So I was just playing around with WordPress 2.9 rare to see what changes have been made (as beta testing is starting soon) & it seems the clever people at WordPress may have just removed the need for my plugin (The Attached Image) with their new the_post_image() function. What… Yup, there is a brand new [...]
So I was just playing around with WordPress 2.9 rare to see what changes have been made (as beta testing is starting soon) & it seems the clever people at WordPress may have just removed the need for my plugin (The Attached Image) with their new the_post_image() function.
Yup, there is a brand new function called the_post_image() & a section on the post page to allow you to pick a picture to be used from the media gallery. All you do is include it in your template & away you go. You can even specify the size of the thumbnail WordPress should display by using a argument (parameter) like so the_post_image('medium');.
My question is this. Now WordPress have officially implemented this feature, and from what I can see it should be ready for 2.9, is there still a use for my plugin? If not is there anything you would like to see happen to the plugin to allow it to still be useful? I was considering adding some form of thumbnail regeneration feature in the future (something similar to timthumbs) as it has been requested quite often lately. Let me know your thoughts & any request you have for the direction of The Attached Image now that WP has a similar system of it’s own.
*We currently have £44 of the £90 needed to keep our server running.
It's late here in the UK but it's the 30th so a big Happy Birthday to @Y_Strahovski loads of hugs 'n kisses, hope you have a great day. - 10 hours ago
Wow! Jeffster are awesome and @Y_Strahovski has one hell of a throwing arm, lol. http://yfrog.us/n8b8xz (via @kentuckysocal) - 6 days ago
@AshBob87 No worries. Glad I could help out. ;) - 6 days ago
@AshBob87 No problem. I just found it a few seconds ago. Was sitting in my bookmarks all along. *facepalm* http://bit.ly/cI9cQS - 6 days ago
@AshBob87 Thanks. ;) I can't find the tutorial I followed anymore. :( - 6 days ago
Discussion: 4 Comments
So, is the plugin redundant at this point? I’m currently developing a site using a ThemeForest template: http://themeforest.net/item/big-portfolio-foliothemescom/70590 that uses your plugin.
I missed the directions at first to install your plugin, and then, when I finally figured out what I was doing wrong, I was very surprised to see the theme author not using the the_post_image() function. I certainly struck me off guard because I had never even heard of your plugin before (Get the Image, TimThumb, yes, but not The Attached Image).
I also noticed that you rolled out an update to the plugin yesterday, so you must still be developing it. What are your plans with the plugin at this point?
Well The Attached Image has probably advanced as far as it can.
The core functionality of TAI is now integrated into WordPress under
the_post_thumbnail()as you have said, but TAI does things like allow you to add a title, alt or rel attribute, echo or return, and other things like grab the nth image from a post.WordPress’s in-built function simply pulls the image back & other things must be taken care of manually. If you are a general user and not a developer it may be easier to use my plugin since the admin can take care of the alt etc.
I’m still releasing bug fixes as and when they are needed, but as for further advances? Probably not.
As for that author not using WP’s built in option? My guess is that it probably didn’t exist then. Theme Forest says it was created for version 2.8 & the author probably hasn’t updated as
the_post_thumbnail()was added in 2.9 according to the change log section of the Codex.I’ve just realized I go on, and on sometimes. Really though my plugin is only redundant if you are using 2.9 or 3-alpha and don’t need the extra features it provides over WP’s version.
I appreciate your response–you’ve obviously put a lot of time into this plugin and into this site, as well.
I was thinking that if you wrote just a bit more often, you could apply to become part of the Smashing Network: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/the-smashing-network/ or something similar to get more visitors to your site. The content here is more than good enough to be featured throughout the web.
Anyway, I’m glad I stumbled upon your work and I wish you luck with the site.
Thanks Jason.
I do try to write as often as I can, it’s just coming up with ideas for tutorials & finding the time between work projects.
I’ll definitely have a look at trying to become part of a network though, sounds like a good idea.