looking for text widget functionality in a ‘page’
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I am familiar with and love the flexibility and functionality of the text widget in a sidebar.
I’ve not been able to find anything similar for use in a the main column (not a sidebar)…
For example; a page (like an “About” page) that has included content from a dynamic source.
More specifically, say I wanted to make a page from a RSS news feed, or a Twitter list.
This is not difficult with installed WP on my server, as I can edit templates and stuff.
I’m just trying to find a way on WP.com…Perhaps what I need is to find a theme that every column is considered a sidebar, and use the recent posts widget to show normal content. This would allow use of widgets in the ‘main’ content column…
Any ideas and suggestions welcome.
Thanks /;^)The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Not without a link to your WordPress.COM blog, starting with http:// so that we can see if you are asking in the right place.
Some people confuse WordPress.ORG and WordPress.COM (which is where we are). These links will explain the difference.
WordPress.COM or WordPress.ORG? The difference -
Sorry about that Chief… My profile was in serious need of a refresh.
I mistakenly assumed that it was reflecting my primary blog as http://wb5rmg.wordpress.com
Thanks /;^) -
Auto-filled pages such as RSS feeds, twitterfalls and so on are not possible at WordPress.com at the current time. I have tried, WITH staff assistance, because I was working with a nonprofit that did twitterfall art projects, and we couldn’t come up with any workaround.
You can use an RSS widget in the Fjords theme, which has THREE sidebars, or learn CSS, buy the upgrade, and edit any theme to make all the columns look identical.
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Thanks Raincoaster …
Hopefully someone will have (or develop) a theme that can support widgets in more than just sidebars. Maybe not every widget, but some widget-like functionality would sure be handy. I can do custom templates, CSS and theme modifications on sites I host, but I now have more sites on wordpress.com than on my own server.
I help admin some other sites here as well.We’ll keep fishing around.
/;^) -
Titan theme has header options and footer widget area:
http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/new-theme-titan/Motion is another one with multiple widget areas:
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I’ll take the silence as confirmation that there is currently no theme available on WordPress.com that easily presents a RSS feed, a Twitter feed, or similar dynamic content. That’s too bad.
Perhaps some Theme developer will take this idea and go.
To be able to do Text Widget tricks in a posting on the main column would be a great feature (IMHO…) I’ll leave this item ‘un-resolved’ for a few more days, and close it if no further discussion shows up soon.Thanks /;^)
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I don’t think that’s really blog functionality you’re looking for, though. WP.com is exclusively blogging-focused, so it could well be that they’ll never offer that. I know a number of developers who are working on other platforms (including WP.org) to develop something like that, a home page that displays to other people all the things you find worth aggregating. But I don’t think WP.com will do it. Tumblr might be the most flexible.
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Point well taken. I don’t have a large following of folks that post comments.
I use WP as a fast flexible content management system. I like to post a lot of things pertaining to my radio hobby to help motivate other folks to become more active, by showing some of the things we do…in real time when possible. I really like the ability to include things like a current propagation indicator map, the current position of the Space Station – but I’m confined to the sidebar… I’d like to avoid making visitors ‘click-away’ from the site to see something. If I can keep them on the site, they are more inclined to offer a comment, and embrace the interactive ‘blog-mode’ … See – it’s my stuff I’m trying to aggregate, not just re-publishing someone else’s stuff.I can customize such things on another WP site on my server, but this one gets the most visibility and I tend to put things here to make it easy for me to find quickly. For example – I have a few lists on Twitter, and sure I can just go to their site and see the most recent activity from those on that list – but I’d rather put my own wrapper on the page… The Twitter Widget makes it so flexible and easy – but sortof limited as it is.
OK RainCoaster – I’ve taken enough of your time.
Thanks for listening… /;^) -
Thanks all.
I’ll mark this as resolved.
Any further comments or suggestions are welcome via my blog … /;^)
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