Version 1.2 of the Simple Wakoopa List plugin has been launched!

This update ensures that any returned RSS feed addresses are in a valid XHTML format (saving you from the dreaded validation errors!).

Full details can be found on the plugin’s dedicated page.

A couple of months ago, I talked about improving the search facility built into WordPress. However, soon after, I also mentioned problems I was having with the plugin Search Unleashed.

Sadly the plugin is no better and I’ve had it disabled all this time.

The friend that I originally researched this all for reported, however, that Search Unleashed was not reporting by relevance after all. Since then I’ve seen details on Better Search, an alternative plugin that (supposedly) does provide relevance-based results. I’d try it out and report back back but after my initial activation, I deactivated it again. Rather than build upon your existing search template, it uses its own. So, by default, the search page doesn’t even look like your theme – you have to start the layout, etc, from scratch. That’s not something I’d like to do unless I really wanted to use the plugin. And I’m not that fussed.

But if anybody else does give it a go, please let me know!

If you haven’t spotted already, I’m tinkering (again) with the blog layout.

In particular, I’m working on the design at the bottom of each post. This is also extending to the pages with, and for the first time, the ability to leave comments on them. And after writing a new plugin (coming soon!) for which I’ve learnt all about using custom fields, I’m using them to suppress adverts and comments on specific pages.

Oh, and I’ve done something (reasonably) clever with one my plugins. YARPP (Yet Another Related Posts Plugin) is good but the fixed number of recommendations per post was causing me problems – lots of related posts for a short entry was looking like overkill but, at the same time, large posts were looking a little, erm, lacking. However, the number can be overridden so I’ve updated the plugin call to vary this depending on the blog size. It’s not 100% accurate but, hey, it’s better than it was before.

Here’s the script…

$post_len=strlen($post->post_content);
if ($post_len<1000) {
    related_posts(array('limit'=>2));
} else {
    $max_posts=floor(($post_len+2000)/3000)+2;
    related_posts(array('limit'=>$max_posts));
}

As you can see, it’s quite simple. If the number of characters in the post if less than 1000 then it default to a maximum of 2 related posts. It then goes up by 1 at 1000 characters and then again every 3000 characters.