Folding Categories List Widget

NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION AVAILABLE!!? You asked and I listened.? I have developed a new version of the “folding categories” variety and released it as The JavaScript Animated Collapsing Categories Widget.? This one bares no resemblance whatsoever to this older version, which is based on borrowed code.? The new versions is JavaScript-animated (duh), all original code and loaded to the gills with new options you asked for like choosing the sorting and style settings.? Bon apetit!

UPDATED! Per user request, this download is now available in both RAR and ZIP versions.

IMPORTANT!! Many users/potential users have written on this entry to say that they’ve installed both plugins and the code is not working for them. The simplest and most likely answer to this is you do not have parent/child categories, upon which this plugin relies. If you are unfamiliar with what a parent/child relationship between categories is, or not sure how to get your categories like this, please see the WordPress online documentation on the subject!

Also important: Many have asked if this plugin requires the page to be refreshed/reloaded, and yes it does. This is not an AJAX/JavaScript plugin, simply an adaptation of someone elses folding categories code that allows it to be a widget, nothing more. I am hoping to maybe develop another plugin in the future which *is* AJAX, but this one isn’t it!


I’m sure somewhere along the line someone has already done this. If so, I cannot find them in a Google search, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my first Widget.

This is based on the code found at WebSpaceWorks.com that creates a collapsible Categories list, and is merely modified from that to work with Widget-ized sidebars. To install:

  1. Download the Widget (RAR, ZIP)
  2. Extract both files and upload to your wp-content/plugins folder
  3. Activate the Folding Categories List plugin
  4. Activate the Folding Categories List Widget
  5. Go to the Sidebar Widgets Configuration page to set the options you like

That’s it! Nothing more to do except sit back and enjoy a slightly more compact Categories list. I hope that people find this plugin useful. Be sure to thank the guys at WSW for the original code!

By Tommy Belknap

Owner, developer, editor of DragonFlyEye.Net, Tom Belknap is also a freelance journalist for The 585 lifestyle magazine. He lives in the Rochester area with his wife and son.

34 replies on “Folding Categories List Widget”

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my categories widget is not collapsing??!! I followed all the instructions, activated the plugins, moved the widget into mysidebar, etc.

OK, one point which was not mentioned in the original post is that the collapsing categories rely on categories which are child elements of top-level categories. For example, if you look at my sidebar, you will notice that the categories do collapse, and that “DuffyWatch” is a child element of “Rochester.” If you do not have subcategories in this way, the plugin will not work.

Please let me know if this is the problem or not.

Step 5 says “Go to the Sidebar Widgets Configuration page to set the options you like”… Would you mind to expand on that? I currently use a non-widgetized theme, but loaded a widgetized theme and saw no change.

Hiya,
I got this working fine, thanks! I’m just wondering if it can be used for blogroll too as that’s the list I’d like to fold up most.
Thanks,
Nikki

Confused on how this works. When you click on a parent category, I assume it then shows the subscateogries under it. Is that how it works? And, does it do it woithout redisplaying the entire page?

I tried your category list but is was not implemented there.

Unfortunately, no, it is not an AJAX or JavaScript plugin, so it’s going to need to refresh the page. At some point in the future, once I get better with AJAX, this will actually be the first thing I write!

Nice!
It’s the kind of thing that probably works so naturally that many people won’t notice it’s existance (as long as the blog has a rational catagory hierachy). I wish there was a way to indicate which catagories have subcatagories, but i don’t know how that could be done without cluttering things up.

@jwbjerk ~ it might be possible to change the bulleting for categories with subcategories. I’m very busy with other site improvements and haven’t been able to give this much thought, but it’s an excellent suggestion.

Yes, I also agree with the previous person… it would be nice to be able to indicate which categories have sub-categories.

Hmm. . . Well, I guess the easiest answer might be to change your CSS to match it. IOW, add a reference to:

(whatever other elements) sidebar ul ul { }

Or whatever, results may vary. You might edit the actual Folding Categories plugin to add a class name to the subcategory ul’s, which it does not currently do. That way, you can style the subcategories to your heart’s content.

Hope that helps.

In the (hopefully near) future, I am going to be releasing a Javascript solution that might address a number of requested user features along with obviating the need for a page refresh unless you actually want to look at a given category

I think I misunderstood this feature. I want it to be like my archives thing, where it’s a pull-down menu. This doesn’t do that, does it? (And yes, I’ve done the parent-child thing)

No, it doesn’t. It’s a sliding menu-style thing.

Actually, hold that thought because I’m very close to releasing a whole new Widget that kicks this one’s arse with a steel toe boot. It may not be the same as what you want, but you may reconsider. . . . .

How close to release? Well, just a few bug checks and tidying up the documentation!

Hi!

Are you any closer to an Update/rewrite?

I am using WP 2.2x and cannot get the plugin to work. I have Parent/child categories, and what appears is incomplete and inconsistent.

Hoping to hear back from you soon!
Regards
Peter

Could you please provide a link as where to find a how to on making parent/child links in order to be using this widget?

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