Error
The package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style.css stylesheet.
I get the following error, what does it mean?
The package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style.css stylesheet.
If you are trying to install a Connections template as a theme you will receive this error. Connections templates must be installed using the template installer. Please following the template installation instructions found here:
http://connections-pro.com/documentation/plugin/install/templates/
The package could not be installed. No valid plugins were found.
I get the following error, what does it mean?
The package could not be installed. No valid plugins were found.
If you are trying to install a Connections template as a plugin you will receive this error. Connections templates must be installed using the template installer. Please following the template installation instructions found here:
http://connections-pro.com/documentation/plugin/install/templates/
Why do I get a 404 error when clicking on an entry’s web address?
Edit the address to include: http:// at the beginning of the web address.
I get errors when trying to upload an image to an entry, how do I fix this?
Your wp_content folder is not writable, use Filezilla to set the permissions to 755. If you specifically have this folder set to be not writable, you will have to manually create a folder named connection_images and set its permissions to 755.
NOTE: You may have to increase the permissions to 767. In instances where the folder is already present, try deleting it first and then set the permissions. Although highly not recommended you could try setting the permissions to 777.
Fatal error on activation, what does this mean?
Connections requires PHP 5, so solution will determined depending on who you have as your web host provider, but you can try the following:
First, try accessing your control panel and see if the option is available to change the default running version of PHP. If that option is not available, please ask you host provider to upgrade your account. If PHP 5 is available on your host and you still are receiving this error try adding the following to your .htaccess file:
SetEnv DEFAULT_PHP_VERSION 5 |
General
Why does the template layout look wrong?
There are primarily two reasons this issue occurs:
One, when copy pasting the shortcode into a page or post while using the rich text editor (the Visual tab) HTML tags will also be pasted. The solution is to paste the shortcode into the HTML editor (the HTML tab) or use the “Paste as Plain Text” button in the Visual editor.
To fix this, go to the page or post where you pasted the Connections shortcode, switch to the HTML editor and remove any HTML tags that surround the shortcode, for example <pre></pre> and <code></code>.
Two, many commercial themes support shortcodes named or [noformat]. If your theme does, wrap the Connections shortcode within one of them. Here are examples of how to use the and [noformat] shortcodes.
[raw][connections][/raw] |
[noformat][connections][/noformat] |
Why? The theme is removing and then re-applying the wpautop filter which is interfering with all shortcodes. Here’s a link to a comment that explains the issue in more detail: http://wpforce.com/prevent-wpautop-filter-shortcode/#comment-1328. And here’s another link with more info: http://theandystratton.com/2011/shortcode-autoformatting-html-with-paragraphs-and-line-breaks
If the [raw] or [norformat] shortcodes do not work, please visit the Support Forum for assistance. A copy of your theme may be required in order to debug the issue.
UPDATE: 03-15-2013
Is Connections compatible with WordPress Multisite?
Connections has not been tested with WordPress Multisite, but is has been reported by several users that Connections does work without issue. Please follow this process to properly activate Connections on WordPress Multisite.
If you have activated Connections for the network, you have to disable the network activation. Then go into the multisite settings and check the box for plugin administration. Next go into individual sites you wish to use Connections, you can then choose which non-network activated plugins you want to activate. Connections should show up in this list, activate it.
Can Connections be translated into my language?
Yes, as of version 0.7.3, the required default.po file is available for translation.
Why do dotted underlines show under the dates?
Some browsers put a dotted underline or border on each <abbr> tag. The <abbr> tag is needed for hCalendar event compatibility. To remove this from the styling, add the following CSS rule declaration to your theme’s CSS.
.vevent abbr{border:0} |
Where are custom templates uploaded?
The custom templates are uploaded to the wp-content folder. The path is ../wp-content/connections_templates/
Where are the images saved?
The images are uploaded to the wp-content folder. The path is ../wp-content/connection_images/
Why don’t all individuals show when I use the list_type option in the shortcode?
Older versions of Connections didn’t set this property to an entry. To fix; edit all entries that should appear in the list by selecting the appropriate type and then save the entry.
Why don’t any entries show up when I use the shortcode?
When adding a new entry you have the option of choosing public, private or unlisted. This setting affects if a listing will be shown when embedded in a page/post. If an entry is public, that entry will shown at all times. If an entry is private, that listing will only be shown when a registered user is logged into your site. By choosing unlisted, that entry will not be shown and is only visible in the admin.
NOTE: When using the shortcode an attribute can be set that will allow you to override the private status of an entry. This is useful if you wish to show a single entry or group of entries regardless if it was set to private or not.
Which version of PHP does this plug-in require?
Connections requires PHP version 5.2.4 or greater.
Known Issues
Roles Settings Reset
Upgrading Connections the selections that were previously set are reverted back to their default values.
ModSecurity
If you running on a server with ModSecurity you will need to add a constant in order for the images to be displayed. Add the following to the wp-config.php file:
define('CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL', '/wp-content/connection_images/'); |
NOTE: If you changed the default path to the wp-content folder, you will have to adjust the constant path accordingly.
Plugin Conflicts
Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/comprehensive-google-map-plugin/
Both Connections and Comprehensive Google Map Plugin require the use of the Google Maps API. When this API is included on the page twice, it can cause the mapping functions of Connections and its templates to fail.
Connections does come with an option to disable including the Google Maps API. This option can be found on the Connections : Settings admin page under the Advanced tab. Unchecking this option might resolve the issue in some cases. If the Google Maps API is not loaded by Comprehensive Google Map Plugin before Connections requires it, the mapping functions will continue to fail to work in Connections. This is because of the load order of the plugins which is controlled by WordPress and not Connections or Comprehensive Google Map Plugin.
The only other option is to use another plugin. A user suggested Leaflet Maps Marker as an alternative to Comprehensive Google Map Plugin.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Comprehensive Google Map Plugin 7.0.31
kk Star Ratings
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/kk-star-ratings/
When this plugin is installed and activated it interferes with being able to edit categories.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on kk Star Ratings 2.1
.html on PAGES
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/html-on-pages/
This plugin adds the “.html” to the wrong portion of the permalinks for Connections. This results in the links returning 404 errors.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on .html on PAGES 1.1
WP Deals
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-deals/
When WP Deals is installed and activated the upload fields for the image and logo fields on the Connections : Add Entry admin page can not be seen. See the screen capture.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on WP Deals 1.1.4
External Links
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sem-external-links/
This plugin re-writes the links created for the Note and Bio tray links on the cMap and Market templates causing them to no longer function. The only fix it to disable this plugin.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on External Links 4.0.6
WordPress Google Calendar
http://code.google.com/p/wpng-calendar/
With this plugin installed, the images in Connections entries will not load. The issue is likely do to a JavaScript conflict.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on WordPress Google Calendar 0.8.5
Shortcodes Ultimate
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/shortcodes-ultimate/
The plugin seems run the wpautop function or the the_content filter in a way that it is runs on other shortcodes which is opposite of the way WP processes shortcodes by default. The issue this causes is that extra line breaks and paragraph tags are inserted into the template output.
This would also negatively affect any shortcode based plugin, but would likely only noticeable on plugins that output significant amounts of HTML.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Shortcodes Ultimate 3.9.5
Fluency Admin
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/fluency-admin/
When Fluency Admin is installed and activated the upload fields for the image and logo fields on the Connections : Add Entry admin page can not be seen. See the screen capture.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Fluency Admin 3.2
JetPack
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/jetpack/
It has been reported that they may be a conflict when JetPack is installed in IE8 only. The page with the Connections directory will only show a smiley face. The smiley face is used for JetPack statistics.
On the Wordpress Stats configuration screen it gives this option:
Hide the stats smiley face image.
The image helps collect stats and makes the world a better place but should still work when hidden
Disable that, and all is well.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on JetPack 1.2.2
Better WP Security
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/better-wp-security/
When this plugin is active it alters the query strings that WordPress attaches to the JavaScript and CSS files. This will break the loading of the Google Maps API by removing the “sensor” parameter. When this is removed, the Google Maps will not work. How can you check for this error? You can check the browser’s developer tools console log. Each browser is different on where the console log can be found but in most cases it can be brought up by hitting the F12 key and switch to the console log section. The error you’re looking for is:
The Google Maps API server rejected your request. The “sensor” parameter specified in the request must be set to either “true” or “false”.
UPDATE: This issue can be resolved by un-checking the option Generate Random Version Number in Better Security Tweaks
UPDATE 2: When performing a search in IE or Chrome, Firefox seems to be unaffected, the results will be shown. However, if you perform a second search from within the previous search results, you will receive a 404 error. At this time there is no solution other than to deactivate Better WP Security.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Better WP Security 2.18
U Comment Extend
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/u-extended-comment/
There might be a conflict with this plugin. The only info I was able to get was that when activated with Connections the site broke. I tested both activated with the default 2011 theme and both plugins seems to function correctly. So, it you are having issues, please try deactivating this plugin.
Update: I was told they were unable to login to their admin. I was not able to replicate this issue either.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on U Comment Extend 1.1.
Auto Thickbox Plus
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/auto-thickbox-plus/
This plugin re-writes the links created for the Note and Bio tray links on the cMap and Market templates causing them to no longer function. The only fix it to disable this plugin.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Auto Thickbox Plus .3.
UPDATE: Version .6 and newer resolves this conflict.
Flickr Gallery
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/flickr-gallery/
It has been reported by a user that this plugin causes the images to fail to load. The mostly likely issue is bad JavaScript as the user also reported that it caused another plugin to fail to function properly.
A potential fix to the Flickr Gallery plugin has been posted to the WordPress forums:
http://wordpress.org/support/
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Flickr Gallery 1.5.2.
Strx Magic Floating Sidebar Maker
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/strx-magic-floating-sidebar-maker/
If Connections is used on a page where a floating sidebar has not been setup the images in Connections will not load. This is because this plugin causes a fatal JavaScript error before the Connections JavaScript has an opportunity run.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Strx Magic Floating Sidebar Maker 1.2.
Events Made Easy
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/events-made-easy/
If the template you are using has an embedded Google map and only an empty box is showing, the cause might be a conflict with Events Made Easy.
This plugin still uses the Google Maps API 2 which is loaded in the head of every page instead of just the pages it is needed on.
Connections uses Google Maps API 3 which is only loaded on the page foot where it is being used.
When the request for the map is sent to Google, it is using the Google Maps API 2 because it was loaded first in the page head by Events Made Easy. The map request from Connections is sent in the Google Maps API3 format which causes a JavaScript error and the map fails to load.
Unfortunately there is no fix for this conflict. The developer for Events Made Easy would need to alter it so it only loads its JavaScripts on the pages where the plugin needs them.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Events Made Easy 1.0.1
BP GTM System
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bp-gtm-system/
This plugin has the following JavaScript error in its global.js file:
Uncaught TypeError: Object [object Object] has no method 'autoCompleteResps'
This error prevents the images from displaying. They appear to be stuck “thinking”.
A possible solution would to be to edit the global.js file found here:
../wp-content/plugins/bp-gtm-system/_inc
Look for line 237:
var resps = jQuery("ul.first").autoCompleteResps({type: 'resps'}); |
Change it to this:
if (jQuery.fn.autoCompleteResps) { var resps = jQuery("ul.first").autoCompleteResps({type: 'resps'}); } |
Now, do the same for line 243:
var tags = jQuery("ul.first").autoCompleteTags({type: 'tags'}); |
Change it to this:
if (jQuery.fn.autoCompleteResps) { var tags = jQuery("ul.first").autoCompleteTags({type: 'tags'}); } |
This is completely untested, so try at your own risk.
NOTE: this FAQ was written based on BP GTM System 1.0.1.
Auto Font Resizer
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/auto-font-resizer-plugin-for-wordpress/
I personally haven’t tested this, but it has been reported that when this plugin is active the “Add Address”, “Add Phone”, “Add Email”, “Add Social Media ID” and “Add Link” buttons do not work on the add entry form page. The cause would be that the plugin does not limit its JavaScript to its own admin pages. So if you find that these button do not work when you install Connections or that those buttons just stop working and you have this plugin installed, please deactivate it to see if it resolves the issue.
Contact Form
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-plugin/
This plugin named simply Contact Form shows up as BWS Contact Form in the WordPress admin. It sets the menu position manually which overwrites the Connections admin menu if it is in the first position in the plugin section after the WordPress Setting menu. So if you install this plugin or have it installed and you do not see the Connections admin menus, please deactivate this plugin.
cForms II
There is a jQuery version conflict between Connections and cForms II. To resolve this conflict, go to the cForms Global Settings page in your WordPress admin and put the post IDs that you are using cForms on in “Include cForms header data only on specific pages” and save the settings.
Sales
Do I have to use PayPal?
Yes and No…
You do not need to use PayPal or more specifically, you do not need a PayPal account in order to make a purchase. Use the “Don’t have a PayPal account?” option. This will allow you to pay by credit card without having to need or use a PayPal account. PayPal will just act as the payment processor, no differently than if you would use the card at your local store.
I get a browser error when I try to make a purchase. How can I fix it?
If you receive the following error when trying to make the purchase:
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.
Please try clearing your browser cookies or try to make the purchase using a private browsing window.
This error seems to be caused by a corrupt cookie set by PayPal.
Terms and Conditions
License
Premium templates and add-on plugins for the Connections WordPress plugin are licensed under the GNU General Public License.
The premium templates and add-on plugins for the Connections WordPress plugin sold at connections-pro.com are permitted to be installed and activated on an unlimited number of WordPress installations, however, support as defined here is only offered on a single WordPress installation where the license key has been activated.
All representative agents of the Connections WordPress plugin retain the right, at any time, to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, a support license with or without notice.
Support
Support is available via support forums only; phone and email support are not offered. Access to the support forums is restricted to an individual and / or a representative agent of an organization that has purchased a premium template license or add-on plugin license for the Connections WordPress plugin. Access to the support forums is granted for a total of 30 consecutive days starting at the date of the last purchase of a premium template license or add-on plugin license for the Connections WordPress plugin from connections-pro.com.
Support is limited to the Connections WordPress plugin and to the premium templates and add-on plugins for the WordPress plugin Connections sold at connections-pro.com. Support for third party WordPress themes and / or WordPress plugins is not provided. In the event that there is a conflict with one more third party WordPress plugins or WordPress themes and it is determined that the source of the conflict is one or more third party WordPress plugins and / or WordPress themes it is up to the discretion of the Connections Help Desk representative agent to determine if a resolution can be provided or if support will have to be deferred to the individual and / representative agent of the third party WordPress plugin and /or WordPress theme.
Price Changes
All representative agents of the Connections WordPress plugin retain the right, at any time, to modify, temporarily or permanently, the price of any of the premium templates, add-on plugins and bundles for the Connections WordPress plugin.
Refund Policy
The premium templates and add-on plugins for the Connections WordPress Plugin are intangible downloadable goods and as such refunds are not issued after the purchase has been completed. However, a refund may be considered within the first 30 days of the of the initial purchase if the premium template or add-on plugin fails to perform according to its designed function when installed on a clean installation of WordPress with no other installed or active plugins and you have worked with help desk support in order to resolve the issue. The refund will then be granted at the sole discretion of help desk support. No refunds will be considered or issued after 30 days of the initial purchase. By completing a purchase of any of the premium templates and / or add-on plugins you agree to this Refund Policy.
Warranty
All premium template and add-on plugins for the Connections WordPress plugin sold at connections-pro.com are sold as is without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. No individual or representative agent of the Connections WordPress plugin is liable for any damages, including but not limited to, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages or losses that occur as a result of the installation and / or activation of any of the premium templates and add-on plugins for the Connections WordPress plugin sold at connections-pro.com.
Theme Conflicts
Why does the template layout look wrong?
There are primarily two reasons this issue occurs:
One, when copy pasting the shortcode into a page or post while using the rich text editor (the Visual tab) HTML tags will also be pasted. The solution is to paste the shortcode into the HTML editor (the HTML tab) or use the “Paste as Plain Text” button in the Visual editor.
To fix this, go to the page or post where you pasted the Connections shortcode, switch to the HTML editor and remove any HTML tags that surround the shortcode, for example <pre></pre> and <code></code>.
Two, many commercial themes support shortcodes named or [noformat]. If your theme does, wrap the Connections shortcode within one of them. Here are examples of how to use the and [noformat] shortcodes.
[raw][connections][/raw] |
[noformat][connections][/noformat] |
Why? The theme is removing and then re-applying the wpautop filter which is interfering with all shortcodes. Here’s a link to a comment that explains the issue in more detail: http://wpforce.com/prevent-wpautop-filter-shortcode/#comment-1328. And here’s another link with more info: http://theandystratton.com/2011/shortcode-autoformatting-html-with-paragraphs-and-line-breaks
If the [raw] or [norformat] shortcodes do not work, please visit the Support Forum for assistance. A copy of your theme may be required in order to debug the issue.
UPDATE: 03-15-2013
Tersus
This theme removes the query strings version appended by WordPress on the URL for CSS and JavaScript files. The theme should not do this as this can break many plugins, especially those that rely on the Google Maps API like Connections. This can easily be fixed by make two small edits to the theme’s functions.php file.
Look for this block of code near the beginning of the file:
function _remove_script_version( $src ){ // remove script version $parts = explode( '?', $src ); return $parts[0]; } add_filter( 'script_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 ); add_filter( 'style_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 ); |
Change it to this:
function _remove_script_version( $src ){ // remove script version $parts = explode( '?', $src ); return $parts[0]; } //add_filter( 'script_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 ); //add_filter( 'style_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 ); |
This change keeps the theme from adding the filter that removes the query string.
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Tersus 1.3.2 by NorthVantage
Risen
This theme changes the order in which WordPress’s wpautop filter is run. Changing this will negatively affect any plugin that displays content on a page or post such as Connections. A simple, and safe, option is to disable this code in the theme.
Look for this line in the theme’s function.php file:
add_action( 'init', 'shortcode_formatting' ); // prevent disruptive <p> tags and enable shortcodes in widgets |
Comment this code out by adding to forward slashes in front, like so:
//add_action( 'init', 'shortcode_formatting' ); // prevent disruptive <p> tags and enable shortcodes in widgets |
NOTE: This FAQ was written based on Risen 1.10 by Steven Gliebe
Mysitemyway : inFocus
Both Connections and the Mysitemyway inFocus theme both use a jQuery image preloader function but they function completely differently and so they are incompatible.
Mingle
Unfortunately, out of box, the Connections templates are not compatible with the Mingle theme. However, there is a solution, read on…
First, the easy thing. For some reason the theme designer decided to float tables by default instead of just targeting the the instances in the layout where the design requires the table to be floated. You may run into problems with other plugins because of this design choice. The fix for Connections is quite simple. On the “Design Settings” admin page for the theme, click the “Default skin” button and add the following to the custom CSS area:
div#cn-list table { float: none !important; } |
That should fix that.
The other fix is a bit more involved. First, a brief explanation without getting to technical. The Connections templates registers its required javascript files which then hooks into the wp_footer action. Somehow, the theme runs the wp_footer() action before the template can hook into it. Basically this means that the template’s javascript is never loaded in the page, which is, of course, bad. This very same issue might cause you headaches with other plugins. Or maybe it won’t. I go thru great lengths to keep javascript loaded only when needed. Most plugins just load it in the header on every page and call it a day. This adds unnecessary weight to the page and also increases the risk of stuff breaking. With that said here’s the edit you need to make:
Open the footer-default.php file found here:
/wp-content/themes/parallelus-mingle
Look for this line:
wp_footer(); |
Change it to:
//wp_footer(); |
Save the file and overwrite the one on the server.
Open the layout-and-design.php file found here:
/wp-content/themes/parallelus-
Look for this block of code:
// bottom content area startblock('bottom'); // Include footer design file. get_template_part( 'design', 'footer' ); endblock(); |
Change it to this:
// bottom content area startblock('bottom'); wp_footer(); // Include footer design file. get_template_part( 'design', 'footer' ); endblock(); |
Save the file and overwrite the one on the server.
Now, Connections should work fine without negatively effecting the theme. The only real change is altering where the wp_footer() action is run.
Please note this FAQ was written based on Mingle 1.5.1, this solution may or may not with with other versions.
Upgrading
How do I manually upgrade?
First deactivate and then delete the plug-in from your WordPress installation. Download the latest version of Connections and upload that zip file to your WordPress installation using the built-in upload tool in WordPress 2.7 and newer.
Optionally you could unzip the file and FTP the contents to your WordPress plug-in folder.
Usage
How do I add a default image?
Currently Connections does not support a default image when no image has been uploaded. This is a feature that will be implemented in a future version. But if you need this now, you can easily add a default image by adding a simple CSS statement to your theme’s custom CSS area if it has one. Here’s the code you have to add:
span.cn-image-none { background-image: url('URL TO THE DEFAULT IMAGE') !important; } |
Where do I find the category ID?
The category ID can be found on the Connections : Category admin page as shown in this screen capture.
Where do I find the entry ID?
The entry ID can be found on the Connections : Manage admin page by clicking the ‘Show Details’ link. The entry ID can be found in the right most column.