Wordsmith Anvil Tips
was posted on May 30th, 2011 skyline • 2,500 views
WORDSMITH-ANVIL Update … Numerous changes have been made to this theme, including the addition of several more options (over 50 different options) along with a handful of bug fixes and other enhancements. The current version is 2.2.1. Read more about it on the Wordsmith Anvil Theme Page. or Download it at WordPress.org
The theme I recently released on the WordPress Repository, Wordsmith Anvil, has a number of features and some custom page templates. After taking a quick look at several sites that have downloaded this theme, I have made a few observations and thought it would be a good idea to make not of a few of them.
The font size for the title is designed to be fairly large. As a result, if the title of the blog has more than 15-18 characters it will not display very well (up through version 1.6.3). If your title contains more characters, you will need to edit the file main.css, located in the stylesheets directory. Decrease the font size until your title displays correctly … or select a blog title with less characters. NOTE: You will most likely need to also adjust the height, margin and/or padding on the header elements to accommodate your changes. DOWNLOAD VERSION 1.6.6 … I fixed it for you. 
I have also seen several sites where someone has attempted to edit the pages and the end result is that the pages do not display correctly. I cannot provide an easy explanation that will address every possible edit to the pages in this theme. However, the best caveat is to save a backup of the page before you attempt to edit it. That way, if you delete something that breaks the page, you can always revert to the original version of the page and try again. One of the most common errors I have seen is removing an opening <div> or a closing </div> tag; and not deleting the companion tag. Every opening tag needs a closing tag. Otherwise, you end up with unexpected results. Your sidebar may not display correctly, or maybe your footer, or the widget areas above the footer, or the page itself may not display properly.
If you would like to use any of the page templates, take a few minutes to read through the FAQs, which you can find here. Without reading the FAQs, it is not likely you will be able to setup the page templates. You will need to understand what the custom fields are, and the directory structure.
I have also seen where a different header image has been uploaded which displays a title or other text. Unless you comment out the site title in the header.php file, you will see the title of your blog displayed over the top of the text in your header image; which, is not likely your intent. I may consider adding the option to enable or disable display of the site title in a subsequent version; as I have done for the tagline, and logo.
I have also seen where people have tried to hardcode in elements that are already made available in the theme options page; or install a plugin that does not have theme styling already built in. Unless you are very comfortable editing php code and comfortable with editing stylesheets your best bet is using the theme options to perform the functions they are designed to perform. If there is not a theme option available, then feel free to make a suggestion about other functionality you would like to see in future versions of this theme. Also, you might find other plugins that will perform functions that are not already built in.
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Hi Tom,
I really love the left aside menu in Wordsmith Anvil. Is it possible to create submenu’s from the main menu?
Thanks!
VicM
Thanks for downloading Wordsmith-Anvil. You can find the answer to this question on the Theme’s Feedback / Forum Page. That link will take you to the comment that answers your question.
Tom
Tom, how do I get the left vertical menu to show my pages in the order I want? I want HOME on the top and the rest in a certain order, but don’t know how to do it. Do I have to use the Menu widget, which I’ve never used? If I do, could you please briefly tell me how it’s done?
Also, how do I get rid of the RSS Subscribe to Comments at the bottom of my pages? thank you
Colin …
You need to setup your custom menus if you want to customize what is displayed. Take a look at the FAQs, as referenced in my response to your prior comment. You will find the answer there.
With regard to the Subscribe to Comments, I answered that in my prior response to your earlier comment.
Tom
Hello Tom, I’ve just found your free Anvil theme and am building a site with it. One question, where you have the widgets horizontally along the bottom of the page — I don’t want to use them all, but I can’t get rid of the text that says Left Outer Widget Area, etc. How do I get rid of the text and either remove the blocks totally, or at least remove the text on the blocks? I’ve tried moving them with WP’s Widget menu, but they don’t move.
Also, how do I remove the RSS “Subscribe to Comments” at the bottom of my pages?
Thank you.
Colin …
On the theme options page there are links to take you to the theme’s demo site, FAQs, feedback and support pages. By reading through the FAQs and the feedback you will find many answers to setup and configuration questions.
To edit or remove portions of the widgets that run horizontally across the bottom of the page, look in the ‘inc’ folder and edit the file: above-footer.php.
To remove the Subscribe to Comments at the bottom of your pages, you can edit comments.php.
I hope that helps.
Tom
I love the theme.
I have chosen to use my own background.
however at the top it still shows a piece of the original background.
I can’t seem to find it in the editor to remove it or turn it transparent.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thank you so much for an awesome Theme!!
Rob
Rob …
Open main.css. Go to line 165 (depending on version) look for #main-wrap … where you see
margin: 30px auto 10px;change it to:margin: 0 auto 10px;That should fix you up.
Tom
Thank You Tom for your quick reply.
It was under #page-wrap. On line 165.
You got me there and I thank you.
Rob
Thanks for the info Tom, I really do love this Theme, by far my favorite on the site. I’ve figured out the plugins I’ve tried several of them including the recommended simple face book. All i want is to be able to click on the Fb share button under the post and have it go to my facebook page with a thumb nail image , discription and link. All it’s says on facebook is That i’ve posted a link and thats it. I’ve tried using a featured photo, i’ve tied changing the settings on the theme. It simple will not display post like all the other pages out there that are being shared on facebook. Am i disabling or enabling something wrong?
Tommy ….
I don’t see anything on your site except a coming soon page. I have no clue what is in your posts. Did you look at the FAQs to make sure you are setting things up correctly? There is also a feedback page that may provide some additional help.
Best Regards
Tom
I have a question. I’m new to blogging, and web work. So i am downloading the free Anvil theme 2.2.1. I love everything about it. In my testing before i launch my first bog i’ve tried to post blogs to my facebook page. When I post there is no picture no small amount of text just simply the Web Link http://www.earthyurban.com. Is there a way to fix this or a Plugin to make my facebook sharing like everyone elses. I’m not a coder just a writer so laymen terms would be helpful.
Tommy …
I took a quick look at your site. However, it looks like you have an under construction plugin activated. So, I was unable to see why your feeds have no content in them. I am not sure which plugin you should try. You could try Simple Facebook Connect. I understand that may do what you want it to do. I have not used it. So, feel free to leave a comment if you try it and it works; or if it does not. There are probably some other similar plugins, too. Just Google it, or look on the WordPress.org Plugin Extensions Site.
Best Regards
Tom Matteson
I’ve been having issues with posting. As I start a new post, I never get past the first letter. The first post went ok – but now I can’t post. Have you had this reported by anyone else?
Brad …
Thanks for downloading Wordsmith-Anvil. The first thing I suggest, is to read the FAQs. Then take a look at other Feedback and Support Provided. If that does not resolve your issue, then follow the directions on the Feedback Page and submit your Support Request there. Additionally, I would recommend changing your permalink structure, too. I see you are using some RSS plugin in the sidebar. The theme already has a built in subscribe option, if you are using Feedburner, or similar option. At any rate, reading the FAQs and the Feedback should help you maximize the theme.
Tom
I have uploaded a header image which displays the name of the website, and disabled the display of the title through the theme options, but now the header is no longer a link to the home page. How can I correct this?
Jason …
Thanks for downloading Wordsmith Anvil. I’ve been super busy, so I didnt get a chance to respond any quicker. At any rate, what you need to do is edit header.php. Assuming you are using version 2.2.1, look at line 82; and replace this line:
<h1 class="nologo"><?php // nothing here ?></h1>with this line:
<a href="<?php echo home_url(); ?>"><h1 class="nologo"></h1></a>Best of Luck
Tom
PS … If you would, please reply back to the comment to update the site, so others will know if that took care of it for you.
Thanks Tom -
Piece of cake! Love the theme, by the way, and appreciate the personal responses and hands on advice for newbies like myself!
Jason
Hi Tom,
I think I can manage to change the colors within the css code if I can find them. Are you saying that they cannot be changed by the code in this template? If so, can you recommend a similar template that would allow me to change colors, either as an option or within the code? I really appreciate your help.
Josh
Josh …
The css files are in the stylesheets folder. Depending on how much of the theme you use, you will want to edit main.css and ie.css, at a minimum.
You may need to download the entire theme from WordPress.org and unzip it, in order to edit the files. Zip it back up once you finished editing, and then reupload the theme to your site. Or, it would be much easier if you can use ftp to download, edit and upload the files back to your server.
Tom
Is it possible to change the colors of this theme? I can’t find it the colors in the code. Or would it be easier to just use a different theme?
Josh …
It depends on what you are looking for in a theme. If all that matters is the ability to change the colors, then you would be better off finding another theme. However, if you want a theme that has the options which Wordsmith Anvil has … AND you want a to use a different set of colors, you won’t find this option available for download. In that case you either need to learn how to edit CSS files, or offer to pay someone to edit the color scheme for you.
Tom