Version SNAFU

Today I updated WordPress for an “urgent security release,” and as usual there are unexpected side effects. For some reason now, my sliding sidebar panels no longer work. No JavaScript errors; they just don’t do anything. I blame a Scriptaculous update that is probably embedded within. I hope within the next 24 hours to diagnose and fix the problem, but for anyone (emphasis on “one”) who’s wondering why the panels aren’t working, here’s a semi-explanation.

Update (1/1/2008): File under SEU. I think the problem was simply that I needed to clear my cache. The first suspicion was aroused when I fired up MAMP, ran the site locally, and found that the sliders were working just fine. At any rate, I re-uploaded all of my theme files plus the Scriptaculous and prototype.js files, cleared my cache, and now it’s working.

Sidebar enhancements

Sidebar screenshotYou may have noticed after the current site redesign that the sidebar panels now sport toggle buttons that allow you to open and close them with slick Scriptaculous sliding effects.

I’ve taken this a step further by using cookies to store your panels’ status, keeping the same panels opened or closed as you go from page to page (and between browser sessions… but since it’s client-side, it doesn’t follow you to different computers).

The next step will be to add handles, allowing you to change the order of the panels as well. Stay tuned! (Or not.)

For the geeks among you, I’ve facilitated all of this additional functionality by writing some object-oriented PHP for handling the panels. It’s much cleaner and less prone to error.