Creating a button FOR the post editor menu..?

  • Hello,

    I’m needing a way, to actually insert a button into the “Visual/text editor” of WP itself. A button that, when pressed, would auto-generate template code, which the author(s) could then edit the correct fields of.

    I know normally it’d take a plugin to do what I’m wanting, but I’m 1.) Not a programmer and 2.) the small amount of Template code I’m wanting inserted, probably isn’t worth all the trouble of writing it it’s own plugin.

    would any of you happen to know anyway to do what I’m needing to do? Thank you ahead of time!

    Note: I’ve already tried “hacking” another plugin to do this, by replacing the code it’s button inserts, with the code I personally need inserted. But my attempt seems to be unsuccessful so far. I’d opened the file directly from the FTP server, edited it, then saved it. So if it takes time to propagate properly into the blog’s system, it may still end up working. But I’m not sure if it takes time for that, or should work immediately. Let me know also, if you can answer this for me. Thanks!

    ~Joshua

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Thread Starter TheCockroach

    (@thecockroach)

    And more specifically, I’m needing to find a way to quickly insert the following code (as it may be used 10-20 times within a single article), so the writers don’t have to keep looking up the email each time they write an article:

    <a href="Insert link to Cards Actual Page" target="_blank">Cards Name<img src="Insert link to Cards Actual Image" /></a>

    And just noticed that I obviously can’t use TinyMCE to do this, since it seems to not show the code properly when going into the text version.

    • This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by TheCockroach.
    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    It’s possible to add custom TinyMCE buttons that do special things. The code to do so ends up being a custom plugin or added to functions.php of a child theme. I’ve no experience with TinyMCE buttons, but documentation exists. In any case, it’s probably over your head to accomplish.

    The same functionality you are after is already handled through the Add Media button. The image can be uploaded to the server (if it’s not already there), then a custom URL specified for the link. This is often preferable to using images served from a third party server because you don’t need to worry about the link going bad or the server going down. Additionally, WP makes several different sizes of each upload that are responsively served depending on the browser’s view port size and resolution. Still, the insertion of third party images can be done through Add Media with the Insert from URL option. A custom link URL is possible here too. I’ve never had a problem with either process in text mode.

    The only drawback is the link text would need to be added manually in text mode, though it could be done in visual mode by adding a separate link for the link text (using the link button) that’s the same as the image’s custom link URL. Despite this, I don’t see adding a custom button as being worth the effort. The add media routine will go pretty fast when one does it repeatedly in one article. The biggest effort is determining the image src and href target and copy/pasting into the dialog. Other than that, when done the same way repeatedly, it’s a two click process.

    There is one other possibility, though I think it’s inferior to the Add Media dialog, it’s easier to code than a TinyMCE button. You could create a custom shortcode. The shortcode the author would type might look like this: [card href=”example.com/card-page/” text=”Card Name” src=”example.com/cards/my-card.jpg”]

    The shortcode handler would then convert that into properly formatted HTML. We create shortcodes with the Shortcode API. It’d be a struggle, but even a non-programmer could possibly figure this one out.

    If you don’t have the time or interest to try some coding, you can hire help at jobs.wordpress.net. I personally would just stick with the Add Media button to do this.

    Your best (and only I am afraid) bet is Shortcake Shortcode UI. (Use Github version.)
    https://github.com/wp-shortcake/shortcake
    https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/shortcode-ui/

    Difficult to start with but worth for all websites in future.
    Prepare everything, make custom plugin to not to edit plugin code, and I can test and give you finished code. Just write more details about it.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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