Reverse Order Comments Plugin

A really simple WordPress Plugin. It provides the function ro_comments_template(), which allows the comments to be displayed in reverse order (thus the newest comments first, oldest last).

1. Install & activate the plugin.
2. Edit your theme files and implement the new function as described in the FAQ section.

How do I implement the plugin function in my templates?

Open the template file which should show the comments in a reverse order in your favorite editor.
Locate the line

<?php comments_template(); ?> 

and replace it with

<?php if(function_exists('ro_comments_template')) ro_comments_template(); else comments_template(); ?> 

Note:

The arguments of the function can be different in your template, for example if it is

<?php comments_template('', true); ?> 

change the plugin function accordingly to

What are the files in theme-examples directory?

theme-examples/
default (English default theme)
comments-topinput.php comments.php adapted for a guestbook
tpl_guestbook.php template for a guestbook

 default_de (German default theme) comments-topinput.php comments.php adapted for a guestbook tpl_gaestebuch.php template for a guestbook 

Will it work with paged comments?

Yes, but if you use comment navigations with labels like “older” and “newer”, then it might be puzzling for the user, as the comment order is opposite to the navigation.
In this case I suggest not to use the plugin in combination with comment-pagination or you should change your navigation labels.

Building a guestbook for the Kubrik theme

Precondition: comments-topinput.php and tpl_gaestebuch.php are in in your template directory.

1. Create a new page. Title e.g. “guestbook”
2. Allow comments for this page
3. Choose the template “Guestbook” for this page.

Done!

If you want the comment input fields “blogstyle” at the bottom of the page, just change inside
tpl_gaestebuch.php the line

<?php if(function_exists('ro_comments_template')) ro_comments_template("/comments-topinput.php"); else comments_template(); ?> 

to

<?php if(function_exists('ro_comments_template')) ro_comments_template(); else comments_template(); ?> 

Building a guestbook for other themes

If you don’t use the Kubrik/Default theme, it is still very easy to build your own template.
A good template to start with is “page.php” and “single.php”. Copy “page.php” and rename it.
The line <?php comments_template(); ?> is important. Change it as described above.
Add a header to your new page, to tell WordPress it is a template.

e.g.

<?php /* Template Name: Guestbook */ ?> 

Page Template Documentation

1.1.1

• 16.07.12 Tested with WP 3.4.1

1.1

• 08.06.12 Updated to work with WP 3.3.2; Now using filers, making it compatible, faster and future proof

1.0.3

• 07.06.12 maintenance release; change of plugin owner

1.0.2

• 18.05.08 release on the WordPress plugin directory; renamed the plugin to reverse-order-comments; changed the directory structure to enable the WordPress plugin autoupdate

1.0.1

• 13.09.06 small bugfix inside comments-topinput.php templates

1.0

• 11.11.05 Initial Release