Image courtesy of Wikipedia

We had some issues with the Atahualpa Theme after the Commons upgrade to WordPress 3.0, and these have now been resolved. Thanks go to Boone Gorges for getting it up and running again, and to the Commons community for reporting the issues. Atahualpa is one of our most popular themes.

To recap: When we upgraded to 3.0, users of the theme lost access to Atahualpa’s theme control panel. Turns out our old version of the theme was incompatible with WP 3.0 – so we installed the newest , beta version of Atahualpa (3.5.3), which has a slew of new features, and a couple little bugs that needed fixing.

Rotating Header Image:

If you want a rotating header image, you need to upload your media files (in Dashboard: Media>>Add New) using the naming convention “atahualpa_header_1”, “atahualpa_header_2,” “atahualpa_header_3,” etc.

File types can be jpg, png, or gif. These images will override the default, floral images which come with the theme. Note: once you do this, you cannot go back to the default images.

Static Header Image:

There are a number of ways to put a static image in the header, including just adding one image to the upload folder called “atahualpa_header_1.” But I would suggest setting your image height to 0 (or just remove %image and substitute with %logo), and instead use the logo area and set your image as the background of this area. Seems to work consistently for me, and you don’t need to mess with the complications of the rotator.

Two Horizontal Bars in the Background:

The new version of Atahualpa comes with a background image that has two horizontal bars (one beige and one black) that run across the whole width. To get rid of these (they are not that attractive), you need to go to the theme’s control panel and delete the url. See below:

For further information, see the problem ticket and the discussion forum on this issue.

Also see Atahualpa in the Commons Codex.

Thanks again to Aaron Kendall, Shawn M. , Rowena Li, Daisy Dominquez and especially to Boone!

And let us know if you encounter any other issues with this versatile (and complicated) theme.

During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and used him to control the Inca empire. Eventually, the Spanish executed Atahualpa by garrote, ending the Inca Empire (although several successors claimed the title of Sapa Inca (“unique Inca”) and led a resistance against the invading Spaniards). After Atahualpa died, the Incan Empire began to fall apart. (Wikipedia)

To make a particular post private, follow these steps when you are editing your post:

1. Navigate to the Publish module on the right side of the page. (The Publish module is used to set who can read your posts.)
2. Under the  Visibility area you can choose to make your post either:
   • “Password protected” (in which case you will enter a password that you will then share with whomever you wish to view your post) or
   • “Private” (which means that only blog Editors and Administrators will be able to view your post).
3. Select “OK” then “Publish”/”Update”. These changes will go into effect immediately, but can be updated anytime if you choose to change the visibility of your post.

Alternatively, you may choose to make your entire blog private. To learn how to adjust your blog’s privacy settings, click here.

So whether you want to make one or two posts as private or make your entire blog invite only, it’s completely up to you and how you want to use your blog.

Click on group blog link:

Check the box next to “enable group blog”:

Decide to start a new blog or connect an existing one to your group. Enable member posting if you want your group members to be authors on the blog. You will also be asked to set WordPress roles for administrators, moderators and members.

A bit about the WPMU member roles:

• Administrator – Somebody who has access to all the administration features.
• Editor – Somebody who can publish posts, manage posts as well as manage other people’s posts, etc.
• Author – Somebody who can publish and manage their own posts.
• Contributor – Somebody who can write and manage their posts but not publish posts.
• Subscriber – Somebody who can read comments/comment/receive news letters, etc.

Click “Save Changes” and the “Blog” link should now appear on the left navigation area of the group.

A post is a chronological, journal style entry that has a date and time. A page is a more static type of entry and has the feel of a traditional website. Most blogs have posts on the homepage, but with WordPress you can assign one of your pages to the homepage. This will allow your WordPress blog to look more like a website.

Begin by going to the “pages” section your your WordPress dashboard.

Add a new page that you wish to use as your homepage.

(Skip this section if you do not want to display blog posts on your website.)

To feature your blog on your website, create a new page where users can access your posts. Many people simply title this page ‘Blog’, but other options include ‘Reflections’, ‘Updates’, etc. Members can add any page title they choose, but there’s no need to add text or media because page content will be automatically generated from your posts.

With the exception of your front page, your pages will now be ordered alphabetically. To change the page order while editing your page, navigate to the attributes module located on the right side and enter a number under the order field. The parent field also allows you to arrange your pages in hierarchies, creating a drop-down menu.

The last step to turn your WordPress blog into a website is to select the Reading under Settings tab on the left navigation bar.

Once there, select static page for your front page display and choose which pages you would like to feature as your front page (homepage) and your posts page (blog). If you do not wish to include blog posts on your website simply leave the posts page field blank.

And with that, you will have successfully turned your blog into a website. Congrats!

1. Go to the Dashboard of your individual or group blog
2. Scroll down the left navigation bar and select the ’Settings’ tab
3. Select the ‘Privacy’ link from the drop down menu
4. Select one of the 5 choices below to adjust your blog’s visibility:
   • I would like my blog to be visible to everyone, including search engines (like Google, Bing, Technorati) and archivers;
   • I would like to block search engines, but allow normal visitors
   • I would like my blog to be visible only to registered users from the blog community
   • I would like my blog to be visible only to registered members of this blog
   • I would like my blog to be visible only to administrators of this blog
5. Select ‘Save Changes’ and you’re done!

To learn how to add new users to your blog and set their roles, click here.

There are many free web services that will take your lengthy URLs and shorten them for you. This not only allows frees up more characters for your Twitter post, but generally makes it easier to cut and paste URLs into emails, text messages, chats, etc…

Some of these services out there are:

• Tiny URL – create a shorter link
• is.gd URL Shortener – The Shortest URLs Around
• bit.ly | Basic | a simple URL shortener

To use Tiny URL as an example, you would simply paste the URL that you wish to be shortened into the big box then select ‘tiny!’. Once the shortened URL is generated you can use it however you’d  like and also monitor stats.

2. Navigate to the Users tab located in the left navigation bar of your Dashboard and select ‘Add New’. (The Users tab is located between the Plugins and Tools tabs).

A bit about the WPMU member roles:

• Administrator – Somebody who has access to all the administration features.
• Editor – Somebody who can publish posts, manage posts as well as manage other people’s posts, etc.
• Author – Somebody who can publish and manage their own posts.
• Contributor – Somebody who can write and manage their posts but not publish posts.
• Subscriber – Somebody who can read comments/comment/receive news letters, etc.