I needed to add to a wordpress based website Google maps location pictures with Google Maps Zoom In / Out controls.
I've seen plenty of plugins available that said to to this but none of them really worked fine for me. Either the plugins I checked in wordperss.org was too complex to set up and required a Google API registration or was marked as Broken (not working).
Finally to add the geographic locations taken from maps.google.com I used the embed code generated directly from maps.google.com.
But that was not the end of my WordPress Google Maps struggles. What followed was rather ridiculous, it seems since some time Google removed the pinning of a location searched for. Moreover the easy old way to simply pin a location on the map is also, gone.
Hence here is what I had to do to pinpoint location on the Google map of my searched country destination:
1. To be able to pinpoint the location, I had to login to my gmail
2. Go to http://maps.google.com in browser
3. Press on My Places button
4. Click on Create map and fill in the Title and Description dialogs
5. The Privacy and Sharing radio button should be selected
6. Click on Done and Save buttons
7. From the left top corner inside the Google map image to select the baloon picture (Add a Placemark) 8. Choose the exact desired placemark type and color from the next appearing dialog
9. Choose the location I want to pin on the map
I've created also a small Video tutorial just for fun for all those who want to see the pin a location with a baloon on the google map tutorial, here is the video as well:
For all people who can't properly see the .mov video here is link to the video created with recordmydesktop on my Linux showing how the baloon pinning inside a map can be done.
I needed a handy way to recover some old data of an expired domain containing a website, with some really imprtant texts. The domains has expired before one year and it was not renewed for the reason that it’s holder was not aware his website was gone. In the meantime somebody registered this domain as a way to generate ads profit from it the website was receiving about 500 to 1000 visitors per day. Now I have the task to recover this website permanently lost from the internet data. I was not able to retrieve anything from the old domain name be contained via google cache, yahoo cache, bing etc. It appears most of the search engines store a cached version of a crawled website for only 34 months. I’ve found also a search engine gigablast which was claimed to store crawled website data for 1 year, but unfortunately gigablast contained not any version of the website I was looking for.Luckily (thanks God) after a bit of head-banging there I found a website that helped me retrieve at least some parts from the old lost website.
The Wayback Machine , guys keeps website info snapshots of most of the domain names on the internet for a couple of years back, here is how wayback machine website describes its own provided services:
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine puts the history of the World Wide Web at your fingertips.
Another handy feature wayback machine provides is checking out how certain websites looked like a couple of years before, let’s say you want to go back in the past and see how yahoo’s website looked like 2 years ago.
Just go to web.archive.org and type in yahoo and select a 2 years old website snapshot and enjoy
It’s really funny how ridiculous many websites looked like just few years from now
For a number of time I've been planning to change my blog comments placement. Until this very day however I've kept the default wordpress theme's Comments button placement.
I realize the default Comments button placement is a bit hard to see and not that much intuitive for the user that enters my blog for a first time.
My first guess was that there might be somewhere a wordpress plugin which will allow me to adjust my comments button placement.
After some research online and a realization that probably there is no such plugin existing yet. I've forced myself to tune it up myself.
It was clear to me that in order to change the it will be necessery to edit the WordPress templates files. I'm not a designer and when I hear about templates I usually get scared, however I took the time to take a look at the default wordpress template and find out actually that template modifications is actually rather easier than I thought.
My previous idea was that in order to edit templates you have to be some kind of CSS and HTML guru (which I'm not). Nevertheless it seems that in order to play and adjust in a good way the templates you don't need ot be a pro.
Even an uneducated fool like myself can easily do almost everything he thinks of throughout few lines of code in the wp templates.
To get back to the major topic thanks God after a bit of review and reading of wordpress.org documentation and some user forums. I've figured out that in order to change my Comments placement you need to modify the file:
blog/wp-content/themes/default/index.php
In index.php find the line starting with:
You will notice within this opened paragraph the php code:
This is the actual default theme php code that makes the wordpress Comments or No Comments that maes the comments appear on the blog.
Now I've decided to let this be as it is but add one more Comment button to wordpress on a different location that is more appealing to my blog visitors
After quick evaluation I've determined that probably the best location that the Comments button should have is right after the end of the post text
If you think my idea for button placement is appropriate, to set this location for the Comments button, you will have to find the follwoing code in index.php:
<div class="entry">
<?php the_content('Read the rest of this entry »'); ?>
</div>
Right after the end of this code place the following code:
2. Install the Google Analytics Tracking Module;
Login as joomla admin and navigate to;
Extensions -> Install
Place the analytics_tracking15.zip url to the Install URL: field.
Again as of time of writting you need to place http://www.pc-freak.net/files/analytics_tracking15.zip;
3. Open the Module Manager
Extensions -> Module Manager
4. Click over Google Analytics Tracking Module
On the right pane you will notice in the Module Parameters the Analytics_uacct_code field. In the uacct_code field you need to paste your UA obtained from your created google-analytics account.
This code is usually something like UA-2101595-10
Now place your code their and press the save green button located near the right top of the screen. You should see the text in blue Item Saved which would indicate your UA code is stored already in the Google Analytics Tracking Module, now press the Cancel button located again on the right top.
As a last step before the Google analytics is set-up on the Joomla you need to enable the plugin to do you need to press over the tick left sided from the text reading Google Analytics Tracking Module in the Module Manager
5. Click over the Enabled button in Module Manager; Google Analytics Tracking Module -> Enabled
Cheers! Now, your Joomla website visitors count will start logging to Google Analytics.
Bio: I am a Free Software enthusiast, hobbyist and a unix geek. Presently my competences are into the field of System administration.
I am also a devoted Orthodox Christian. I have deep interests into
religion in general and in Christianity in particular.
I am a big fan of all kind of Unix like systems like: GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, DOS and other various obscure computing. I'm also interested into philosophy and business administration.
My hobbies include playing old arcade games, trips to a new places,
preferably nature filled places, Mountain, Waterfalls, Woods etc.
In my free time I also like watching movies: Mostly spiritual movies, or movies with a deeper meaning.Currently I am a student in Arnhem Business School in the stream of HRQM (Human Resources and Quality Management).
Herein my blog you'll find mostly stuff about my unix/linux adventures, personal life, thoughts on life, religion, philosophy and art.
on the google map tutorial, here is the video as well:
on 
on 
How to change default Comments and No Comments location in WordPress in wordpress default theme
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011For a number of time I've been planning to change my blog comments placement. Until this very day however I've kept the default wordpress theme's Comments button placement.
I realize the default Comments button placement is a bit hard to see and not that much intuitive for the user that enters my blog for a first time.
My first guess was that there might be somewhere a wordpress plugin which will allow me to adjust my comments button placement.
After some research online and a realization that probably there is no such plugin existing yet. I've forced myself to tune it up myself.
It was clear to me that in order to change the it will be necessery to edit the WordPress templates files. I'm not a designer and when I hear about templates I usually get scared, however I took the time to take a look at the default wordpress template and find out actually that template modifications is actually rather easier than I thought.
My previous idea was that in order to edit templates you have to be some kind of CSS and HTML guru (which I'm not). Nevertheless it seems that in order to play and adjust in a good way the templates you don't need ot be a pro.
Even an uneducated fool like myself can easily do almost everything he thinks of throughout few lines of code in the wp templates.
To get back to the major topic thanks God after a bit of review and reading of wordpress.org documentation and some user forums. I've figured out that in order to change my Comments placement you need to modify the file:
In index.php find the line starting with:
You will notice within this opened paragraph the php code:
<?php the_tags('Tags: ', ', ', '
'); ?> Posted in <?php the_category(', ') ?>
| <?php edit_post_link('Edit', '', ' | '); ?>
<?php comments_popup_link('No Comments »', '1 Comment »', '% Comments »'); ?>
This is the actual default theme php code that makes the wordpress Comments or No Comments that maes the comments appear on the blog.
Now I've decided to let this be as it is but add one more Comment button to wordpress on a different location that is more appealing to my blog visitors
After quick evaluation I've determined that probably the best location that the Comments button should have is right after the end of the post text
If you think my idea for button placement is appropriate, to set this location for the Comments button, you will have to find the follwoing code in index.php:
<div class="entry">
<?php the_content('Read the rest of this entry »'); ?>
</div>
Right after the end of this code place the following code:
<?php comments_popup_link('No Comments »', '1 Comment »', '% Comments »'); ?>
</div>
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