I’ve just added the comic strip “Help Desk” from ubersoft.net to my sidebar by including a few functions to the main functions.php file (actually just by doing an include() to make updates easier) found in the /wp-includes directory in WordPress.

These functions automagically look up ubersoft.net to check if a new comic is out. If yes it will create a thumbnail with a link to the original, otherwise it will simply state that nothing new is out. To make it even prettier I’ve used the Lightbox add-on to have it open on top of the page so you wont have to go anywhere.

When I get around to it I’ll create a drop down menu with links to previous comics. I’ve just created a hidden DIV layer that will reveal the “Help Desk” comic by calling a tiny JavaScript. Drop me a line if you are interested in getting the code on your own WordPress installation.

Based on this news bulletin I’m performing an upgrade during the next few hours resulting in periodic downtime;

Long story short: If you downloaded WordPress 2.1.1 within the past 3-4 days, your files may include a security exploit that was added by a cracker, and you should upgrade all of your files to 2.1.2 immediately.

If you are running version 2.1.1 of WordPress I suggest you do the same. Anyhow I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you. But safety first, as may grandma keeps telling me…

A big thank you goes out the the WordPress team for their swift response and solid feedback as always.

Edit: Upgrade procedure completed! Please let me know if something isn’t working as expected!

Updated 16th May, and should now work fine with WordPress 2.2. Please report any bugs if found!

In order to get the Quicktags add-on displayed above your comment form start by downloading a copy of comment_quicktags.zip, unzip it and upload the 2 files to your theme directory:

Download comment_quicktags version 1.1

The lightbox image add-on is already packed and ready to use with my new theme Blogvaria. However including this to your existing theme shouldn’t take to long. Start by downloading the original source code from Lokesh Dhakar’s website. Unzip the archived files and upload them to your theme folder:

• ../yourtheme/css/ (1 file)
• ../yourtheme/images/ (10 files)
• ../yourtheme/js/ (4 files)

This article will try to explain how you can modify the included add-ons “Quicktags” and “Lightbox” found in the new theme “Blogvaria“. It will also provide information about the plugins currently used to run all features “pre-installed” in the Blogvaria WP theme.

Featured plugins that works with WP theme “Blogvaria”

• Akismet Spam Count
• Fuzzy Recent Comments
• Fuzzy Recent Posts
• Inline Ajax (front) Page
• Live Comment Preview
• Popularity Contest
• Share This
• Sociable
• WeatherIcon