The wp_enqueue_script WordPress function helps you add javascript code to your head section, so you don’t have to mess up with the header.php file. One of the frequently asked questions is how do you get your plugin to load a javascript file that’s located in your plugin folder? Here’s the right way to do it:

$quick_flickr_plugin_url = trailingslashit(get_bloginfo('wpurl')).PLUGINDIR.'/'. dirname(plugin_basename(__FILE__));
wp_enqueue_script('quick_flickr_widget', $quick_flickr_plugin_url.'/quick_flickr_widget.js');

This should be in the init of your plugin (take a look at add_action).

Another good problem is passing your php variables to javascript. This is pretty simple with a WordPress function called wp_localize_script. Here’s a quick sample based on the flickr widget. Remember, we’re still in the init section.

wp_localize_script('quick_flickr_widget', 'FlickrOptions', $options);

You’ll get the $options variable output right before your javascript file in javascript format, like this:

<script type='text/javascript'>
/* <![CDATA[ */
	FlickrOptions = {
		title: "",
		view: "_m",
		before_flickr_widget: "<div class="flickr">",
		after_flickr_widget: "</div>",
// and so on

This makes it W3C valid (using CDATA) and easy to retrieve from within your javascript file: alert(FlickrOptions.title). There you go, one more reason to love WordPress ;)

In the plugin init:

	$options = get_option("pluginname");
	if ($options["thickbox"] == "checked")
	{
		wp_enqueue_script("thickbox");
		add_action("wp_head", "pluginname_thickbox_inject", 10);
	}

And the thickbox inject function:

function pluginname_thickbox_inject() {
    ?>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="<?= get_option("siteurl"); ?>/<?= WPINC; ?>/js/thickbox/thickbox.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />

    <script type="text/javascript">
    var tb_pathToImage = "<?= get_option("siteurl"); ?>/<?= WPINC; ?>/js/thickbox/loadingAnimation.gif";
    var tb_closeImage = "<?= get_option("siteurl"); ?>/<?= WPINC; ?>/js/thickbox/tb-close.png"
    </script>

    <?php
}

That’s all. Then use Thickbox the ordinary way you would. Oh and don’t forget to check out the Quick Flickr Widget page for more info on the plugin and once again thank you for all your feedback. It really helps a lot!

Still not sure about the consequences of sharing my Flickr API key. I’ve got a Flickr call for converting a Flickr screen name to a Flickr NSID which requires a valid API key. I thought that asking everyone to sign up for an API key would be a loss of plugin users so I provided my own key. Hope they don’t get me killed ;)

Now, to the user interface and experience. I’m not sure why, but some people are still confused about the new way and there are those, who cannot manage to find out their Flickr screen name (thinking that it’s their Flickr username or Yahoo ID). Anyways I hope to get this all sorted out and solved by 1.3 (maybe I should feed from Flickr by user e-mail?). Tiny bug in 1.2 was the inability to use a Flickr screen name with spaces. Thanks to Tung’s comments I sorted it all out by 1.2.1 – I had no idea people would use spaces in their screen names.

Now, for all the geeks out there. The Flickr API Explorer is the most fabulous thing that makes the Flickr API so easy to use. And the JSON Validator really helped me out there (I use JSON because I like it and also looking forward to adding some Javascript features to the plugin). So keep your comments and suggestions coming on the Quick Flickr Widget page.

Also, I’d like to recommend a book called Pro Web 2.0 Mashups which helped me out with Flickr API usage.

P.S. The Apps & Hats show launched on Friday 20th. The first episode is so cool. Girls with iPhones are so cute! Check them out: Apps & Hats – Your Quirky iPhone Application Review Show.

Anyways, the old plugin page still remains valid and up to date, nevertheless here’s the official link at WordPress.org: Quick Flickr Widget.

I’ve also started to develop a new plugin called Related External Links. I hope it gets hosted by WordPress.org too.

Here are the screenshots:

• Easy to setup
• Up to 10 Flickr photos in your sidebar
• Fully customizable widget (editable before_widget, after_widget, before_item, after_item, etc.)
• You can pick the photos display size: thumbnail, square, small or medium

And here are the screenshots:

By the way I’m using it here on this blog to display my latest flickr photo, see? For more detailed description, changelog and download links, please visit the Quick Flickr Widget page.

I’ll try to get myself listed on minimalsites.com with this although the ones already listed seem much more minimal than this. Anyawys, I’ve also decided to open this theme up for public use and get it listed in the WordPress themes directory. That’ll be in a couple of months though – still need to polish some backend stuff.

Oh, and I’m also going to translate this into russian and use it on my russian blog, ’cause the current one is so lame and green and way too old.

By the way, I’ve also installed a couple of plugins for the Twitter & Flickr feeds. Check them out:

• Twitter Widget by Sean Spalding
• Flickr Widget by Donncha O Caoimh

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions and support. PS I joined Blip.fm and keep up with my 12seconds.tv channel. I’m also working on my very first video blog post. Peace!

The last.fm pictures are my favourite! The original post is at uaddit.com discussions.

By the way, I haven’t got a camera – I use my cellphone to take pictures so the quality isn’t very good, sorry. Anyways, I’ve found a great way to upload images directy to Flickr using my Nokia 6681. In fact, there are two of them. One is to use the WAP browser and point it to m.flickr.com, login and upload pictures. The second one is to use e-mail posting. Flickr gives out some secret e-mail address to every user. If you send an image to that address it appears in your photostream. Tagging is allowed aswell.

Oh, and you can also use the XML-RPC protocol to post pictures directy to your wordpress (or any other) blog. Look for it in the account settings.