Luckily, there’s a sweet hook, registration_errors you can get into. It accepts 3 parameters: $errors, which is the WP_Error object; $login, which is the user_login entered during registration; and $email, which is the user_email entered during registration.

Here’s the code:

add_action('registration_errors', 'sizeable_restrict_domains', 10, 3);
function sizeable_restrict_domains( $errors, $login, $email ) {
	$whitelist = array('sizeableinteractive.com', 'theandystratton.com');
	if ( is_email($email) ) {
		$parts = explode('@', $email);
		$domain = $parts[count($parts)-1];
		if ( !in_array(strtolower($domain), $whitelist) ) {
			$errors->add('email_domain', __('ERROR: You may only register with an approved email address.'));
		}
	}
	return $errors;
}

Remember to specify some kind of priority AND how many parameters your callback function will accept when adding actions. I always forget to specify them when coding quickly from scratch and wonder why I’m getting weird values in my callback functions parameters.

Happy WP’ing.

Often, I will find an old project (or inherit, or destroy) a project with subversion directories and files in it. However I get there, every few months I find myself wanting to remove subversion folders recursively and am not well-versed in shell scripting to remember how to do it.

Here’s the single line magic removal of .svn directories:

rm -rf `find . -type d -name .svn`

And here’s the script I wrote and placed in my home directory, ~/recursively-kill-svn.sh:

while true; do
	read -p "Do you want to recursively delete all .svn folders/files in the current directory (`pwd`)? (y/n)" yn
	case $yn in

		[Yy]* ) rm -rf `find . -type d -name .svn`; echo ".svn directories in `pwd` have been recursively killed!!1"; break;;

		[Nn]* ) echo "I've done absolutely nothing."; exit;;
		* ) exit;
	esac
done

With this in my home directory, I just move to a project folder, type:

~/recursively-kill-svn.sh

…and hit enter. Enjoy.

P.S. If it’s not working for you (or auto-completing when you hit tab in Terminal) make sure it has permissions to execute:

chmod +x ~/recursively-kill-svn.sh

P.P.S. You can rename the file to whatever you like.

It’s effectively missing a very simple, but critical JSON property in the root level object, named rpp (results per page, perhaps?).

Example:

<script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script>
<script>
new TWTR.Widget({
  version: 2,
  type: 'search',
  search: 'rainbow',
  interval: 6000,
  rpp: 5,
  title: 'It\'s a double rainbow',
  subject: 'Across the sky',
  width: 250,
  height: 300,
  theme: {
    shell: {
      background: '#8ec1da',
      color: '#ffffff'
    },
    tweets: {
      background: '#ffffff',
      color: '#444444',
      links: '#1985b5'
    }
  },
  features: {
    scrollbar: false,
    loop: true,
    live: true,
    hashtags: true,
    timestamp: true,
    avatars: true,
    toptweets: true,
    behavior: 'default'
  }
}).render().start();
</script>

That’s it. Just add that rpp property and set it to the number you want to limit by and boom!

So, I wrote a quick plugin that I thought was a more elegant (and that did not affect expected, core WordPress behaviors).

Raw HTML Snippets

This plugin allows you to create a library of raw HTML snippets you need to embed within post/page content, then uses the native shortcode API to embed them without them being auto-formatted by wpautop or wptexturize.

It may not be as convenient as pasting directly into the HTML tab of the WYSIWYG editor, but it’s a solution that’s reusable, clean and does not interfere with the core functionality of WordPress or other possible plugins/shortcodes/content filters.

Raw HTML Snippets | Download

Give it a whirl, and let me know what you think!

Now, the easiest way to limit the reliance on the theme for the functionality I am building is to use shortcodes that output conditional content based on whether a user is logged in, based on user meta data, etc.

Shortcode Autoformatting Has Helped Doubled My Time

I have spent twice the amount of estimated time on this project, and at least 50% of that bloat has been this mysterious issue of my shortcode output being mysteriously auto-formatted with paragraph tags (<p>) and line-breaks (<br />).

I’ve spent days ripping out the tiny hairs on my head trying to figure out why I’m such a moron when it comes to WP’s shortcode API and core content filters (things I’ve been working with for YEARS).

I Do Something I Should Do More Often.

My e-friend Carl Hancock of Rocket Genius, the company behind the awesomeness of functionality and user-experience that is GravityForms, helped shed some light on this problem.

I figured he’d be the prefect person to reach out to, since the core of displaying a Gravity Form relies on WordPress’ Shortcode API.

As we are direct messaging on Twitter, I remember his comments about fixing MANY ThemeForest theme issues for clients using Gravity Forms due to terrible coding standards and overriding core functionality that affect both Gravity Forms and other plugins.

I hunt through some of the 100+ files embedded in this pre-built theme framework and fine this, well, poor code:

//Disable Automatic formatting in WordPress posts
function my_formatter($content) {
	$new_content = '';
	$pattern_full = '{(\[raw\].*?\[/raw\])}is';
	$pattern_contents = '{\[raw\](.*?)\[/raw\]}is';
	$pieces = preg_split($pattern_full, $content, -1, PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);

	foreach ($pieces as $piece) {
		if (preg_match($pattern_contents, $piece, $matches)) {
			$new_content .= $matches[1];
		} else {
			$new_content .= wptexturize(wpautop($piece));
		}
	}
	return $new_content;
}

remove_filter('the_content', 'wpautop');
remove_filter('the_content', 'wptexturize');

add_filter('the_content', 'my_formatter', 99);

No sooner than I see this code, I get a DM from Carl with a link to a WP Recipe article with the exact same code.

I’m not sure WHO this code started with, but I know who used it.

Why is this a problem?

It’s globally removing two very important core content filters that WP has built-in for very good reasons. It is typically assumed by most themes and plugins that these filters are running. I don’t have a problem turning them off conditionally (i.e. specific post ID’s, specific page templates in a theme, etc.). Better yet, set this as a setting in a custom field, per page/post, and have it on by default. Give me the option to disable it and even know it exists if I’m walking into the theme from a distance.

This makes this theme work perfectly and negatively affects ANY and ALL plugins that have shortcodes or possibly filter content after the assumed priority of wpautop and wptexturize.

This is not a solution. It’s more of a hack that may or may not have cause the earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in Japan and the tornados in the southern U.S…

How the hell do I fix this?

Don’t use a theme that poor code in it. That’s the optimal solution. Don’t expect a $36 purchase from a virtual Wal-mart to be stable, secure or provide you with a strong solution for communicating and interacting with your clients.

Okay, so realistically how do I fix this?

1. You can comment these lines of code out, including the remove_filter() calls, so that WP behaves as expected.
2. You can remove this filter in your shortcodes, which is what I did since my client is going to continue to use this theme:

   add_shortcode('andy_shortcode', 'andy_shortcode');
   function andy_shortcode( $atts, $content = '' ) {
   	remove_filter('the_content', 'my_formatter', 99);
   	extract(shortcode_atts(array(), $atts));
   	$output = '<div class="my_formatter_violated_my_output">';
   	$output .= 'Thanks for using the my theme framework.</div>';
   	return $output;
   }

   Remeber you MUST enter their priority value of 99 (or whatever it is set to in your theme, chances are you’re using a theme from the same authors, or authors of the same mentality).

3. You can stop using shortcodes or pray that it doesn’t affect you.

Final Thoughts

I understand what the intention of this functionality is. In fact, I think it’s a good idea, just a poor implementation.

Ultimately, I’d move away from these themes and check out some stronger theme directories with dedicate WP experts coding, not a hodge-podge marketplace. Being that I’m kind of against purchasing pre-built themes from both a designer and developer standpoint, I can’t recommend a good site, but I’m sure I can keep recommending sites NOT to use.

Good luck and God Speed.

I Can’t See My Custom Fields

I used custom fields a lot. Sometimes I create custom meta boxes for them, sometimes I have clients use the custom fields meta box directly. When we upgraded one of my client’s sites, my original administrator account still saw everything but the other accounts only saw the Publish, Page Attributes and title/editor panes in the Add/Edit Page screen.

Not cool. I was freaked. Then I realized (thanks to a support post at WordPress.org) that there are screen options there. They could’ve been there before and I just never paid attention, but now I know:

Hopefully that helps you out.

Killing the WordPress 3.1 Update Admin Bar

Don’t get me wrong. I get it. I like it. But I have some installs where we are leveraging WP accounts but don’t want to advertise to the user that we’re on WP. I’ve used it for some very interesting applications and customized some installs heavily (not core, of course) and some clients just freaked about it.

My preferred method, thanks to Joost de Valk, is to just to turn it off completely:

add_filter('show_admin_bar', '__return_false');

Remember, if you just want to hide it for yourself you can edit your user profile in the admin screens. Check out Joost’s article for more options. Happy double-you-peeing.

We thought this was a weird environment issue at first, but then I found this post that showed me it’s a common issue that’s been reported to their development team.

I continued searching for a solution and got some direction from a solution by @foralien on the BuddyPress forums. Her solution did not work for, but I created my own version and had success.

What was happening?

Our BuddyPress installation was trying to get avatars from /blogs.dir/1/files/avatars/{$user_id}/{$filename} – which did not eve exist, this was referencing a files directory for the root blog and it didn’t even exist.

As per @foralien’s solution, I created 2 filters (one for the avatar path, the other for the avatar public URL):

Download the Code

// Custom filters to clean up issues in WP 3.0 with avatar paths.
// Written by @theandystratton
function sizeable_bp_core_avatar_folder_dir( $path ) {
	$items = explode('/', $path);
	$path = ABSPATH . 'wp-content/uploads/avatars/' . end($items);
	return $path;
}
add_filter('bp_core_avatar_folder_dir', 'sizeable_bp_core_avatar_folder_dir');
function sizeable_bp_core_avatar_folder_url( $url ) {
	$items = explode('/', $url);
	$url = 'http://' . $items[2] . '/wp-content/uploads/avatars/' . end($items);
	return $url;
}
add_filter('bp_core_avatar_folder_url', 'sizeable_bp_core_avatar_folder_url');

What it’s doing

We’re filtering the path and the url for avatars to ensure it’s using the WP 3.0 location, which is the upload_path for the root site followed by /avatars/{$user_id}. This is not a forever fix. I’d use it as duct tape until they release a BuddyPress update for WP 3.0 fixing the issue.

Hope this helps you guys and saves you some time and frustration.

1. Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan.

In any project, it works best to put pen to paper and create a plan of action. In programming, we tend to call these algorithms. They take shape as lists, flow charts and diagrams. I do them all the time. They fit into our patterns of daily life quite well. It’s all about making the right decisions, implementing them is the easy part.

Organization and foresight can save you in both web development and life. (Though, there’s something to be said for spontaneity.)

2. There Are An Infinite Number of Solutions To Every Problem.

It’s true. There are a million different ways to do something. In web programming, the metric for appropriateness is the client needs, the hosting environment and project budget/scope. In life, it tends to be your environmental context, i.e. social, economic, political, etc. All in all, there’s no 100% definitive right way to do something, what a pleasure it’s been to accept that truth!

3. Shortcuts Have a Time and a Place.

That epic battle of quality versus quantity. Everyone wants both, whether they are a client or someone in your personal life. There’s a time and a place for libraries of code, pre-existing applications and templates. Ideally, you want to craft your own path, but sometimes you just don’t have the budget. That budget could be a project’s financial budget, it could be a timeline or it could be your mental or physical energy.

I’ve found that context is a key indicator in whether or not I should be using a shortcut in my web (and personal) development.

4. Nothing Ever Goes 100% As You Planned.

It’s hard to meet 100% of people’s expectations. Expectations, even if clearly defined, can still be subjective. Everyone has an image of how they want a project to go, and it’s rarely exactly as they envisioned. The same with life. Perfection is a myth and there’s perfection in imperfection. It’s a great thing, and it’s very relieving to understand that fact and appreciate the moments you have.

5. Specialization is Key.

This is about focus. Remember the old design adage: if everything is important, nothing is important. It’s true. A jack of all trades is an expert in none. Same with life. Keeping your focus on the things that are most important to you will make you successful. For some it’s family, others it’s career and status, and for some: it’s others. The best advice is to find out what you want to specialize in and become an expert. Success is bound to follow.

6. Exercise Is Important!

Practice makes perfect. Exercise your skills and you’ll get better, polished and more refined. The same with your body and mind. The computer is my tool for work, my body and mind are my tools for life. Never stop learning and growing. It keeps you fresh and focused (see #5). Exercising your body will also help your energy levels, concentration and keep you healthy.

7. Nothing Gets Done Until You Do It.

In my industry, we tend to talk a lot about process. What would be great/fun/cool/exciting. But nothing ever happens until we start building the application. Same goes for life. You can talk all you want about what you want to do with yourself, but it’s never going to happen until you take action.

8. There’s Always Someone Better Than You (At Least In Your Mind).

I think I’m a good programmer. I’ve gotten compliments from mentors and people I respect/admire in my industry…then I see some other great professionals’ work and I think, I suck. Not the case! There is always someone better than you at what you’re doing, and if you’re the best, odds are you don’t know it. That’s the nature of hard workers.

It’s important to remember that and avoid becoming stressed out or consumed by what others are doing. That’s just unnecessary distraction. Focus on you and be the best version of yourself – and OWN it. Good things will follow. No one ever stood out by following the crowd anyway.

9. You’ll Never Be Disappointed You Did Something Right the First Time.

So, you’re building a form that accepts payment information. You’re only checking to make sure fields aren’t empty. 1,000 spam submissions hit and plague your clients inbox because you didn’t validate an email address or require a CAPTCHA. Ouch.

If you had took the time in the first place to build it right, this wouldn’t be an issue. You’d be playing some kind of stereotypical gaming console drinking Red Bull or whatever drink the typical web developer is drinking now-a-days and your client would be happy and probably referring you to others.

There’s a classic honorability in doing something right the first time. Same with life. I’ve taken far too many shortcuts when I shouldn’t have in life, and in most cases it’s cause me grief. I have never regretted taking the long road to do something right.

10. There’s No Substitute For Fresh Air and Sunshine On Your Face.

Get out of the house, get away from the screen and breath some fresh air. You need it. You’re body, mind and soul will thank you. You’ll come back with a fresh perspective.

My career is based on machines, and I’ll be the first to admit that human beings weren’t meant to sit in front of them all day. Think of me as the blogging, freelancing Peter Gibbons.

So, I give you the cleaner (special thanks to Michael Safovich for requesting and testing).

What’s it do

It recursively looks through it’s current directory (and subdirectories) for PHP files (by default it’s looking for php, php4, php5 and phtml extensions, but this is customizable) and killing any whitespace in the beginning of the file, turning:

   
   
   
<?php include_once './wp-blog-header.php'; ?>

into this:

<?php include_once './wp-blog-header.php'; ?>

Make sense? Good, here’s the download link.

Tips & Customization

BACK UP YOUR FILES. You agree to take responsibility for running this, because I sure don’t (though I think you’ll be fine).

To run on custom file types, edit the $fileTypes array to include the types you want to strip leading whitespace from.

The script will run for the current directory. You will need to set the $directory variable to contain the path you’d like to recursively clean, in most cases you’d drop the cleaner.php file in your document root and hit it in the browser.

It will run immediately and output a log. Hope it helps. ¡Hasta luego!

The Problem(s)

• Sending mail from PHP’s mail() function and SwiftMailer both seemed to be sending things correctly (returning true and such)
• No emails were being received by any of my email addresses
• postfix was running
• I kept getting an operation has timed out in the error log when trying to connect to SMTP servers (try: tail -f /var/log/mail.log to see it real time)
• I couldn’t even telnet ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 25

What the EFF, right?

Then I start thinking. I can’t get out on port 25, maybe it’s the router. After resetting the password and all settings (I’m a moron, I forgot the user/pass I setup), and re-configuring everything (I use a custom subnet at home to let me VPN special places), I found no option for this in the FiOS Actiontec router admin software.

FiOS is Blocking Port 25

Yep. That had to be it. I called their support line and confirmed it. My residential account had port 25 blocked and according to a few message boards, business accounts with dedicated IP’s were being blocked as well.

How’d I get around it? I found this article on relaying mail through Google SMTP with postfix on Snow Leopard and it saved my life.

I don’t have a lot of time to describe everything, but just follow life-saving article

Thanks, Jules. You literally saved me hundreds to even thousands of dollars in time/energy.

Now everyone, say thanks to Jules…