Generally speaking there are a few primary objectives for having a blog/website, get people to your site, provide quality information and keep people on your site.  One way to encourage people on your site is to provide an easy way for viewers to find information on your site that is related to what brought them there in the first place.

One popular way is to provide a list of related posts that are similar in content to the one they are looking at.  There are several WordPress Plugins that enable this feature.  If you are looking for a way to reduce your reliance on Plugins but want the same functionality, here is some code that can be added to your  themes single.php  that will add a list of related posts to your current post. The code creates a list of 5 posts that are related to the current post.  The relation is based from Tags in the post. An example of this related posts list can be found at the bottom of this post below the comments.

NOTE:  Before making any changes to your single.php, it is best practice to always create a backup of the file.  A quick and easy way is to open the file, copy all of the code and paste it in notepad.

• Open your WordPress Dashboard
• Go to  Appearance
• Go to Editor
• Click on single.php
• Find the section where you would like the related posts to show up and copy the php code below: (I placed mine just before the Comments section of the post)

<?php
$original_post = $post;
$tags = wp_get_post_tags($post->ID);
if($tags)
{
echo ‘<h4 class=”content-title”>Related Posts</h4>’;
$sendTags = array();
foreach($tags as $tag)
$sendTags[] = $tag->term_id;

$args = array(
‘tag__in’ => $sendTags,
‘post__not_in’ => array($post->ID),
‘showposts’ => 5,
‘caller_get_posts’ => 1,
);

$queryDb = new WP_Query($args);
if($queryDb->have_posts())
{
echo ‘<ul>’;
while ($queryDb->have_posts()) {
$queryDb->the_post();
?><li><a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>”
rel=”bookmark” title=”<?php the_title_attribute(); ?>”>
<?php the_title(); ?></a></li><?php
}
echo ‘</ul>’;
}
}
$post = $original_post;
wp_reset_query();
?>

• Save the file.
• Open a post and test.

Thanks to Chris Roane on MontanaProgrammer.com for the code and information on how to implement it.

WordPress, in my opinion, is currently on of the best blogging and website back-ends available today.  It’s flexibility gives you the ability to configure you site in countless ways.  One of it’s features is it enables visitors the opportunity to leave comments on your individual posts.  Sometimes, the ability to leave comments on certain sites may not be appropriate or otherwise needed.

On the WordPress Dashboard administrators can disable commenting for the entire site.  This can be found under Settings, Discussions, and un-checking the appropriate boxes.  The issue with this procedure is it only removes commenting for future posts.   One option to remove comments on existing posts is you can go into the individual posts and un-check “Allow Comments” in the Discussion portion of the post.  This option is acceptable if you only have a few posts but what if you have thousands of posts that you want to remove the ability to leave comments on?

Since WordPress resides on a database, you can open your database and run a simple script to close comments on all posts.

• Open your WordPress database using the tool of your choice.  I use SQLyog Enterprise.

Create a Query with the following string:

UPDATE wp_posts p SET comment_status = ‘closed’, ping_status = ‘closed’ WHERE comment_status = ‘open’;

• Your individual table names in your database may be different than the ones I use, therefor you may need to modify the query by changing the table name “wp_posts” to match the name of your table.
• Run the Query and it will change the comments status on all of your posts from “Open” to “Closed“.  The opposite may also be preformed to open comments on all posts by swapping “closed” and “open“
• NOTE:  before performing any queries on your WordPress database, ALWAYS backup first!

This procedure has worked very well for me in the past.  I have used it to remove the ability to leave comments on a site with over 13,000 posts.  The entire procedure took less than 2 minutes vs going into all 13,000 posts individually!  One additional thing to keep in mind, this procedure closes comments on all posts, preventing the ability to leave new comments.  It does not remove existing comments.

Procedures for scheduling a backup of a SQL 2005 database using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.  The steps are as follows:

• Open SQL Server Management Studio
• Connect to the server where the desired database you wish to schedule the backup on is located.
• Expand the Databases Folder in the Object Explorer and locate the proper database.
• Right click the database, select Tasks, select Back Up
• Fill out the Source, Backup set, and Destination as you normally would in a standard backup.
• On the Script dropdown located at the top of the box, Select Script Action to Job
• Select Schedules in the Select a page column.
• Click New
• Type in the Name of your new Job Schedule and fill out the remaining information on the page. Click OK
• Click OK again.

If you  have issues with Microsoft Office 2007  icons displaying properly on the Desktop of Microsoft Windows 7, perform the following steps:

• Click on Start icon located at the lower left corner of your desktop.
• Navigate to Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Office Tools
• Microsoft Office Picture Manager
•  Help
• Detect and Repair
• Check  ’Restore my shortcuts while repairing‘.
• Click Start

Our company recently replaced a Sonicwall 2040 Pro with a Sonicwall NSA 240.  Configuring the new Sonicwall went reasonably smoothly with the exception of one of our site t0 site VPN Links.  When attempting to create a site to site VPN link to a Sonicwall TZ170 behind a Clear (Clearwire) wireless internet modem. It would receive the error: IKE Responder: Proposed IKE ID mismatch.  A summary of the configuration and steps to resolve the issue include:

• Remote firewall is connected to the internet using Clear wireless network.
• The Clear box has a static IP adress assigned to it.  All traffic is routed to an internal IP address on the Clear box.
• The WAN port on the remote Sonicwall firewall (Sonicwall TZ170) is set to DHCP with NAT. The WAN port gets it’s IP address from the Clear box.

VPN Connections are setup as follows:

• Policy Type:  Site to Site
• Authentication Method: IKE using Preshared Secret
• Name: Use the Unique Firewall Identifier.
• IPsec Primary Gateway (on headquarters NSA 240 VPN): 75.X.X.X (the static IP address of the Clear modem at the remote office.
• Local IKE ID on NSA 240: SonicWALL Identifier:  (The Unique Firewall Identifier on the NSA 240)
• Peer IKE ID on NSA 240:  SonicWALL Identifier: (The Unique Firewall Identifier on the TZ170)
• NOTE:  The previous 2 steps are critical for it to work properly.
• On your Proposal settings use your personal preferences but make sure the Exchange for IKE (Phase 1) Proposal is set to Aggressive Mode.

We were only able to successfully create the VPN link by using the correct Unique Firewall Identifier names, properly setting the Local and PEER IKE ID and setting the Exchange to Aggressive Mode.

Recently I had the need to create a SharePoint list that acts as a maintenance work order.  This maintenance work order refers to several lists on the site, equipment, mechanic and inventory.  When a part is used in the work order, we needed it to automatically adjust the inventory quantity in the Inventory list.  While researching into the best way to accomplish this, I read an excellent tutorial from Charles Lee on how to create custom workflows in SharePoint services 3.0. His tutorial is found on simple-talk’s website.

To summarize his tutorial, these are the steps I performed to create a workflow that automatically adjusts inventory quantities in a different list than the one being worked in.

In order to create the workflow, you will need Microsoft SharePoint Designer.  SharePoint Designer is available as a free download at Microsoft.

• Open SharePoint Designer and connect to your SharePoint Site.
• In the Menu Bar click File, New, Workflow
• Type in a descriptive name for your workflow.
• Select your workflow List.  My list was Maintenance Log.
• Select your workflow start options.  I selected all three.
• Click the Next button.
• If you choose, type in a descriptive Step Name.
• In this workflow using the Conditions button was unnecessary.
• Click the Actions button, select Select Workflow VariableIf you don’t see Select Workflow Variable, you may need click More Actions.
  • Click on workflow variable.  It should be to the right of the Actions button. Select Create a new variable.
  • In the name field, type a name of your choice.  I used InventoryQTY.
  • In the type field, select Number. Click OK.
  • Click value (next to the variable you just created) then click the fxbutton.
    • Keep Source choice as Current Item.
    • In the Field dropdown select field in your list that you want to use.  This is the column in your list that has the inventory quantity.  For me it is Part Quantity.
    • Click OK.
• Next you will need to add an additional Action.  Click the Actions button and choose Do Calculation.
• Click value (to the right of the Actions button) and click the fx button.
  • Define Workflow Lookup
    • In the Source: field select the list where your part inventory resides.  My list is Inventory.
    • In the Field: select the column in your list that contains the quantity of your inventory.  My column is Quantity.
    • The Find the List Item section lets you set which fields on both of your lists the workflow should compare.  choose the following:
    • Field: Column of your Inventory list that you want to use to sync your information.  For my workflow I used Inventory:Part Number.
    • Value: Click the fx button.
      • Source: Select Current Item
      • Field: The column in your current list that links to the Field in the previous step.  My field is Part Number. (This column in in my Maintenance Log list.) Click OK.
    • Click OK.
    • You may receive a warning message stating that it isn’t guaranteed to return a single value.  Click Yes.  For this workflow it’s ok.
  • Click plus, select minus
  • Click value.  Click the fx button.
    • Source: Select Workflow Data
    • Field: Select the variable you created in the first Action.  Mine is Variable: InventoryQTY
    • Click OK.
  • Click the Actions button.  Select Update List Item.
  • Click this list
    • List: Select the list you wish to update.  My list is Inventory.
    • Click the Add button
      • Set this field: Select your field you would like updated. My field is Quantity.
      • To this value: Click the fx button.
        • Source: Current Item
        • Field: Select the field with your quantity in the current list.
        • Click OK.
      • Click OK.
• In the Find the List Item section select the following.  NOTE:  These selections should be the same as the selections you made in the Define Workflow lookup section.
  • Field: Select field.  My choice was Inventory: Part Number
  • Value: Click the fx button.
    • Source: Select Current Item
    • Field: The column in your current list that links to the Field in the previous step.  My field is Part Number.
    • Click OK.
  • Click OK.
  • Once again you may see a warning message about not guaranteed to return a single value.  Click Yes.
  • Click Finish.

  Once you click Finish, your workflow will link up to your SharePoint List. The last thing to do is test.  I had to troubleshoot and test a few times before I got the sequence correct.

There are several ways to shrink or truncate your MS SQL databases. One procedure is to run a backup from within the Enterprise Manager.

• Open Enterprise Manager
• Expand your SQL Server Group and your Local server
• Expand Databases
• Right Click the database you would like to backup
• Under All Tasks Select Backup Database
• Select Database-complete
• Add a Destination
• Under the Options Tab Select Remove inactive entries from transaction log
• Click OK.

At times, I have been able to successfully backup a database using the instructions above but the procedure did not truncate or shrink the logs.  You can run the following query to manually truncate/shrink the logs.

• Open SQL Query Analyzer
• Run the following Query:

declare @dbname nvarchar(255)

set @dbname = ‘yourdatabasenamehere’

backup log @dbname with truncate_only

DBCC SHRINKDATABASE (@dbname, 0)

Search Mail in Gmail

It goes without saying that Google is a very powerful search engine.    Search is included as a key component with in the Gmail application.  The issue is, just like using regular Google search to find something specific, you may get hundreds of results back.  Google has included may helpers within Search in Gmail.  Below is a list of helpers with examples on how to use them within Gmail.

To find messages in Gmail use the following operators:

subject: – Search the Subject line.

• Example: “subject:campgrounds” finds all messages with “campgrounds” in the Subject.

from: – Search for sender name and email address. Partial addresses are okay.

• Example: “from:smith” finds all messages from “smith@hotmail.com”, but also all messages from “your.smith@yahoo.com”.

to: – Search the To line for names and addresses.

• Example: “to:enduser@email.com” finds all messages sent directly (not via Cc: or Bcc:) to enduser@email.com.

cc: - Search recipients in the Cc field.

• Example: “cc:bobjones@zipiditdo.com” finds all messages that were sent to bobjones@ziditdo.com as a carbon copy.

bcc: – Search for addresses and names in the Bcc field. Note this only works with emails you sent to Bcc recipients from Gmail.

• Example: “bcc:henderson” finds all messages that you sent with, for example, “henderson@example.com” in the Bcc field.

label: - Search for messages assigned a label. (Replace whitespace characters in label names with hyphens.)

• Example: “label:technology” finds all messages labeled “technology”.

is:starred – Search for messages that are starred.

is:unread – Search for new and unread messages.

is:read – Search for messages that have already been opened.

is:important - Search for messages that are marked important for Priority Inbox.

has:attachment – Search for messages that have files attached to them.

filename: – Search within file names of attachments. You can also search for file name extensions to restrict your search to certain file types.

• Example: “filename:.doc” finds all messages with word processing attachments.

is:buzz – Search for Google Buzz posts.

is:chat – Search for chats

lang: – Search for messages in a particular language. (Specify the language in English; “Chinese” works, but “中文”, “Putonghua” or “Mandarin” do not, for example.)

• Example: “lang:French” returns all emails that contain at least un peu de Français.

in: – Search in a standard “folder”. You can search in Drafts, Inbox, Chats, Sent, Spam,Trash and anywhere (for everything, including Spam and Trash).

• Example: “in:drafts” finds all messages in your Drafts folder.

after: – Search for messages sent after a date. The date must be given in YYYY/MM/DD format.

• Example: “after:2009/06/02″ finds all messages sent or received after (and not including) June 1, 2009.

before: – Search for messages sent before a date.

• Example: “before:2009/06/02″ finds all messages sent or received on June 1, 2009 and earlier.

Operators and search terms can be combined with the following modifiers:

By default, terms are combined with (an invisible) “AND”.

• Example: “dog hair” finds all messages that contain both “dog” and “hair”.

“” – Search for a phrase. Case does not matter.

• Examples: “dog hair” finds all messages containing the phrase “dog hair”; ‘subject:”dog hair” finds all messages that have “dog hair” in the Subject field.

OR – Search for messages containing at least one of two terms or expressions.

• Examples: “dog hair” finds messages that contain either “dog” or “hair” or both; “from:smithor label:technology” finds messages that either come from a sender that contains “email.guide” or appear under the label “toodoo technology”.

- – Search for messages that do not contain a term or expression.

• Examples: “-dog” finds all messages that do not contain the word “dog”; “hair-dog” finds all messages that contain the word “hair” but not “dog”; ‘subject:”dog hair” -from:smith finds all messages with “dog hair” in the subject that were not sent from an email address or name containing “smith”.

() – Group search terms or expressions.

• Examples: “subject:(dog hair)” finds messages that have both “dog” and “hair” somewhere in the Subject line (but not necessarily as a phrase); “from:smith (subject:(dog OR hair ) OR label:technology)” finds all messages from a sender who has “server.info” in their name that either have “dog” or “hair” (or both) in the Subject line or appear under the label “technology”.

In an effort to further customize on of the WordPress websites I developed, 5 Star Campgrounds, I wanted to change the standard “Leave a Reply” in the comments section to “Leave a Review of this Campground”.  The site is currently using the Magazine Premier theme by Bavotasan.  To make the change I made the following addtion to the comments.php file:

Toward the end of the file you will find:

$args = array(
 ’comment_notes_after’ => ”,
 ’comment_field’ => ‘<p><label>Comment *</label><br /><textarea id=”comment” name=”comment” cols=”" rows=”8″ aria-required=”true”></textarea></p>’,
 );
comment_form($args); ?>

Add:

‘title_reply’ => ‘Leave a Review of this Campground’

Completed Adjustments:

$args = array(
 ’comment_notes_after’ => ”,
 ’comment_field’ => ‘<p><label>Comment *</label><br /><textarea id=”comment” name=”comment” cols=”" rows=”8″ aria-required=”true”></textarea></p>’,
 ’title_reply’ => ‘Leave a Review of this Campground’
);
comment_form($args); ?>

To make the changes to Comments.php file:

• In WP Admin goto Appearance in the left sidebar and click Editor.
• In the right sidebar you will see Comments (comments.php) Click it to open.
• Scroll to the bottom of the file, make the necessary changes and click Update file.
• NOTE: Before making changes to any file I highly reccomend saving a backup copy of the file.  One easy way to make a backup copy is to Select all of the content you have open in the Editor (CTRL A), Copy the data (CTRL C), open Notepad or a basic editor and paste the content into a new file (CTRL V).

It is also possible to make additional modifications to your Comment section.  You can find additional infomation at WordPress.org

I rely on custom post templates on one of my sites.  Recently I ran into an issue when I upgraded to WordPress 3.01. I used the plugin Category Templates to assign my posts a specific custom post template.  After the upgrade to 3.01 The Category Templates plugin partially broke.  I could still go into an individual post and select which Custom Post Template to use but all of my posts lost the initial custom post template they were assigned to.  The Custom Post Template plugin also has a bulk assignment utility but that didn’t work after the upgrade.  I was stumped for a couple of days on how to easily resolve the problem.  Manually going into 13,000 posts wasn’t an option!

In my research I stumbled across a posting on the WordPress forums.  Ronald73 posted a coding solution that accomplished exactly what I needed.  Here is his solution:

• Add the following code to the theme’s functions.php:

add_filter(‘single_template’, create_function(‘$t’, ‘foreach( (array) get_the_category() as $cat ) { if ( file_exists(TEMPLATEPATH . “/single-{$cat->term_id}.php”) ) return TEMPLATEPATH . “/single-{$cat->term_id}.php”; } return $t;’ ));

• Create a file named single-xx.php (where xx is the ID of the category)  Save it in your themes folder.
• All posts in this category will now use the single-xx.php instead of single.php

My testing shows this solution work brilliantly!  Also, now I have one less plugin to run on my installation.