WCS Custom Permalinks Hotfix Plugin

This plugin is a hotfix for permalink issues encountered with WordPress installations after upgrading to 3.1.x. It fixes the 404 error (or blank page) for menu/dropdown categories and tags. It fixes pagination for search results, categories, and tags. And, it fixes RSS feeds for categories and tags.

Before using it, be sure that your issues are not caused by plugins that modify category links, tag links, and/or canonical redirection … by deactivating them. More details are available under Installation (above) and at Dashboard->WCS-Permalinks (after activation).

Additional Information

• View details for this plug-in at our web site.

• View the full source code explanation for the prototype of this plug-in along with user comments.

• Visit our web site, wpCodeSnippets.INFO, for lots of WordPress tips, tweaks, shortcodes, and plugins.

• This plug-in is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL2). No external services are required and there are no additional features to purchase.

Donations

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Plug-in Usage:

Install and activate the plug-in. No configuration is needed.

Standard WordPress installation procedure:

1. Download the ZIP file to your local computer.
2. Unzip the file’s contents.
3. Login as an administrator to your WordPress website.
4. Upload the wcs-custom-permalinks-hotfix directory to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
5. Activate the plugin through the WordPress Dashboard->Plugins menu.
6. Visit your home page.
7. Refresh your browser (F5).
8. Verify that the menu/dropdown categories and tags are working.

Depending on your specific Web browser settings, you may need to:

1. Clear your browser’s cache.
2. Visit your home page.
3. Refresh your browser (F5).
4. And, then test your menus/dropdowns with categories and tags.

If you’re ALSO using a blog cache plug-in, add these steps:

1. Clear your entire blog cache (with that plug-in’s admin panel).
2. Clear your browser’s cache.
3. Visit your home page.
4. Refresh your browser twice (F5).
5. Verify that the menu/dropdown categories and tags are working.

Additional Considerations:

1. If your WordPress installation resides on a Concentric/XO Communications shared hosting platform, there is an additional issue with permalinks. In this case, visit our Plug-in Landing Page for specific instructions.
2. For additional information regarding your .htaccess file, visit our Plug-in Landing Page.

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   This is a screen shot of the Dashboard information page added by this plug-in.

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Will this plug-in work on multi-sites?

Yes. Just use Network Activate. Visit your Dashboard. Click Network Admin at the top right. Click Plugins in the sidebar menu. Locate WCS Custom Permalinks Hotfix in the list. Then, click Network Activate.

Will this plug-in absolutely fix my broken permalinks?

A few hundred bloggers installed the prototype from our website. It fixed the problem for about 85% of these folks.

What do I do if this doesn’t work for my installation?

View our development article which offers alternative measures both in the article content and visitor comments (including correct .htaccess code). OR, explore these additional instructions. As a last resort, de-activate the plug-in.

Other questions?

Leave questions, comments, and suggestions at our web site’s plug-in landing page.

What languages are available?

Currently, only English is available. Future updates may include additional languages (for the Dashboard information page).

Can I help?

Sure! We’re in regular need of testers. We have several plug-in prototypes under development at our website. In addition, I could always use help with translations for internationalization.

Visit our website: wpCodeSnippets.INFO.

1.1

• 2011-05-07
• added additional details to this readme.txt file and to the dashboard (Dashboard->WCS-Permalinks) information page

1.0

• 2011-05-05
• official public plugin release

0.9.7

• 2011-04-11 (cut/paste prototype functions)
• added fixes for RSS feeds for categories & tags

0.9.5

• 2011-04-09 (cut/paste prototype functions)
• added hotfix bypass to retain XML-RPC Support

0.9.3

• 2011-04-08 (cut/paste prototype functions)
• added support for multi-sites that use subdirectories

0.9.1

• 2011-04-05 (cut/paste prototype functions)
• added fixes to pagination for searches, categories, & tags

0.9.0

• 2011-03-23 (cut/paste prototype function)
• prototype release at our website