") ? "1" : "[gallery 2 4 columns="$columns"]")’;

return preg_replace($pattern, $replace, $content);
}

add_filter(‘the_content’, ‘gallery_columns’);
[/sourcecode]

Make sure you change $columns = 2; to however many columns you like. Also the above code has to be wrapped in &#lt;?php and ?> or it will not work.

Very nice and elegant. This way if you change themes, you don’t have to manually edit every Post or Page to adjust how the Gallery column thumbnails display. Thanks Zeo.

Directions

You will need a functions.php file in the theme template folder. If it already exists, open it. Otherwise, open you’re favorite HTML editor (I use Emerald Editor for the PC and TextWrangler for the Mac) and save the blank file as functions.php inside the WordPress theme template folder.

Open up the functions.php file and paste the code below anywhere inside the file. Be sure that you don’t accidentally place this function inside another function or you’ll get a blank screen when trying to load your website. If you’re new to the functions.php file, it may take some trial and error to get this right.

[sourcecode language="PHP"]
// Page Paragraph column short code (http://basicmaths.subtraction.com/demo/)
// Right
function basic_rightcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">rightcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("rightcolumn", "basic_rightcolumn");

// Top
function basic_topcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">topcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("topcolumn", "basic_topcolumn");

// Left
function basic_leftcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">leftcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("leftcolumn", "basic_leftcolumn");
[/sourcecode]

So what does all of this code do exactly? Let’s look at each part of code individually and the how to use it when writing Posts or Pages.

The first part of code:

[sourcecode language="PHP"]
// Right
function basic_rightcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">rightcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("rightcolumn", "basic_rightcolumn");
[/sourcecode]

sets up a new WordPress Shortcode, [rightcolumn][/rightcolumn], that you can use in your Posts and Pages. So when you write a Post or Page and you enclose some text in the Shortcode, that will cause WordPress to wrap your text in HTML markup. For example, if I was to write:

[rightcolumn]This should appear in the right column.[/rightcolumn]

and then Publish the Post, looking at the source code of the published page, I should see:

<div class="rightcolumn"><p>This should appear in the right column.</p></div>

The second part of code:

[sourcecode language="PHP"]
// Top
function basic_topcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">topcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("topcolumn", "basic_topcolumn");
[/sourcecode]

sets up another new WordPress Shortcode,[topcolumn][/topcolumn], that maybe necessary depending on how your theme is laid out. The biggest advantage I see with the [topcolumn] is that you can use it right after the [leftcolumn] and [rightcolumn] to fix any CSS float issues.

The final part of code:

[sourcecode language="PHP"]
// Left
function basic_leftcolumn($atts, $content = null) {
return ‘<div class="<span class=">leftcolumn">’ . $content . ‘</div>’;
}
add_shortcode("leftcolumn", "basic_leftcolumn");
[/sourcecode]

adds <div class="leftcolumn"><p></p></div> to whatever is enclosed in the [leftcolumn][/leftcolumn] Shortcode.

Now you need to style those divs appropriately in order for the two columns to appear. This is what I use in my style sheet, but you mileage may vary:

[sourcecode language="CSS"]
.entry .leftcolumn, .entry .rightcolumn {width: 50%; }
.entry .leftcolumn {float: left;  }
.entry .rightcolumn {float: right; }
.entry .leftcolumn p {padding-right: 0.5em; }
.entry .rightcolumn p {padding-left: 0.5em; }
.entry .topcolumn {clear: both; }
[/sourcecode]

Now to use this, you start a new Post or you can edit an existing Post, and decide where you want the 2-columns to appear and write:

[leftcolumn]This is the stuff that I'll be putting in my left column.[/leftcolumn]
[rightcolumn]This is the stuff that will go into the right column. Isn't it pretty?[/rightcolumn]
[topcolumn]This will span the entire width and be a normal one-column paragraph.[/topcolumn]

With the Shortcodes, you can put them next to each other or do a hard-return, it doesn’t matter. In actuality, the WordPress Visual Editor will probably move it all to one line. You can also put [rightcolumn] before the [leftcolumn] as the right column will always be right so long as you have the CSS correct.

The only thing you can’t do is something like this:

[leftcolumn]This is the stuff that I'll be putting in my left column.[/leftcolumn]
[topcolumn]This will span the entire width and be a normal one-column paragraph.[/topcolumn]
[rightcolumn]This is the stuff that will go into the right column. Isn't it pretty?[/rightcolumn]

as you’ll have some weird styling errors.

Example

Conclusion

There are a number of ways you can accomplish two-column post layouts. There a number of jQuery techniques including this WordPress plugin that accomplishes the task but I’m a big fan of less. The less plugins you have to use, the faster your website will load. Also you want to make it as easy as possible for non-techie writers to be able to implement easily. One of the hardest part is to have the non-techie writer try to use the HTML Editor, see a garble of code, mess around and everything is screwed up. Extreme case, but it happens. With the use of WordPress Shortcodes, they can easily implement the feature from the Visual Editor and focus on writing.

Thank you to the Basic Maths WordPress Theme for the very useful code.

UPDATE (2010-05-17): Here’s a trick by WPRecipes.com on how to automatically output content into two columns using the functions.php for those who are looking for a method that doesn’t require users to remember code.

His technique worked out quite nicely and will allow me to post other iFrame content while still using the Visual Editor and not worry about the iFrame code getting stripped out. So I’m reposting his technique here for future reference.

You need to have a functions.php file in your theme for this to work. If it doesn’t exist, just create one and drop this line of code into it, making sure it is wrapped by <?php and ?> (thanks to Smick for reminding me):

[sourcecode language="php"]
function field_func($atts) {
global $post;
$name = $atts['name'];
if (empty($name)) return;

return get_post_meta($post->ID, $name, true);
}

add_shortcode(‘field’, ‘field_func’);
[/sourcecode]

Upload that file into the theme folder that you are using or want to enable iFrames for.

Now any anytime you want to embed a Google Map iFrame, all you have to do in your Post Editor is decide where you want the iFrame to appear and put:

View Larger Map

Then scroll down to the Custom Fields box and under Name write iframe and under Value paste in the exact code. Here’s an example:

Make sure you click Add Custom Field to save the entry or it won’t show up in your post when you publish or update the changes. Now you can easily edit the existing post using the Visual Editor and not have to worry about losing any of your iFrame code.

Also note that unlike a plugin where you can switch themes and the code will continue to work, once you switch to a new theme, the iFrame code will no longer appear in any of your posts so make sure to include this line of code in your new theme. You could also save yourself the headache and make this function into a WordPress plugin.

So how is the new WordPress MU 2.7, the new user interface, and functionality? Well so far, it’s excellent. Read on to hear more about my thoughts on the new WPMU 2.7.

New Changes

Completely new user interface back-end. With the introduction of WordPress 2.5/WPMU 2.5, the administration user interface was quite different. It was the “prettiest” to date, easier to use, designed in some part by Happy Cog Studios (more background here), but cumbersome to navigate when trying close comments, change the post date/time, or change authors. Now with the new WP/WPMU 2.7, the admin back-end has changed yet again; for the better this time. What the 2.5 admin back-end did was to refocus on people who write rather than developers as a majority of WordPress users are not always developers. The 2.7 admin back-end does a very good job of organizing all the important “writing” tools within reach and in sensible locations. I find people who use the new 2.7 back-end spend less time looking for things such as how to change a published post back to a draft, future posting, and so forth. Things are much easier to find and use now, although it will take a bit of time getting use to Design is now Appearance and a few other things have been moved around.

Viper007Bond’s Admin Bar Plugin. I’ve used Viper007Bond’s Admin Bar plugin (download from WordPress Plugin Directory) for quite a while now and have it deployed on my office’s WPMU intranet to much rave reviews. I’m particularly excited to find that as of WPMU 2.7, it is now included into the WP core! Congrats Viper! The Admin Bar is great because it gives users a single point of access through drop down menus on the front-end to all of the back-end admin tasks such as posting, comment moderation, and so forth. User of WP 2.7 will still have to download and activate the Admin Bar as a plugin, whereas WPMU 2.7 users will have it built-in, but disabled on the front page by default. To turn it on for the front-end, login and go to Settings > Admin Bar and under Show the admin menu bar, check the box for On the site. If it doesn’t appear on your front page, most likely the theme you are using is missing wp_head() and wp_footer() template tags (directions here and here). Also if you are running WPMU pre-2.7, I highly suggest removing the Admin Bar plugin before upgrading or you will get the dreaded “already defined” php error.

Comments: Reply, Threading, and Pagination. WP/WPMU 2.7 also opens up a host of new template tags, one of which is really exciting is the new functionality for comments. No longer is there a need to use plugins (you still could I guess) such as WP Comment Remix (a great plugin BTW), Brian’s Threaded Comments, and/or WordPress Paged Comments as WP/WPMU 2.7 has all that functionality built-in. Although it’s worth noting that built-in WP/WPMU features such as these tend to be conversative and not have as many customization options so be expecting more plugins like Lester Chan’s WP-CommentNavi that take the existing and expands it with more options. To take full advantage of the new comment system, you will have to make some changes to your theme(s). Directions on how to do that can be found at the WordPress Codex. I look forward to incorporating these new features into my theme, just not sure when I’ll be able to do so.

Automatic Plugin Upgrades, kind of. Another cool new feature of WP/WPMU 2.7 is the inclusion of searching for new plugins from the WP/WPMU back-end as opposed to visiting the WordPress Plugin Directory. You can also install or upgrade plugins found in the Plugin Directory directly to your WordPress install with the new One-click plugin install feature. I haven’t been able to get it properly working for reasons unknown at the moment, and continue to rely on an FTP program to install and upgrade my plugins. I do have it working on my office’s WPMU intranet though.

Media Uploader Works With Flash 10. It was quite annoying when Adobe released Flash 10 and made some security changes that affected SWFUpload (read more here) because it rendered the WordPress media flash uploader unusable in that when you pressed the Select Files, nothing would happen. Fortunately WordPress 2.7 fixes that issue and now we’re back in business!

There are a host of other features that I won’t spend time discussing, but if you are interested, you can read the entire WP/WPMU 2.7 feature list to see other new included features such as the Sticky Post feature.

Conclusion

WordPress MU 2.7 represents how far WPMU and WordPress have come. WordPress usage is growing and is being used by major outlets such as CNN, Time, Ford, and so forth for their blogging software (read the USAToday interview of WordPress co-creator and Automattic co-founder Matt Mullenweg here).

With the new 2.7 administration panel and features, WordPress is demonstrating how Open Source can be a workable and thriving model.

As an aside, for those who are using Donncha’s wonderful Domain Mapping plugin, there is a new update that addresses one of the biggest flaws (link to the updated files in the comments). It’s worth noting that the problem still exist, but only affects those using the Flash Uploader. So the good news is that you can now finally upload images to a domain mapped subdomain, but the bad news is that it only works with the file browser uploader.

The problems that I have noticed with the plugin, so far, when used with WPMU 2.6.2 is that:

• When you write a post and upload a picture via the Media uploader, the image uploads fine, but when you try to embed an image into the post: the Media uploader frame goes blank and the image is not embedded in FireFox and Safari; or you get a host of security error messages and permission denied in Internet Explorer and then you get the login screen.
• In the Write Post screen, when you try to “Add New Category” and click Add, the new category is not created.
• The Flash Uploader reverts to the browser uploader (uploading multiple files vs single files) for the first picture uploaded, but changes to the Flash uploader afterward.
• You will sometimes get a funky error when trying to activate/deactivate multiple plugins simultaneously.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think with WPMU version 2.6.1 and previous, the Domain Mapping plugin worked completely, but since upgrading to WPMU 2.6.2, it’s been a bit off.

From what I can tell, it has something to do with authentication. For example, http://buiphotography.com is mapped to http://buiphotography.bui4ever.com. Based on what Donncha designed the Domain Mapping plugin to do:

The domain mapping is for blogs only, not sites. The domain mapping hack always annoyed me because it mixed the two concepts up so much. Donncha

What that means is that http://buiphotography.bui4ever.com is the actual site. When you domain map http://buiphotography.com, both the URLS continue to work on the back-end (WordPress Dashboard/Administration Panel), but anyone visiting http://buiphotography.bui4ever.com, the URL will rewrite to http://buiphotography.com.

I think the problem lies in that you if you login via http://buiphotography.com/wp-admin/, the cookies do not populate to http://buiphotography.bui4ever.com. Some where there is where the media uploader is not getting the correct permissions. So I’m not sure if this problem existed before WPMU 2.6.2 or after.

There is one solution, but I personally (and I imagine Donncha) don’t find this the best solution, but it works. Andrea R. suggested editing all the blog fields from http://subdomain.domain.tld/ to http://domain.tld/.