WordPress 2.5 Is Live And Wild (Plus Popularity Contest Notes)

75 Comments Blogging Software

Update April 5th: Download patched version of plugin here.. Note you’ll still need to make the database changes if you don’t have the tables already in place.

–

The long awaited WordPress 2.5 has been released. In fairness, some of the advances in WP2.5 are as great that it could well have been labelled WordPress 3.0 but who’s to argue with version numbers.

Before rolling out upgrades across a number of my own blogs and blogs I manage for others, I’ve been doing the precautionary thing of testing WP2.5 locally with a variety of homemade themes and some of my regular plugins.

Plugin Issues

So far I’ve only found an issue with with Alex King‘s Popularity Contest plugin – if you try to activate the plugin under WP2.5, for the moment, you’ll see it triggers a fatal error. This can be fixed as outlined here

Open popularity-contest.php and scroll down to line 59. Replace require(’../../wp-blog-header.php’); with require(’../wp-blog-header.php’);

However, in running the plugin locally I found that after making the changes in order to get the plugin to activate, it wouldn’t create the two tables needed in order to run, so these had to be entered manually (via phpMyAdmin). To create the tables, you’ll need to run the following SQL queries.

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `PREFIX_ak_popularity` (
`post_id` int(11) NOT NULL,
`total` int(11) NOT NULL,
`feed_views` int(11) NOT NULL,
`home_views` int(11) NOT NULL,
`archive_views` int(11) NOT NULL,
`category_views` int(11) NOT NULL,
`single_views` int(11) NOT NULL,
`comments` int(11) NOT NULL,
`pingbacks` int(11) NOT NULL,
`trackbacks` int(11) NOT NULL,
`last_modified` datetime,
KEY `post_id` (`post_id`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM;

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `PREFIX_ak_popularity_options` (
`option_name` varchar(50) NOT NULL,
`option_value` varchar(50) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=MyISAM;

Note that PREFIX refers to your WordPress table prefix, in most common cases it is simply wp_ unless you’ve got multiple copies of WordPress running in the same database.

Initial Impression

Love it. I downloaded the latest SVN version only yesterday in the office though never got around to playing with it (of course not knowing the full release would hit today). The admin interface is much smoother, I’m liking the customisable dashboard (I used to edit the admin index and strip out everything bar the ‘write a post’ link and stats) and the overall colour scheme is much more appealing. I was never a visual editor user before (and won’t change in a hurry), but I do like the changes they’ve made, including the full screen option for those intensive blogging moments.

I’ll have a full play around with the gallery / media functions yet as well as making sure my other preferred plugins (sitemaps, podpress etc.) are all up to working order before doing a widescale upgrade.

You can download the latest version of WordPress 2.5 right here. You can also see a full list of new features right here.

Related Posts

75 Comments

  1. Darren March 30, 2008 at 12:28 am

    The only plugin error I’ve had so far is from the ‘Disable Visual Editor’ plugin, which I can live without. Smooth running so far.

    I wouldn’t go so far as to call it 3.0, but the interface is much more user friendly. First impressions are good.

  2. Ken McGuire March 30, 2008 at 12:35 am

    Ah handy. Reckon I’ll just go all out and update kenmc.com before the weekend is out, if it breaks just fix it while it’s live 🙂

    Also, you know how HARD it is to write a six-word memoir? I’ll get there too…

    Can’t you just untick the visual editor option anyway when you edit your user profile, without the need for a plugin?

  3. Darren March 30, 2008 at 12:48 am

    Actually, yes! When I first installed WP, I was having editor problems (connected to the theme I was using) that the DVE plugin fixed. I guess they’ve been solved now.

    The Six word thing is very tough, but worth thinking about. Good luck with it.

  4. Pingback: Wordpress 2.5 has dropped « Chuck’s Place

  5. Pingback: Gus SOS Brasil » | » Wordpress 2.5 Com Plugin Popularity Contest

  6. Pingback: The Back-up Brain Weblog | Novo Wordpress 2.5: Problemas!

  7. Conor O'Neill March 30, 2008 at 8:16 am

    It looks like many plugins which try to interact with the blogpost writing screen will break due to its redesign.

    We were about to launch V2 of the LouderVoice plugin 2 weeks ago but discovered it didn’t work with the 2.5 beta. Have final version now and will release after a bit of testing.

  8. Ken McGuire March 30, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    The new plugin arrives? Excellent 🙂

  9. Ed March 31, 2008 at 5:55 am

    Hi there. Just wanted to say thanks for the fix for Popularity Contest. I upgraded myself into quite a spot when I took a production site to 2.5 and realized PC was giving me issues. Worked like a charm!

  10. Ken McGuire March 31, 2008 at 8:56 am

    Ed, no worries. Glad I could help.

  11. Pingback: Wordpress 2.5: Popularity Contest が「重大なエラー」になる / 日本語表示できない - nire.com

  12. Pingback: Blog.SpoonGraphics Makes the Jump to Wordpress 2.5 | Blog.SpoonGraphics

  13. Pingback: Blogvaria » WP plugins - 1 fix and 1 update

  14. Pingback: Make Popularity Contest Work with WP-Super-Cache | OMNINOGGIN

  15. Pingback: Site Update - Thomas Horster

  16. Pingback: Popular Contest Plugin Cannot Be Activated Due To Fatal Error

  17. Pingback: WordPress 2.5 Kompatibel? - [UpDate] : macreloaded[dot]com

  18. Pingback: Upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 with no major problems | David Parkinson - Internet Entrepreneur - My Journey

  19. Pingback: Stumbleupon, Spammers and Wordpress 2.5 : Ken McGuire

  20. David April 4, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    I did the fix precisely as you advised in Popularity-Content and still got a fatal error. Any advice?

  21. Ken McGuire April 5, 2008 at 9:27 am

    David, I’m posting the patched plugin (that I know is working) as an update to this post in the next few minutes. If you want to grab that one, be my guest. After that you just need to have the tables in your database (making sure you change the word PREFIX to whatever your WordPress table prefix is).

  22. Pingback: kmcgraphics.com » Blog Archive » Wordpress 2.5 Upgrade - Sweet!

  23. cuzzy April 5, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    way to complicated, I just think I will stop using popularity contest even though it was so helpful.

    wP 2.5 really sucks

  24. Pingback: Xu.hel's Blog» Blog Archive » Popularity Contest 1.3b4

  25. Pingback: 5 Must-have Wordpress Plugins | Freelancing Online and Blogging Tips from Pro Freelance Blogger

  26. Mike Haydon April 12, 2008 at 3:27 am

    Thanks so much! I had no problems with one of my blogs when I upgraded to 2.5. Didn’t need to update as you said above (maybe because I forgot to disable the plugins til after I had started the upgrade!). I put this plugin on a new blog and had all the issues you said. I tried changing the 59th line (as was suggested elsewhere), but that didn’t work. It wasn’t until I ran the mySQL query you outlined above that I finally got rid of the “fatal error” msg.

    Thanks for taking the time to figure this out. I had thought it was my template clashing. SO glad I found this post or I would have wasted so much time barking up the wrong tree.

  27. Ken McGuire April 12, 2008 at 11:23 am

    @Mike

    Glad to be of assistance 🙂

  28. Pingback: Wordpress 2.5 Problem with Popularity Contest | Mike Haydon

  29. Pingback: Free WordPress Themes by Dulce - Updated Constantly - iGuides Webmasters and Business Talk

  30. Charity April 14, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    Excellent! This fix worked flawlessly for me and is much appreciated. You just saved me a ton of time agonizing over a problem that I couldn’t afford to wait on the author for and had no idea how to fix myself. Many thanks.

  31. Pingback: Popularity Contest Plugin Fatal Error | TechieDan

  32. Pingback: WordPressで企業サイト

  33. Kevin Paquet April 20, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    Really helped out, a lot. Especially the patch for the pop plugin, thanks!

  34. khaled April 22, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    same problem

    i download the Download patched version of plugin here..

    and when i try to active the plug

    they give me

    Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error.

    can you help me please ….

  35. Ken McGuire April 22, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    @khaled This is quite possibly due to the database error. Can you confirm that you had popularity contest installed and working PRIOR to the WordPress 2.5 upgrade? If not, you’ll need to create the database tables as outlined above in order to make it work.

  36. Cash Spark April 22, 2008 at 6:30 pm

    Worked like a charm!

    Just be sure to change the word PREFIX to wp_ (it appears twice in the query) otherwise it won’t work. You just log into your hosting account, click on MySQL, then enter into phpMyadmin, click on SQL and copy and paste the text in the original post above, change “prefix” to wp_ and click “GO”. It will automatically create the tables for you.

    Then, go back into your WordPress admin panel and activate the plugin.

    Works perfectly =)

    Thanks for the great post, Kenmc!

  37. Pingback: pseudotecnico:blog » Pulizie di primavera

  38. Pingback: Alex King's Popularity Contest - A Quick Fix For Wordpress Fresh Installs | manblogging.net | I Blog, Therefore I Man

  39. Wiliam April 29, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Thank You for the Popularity Contest plugin patched. 😉

  40. Oliver April 30, 2008 at 5:49 am

    When trying to run the query i get this error message,
    ) ENGINE = MYISAM ; # MySQL returned an empty result set (i.e. zero rows).

    Does anyone know what i need to do or change?

  41. Ryan April 30, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    Thanks for the info. Initially I tried your instructions for a new install of WordPress 2.5.1, but still got the fatal error (even with creating the two tables). Eventually I discovered that I had to leave the “PREFIX_” completely out of the table names in order to get the plugin to activate. In other words, the two tables created in my WordPress database (named “wp01”) were:

    ak_popularity
    ak_popularity_options

    Thanks again for getting me on the right track!

  42. Oliver April 30, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    Thanks Ryan. Followed you advice and after a week of trying i finally got it working.

  43. Luis Narvaez April 30, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Thanks a lot!! This was very a helpful tip, worked like a charm for me.

  44. jason May 1, 2008 at 3:43 am

    Hi Ken

    I’ve just installed WP 2.51 and installed the patched version of Popularity Contest.

    If prior to WP 2.51, the tables didn’t have to be manually created, I was just wondering why after WP 2.51 we have to manually create them?

    I have to say, I’m not to clear on how to run those sql commands and will need to learn this a bit better.

    Thanks

  45. jive May 1, 2008 at 11:36 pm

    Thanks for the fix 🙂

  46. bhina May 3, 2008 at 11:29 pm

    Cooolllll…. thanks, such a useful post 😀

  47. Ryan May 4, 2008 at 9:00 am

    Thank you very much for the fix! Worked like a charm!

    I was irritated that the owner’s website does not post this fix information.

  48. Pingback: Fix: WordPress 2.5 and Popularity Contest plugin

  49. Pingback: WordPress Guy » Blog Archive » Popularity contest plugin compatibility with WordPress 2.5

  50. arran strider May 9, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    to anybody who is having difficulties or finding it hard – persist !
    it WILL be worth it

  51. vamsi May 9, 2008 at 8:36 pm

    Thanks buddy, solved my problem.

  52. Pingback: Something Useful for Wordpress 2.5.1 | NO BUNS NO LIFE

  53. BoB May 12, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    I don’t understand this shit, how will I make it work????

  54. k235 May 13, 2008 at 9:04 am

    works! thx.

  57. miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG May 29, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Why bother changing it to the likes of require(’../wp-blog-header.php’); OR require(’../somedir/wp-blog-header.php’); ? I’ve read thousands of complaints – it worked for some, it didn’t for others. The relative path scheme may not always work out correctly.

    If you ask me, the best option would be to use the ABSPATH variable (defined in wp-config.php) and concatenate the rest of the string to it.

    Example:
    require( ABSPATH . '/wp-blog-header.php' );

    This should work out without a hitch for anyone and everyone…

    Cheers,
    m^e

  58. Nick Wilsdon June 2, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    Thanks for the plugin fix Ken – it worked like a charm.

  59. Pingback: Fix Pacth for Popularity Contest Wordpress Plugin

  60. Pingback: How2: Get Popularity Contest Plugin Working in WordPress 2.5.1 | TYsTips.com - Improving your blogging experience.

  62. Justin June 17, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Your fix worked like a charm man, thanks!

  63. Pingback: Popularity contest plugin fatal error | Ktulu.it

  64. konus July 31, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    Thnx dude!

  65. Pingback: Installer le plugin Wordpress Popularity Contest d’Alex King

  66. Pingback: Hack плагина Popularity Contest для Wordpress 2.5 | SocialTrend

  67. Pingback: Pages Not Working | Pinoy Console

  68. KcL October 13, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    I got this problem:
    Table ‘rh_2476809_kclkcl_wordpress.wp_ak_popularity_options’ doesn’t exist on line: 218

    I’ve queried the database, still not working..
    Even with that patched php, and unpatched php doesnt work too!

    http://www.kclkcl.co.cc

  69. Ken McGuire October 13, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    @KcL

    Have you the tables set up for your plugin and if not, did you run the sql above, replacing the table prefix with that of your own?

  71. shidiq December 16, 2008 at 5:21 am

    a nice solution…thank…its work!

  72. Amit Chougule December 20, 2008 at 6:20 am

    i have installed plugin …its activated but i am getting error as ….
    Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in C:\wamp\www\wordpress\wp-content\themes\news-cms\index.php on line 156

    while applying theme …..

    please reply asap…..

    thank you .
    Amit Chougule.

  73. Dean Saliba January 9, 2009 at 12:10 am

    Worked a treat! 🙂

  74. Prabhakar Kasi January 29, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    Thanks for this blog. I finally activated the popularity plugin.

  75. Pingback: Ikarus Theme Help FAQ | Where's My Drink

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.