Custom Category/Post Template Plugin.May 22, 2008

This is probably the single most valuable plugin to date (exaggeration?). It basically checks to see if a post in a certain category, and then assigns that post a separate custom template. Genius. And it doesn’t stop there. It also, allows you to assign a custom template to any post ID which means you can make one specific page look completely different than all of the others. Extremely powerful plugin. I found this over at wpelements.com in an old feed article. The plugin was created by Ryan Boren way back in 2005 and it is still very much effective today.

Here’s the code. Enjoy.

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Custom Post Templates
Plugin URI: http://boren.nu/
Description: Load custom single post templates.
Author: Ryan Boren
Version: 0.9
Author URI: http://boren.nu/
*/

function cpt_custom_post_template($template) {
global $wp_query;

$post = $wp_query->post;
$id = $post->ID;

// If a template exists for this post ID, load it.
if ( file_exists(TEMPLATEPATH . "/single-{$id}.php") )
return TEMPLATEPATH . "/single-{$id}.php";

// Add custom checks here. For example, give posts different templates
// depending on what categories they are in.
if ( in_category('1') && file_exists(TEMPLATEPATH . '/single-cat-1.php') )
return TEMPLATEPATH . '/single-cat-1.php';

return $template;
}

add_filter('single_template', 'cpt_custom_post_template');
?>

Filed under Plugins, Posted on May 22, 2008, Bookmark the permalink. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

7 Comments

  1. cee ho
    Posted Feb 12, 2009 at 9:46 am | Permalink

    dumb question…where do I post this code?

    Thanks.
    c

    • Allan
      Posted Feb 13, 2009 at 12:23 pm | Permalink

      You’ll need to make a new PHP file and paste the code into it. Then just upload it to your plugins folder like any other plugin and activate it.

  2. cee ho
    Posted Feb 27, 2009 at 7:41 pm | Permalink

    thanks for your help!

    btw. I’m loving your Neutica theme, being a type junkie and after looking at some of your work you have a real eye for good design/typography. Definitely a lost art.
    cheers,
    c

  3. Travis
    Posted May 17, 2009 at 5:38 pm | Permalink

    Saved me some trouble, thanks much!

  4. Lon @ FoodMayhem
    Posted Aug 15, 2009 at 4:50 pm | Permalink

    I’ve modified the plug-in, to support dynamic categories, instead of relying on custom checks.


    post;
    $id = $post->ID;

    $templatePath = get_template_directory();

    // If a template exists for this post ID, load it.
    if (file_exists("$templatePath/single-$id.php")) {
    return "$templatePath/single-$id.php";
    }

    // If a template exists for this post's category ID, load it.
    $categories = get_the_category($id);
    // TODO: ascend parents for hierarchical single cat templates
    foreach ($categories as $cat) {
    $catId = $cat->cat_ID;
    if (file_exists("$templatePath/single-cat-$catId.php")) {
    return "$templatePath/single-cat-$catId.php";
    }
    }

    return $template;
    }

    add_filter('single_template', 'cpt_custom_post_template');

    ?>

  5. Lon @ FoodMayhem
    Posted Aug 15, 2009 at 4:51 pm | Permalink

    I’ve modified the plug-in, to support dynamic categories, instead of relying on custom checks.

    /*
    Plugin Name: Custom Post Templates
    Plugin URI: http://boren.nu/
    Description: Load custom single post templates.
    Author: Ryan Boren
    Author URI: http://boren.nu/
    Author: Lon F. Binder
    Author URI: http://www.foodmayhem.com/
    Version: 0.9.1
    */

    function cpt_custom_post_template($template) {
    global $wp_query;

    $post = $wp_query->post;
    $id = $post->ID;

    $templatePath = get_template_directory();

    // If a template exists for this post ID, load it.
    if (file_exists("$templatePath/single-$id.php")) {
    return "$templatePath/single-$id.php";
    }

    // If a template exists for this post's category ID, load it.
    $categories = get_the_category($id);
    // TODO: ascend parents for hierarchical single cat templates
    foreach ($categories as $cat) {
    $catId = $cat->cat_ID;
    if (file_exists("$templatePath/single-cat-$catId.php")) {
    return "$templatePath/single-cat-$catId.php";
    }
    }

    return $template;
    }

    add_filter('single_template', 'cpt_custom_post_template');

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