Beta testers needed for Meteor Slides 1.3

I have Meteor Slides 1.3 finished and ready to go, it just needs a bit of testing before I release the final version. I have tested this plugin with the TwentyTen theme and on my own site with some common plugins and it works very well. But there are some big changes in this version and I’d like to hear how it works with a variety of themes and plugins out in the wild.

Features in this version include support for multiple slideshows and metadata. The template tag, shortcode, and widget all support both of these features. I’m especially interested to see how the shortcode and widget work with different themes and plugins. There are also several other small changes, such as expanded navigation options.

Download the beta of Meteor Slides 1.3 and give it a try!

I updated the beta to fix a bug with using metadata to resize a slideshow.

I am currently writing updated documentation and recording some new screencasts for these new features. I’m hoping to release Meteor Slides 1.3 before the end of the month, of course a babysitter and some espresso could speed things up!

Multiple Slideshows

Multiple slideshows are enabled using a custom taxonomy called “Slideshows”, you can create slideshows and add slides to them just as you would use categories.

You can use the standard template tag or shortcode, which will load slides in any slideshow. But by adding a slideshow parameter, you can load a specific slideshow.

Here is the format of the template tag:

<?php if(function_exists('meteor_slideshow')) { meteor_slideshow("slideshow", "metadata"); } ?>

The value of the slideshow parameter should be the slideshow’s slug. So to load a slideshow called “Robots” with no metadata, your tag should look like this:

<?php if(function_exists('meteor_slideshow')) { meteor_slideshow("robots", ""); } ?>

The widget works the same way, just add the slideshow’s tag to the “Slideshow” field. The shortcode is formatted slightly differently, but uses the same values:

[meteor_slideshow slideshow="slideshow" metadata="metadata"]

A shortcode for a a slideshow called “Robots” with no metadata would look like this:

[meteor_slideshow slideshow="robots"]

Adding Metadata

The slideshow is powered by the jQuery Cycle plugin, which supports another jQuery plugin called Metadata. The jQuery cycle plugin has a ton of options, and Meteor Slides only includes the essentials on the settings page.

With Metadata, you can add classes to the slideshow, and these are dynamically applied as commands to the slideshow. This means that power users can tap into all the features of jQuery Cycle without hacking the plugin, and do some neat stuff, like making the slides random. This also allows you to override the global slideshow settings and use different settings on specific slideshows.

Here is an example of a slideshow template tag that just changes the transition to zoom:

This tag loads the Robots slideshow and uses the zoom effect:

Again, same values in the widget and shortcode, different formatting for the shortcode:

[meteor_slideshow metadata="fx: 'zoom'"]

Here is a shortcode example for the Robots slideshow with the zoom effect and random slides:

[meteor_slideshow slideshow="robots" metadata="fx: 'zoom', random: 1"]

Here is a shortcode example that uses metadata to resize a slideshow, the slideshow should have the same aspect ratio as the original for the best results:

[meteor_slideshow metadata="height: 135, width: 419"]

The metadata feature should greatly expand the flexibility of Meteor Slides, let me know if you come up with any cool tricks using metadata!

Translate Meteor Slides

Some text has been added in this version and the current translations need to be updated, and of course new translations are always welcome! You can download the PO or text file and email me your translation.

Please report any conflicts or bugs in the comments below or in the WordPress.org support forums.