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Wordpress Wiget Woes on the WWW!

by Kirk Ward
6 replies
I have a Wordpress Text Widget, with the shortcode to the Contact Form 7 plugin.

Contact Form 7 is not accepting the data from the form and inserting it into the email to me. It sends the email, but the shortcodes are all I get.

If I unistall the plugin, I get a 404 message where the widget goes.

If I try to replace the shortcode in the widget, it is not saved to the database.

If I try deleting the widget, I can't replace it with another or add another.

If I try resetting the widgets, then the widget disappears and I can't add a replacement.

Anybody what can tell me where to look to solve this? Or anyone willing to take a look (at a reasonably low fee)?

Cheers, and thanks in advance.

Kirk
#wiget #woes #wordpress #www
  • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
    Hi, Kirk. I think I found your solution. Give this a try and let me know whether or not it works:

    By default, WordPress doesn't allow shortcode to be inserted into sidebar widgets. Thankfully, here's a little trick to enhance WordPress functionality and allow shortcodes to be used in sidebar widgets.

    The solution: One more piece of code to paste in your functions.php file:

    add_filter('widget_text', 'do_shortcode');

    That's all you need to allow shortcodes in sidebar widgets!
    (excerpted from Mastering WordPress Shortcodes | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine)

    What this is saying is to edit your theme's functions.php file (or create one in your theme's folder if there isn't one) and add that one line of code.

    HTH.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
    Thank's Steve,

    But, I still get the same result in the email when the contact form sends the email ... [Your Name] and [Your Subject], and the same result when I try to edit the widget, which is no change.

    Oh wailey, wailey, wailey.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
      Oh, dear. Well, I could troubleshoot this for you, but the problem with trying to set a reasonable fee is that it's impossible to tell in advance whether the problem will reveal itself in five minutes as a quick, surgical fix or whether it will take hours to discover that the whole plugin needs rewriting.

      Here are a couple of things you can do first that might work without any fee:
      • Make sure you've upgraded to the latest version of WP.
      • Get in touch with the plugin author and ask if they can help. (Mention what you've tried so far.)

      Steve
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      Reduce stress | Stay focused | Keep positive and balanced
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  • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
    Thanks Steve,

    You brought a thought to mind.

    I'm running WP 2.7 because I have some custom plugins that may or may not handle the upgrade ... I'm trying to stabilize the site before I upgrade, then I can go back to something that works if I need to.

    What I think I will try is deactivate the plugin and and then reinstall the old version. Reckon that could cause more problems?

    Thanks again,
    Kirk
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    "We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice."

    Dr. Samuel Johnson (Presiding at the sale of Thrales brewery, London, 1781)
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
      I don't see that causing more problems, but you never know. Best to back up the entire database and the wp-content folder beforehand if you have any misgivings. The thing is, I'm not sure whether or not the shortcode fix I mentioned earlier works prior to 2.8. If it doesn't, there's your whole problem.

      Steve
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      Reduce stress | Stay focused | Keep positive and balanced
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  • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
    Well, I was able to downgrade the pugin, but everything is still the same.

    I'm wondering if anything is writing to the database.
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    "We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice."

    Dr. Samuel Johnson (Presiding at the sale of Thrales brewery, London, 1781)
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