Since I don’t consider my blog anonymous or ‘seekrit’ I grabbed a text widget and started adding an “About Me’ to my sidebar. After trying to get things aligned, formatted, and adding a few links I started thinking a widget might be nice for this. I had not seen anything like this around, so here it is, my first widget.
“*Fixed in 0.96: Align didn’t work in some themes.”
Here are some installation instructions:
- Click the download link below to get the latest version
- Drop the AboutMe folder into your wp-content/plugins folder
- Go to your Administration:Plugins page and activate the About Me Widget
To configure:
- Go to Presentation:Widgets
- Move (drag and drop) the widget to where you would like it in your active sidebar
- Click on the config button for the About Me widget (little notepad icon thingy on the right)
- Enter the title you want visitors to see on the sidebar
- Click in the editor window and start designing your own widget!!!
Put together a generic ‘about me’ design:
- Select the image icon above the editor (looks like a tree)
- Enter the URL (path) to the image (relative is fine, e.g.; /wp-content/uploads/portrait.jpg)
- Enter Image Description, Title
- Select the appearance tab and use the pull-down menu to apply an alignment class
- Click the Update button
- Back in the editor now, type some text (a blurb about yourself or your site)
- Hi-lite the text and use the pull-down styles menu to apply alignment class/style
- Add some links, if you wish, then repeat #7 to the link/anchor text
- Close the config window when you’re finished and hit the Save Changes button
This widget is working in current versions of WordPress (2.8+). Please note link to the WP Plugin Directory below…
Here is a current working version: About Me Widget Thanks to John BouAntoun!
*Fixed in v0.91: Cannot select left or right alignment. *Added: Configurable titles for image and links. Thanks Steen.
*Fixed in v0.92: Image ‘alt’ and ‘title’ attributes working now.
*Changed in v0.93: “blurb” respects newlines. Thanks Andy Skelton.
*Fixed in 0.94: Overlapping text issue with default admin theme. Thanks Aaron Brazell. *Added: Configurable font color.
*Added in 0.95: Function getimagesize() added to maintain xhtml validity and page speed.
*Fixed in 0.96: Align didn’t work in some themes. Thanks JR Rozko.
*Fixed in 0.97: Took out the clear that was breaking some themes/sidebars.
*Fixed in 0.98: A solution for people on Dreamhost (and others with hosts using safe_mode/curl). This solution does not use a curl wrapper, but falls back to a relative path. It will require the user to place the image in /wp-content/uploads/. Thanks to Martin Cleaver who generously gave me a temp site at Dreamhost for testing!
*Re-design for 1.0beta: Uses WordPress’ built-in TinyMCE editor for layout/design, produces valid XHTML 1.0 Strict (though this can be broken ;’), designed and tested in WordPress 2.2.1.
*Fixed in 1.01: Bad path to the Image plugin (gave a 404-Not Found), dialed in lineheight – 09/02/07
*Fixed in 1.02: If auto-installed from wordpress.org, TinyMCE would have no buttons (plugin directory name no longer hard-coded). Thanks to guybrush – 09/14/07
-1.03: Sync’ing with http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about-me-widget/
-1.04: ditto above
Previous non-TinyMCE version (stable): About Me Widget v0.98
As of 11/16/07 there have been over 14,300 downloads of the About Me Widget. wow.
Feedback appreciated!
i couldn’t make the plug-in initializing
how i can add it to the sidebar?
I’m having a problem that I’ve seen others mention–the 404 Error–when trying to get the Image Editor to insert an image.
I’m running version 1.04 of the Widget on an Apache Server running version 1.3.39 (Unix). The operating system for the server is Linux. I’m sure I have the Widget installed correctly, and I think I have the photo in the right directory, too. (It’s in the uploads folder of the wp-content folder. In that uploads folder, there is a 2008 folder which leads to an 01 folder, too. There are three theme jpegs in there, but my photo is up two levels in the uploads folder itself.)
The widget sure looks like something that would be great to use, but I’m pulling my hair out over here, trying to figure out what might not be configured right about it, for my environment.
The TinyMCE editor is not working for me. I am using Firefox 1.5 and Opera 9, both with JavaScript enabled and my WordPress version is 2.3.2. I don’t see any buttons in the editor, although the editor works for me writing posts in WordPress.
Hi!
Thanks for the great widget!
I seem to be having one little tiny issue.
I would like to make three links within the widget.
The links would link to other pages on my wordpress blog. How do I do that?
I tried a few things, but they never seem to turn into links, the code just shows up in the widget on my page.
any ideas?
thanks!
TinyMCE editor is not working for me as I edit the widget. What might be the reason?
version 1.02 works better for me than 1.04…
it can use Japanese language ?
Great little tool will be recommended
TinyMCE isn’t showing up here either, with wp2.5 and About Me widget 1.0.4.
I really like this plug-in and recommend it on my site but it’s useless with WordPress 2.5.1.
The newest version has reduced your plug-in into a text box.
Any chance that you might update it?
Hi,
I’ve just upgrade WP in version 2.5.1 and after removed your widget “About me” in my 1rst side bar, to ADD it in the second one, I can’t do it anymore…
When I click ADD on your widget, the page is all white and stay blocked.
I’m sick because i’d like your plugin, but I can’t use it.
Please Help.
Hi! I think your widget is great, but could you make it compatible with WordPress 2.5.1 or higher? Because WP 2.6 is now available, you know. Any plans to update it? Thank you very much, you should really consider it. Thanks again!
Is there a way to use a ‘hard code’ on my sidebar? I have other stuff there that I don’t use widgets.
Cheers!
This is a great plug in 🙂
Does this not work with wordpress 2.5? I can see the widget but can’t use the editing tools.
Sam — your widget looks like a godsend, but like other recent posters I haven’t been able to use any of the editing tools. I’m a brand-new user running wordpress v. 2.6. I’d love advice OR, barring that, add my voice to the chorus for an update!
love love love love this widget. Actually used it to add a paypal button to my sidebar and to “icon-ize” some of my pages. One thing I would like to see is the ability to have more than one About Me widget on my sidebar a la RSS Feed Widget. Thanks for a great resource!
Very handy Widget but same thing here… No editing tools showing up in my widget (below the “Design your widget below:” message. It’s just a simple text box.
WordPress V2.6 I’m using if it helps.
thanks.
This is a great plugin 🙂
I’ve also used it to iconize some of my pages. Cool plugin, man. Thanks! 😀
Same problem here Mamaliga, im using wordpress 2.7 though.
we need an update for the new wordpress versions. thanks.
doesn’t work in wordpress 2.6
Love the concept, but can’t get the widget edit functions to work on WordPress 2.7 – is there an update?
Great plugin.
Unfortunetly dosen’t work on WordPress 2.7 🙁
Any update soon?
Thanks!
Sam: I have tried everything and cannot get the widget to work quite properly. My template is widget-enabled and all my other widgets work properly. I am not getting a config button, so all I am allowed to do is write a short blurb w/ no customization. Plz help. Thx.
Hi Sam,
I’ve recently gone through the effort of porting your about-me-widget to work with wordpress 2.7. It needed a new advimage plugin inclusion and had to use the new wordpress action and filter hooks to render.
I’m happy to send you the updates, or if you’re no longer interested in this widget, I’m happy to upload it to wordpress.org as AboutMe 2.0 or something. Hit me at my blog (use the comments) to let me know what you want to do.
By the way, I’ve uploaded a zip file of my changes to the widget to make it work with WordPress 2.7 here:
http://jbablog.com/2009/03/about-me-widget-and-wordpress-27/
When Sam gets back to me I’ll figure out how to get the changes distributed officially.
Sam, I’m having trouble with your widget. I’m not well versed in this, but have uploaded and activated About Me. Problem is it doesn’t display the editor icons (trees etc) I can type in text, but all I want to do it drop in a photo also.
Am I missing something?
Benj
I’m using the latest version of WordPress, 2.8. I’d love to use the “About Me” widget, but even now that I’ve installed it, the edit icons don’t display and there’s no option presented to add my photo. Any instruction on how to get that all to work, or is there an update for the latest version of WordPress that’s you’re planning to issue?
Thanks much.
I do not understand this widget AT ALL. I am unable to type in the box at all, much less code anything. There aren’t any editing icons or anything. I am using WP 2.8. Please clarify!
Sorry folks, but I haven’t had time to support this since 2.3.1. If you’d like to throw some money my way, I could update it, but until I have more free time I have to give it a low priority.
That’s too bad Sam will not work on the widget anymore. It looked so nice in the earlier WordPress versions. Can anyone here take up Sam’s work and make an update?
Very good i def. use it soon