I want shortcodes....badly...like ThemeForest.

[caswell]

Are there any shortcodes like some of the ones I'm finding on ThemeForest? That would make my life a whole lot easier.

[andrea_r]

We do not have shortcodes available for the content areas. The reason for this is - when you switch themes they stop working. :)

They should be handled by a plugin, not the theme.

[balletuni]

I have that issue, actually: I just switched to Genesis from Elegant Themes, which used shortcodes, and now my shortcodes aren't working. What would you recommend I do now?

[andrea_r]

Unless you had switched to another theme that also used the exact same shortcodes, they will have broken as well.

Elegant Themes has custom shortcodes that only work with their themes. This is the huge downside to shortcodes that are not plugin based or built in the WP by default.

You will have to actually edit the post and fix all the shortcodes, depending on what each one did.

[caswell]

Andrea -

I am working off the basic child theme that came with the framework. I'm trying to piece all this together...

If I build shortcodes now for my child theme, are you saying they are not going to work when Genesis updates the basic Genesis child theme that I have (or) if I changed themes all together? I don't plan on switching themes.

I want my site to have a lot of the cool stuff that theme forest templates have. It seems like a plugin for shortcodes would be sluggish on code (someone actually told me that today).

[balletuni]

Ok, I guess that is what I will have to do! Are there any plugins that you could recommend to replace the shortcodes I used with Elegant Themes? Basically, all I need is something that can style some text for me. Specifically, I frequently highlight certain text in a styled box.

I also have one other related question: Since changing to Genesis, my captions (the ones built into WP) no longer work. Now all I see is the shortcode for the caption (see example below). That shouldn't be happening, should it?

Here's what the captions look like on my site now:
http://balletuni.com/2012/04/new-tes...achers-course/

[adew]

Originally Posted by caswell

It seems like a plugin for shortcodes would be sluggish on code (someone actually told me that today).

Compared to a shortcode coded into a theme? This is misinformation and completely incorrect. A shortcode is just a wrapper that can be parsed by WP, which then calls a function to do something. Whether the function is in a plugin or in a theme file makes zero difference to performance.

What does make a difference is having a shortcode which is being used in place of a much simpler way of doing something. For example, shortcodes which add inline CSS, or create a div with a class. It is much more efficient to just write the inline CSS than replicate this with a shortcode. I avoid shortcodes like the plague (except in very specific cases) for all the reasons that Andrea has given. I fully understand the attractiveness of shortcodes to users who are not comfortable with code, but they have plenty of drawbacks.

[balletuni]

That makes sense. Sounds like I don't even need a plugin for my purpose!

Still not sure why my captions aren't working though... Is that a theme-specific issue?

[andrea_r]

Not sure about the captions. they are in WP by default.

What happens if you try adding a new one?

[caswell]

What about adding shortcodes to the child theme? Will an upgrade wipe them out?

[balletuni]

-

[balletuni]

Originally Posted by andrea_r

Not sure about the captions. they are in WP by default.

What happens if you try adding a new one?

The same thing happens. I also tried it on my WAMP server with a fresh install of WP and Genesis and no plugins except for studiopress ones, and it does the same thing. Weird, huh?

[andrea_r]

What specific version of WP?

[balletuni]

Originally Posted by andrea_r

What specific version of WP?

Version 3.3.2

[caswell]

Sigh. I'm guessing no, it would not affect it. That's my guess. Bailing.

[adew]

Originally Posted by caswell

Sigh. I'm guessing no, it would not affect it. That's my guess. Bailing.

Yes, it's a shame that your thread got hijacked a little...

In answer to your question, shortcodes added to your child theme won't be wiped out by a Genesis upgrade. Better still, make the shortcodes plugins and then they are completely separate from your theme.

[balletuni]

Originally Posted by adew

Yes, it's a shame that your thread got hijacked a little...

Sorry, caswell, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. When I started posting, I thought your question had already been answered, and that I had a very similar issue. Good luck to you!!

[andrea_r]

balletuni - can you start a new thread for any lingering issues? :)