Publish to your wordpress blog directly from Google Docs

This blog post is a converted Google Docs document, automatically posted to this blog using wordpress plugin. Read on… (The images from the original Google Doc is not here as the plugin at the current version does not support importing images).

Sometimes as I work implementing websites my customers ask for a Blog. They may already have a CMS system which may or may not be perfect for the Blog part. I really like WordPress and find it so cool and strong that I would in a perfect world recommend using WordPress for blogging.

Update: “Google Docs no longer supports xmlrpc” which means that you cannot save from Google Docs to wordpress I then went for another solution – read below.

The WordPress dashboard is not easy to use

The wordpress dashboard is very strong and features full, which to new users can seem overwhelming, but why should the user at all use the dashboard? You can post to wordpress directly from Microsoft Word, Microsoft windows live writer (free) and many other applications. That way the editor will never have to log in to wordpress, but can create and edit blog post directly from their desktop computer (or tablet).

Using Google Docs to create and post blogs?

I just discovered Google Drive a sort of hard drive in the cloud which as Dropbox integrates to your desktop or tablet and allows you to store files in the cloud. So I googled and discovered a great post by Bill Bennet: “Publish Google Docs to WordPress”, and this blog post is actually created by:

Create a Google Doc
Publish to wordpress using Share on Google Drive

What does this prove?

This blog post proves that

You can write blog posts using a free online word processor tool offered by Google Docs
You can use the greatest (IMHO) blog software – WordPress – without having to learn to use the “backend” of it

Just to test I have added a icon provided by iconfinder.com

Update – alternative ways to get Google Docs to WordPress

1. attempt: Using Google Chrome Extentions – no no

One way you may create contents on your wordpress blog could be found in the Google Chrome Extentions. Searching for wordpress on the Google webshop gave many results:

Trying out another way – “Docs to wordpress” plugin for wordpress

I then googled to a page “Marrying Google Docs and WordPress (or really any CMS)” By William P. Davis which is what I will try now. I have installed the plugin on my blog. I find it not easy, I think that you keed to know what you are doing on a super user level. But it is possibel. You should also read this post: http://dev.bangordailynews.com/2011/06/20/quick-update-to-the-docs-to-wordpress-plugin/

I will try to follow the guides above – Did succeed? Yes!

After doing some changes to my wordpress config I succeeded! Here is a screenshot from my blog:

Now I just need to put my Google Doc in a folder “FOR WORDPRESS” and when it has been fetched by the wordpress plugin the document is moved to “PUBLISHED TO WORDPRESS”. I will actually test the plugin further as I will now save this updated version of the Google Doc document back to the “FOR WORDPRESS” folder and will then see if the document will be updated on my blog (instead of creating a new blog post).

The updade also worked – now all I am waiting for is the option also to import the images in the document.

Find this document shared online here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eaKLwVC4sJFN_7q_5QSsO1FnvuSYcF4Xf9LOaGmJEFo/edit

Test: jQSlickWrap jQuery plugin–wrapping text around irregular shapes

I think that it can look great if text flows around irregular shapes. Something which have been possibel for years on DTP (Desktop Publishing). We are getting the same effect here on the internet soon when CSS3 regions will be ready for release.

I have found and testet a jQuery plugin which in a simple way adds such “knocking out” features to your webpages.

To the left you can see a test/demo page in which I have written about how you can use it and how I found the plugin.

Read and see the plugin in action here: “Testing SlickWrap jQuery plugin”

Speeding up you CSS in Visual Studio using Web Essentials plug-in

Mads Kristensen (@mkristensen) is the name of the person bringing speed and hope for the CSS part of Microsoft Visual Studio. He is adding new life the the rather dead CSS part of Visual Studio. He is doing so through his free plug-in for Visual Studio: Web Essentials.

The features

In general Web Essentials makes working with CSS in Visual Studio more nice, adding features like colour and font preview, change of values using Ctrl+Arrows (up=add, down=subtract as you know it from for instance Firebug and Google Chrome), option to base64 encode images and speed typing. I can only recommend this plug-in, and also the fact that Mads listens to you request given to him for instance through twitter makes me a happy user! Well done Mads, and keep up the good job! Smiley

Amoung other features: Embed image as base64 encoded image

Bind the checkbox checked status from one checkbox to other checkboxes using jQuery plugin “reflectStatusOn”

I have coded a simpel jQuery addIn/plug-in which will bind the checked status from checkboxes to others. Lets say that you have a rule saying that:

If people choose football clubs in London area they should automatically get Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, QPR, Tottenham Hotspur and so on…

Then the code might look like this:

jQuery(‘#london’).reflectStatusOn(‘#Arsenal, #Chelsea, #Fulham, #QPR, #TottenhamHotspur’);

You may download and see example of use on my code area:

http://code.netsi.dk/jquery.reflectStatusOn/default.html

“plugInReflector” a new jQuery plug-in targeted at using and implementing jQuery plug-ins

Many times I have tried to implement cool jQuery plug-ins and many times I have read the descriptions about all the options and settings for each and every plug-in. Sometimes many examples and good documentation exists, but in every case for a long time now I have had this idea to build a tool which can do a standardalized auto discovering of plug-ins. “jquery.plugInReflector” plug-in is the outcome of these thoughts.

“If you take something from the net, you must give something back”

My philosophy perhaps is simply just a definition of the word “share”, but I feel that I need to write it – this plug-in is also put to the internet with the sharing in mind, so feel free to use the plug-in! I have even put it so github.com, a place with structured filesharing (find the link below). I am new to github.com and feel 100% novice, but the plug-in with examples will be available out there.

Why should you use plugInReflector?

If you are a person working with the internet implementing websites and use jQuery plug-ins you find on the net, you will probertly find plugInReflector usefull. Lets say that you apply a jQuery based image gallery (like jQuery Cycle) to an UL list called “gallery”. You can do it like this for instance:

jQuery('.gallery').cycle();

This will activate the gallery, but what about the settings? On the website for jQuery Cycle you will get the authors documentation, telling you that you need to change “easing” if you need to choose another way to do the animated sliding. But what if you could simply add “.plugInReflector()” and then get a “disassembled” look at the actual settings, properties, objects and functions used by the plug-in to accive the current effect? Would that not be handy? Simply add the plugInReflector plug-in and change your gallery inserting code to:

jQuery('.gallery').cycle().plugInReflector();

You will now get a full list of any settings bound to the gallery. Something like this (in plugInReflector 0.01):

The above output is auto generated HTML which is appended to the body, if you do not specify an element using the “output” option. The output option should be a jQuery selector (for instance #output).

What to expect in next versions

The current version – at the time of writing this post – is 0.01, which indicates the beta-alike state of the plug-in. I allready have several ideas for improvements here are some:

Generate settings object.
This will make it possibel to save and use the new settings on the plug-in reflected on.
Dynamically update plug-in with the changed settings.
This will make it possibel for you to play-around and instantly see changes to the plug-in relected upon.
Reposetory with known settings for plug-ins.
Imagine that you not just get a row saying that “easing” is a string. Imagine that when we talk about “easing” we could put a selectbox in the output from the reflection process. Such a service could be accived if people start to share the relected output on a reposetory – leaving “fingerprints” would make it possibel to get more friendly help for the outputed reflection result. Perhaps even ask plug-in developers to help with more information about which settings is relevant and a friendly description about it. What a wonderful world it would be…

..what will you share with me?

So please do leave your comments here, on plugInReflector at github, on twitter: netsi1964 or simply drop me an e-mail. If you have any comments or ideas they are welcome.

www.netsi.dk

"The internet is just a layer on the real world" (don't forget that!)

Tag Archives: plug-in