Creating custom template breaks back end

What errors do you see?

I suspect you included the copies of functions.php and settings.php without modifications. That will cause an error saying unable to re-declare a class or a function. In that case, just try without these files.

For reference:

functions.php ( optional ) – if not edited, do not include it.
settings.php ( optional ) – if not edited, do not include it.

I deleted the whole custom folders because i could not access the WP dashboard at all. I deactivated the plugin, deleted the files, re-installed Now i get these:

Warning: array_merge() [function.array-merge]: Argument #1 is not an array in /nfs/c09/h04/mnt/138205/domains/sfciviccenter.org/html/wp-content/plugins/fetch-tweets/class/FetchTweets_Templates_.php on line 119

Warning: array_unique() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /nfs/c09/h04/mnt/138205/domains/sfciviccenter.org/html/wp-content/plugins/fetch-tweets/class/FetchTweets_Templates_.php on line 123

Sounds like you have deleted the default templates or the template folder located in the plugin root folder, which is not a good idea since the plugin will try to find a default template if the set template is not found.

Make sure you have the plain template in the plugin’s template folder. Of course, in the plain folder, necessary template files must be included.

ok, deleted plugin again and reinstalled. seems so be fine. I’m not going to try to make a custom template folder again, I will just tweek the plain one

I’m not going to try to make a custom template folder again, I will just tweek the plain one

It’s not a good idea to directly modify the existing template since if you update the plugin, the changes will be lost.

Just try without functions.php and settings.php. Once you get comfortable with a custom template, you’ll gain more freedom.

I’m sorry, I just don’t understand the directions. After following it the first time, I had two custom templates before the dashboard crashed.

For example, I don’t get what you mean by: “Just try without functions.php and settings.php.”

I am a very novice coder so changing the whole structure is confusing.

For example, I don’t get what you mean by: “Just try without functions.php and settings.php.”

1. Create a folder named, fetch-tweets in your theme’s folder.
2. Just place the copied template folder, for example, plain, in the fetch-tweets folder without functions.php and settings.php.

That worked, thank you very much.

Glad to hear you sorted it out!

For your information, it is a good practice to rename the copied folder to something else as well as the template name in the style.css‘s header comment section.

After you get used to styling the output, try including settings.php and functions.php. Be careful not to include any class or function that is already declared in the original template.

Once you create your awesome template, you can send it to me so that it will be listed in the plugin’s template table. The e-mail address is indicated in the template listing page.

I’m having the same problem with last version of fetch tweets and the back end… I’m already reinstalled everything, including removing the functions.php and settings.php from my custom template.