FAQs

Portfolio Slideshow Pro includes features not available in the free version and guaranteed support. Please take a look at our feature list for specifics; features that are available in the Pro version of the plugin are marked Pro only.

Paying for the plugin also gives you the benefit of supporting the plugin author so we can continue to make updates and improvements to the plugin. We actively solicit feedback and add new features often.

If you're getting an error message in the Portfolio Slideshow Pro settings panel about the cache folder, or if you see an empty space where your images are supposed to be, you may have a permissions problem on the server that needs to be fixed. Some servers have very tight security restrictions that do not allow the proper cache directories to be added by the plugin. This should be easy to fix:

Browse to your 'wp-content' directory using an FTP client or your web server's file manager, and check to see if the 'cache' folder has been created. If the folder is not already there, add it, and then make sure the folder permissions are set to 755. (Some servers may need 777 permissions on this folder).

Next, refresh the page with the slideshow on it (you may need to hold down the shift key while you refresh) to force the plugin to generate the thumbnails again. If your cache directory is writeable the thumbnails and custom sizes will be generated.

In-depth documentation on changing file permissions in the wp-content directory can be found in the WordPress codex.

Portfolio Slideshow Pro has similar requirements to the latest version of WordPress and should run perfectly on most systems.

• PHP 5 and above
• Support for GD (required for thumbnails)
• WordPress 3.2.1 and above (may work on earlier versions, but not tested or supported)
• Support for timthumb.php

You can download our compatibility plugin to test for server compatibility before purchasing the plugin. Once installed, look under "Settings -> Portfolio Slideshow Pro Compatibility" for your system information.

In addition to the server requirements, Portfolio Slideshow Pro requires a properly coded WordPress theme and plugins on your site. The theme must include the wp_head(); and wp_footer(); functions in the header.php and footer.php files, respectively. Your theme and any plugins on your site must use the wp_enqueue() functions to properly load JavaScript files. If the free version of the plugin works on your site, then the Pro version will work on your site.

If you have problems with your theme, you can download the free WordPress Theme Check plugin to test your theme for any common coding errors.

We are not responsible for improperly coded themes and plugins and will direct you to the theme and plugin authors for support with those issues.

Loading problems are almost always caused by jQuery errors or missing template tags in your footer. Does the slideshow work if you go back to the default TwentyEleven WordPress theme? How about if you disable your other plugins?

Step 1. View your HTML source. How many copies of jQuery are loaded? There should only be one. Sometimes a theme or plugin inserts jQuery directly rather than using the wp_enqueue() function - this will need to be fixed in the other plugin or theme.

Step 2. In your HTML source, at the bottom, you should see the cycle and portfolio-slideshow scripts being loaded. If these aren't there, your theme is missing the function in footer.php. Take a look at the footer.php file in the default TwentyEleven theme for an example of where this line is supposed to go.

Sometimes another theme or plugin can create javascript errors that will break the functionality of our software. We've found the following steps can often help identify the cause of the problem:

• Use Firebug or another console debugging tool to see what kinds of errors are being generated. Sometimes it will be obvious that another script is blocking the execution of other scripts on the page.
• Disable any caching and minification plugins first. These will often change the behavior of your site in a way that can make it difficult to troubleshoot.
• Disable all of your plugins except for the one you are troubleshooting and revert to the default WordPress theme, and check to see if the problem has gone away.
• If the problem has gone away, try switching back to your active theme and see if the problem returns. If not, your theme is probably not causing the problem. If the problem does return, you've got a conflict with your theme.
• Reactivate your plugins one at a time, refreshing the problem page each time, and see if the problem returns. If it does, you have identified a plugin as the source of the conflict.

Once you have identified the source of the problem, you can take the steps necessary to rectify it. Can you replace the offending code with another plugin that does the same thing? Sometimes this is the easiest solution. Often, plugins and themes load duplicate scripts and sometimes all that is necessary to fix them is to remove the duplicate script.

Upload your photos to the post or page using the media uploader. The media uploader also allows you to assign titles and captions, sort, and delete photos. Then add the shortcode [portfolio_slideshow] where you want the slideshow to appear in the page. See the screenshots below for an example.

One common mistake is to insert the images into the post using the content editor. This is not necessary--the plugin detects all images attached to the post and creates the slideshow automatically.

By default, the slideshow uses the large-size images that are generated by WordPress when you upload an image. You can change this default in the settings panel for the plugin, or on a per-page basis using the size attribute (see installation instructions for usage).

If you would like to change the size of the images system-wide (for example, you want a large image to be 800px instead of 1025px) you can change the WordPress settings in the "Settings -> Media" control panel. You will need to regenerate your thumbnails to make the setting retroactive.

No, the plugin does not support random folders of images or images on a third-party site. All images must be uploaded using the media uploader, which creates the database entries the plugin relies on to generate the slideshow. This behavior will not change in future versions of the plugin.

The site license is for users who want to use the software on one site only. The developer license is for anyone who wants to use the software on more than one site; for example, as a developer who builds websites for clients.

The software download in either case is identical. The main difference between the two is support: developers get the highest priority in our forums and access to beta versions of the software.

If you purchased a single site license and would like to upgrade to a developer license, contact us for a discount code.

We do our best to ensure that our plugin works with as many themes as possible and test the slideshow in over a dozen popular themes before each release. We guarantee that the plugin will work perfectly in the default WordPress theme and all of our own themes, and find that it works without any need for adjustment in almost any theme.

Because of the wide variety of styles and quality of themes, however, we cannot guarantee compatibility with your theme. If you purchase Portfolio Slideshow Pro and find that it does not display correctly in your theme, please post in our forum and we will do our best to solve the problem. If we are unable to get your theme and our plugin working together, we will provide a refund for the software.

The site license is for users who want to use the software on one site only. The developer license is for anyone who wants to use the software on more than one site; for example, as a developer who builds websites for clients.

The software download in either case is identical. The main difference between the two is support: developers get the highest priority in our forums and access to beta versions of the software.

If you purchased a single site license and would like to upgrade to a developer license, contact us for a discount code.

You can override the theme styles using the custom CSS panel in the theme options page. The panel is on your WordPress dashboard under "Appearance" -> "Theme Options". If you have a lot of changes you'd like to make to a theme, we recommend creating a child theme. You should not edit the theme CSS or template files if you want to upgrade to future versions of the theme.

No, this theme is for self-hosted versions of WordPress (downloaded from WordPress.org) only. That means you will need a web hosting account and have at least a basic level of knowledge of installing WordPress themes and plugins to use it.

We may be available for customizations, please get in touch via our contact form.

This theme is intended to be useful out of the box. The documentation walks you through the step-by-step process for getting your site set up.

If you would like to make customizations to the theme, however, you will need a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and possibly PHP if you want to make more advanced modifications. If you need additional help, we are available for customization services at our standard hourly rate - feel free to get in touch for more information.

The site license is for users who want to use the software on one site only. The developer license is for anyone who wants to use the software on more than one site; for example, as a developer who builds websites for clients.

The software download in either case is identical. The main difference between the two is support: developers get the highest priority in our forums and access to beta versions of the software.

If you purchased a single site license and would like to upgrade to a developer license, contact us for a discount code.

You can override the theme styles using the custom CSS panel in the theme options page. The panel is on your WordPress dashboard under "Appearance" -> "Theme Options". If you have a lot of changes you'd like to make to a theme, we recommend creating a child theme. You should not edit the theme CSS or template files if you want to upgrade to future versions of the theme.

No, this theme is for self-hosted versions of WordPress (downloaded from WordPress.org) only. That means you will need a web hosting account and have at least a basic level of knowledge of installing WordPress themes and plugins to use it.

We may be available for customizations, please get in touch via our contact form.

This theme is intended to be useful out of the box. The documentation walks you through the step-by-step process for getting your site set up.

If you would like to make customizations to the theme, however, you will need a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and possibly PHP if you want to make more advanced modifications. If you need additional help, we are available for customization services at our standard hourly rate - feel free to get in touch for more information.