[Theme: Oenology] page templates, layouts, and widgets

I’m getting my head around how page templates, layouts, and widgets interact.

Right now when I choose the “front page” template I get std widgets in columns.

What do you mean, “choose the front page template”? You really shouldn’t be selecting that template. WordPress uses it automatically to output the static Page specified to display the site front page.

If I then go to appearance|Widgets it doesn’t show widgets in the sidebar left, right, bottom, etc.

I think that should be as expected. There are no Widgets defined until you add them. The sidebars display default output if no Widgets are assigned, but that default output is over-written by user-assigned Widgets.

If I choose the “default template” I get no widgets in sidebars even if I add a widget to a displayed sidebar.

That behavior indicates that you have set the “default template” for static Pages to one-column, which has no Widgetized sidebars. Go to Dashboard -> Appearance -> Oenology Settings -> Layout tab, and verify what is set for Default Static Page Layout.

Note: you can change per-page layout settings using the corresponding meta box on the Edit Page screen.

I’ve gone thru the documentation (lots of great stuff on customizing, functions, etc) but I cannot find out what’s going here.

Admittedly, most of the documentation is written for developers, but Dashboard -> Appearance -> Oenology Reference -> General tab should have what you need. If not, I’ll update it. (I just checked; looks like I left out the Layout functionality entirely!)

If this is WP thing just let me know and I’ll look elsewhere.

Can I add page styles via the child theme methods?

What kinds of page styles do you want to add? Child Themes are well-suited to making such modifications, but what you’re trying to accomplish will dictate the best approach.

FYI, I’ve just opened an issue for the lack of Layout user documentation in the bug tracker.

If I go to quick edit for a page I can choose from two templates .. front page and default template .. I chose front page because I am building a website, not just a blog. In fact it will, if all goes to plan, have about 10 static pages and one blog page.

On my static pages I want to use a two column layout (left sidebar and main entry on right) along with a header and footer of course. I went into appearance|oenology|layout and set every option to two columns.

I went to widgets and created a text box in the left sidebar. It DOES show up but only in the front page template, along with many other widgets. In the default template it is not there. It would seem from a neophyte’s point of view that there should be widget placement options for each page template but there doesn’t appear to be.

I guess because of the consequent confusion/interplay between layout options, page templates, and widget placement I would like to make some pages that always work the same way, thus maybe making a series of page templates that have widgets in place, like the front page template seems to do. Really I don’t need to do this IF I can figure out how all these consistently interact.

Sorry if I’m making this confusing ..

If I go to quick edit for a page I can choose from two templates .. front page and default template .. I chose front page because I am building a website, not just a blog. In fact it will, if all goes to plan, have about 10 static pages and one blog page.

The problem is that you’re selecting your Site Front Page in the wrong place. ??

Go to Dashboard -> Settings -> Reading, and change Front page displays from “Your latest posts” to “A static page”.

Then, immediately beneath that option, use the dropdowns to select the static Pages to use for your site front page and blog posts index.

Once you’ve done that, WordPress will automatically apply the Front Page template to the page you’ve set as the front page.

On my static pages I want to use a two column layout (left sidebar and main entry on right) along with a header and footer of course. I went into appearance|oenology|layout and set every option to two columns.

Perfect so far…

I went to widgets and created a text box in the left sidebar. It DOES show up but only in the front page template, along with many other widgets. In the default template it is not there.

Try setting the front page correctly, as above, and see if the problem persists.

It would seem from a neophyte’s point of view that there should be widget placement options for each page template but there doesn’t appear to be.

Such functionality requires the use of a Plugin. I love Widget Logic for just this purpose, but there are other Plugins that might be more new-user friendly.

I guess because of the consequent confusion/interplay between layout options, page templates, and widget placement I would like to make some pages that always work the same way, thus maybe making a series of page templates that have widgets in place, like the front page template seems to do. Really I don’t need to do this IF I can figure out how all these consistently interact.

Sorry if I’m making this confusing ..

No problem at all! I think the main problem is the one detailed above. Let’s fix that, and then see what issues you still have.

Yes, things have changed quite a bit with the setting changes you put me onto. Thanks! I’m not sure if it’s going to get me there but it’s all much better now. Maybe they shouldn’t offer that template drop down in the quick edit section .. and frankly that section should be something like “page edit” instead of quick edit.

Maybe they shouldn’t offer that template drop down in the quick edit section…

To be fair: that dropdown does serve a purpose, if custom page templates are provided. The problem is that front-page.php should probably be hidden from this view. That is an issue with the Theme, and I’ve just added it as a bug report, and committed the fix.

…and frankly that section should be something like “page edit” instead of quick edit.

The “Page Edit” will take you to the full Page Edit screen. “Quick Edit” just gives a small set of options to change in-line in the list of Pages.

Page edit though doesn’t offer edits for page name, etc. It’s only content editing. I cannot tell you how many times I clicked on page|edit trying to change the name of the page. Finally I just tried quick edit and there it was.

BTW, thanks for all your help. I’m donating .. can you give me a link?

Page edit though doesn’t offer edits for page name, etc. It’s only content editing. I cannot tell you how many times I clicked on page|edit trying to change the name of the page.

It’s actually there, but it might be hidden. Click the “Screen Options” tab, and ensure the appropriate fields are enabled/checked.

Finally I just tried quick edit and there it was.

Quick Edit is actually incredibly useful! Most things that need to be changed are right there. It’s a pretty good time-saver.

BTW, thanks for all your help. I’m donating .. can you give me a link?

It’s really not necessary, but I appreciate it. Take a look in readme.txt.

I guess we’re not quite done here ..
in oenology|Layout I have 2 column set for everything. The first option throws me a bit .. Default static page Layout .. it says two columns (menu on left, content on right)

I’m actually getting content on left, sidebar on right, though in testing I can see it’s the left sidebar. What’s the difference between menu and sidebar in this context?

There isn’t an option for 2 column (sidebar on left,content on right), which is the layout I’m looking for. Is there a way to get that? The single post Layout has this as an option but not the static page layout.

I guess we’re not quite done here ..
in oenology|Layout I have 2 column set for everything. The first option throws me a bit .. Default static page Layout .. it says two columns (menu on left, content on right)

I’m actually getting content on left, sidebar on right, though in testing I can see it’s the left sidebar.

I can’t recrate that. Here’s that layout on my development site.

What’s the difference between menu and sidebar in this context?

The menu takes the place of the left-side Widgetized sidebar on static Pages. So, the one- and two-column layouts won’t display Widgets. If you need to display Widgets on Pages, use the three-column layout, that has the right-hand sidebar.

There isn’t an option for 2 column (sidebar on left,content on right), which is the layout I’m looking for. Is there a way to get that? The single post Layout has this as an option but not the static page layout.

Currently, the menu replaces the Widgetized sidebar on the left. I can look into an elegant way to support a menu and/or a Widgetized sidebar on the left for static Pages. But, when I was first implementing the layout options, this approach was the simplest. Now that it’s soaked for a while, I can look at expanding the options a bit.

I understand how options change every time WP is updated, etc. Now that a menu can be a widget would there be a need for a menu only sidebar space?

In this layout as per your example can you place widgets under the menu? If so i can just create a menu for something and then put widgets below that.

There isn’t an option for 2 column (sidebar on left,content on right), which is the layout I’m looking for. Is there a way to get that? The single post Layout has this as an option but not the static page layout.

FYI, here’s the issue to track this feature request.

How do I control whether a page is static page layout or a single post layout? The single post layout does have the left sidebar and right side content option.

I understand how options change every time WP is updated, etc. Now that a menu can be a widget would there be a need for a menu only sidebar space?

By default, the menu is quite powerful, as it is a dynamic menu that displays the hierarchical Pages beneath the current, top-level Page. (See here, for example.)

That menu can be over-ridden, by applying a custom menu to the appropriate Theme location, but I definitely don’t want to remove the default menu, because it is more flexible/powerful in that context than a custom menu.

In this layout as per your example can you place widgets under the menu? If so i can just create a menu for something and then put widgets below that.

That’s what I had originally. I need to think about the best implementation. I will probably add a Theme option to display/not display that menu, and then add beneath the menu a Widgetized sidebar with no default content.

How do I control whether a page is static page layout or a single post layout? The single post layout does have the left sidebar and right side content option.

The static Page layout applies to static Pages, and the single blog post layouts apply to single blog Posts. Static Pages and Blog Posts are two completely separate post-types, and cannot be mixed. So, you’ll have to decide whether some given content will be a static Page or a blog Post.

Here’s a good Codex reference for understanding the differences:
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Pages