ITC Server

When I was developing FSA Tech Team website, I made random image rotator. Whenever the page is being refreshed, a new picture comes randomly from the album which belongs to. Since the website is static, I used JavaScript to develop it. The principal is simple: All picture files name are a number like 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg so on. Create album folders like album1, album2, and son on. Inside those album folders, create a tn album for thumbnails. Then produce a random number - Math.random() - upto the number of files and by using this number, call the picture - document.write - . It is simple but nice! Isn’t it?

After installing WordPress and start this blog on my own domain, I was thinking to put random header images for this blog. So I came across Designing Headers - Rotating Header Images on WordPress Codex. When I surf on internet about WordPress, I haven seen that people say that the most powerful feature of WordPress is Plugins. Anders Holte Nielsen’s Randomize plugin for publishing something not only pictures randomly. Even it seems very easy to use it.

Small randomizer plugin - just gets/stores random stuff for inclusion/printing somewhere on any page. This could be random quotes, random references to images, random links, etc… - split it in as many categories as you like.

I installed Randomize as described here and created a Randomize category for header image. I needed different header images. Although there are lots of different header images for Kubrick Theme, I decided to develop my own header images. I searched my old photos and selected five of them. I cropped and resized those pictures in Microsoft Office Picture Manager and used Macromedia Fireworks to modify and create new header images. I put the ITC Server name and place and time which picture was taken. The result is truly amazing. I like them.

After installing Randomize and activating it, Randomize section appeared in Manage of WordPress control panel. Wow it seems that plugins are really powerful. Later on I should be interested in developing plugins. Then I

• went to the management.
• Inserted a couple of entries in the database, - called the category “headerimg”.
• My rotating entries are:
  http://blog.itcserver.com/wp-content/themes/default/ images/headerimg1.jpg
http://blog.itcserver.com/wp-content/themes/default/ images/headerimg2.jpg
http://blog.itcserver.com/wp-content/themes/default/ images/headerimg3.jpg
http://blog.itcserver.com/wp-content/themes/default/ images/headerimg4.jpg
http://blog.itcserver.com/wp-content/themes/default/ images/headerimg5.jpg
• in the file wp-content/themes/default/header.php
• in the file wp-content/themes/default/header.php find a line that says:
  

  #header { background: url("&lt?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?&gt/images/kubrickheader.jpg") no-repeat bottom center; }

  , and change it to:

  #header { background: url("&lt?php randomize(logo) ?&gt") no-repeat bottom center; }

  Now instead of the default file, it takes a random one from the set I specified earlier.

PS:

• I will continue to make new header images. Maybe it is better to make a new one every month.
• As you see that plugins are really powerful. So I should be interested in learning plugins much.
• I will make a page to publish all my header images together.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 at 8:56 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.