[Steven Zahm]

@ Susan

Lets see…

re: I want to show 5 random entries from a particular category as a faculty spotlight section – since they’re random every visit or refresh will display a different selection. page_limit=’5′ order_by=’id|RANDOM’ works, but only if I leave pagination enabled, which I don’t want. Is there a way to do it without pagination?

Use this shortcode instead:

[connections limit='5' order_by='id|RANDOM']

re: Is there a way to have the bio section showing on page load with a shortcode option? Or to do the same thing with a custom field? I’m using a modified version of cMap, so I can edit the template, but I don’t want this change everywhere.

When you say, “I don’t want this change everywhere.“; does that mean you only want it “open” for specific entries? I’d say this would be possible with custom fields. In pseudo code… if ‘custom field’ equals true then show “bio field”. Is that what you want?

re: The template includes a line to ‘getContentBlock’, but there’s no corresponding field in the entry screen. Is there a way to enter ‘Content’?

Content block do not refer to a field rather that is a pluggable dynamic section. For example both the Contact extension and the Hours extension add content blocks which can be enabled and ordered on the Connections : Settings admin page under the Display tab. The Contact extension would show its content block if enabled and the business hours would show if it is enabled. Hope that makes sense!