• Log in to your WordPress 2.7 admin area.

• Expand Appearance (at the left side bar)if it is collapsed.

• Click on Editor/Stylesheet(style.css), find body { background: #fff; and chang #fff to be any other color you like.

• Now the problem is that your entire blog page color will be changed to whatever body color you’ve chosen. You need to find the following codes and add background: #fffff to the end of each code (change fffff to be any other color you prefer). See the changes below:

#container { width: 970px; margin: 15px auto 0 auto; background: #fffff } #content_box { width: 970px; text-align: left; float: left; clear: both; background: #fffff } #content { width: 500px; padding: 0 20px 0 0; float: left; background: #fffff } #sidebar { width: 210px; padding: 0 0 0 15px; float: left; background: #fffff } #footer { width: 970px; padding: 1.2em 0 0 0; border-top: 2px solid #ccc; float: left; clear: both; background: #fffff }

• Now if you check your blog, you will find out that your navigational bar background color is still the same as your theme’s body color. Search the following codes and do the same procedure as above step:

ul#nav { list-style: none; width: 970px; padding: 0 10px; background: url('images/hr_dot_black.gif') repeat-x; border-bottom: 3px solid #000; float: left; clear: both; background: #fffff } ul#nav li { padding: 0.85em 40px 0.7em 0; font: bold 1.4em Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; float: left; background: #fffff } ul#nav li a, ul#nav li a:visited { color: #000; text-decoration: none; background: #fffff } ul#nav li a:hover { color: #000; text-decoration: underline; background: #fffff } ul#nav li a.current, ul#nav li a.current:visited, ul#nav li a.current:hover { color: #090; text-decoration: underline; background: #fffff } ul#nav li.rss { padding: 0.85em 0 0.7em 0; float: right; background: #fffff } ul#nav li.rss a { padding: 0 18px 0 0; background: url('images/icon_rss.gif') 100% 50% no-repeat; background: #fffff }

• The last thing you need to do is to give your template some left and right margins. How can you do that? Find the code and see the changes I’ve made for you:

#content { width: 468px; padding: 0 15px 0 15px; float: left; background: #fffff }

I also find out that I needed to change the number in my footer section. See the change below:

#footer { width: 955px; padding: 1.2em 0 0 0; border-top: 2px solid #ccc; float: left; clear: both; background: #fffff }

Now go to check your blog again. Did it come out the way you like? Hope you enjoy it.

Update: On January 12, 2009, Cutline versions 2.2 and 1.4 3-Column were released and they are compatible with WordPress 2.7 since.

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WordPress 2.7 has a completely new look of its dashboard. It allows its users to arrange new modules by dragging and dropping them around.  It also provides new features such as  QuickPress, comment threading, paging, and the ability to reply to comments inside the dashboard. Moreover, it built in the ability to install any plugin directly from WordPress.org with a single click only.

On the upper side corner there is a new feature named “Screen Options” which allow you to check or uncheck the choices of the modules to be shown in the dashboard. The most excited news about WordPress 2.7 is that it built in the ability to allow you to automatically upgrade your future WordPress version with a single click.

Although some people don’t like the new dashboard of WordPress 2.7, I don’t mind to have that. I can understand why some people are not easy to accept new ideas, new looks, new technologies, and etc. For me I am ready. So this is the last time you ever have to manually upgrade WordPress again. If you are readdy, here we go:

• Check to see your host is compatible with WordPress 2.7.

• Check to find out your plugins are compatible with WordPress 2.7.

• Check to be sure your theme is compatible with WordPress 2.7.

• If everything works fine for you, then you can download WordPress 2.7 here.

• Deactivate all your plugins before you proceed.

• You can use WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin to upgrade to WordPress 2.7 in about two minutes (after that say bye-bye to this plugin because you don’t need it any more). If you like to manually upgrade your existing WordPress version to WordPress 2.7, just follow along.

• Back up all your WordPress files to your laptop/PC.  You may use FTP to get the job done.

• Back up your database. If you don’t know how, follow these instructions here.

• You should double check to make sure that your backups are usable.

• Delete the old WordPress files except the following files:
  • wp-config.php file
  • wp-content folder
  • wp-images folder (only older installations from 1.5.x days will have this folder)
  • wp-includes/languages/folder; if you are using a language file, and it is here rather than in wp-content/languages/, do not delete this folder (you might want to move your language files to wp-content/languages/ for easier upgrading in the future)
  • .htaccessfile (if you have added custom rules to your .htaccess, do not delete it)
  • Custom Content and/or Plugins (if you have any images or other custom content or Plugins inside the wp-content folder, do not delete them).

• You may use FTP to upload your unzipped WordPress 2.7 files to your WordPress directory.

• In your web browser, type http://www.yoursitename.com/wp-admin/ and hit enter. It will guide you whether you need to upgrade your database or not. It turns out that I needed to upgrade my database this time. (Make sure you replace yoursitename wiith your own domain name.)

• The final step is to reactivate all your plugins in the dashboard of your WordPress 2.7.

Now go ahead. Get familiar with the new features in WordPress 2.7 and enjoy!

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Even though they do not know your email address, they can still send you an email. That is because a contact form will allow you to hide your email address in it. If a blog/website has multiple blogging authors, some contact forms will allow you to set up to contact only a specific author. So this is a very neat feature since you do not want to send an email to every author on that site.

Getting a contact form is never being easier with WordPress because you can just pick any plugin to use. Before You download PHP Contact Form v.2.0WP, make sure you check out its authors’ websites: WordPress-Ready Contact Form v.2.0WP and Secure and accessible PHP contact form for WORDPRESS. They provided detail information of what features it includes, how to install it, and what WordPress themes it supports. The following are the WordPress themes it supports so far:

Default by Michael Heilemann

The default WordPress theme based on the famous Kubrick. Included with WordPress.

Classic by Dave Shea

The original WordPress theme that graced versions 1.2.x and prior. Also included

Beast-Blog by Mike Cherim

Beast-Blog Info | Beast-Blog Demo | Download Beast-Blog.

BeastBlog v.2.0 by Mike Cherim

BeastBlog v.2.0 Info | BeastBlog v.2.0 Demo | Download BeastBlog v.2.0

Almost Spring by Becca Wei

Almost Spring Info | Almost Spring Demo | Download Almost Spring.

Blix by Sebastian Schmieg

Blix Info | Blix Demo | Download Blix.

Connections by Patricia Muller

Connections Info | Connections Demo | Download Connections.

Green Marinee by Ian Main

Green Marinee Info | Green Marinee Demo | Download Green Marinee.

Ocadia by Becca Wei

Ocadia Info | Ocadia Demo | Download Ocadia.

Pool by Borja Fernandez

Pool Info | Pool Demo | Download Pool.

SeaBeast by Mike Cherim

SeaBeast Info | SeaBeast Demo | Download SeaBeast.

I just installed this contact form a moment ago. Check it out in my “Contact Us” page. I’ll add update to this post and let you know how things turn out to be.

Update: This contact form works nicely and securely. I love it.

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Contact Form WordPress Plugins
A Contact Form For Your WordPress Blog

If you first downloaded Cutline theme, its Sitemap page is not functional. You have to do something in order to make it work. Do you want to know how you can make yours work? Actually it is not hard. Mine is already working in this blog. See Sitemap on top of the navigation menu in this blog. The Cutline‘s author, Chris Pearson, has provided detail instructions of how to make it work:

1. Upload sitemap.php to your active WordPress theme directory.
2. In your WordPress administration panel, go to Write and then to Write Page.
3. Fill in a title (it can be anything you want), do not enter anything into the text area of the post, and create a Post Slug called “sitemap.”
4. Most important, from the Page Template dropdown box, select the Sitemap template.
5. When you’re done, click on Create New Page.

The above instructions are for Cutline 1.03 or older only; and you need to download a sitemap.php from here and upload it to public_html/wp_content/theme/your_cutline_theme/. Make sure you change your_cutline_theme to be your actual theme name.

If you are using Cutline 1.1 or higher, then there is no need to download a sitemap.php because you current theme has already included a correct sitemap.php file. Just follow the steps below instead:

1. In your WordPress administration panel, go to Write and then to Write Page.
2. Fill in a title (it can be anything you want), do not enter anything into the text area of the post, and create a Post Slug called “sitemap.”
3. Most important, from the Page Template dropdown box, select the Sitemap template.
4. When you’re done, click on Create New Page.

Creating an Archive Page

If you are using Cutline theme, its Archives page doesn’t work either. In order to make it work, I suggest you read Chris Pearson’s Creating Archives and About Pages. Here are the steps I quoted from his site:

1. Log into your WP Administration panel and click on the Presentation link.
2. Assuming you have the Cutline theme activated, you’ll notice a link in the sub-navigation menu called Cutline Options.
3. On the Cutline Options page, simply check the box next to “Enable the Cutline Archives Page.”
4. Click the Update Options button to create the Archives page.
5. In order to ensure that your new Archives page gets published properly, you’ll need to click on the Manage link in the main navigation menu.
6. Once there, click on Pages in the sub-navigation menu.
7. One of your pages will contain the text “Archives” in the Title field – find that page, and then click on the Edit button for that page.
8. Locate the Save » button (which resides just beneath the main text entry box), and click it. You’re done!

For step 1, Presentation now is called Design. For step 8, the Save button now is resided on the upper right side of the main text entry box. The instructions are pretty straightforward, but if you encounter any problems, just let me know.

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There are many useful things in his site that his users can be benefited from. Also I found out that his theme is compatible with the newly released WordPress 2.5; which is the main reason why I switched to it. I’ll continue investigating this theme and give updates to this post.

Update: I’ve just learned how to change my header images. Do you like them? Here is the article showing you how to do that: Interested In How to Change Your Header Images?

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