As expected, there are a few issues to iron out from the last release, but I have also added some new features and refinements. Most importantly, the entire page padding system has been replaced. If you have never touched the theme with custom code, this will not affect you. Skip ahead, be happy.

However, if you have made custom modifications, there is a slight chance (though I’m 99 percent sure it will be fine) that you may need to edit some of said customizations. This just had to be done.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or GitHub Sponsors if you like the theme.

Release Notes

• Note: If you use the Minimalist child theme, you need to update it to 1.0.1 (+) as well
• Fixed: The password bypass feature does no longer disable caching for list templates
• Fixed: Disabling the sidebar on individual posts/pages should now always work
• Fixed: Extremely wide elements (like sliders) should no longer break the sidebar layout
• Fixed: The local no-covers setting is now applied on the Story Page template
• Fixed: The sidebar is now hidden in the chapter print layout
• Fixed: The info boxes on Latest Stories cards are no longer broken if taxonomies are hidden
• Fixed: Tooltips should now always wrap regarding of the element they are on
• Fixed: The border-radius for the story action buttons is now always applied correctly
• Improved: The hidden flag now sets the noindex meta rule on the Story Page template
• Improved: Further refined small card font size and grow factor for small widths
• Improved: Updated the shortcode documentation with the "lightbox" parameter
• Changed: The Canvas Page template does no longer remove the page padding by default
• New: Added meta field to disable the page padding on individual posts
• New: Added option to hide categories on posts
• New: Added feature to cache the HTML of story cards
• New: Added "infobox" parameter to shortcodes to hide the info boxes
• New: Added "source" parameter to Latest Stories/Updates shortcodes
• Dev: Fixed typo in action context parameter 'singular-ca[v]nas-page'
• Dev: Fixed typo in function context parameter 'devi[c]e_body_classes'
• Dev: Refactored the entire page padding system because it sucked

Technically the second part of 5.22 that I pushed back to get some bug fixes out sooner. Never mind that this one is also full of bug fixes. Also, you get a new taxonomy submenu and the Minimalist child theme!

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or GitHub Sponsors if you like the theme.

Highlight: Taxonomy Submenu

You can now add a special submenu for a taxonomy of your choice to the desktop navigation bar. All you need to do is add a custom link with a trigger CSS class, as described in the documentation

Highlight: Minimalist Child Theme

This child theme is for people who struggle to make the main theme look pretty (which does require some art and effort) or just want a no-nonsense, plain reading platform. The child theme does not need any images to impress or a fancy landing page, the blog index works too. Meant to be used with a sidebar, but that is optional. Take a look at the demo site.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Whitespaces in excerpts should no longer vanish (built on save)
• Fixed: The chapter index popup menu can no longer end up below the comments
• Fixed: The quote and suggestion paragraph tools will no longer show up if unavailable
• Fixed: The hide option for the cover image position does work again
• Fixed: The sidebar gap is now applied correctly to chapter lists
• Fixed: The Gutenberg blocks setting in the setup screen is now saved
• Fixed: Button text colors are no longer overwritten in the sidebar
• Fixed: Resolved layout issues causing gaps and overflow under certain conditions
• Fixed: The excerpt length and read-more filters are no longer applied in the sidebar
• Fixed: Lists should now be rendered properly in widgets
• Fixed: The truncation on article cards can no longer overflow into hidden lines
• Fixed: Chapter actions are now collapsed if there is not enough space due to a sidebar
• Improved: You can no longer call the paragraph tools on empty paragraphs (clean up your content, guys!)
• Improved: Refined content list spacing for certain card styles
• Improved: The bullets on the Elementor swiper now use theme colors
• Improved: Headings in the sidebar now have sensible font size steps
• New: Added the trigger-term-menu-* menu CSS class to add specific taxonomy submenus
• New: Added customizer layout option to change the story cover width for non-overflow positions
• New: Added customizer layout option to hide the sidebar on mobile
• New: Added customizer layout option to change story page cover shadow
• New: Added anti-flicker script and option to turn it off
• New: Released Fictioneer Minimalist child theme

You now have the option to add a sidebar! Whether that makes sense is debatable, but there it is. This update also includes many important fixes and improvements, styling for widget blocks like the calendar, and new customization options. For anyone struggling with migrating from another theme, take a look at the new migration guide for pointers.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or GitHub Sponsors if you like the theme.

Highlight: Sidebar

Previously, rendering a sidebar was only possible via shortcode and lacked proper styling. Now, you can enable a two-column layout in the Customizer (left or right). For additional control, you can choose to hide the sidebar globally on certain post types or individually on each post or page. More details can be found in the updated documentation.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Large site logos should no longer break the layout on mobile
• Fixed: File block embeds will no longer break the button style
• Fixed: Block margins should now be always removed inside layout blocks
• Fixed: Scheduled stories and chapters now also trigger Discord messages when published
• Fixed: Elementor Pro does no longer cause a white screen of death
• Fixed: Multibyte languages (Chinese, Ukrainian, etc.) should now work in the advanced search form
• Fixed: The status and age rating on story pages is now translatable
• Fixed: The chapter formatting options will now also work on custom font sizes
• Improved: Prevent access of bookshelf page for logged-out users
• Improved: Added measures to prevent caching of user-specific pages
• Improved: Refined base and grow factor of card font sizes
• Improved: Empty card description will now default to the post excerpt
• Improved: Reduced minimum character threshold for card descriptions before the excerpt is used
• Improved: Updated heading and post title font sizes
• Improved: Updated Font Awesome to version 6.6.0
• New: Added "single" param to Latest Updates shortcode to only show one chapter
• New: Added option to show latest chapters on large story cards
• New: Added story page cover positions float-top-left and float-top-right
• New: Re-enabled the date archives because why not
• New: Added styling for more blocks (calendar, categories, meta, login, etc.)
• New: Added no-theme-style utility CSS class to remove styling from some blocks
• New: Added optional sidebar column plus related settings
• Dev: Replaced the "simple" param of Latest Updates with "type" which can also be simple
• Dev: Added wrappers and CSS classes to card footer items
• Dev: Renamed fictioneer_filter_article_card_footer to fictioneer_filter_shortcode_article_card_footer
• Dev: Re-hooked fictioneer_post_chapter_to_discord from save_post to transition_post_status
• Dev: Re-hooked fictioneer_post_story_to_discord from save_post to transition_post_status
• Dev: Removed obsolete FICTIONEER_OLD_POST_THRESHOLD constant
• Dev: Moved the chapter actions and footer into from the template into hooks
• Dev: Added .h1 to .h6 utility classes
• Dev: Added consideration for a colors.json in the child theme, merging it with the parent one
• Dev: Added CSS custom property for navigation font size
• Dev: Added fictioneer_filter_story_header_classes filter

Just right for WordPress 6.6, which does mess up the global link style. Also replaces the range sliders in the Customizer with a new version that is linked to a regular input, making changes easier.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or Patreon if you like the theme.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Gravatars should now also work in story comments
• Fixed: Added additional escaping to RSS excerpts to prevent XML errors
• Fixed: WP 6.6 messed up the global link style
• Improved: Prevent Edge from showing image widgets on the site logo
• Improved: Added new customizer range slider with linked number input
• Improved: Refined grouping of stories in the (Advanced) Index page templates
• New: Added option to enable custom fields for all post types
• Dev: Use json_validate() if PHP 8.3 or better is running

Another week, another update — and a plugin. Because in addition to several fixes, improvements, and new header options, the free Fictioneer Email Notification plugin is now available.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or Patreon if you like the theme.

Release Notes

• Plugin: Released free Fictioneer Email Notifications plugin
• Fixed: Gravatars for guest commenters should work again
• Fixed: Elementor CSS property overrides should now always have priority
• Fixed: RSS feed icon links are now escaped to prevent XML errors
• Improved: Scheduled chapters going live will now update story chapter timestamps
• Improved: Updated the Fictioneer Elementor Control mu-plugin to skip the Customizer
• Changed: Patreon comment badge settings have been moved to Connections page
• New: Added "Text (Center)" header style to Customizer
• New: Added "Post Content (ID)" header style to Customizer
• New: Added option to override chapter status icons with individual icons
• New: Added after-install setup page for an easier start
• Dev: Switched to GMT timezone for fictioneer_chapters_modified
• Dev: Switched to GMT timezone for fictioneer_chapters_added
• Dev: Added FICTIONEER_SHOW_LATEST_CHAPTERS_ON_STORY_CARDS constant
• Dev: Removed obsolete override stylesheet

It has been a while, but here is once again a performance and compatibility update. Plus some bug fixes, often requested style changes, and quality of life improvements. The critical bug with the comment section must have been there for quite a while, but has never been reported. Found it by pure happenstance. Note: This is the same as the previous release, which had an unfortunate bug.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or via coins and stuff if you like the theme.

Release Notes

• Hotfix: Resolved missing function in the search form shortcode
• Fixed: Breadcrumbs on author pages should now be valid for search engines
• Fixed: The no-indent utility CSS class does work (exist) now
• Fixed: Comment subscriptions are no longer saved twice in the database
• Fixed: Restricting commenting to logged-in users does no longer break the AJAX comment section
• Improved: Better conditional script loading to reduce server RAM consumption
• Improved: Reduced border reset to border-width for better compatibility with block styles
• Changed: Auto-appending of chapters is now enabled by default for new installs
• Changed: Chapter restriction by author is now enabled by default for new installs
• Changed: Password-protected chapters now use the lock icon as chapter icon
• Changed: Scheduled chapters (if filtered in) now use the calendar icon as chapter icon
• New: The theme’s plugin tab now allows to quickly add and remove mu-plugins
• New: Added option to disable WordPress emojis to improve performance
• New: Added option to disable default paragraph indentation in chapters
• Dev: Split up _user-data.php into _user-ajax.php and _admin-profile.php
• Dev: Comment AJAX submit now transmits custom form fields (but does not use them)

UPDATE: There was a critical bug in the search form shortcode. The appended version has been updated to 5.20.4.

It has been a while, but here is once again a performance and compatibility update. Plus some bug fixes, often requested style changes, and quality of life improvements. The critical bug with the comment section must have been there for quite a while, but has never been reported. Found it by pure happenstance.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or via coins and stuff if you like the theme.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Breadcrumbs on author pages should now be valid for search engines
• Fixed: The no-indent utility CSS class does work (exist) now
• Fixed: Comment subscriptions are no longer saved twice in the database
• Fixed: Restricting commenting to logged-in users does no longer break the AJAX comment section
• Improved: Better conditional script loading to reduce server RAM consumption
• Improved: Reduced border reset to border-width for better compatibility with block styles
• Changed: Auto-appending of chapters is now enabled by default for new installs
• Changed: Chapter restriction by author is now enabled by default for new installs
• Changed: Password-protected chapters now use the lock icon as chapter icon
• Changed: Scheduled chapters (if filtered in) now use the calendar icon as chapter icon
• New: The theme’s plugin tab now allows to quickly add and remove mu-plugins
• New: Added option to disable WordPress emojis to improve performance
• New: Added option to disable default paragraph indentation in chapters
• Dev: Split up _user-data.php into _user-ajax.php and _admin-profile.php
• Dev: Comment AJAX submit now transmits custom form fields (but does not use them)

Release Notes

• Fixed: Resolved undefined function error on new WordPress installs
• Fixed: Corrected wrong internal version number (we are not on 5.21.0)

Release Notes

• Fixed: Custom roles are now displayed again in the role manager

This was supposed to be 5.19.1, but it went completely bonkers again. Adding compatibility with Elementor was not something I ever expected to do, yet here we are. If Fictioneer has one glaring issue, it’s the rigid design that really centers around chapters but doesn’t work great for landing pages and similar content. Presentation is often key, so this appeared to be the best middle ground.

Now please be aware, Elementor is bad for performance. It makes your site slower and consumes quite a lot of server resources, often more than the theme itself. Convenience is expensive, one way or another. However, this update also adds a new mu-plugin to reduce the performance impact, as long as you limit yourself to a few pages. Ideally, you should have a good cache plugin as well.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi, Patreon, or via coins and stuff if you like the theme.

Highlight: Elementor

Fictioneer is now compatible with the Elementor page builder plugin. Three new Canvas page templates allow you to design your own pages without the theme interfering — either the content section, main section, or the whole site. With Elementor Pro, you can also overwrite parts of the theme such as the header, footer, and page background. Additional utility CSS classes bridge the gap between Elementor and the theme’s own style system. Read more about that in the updated documentation.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Info box toggles on vertical cards are now properly positioned in no-cover mode
• Fixed: Description cells on seamless small cards now take up all empty space again
• Fixed: The chapter index popup is now always centered atop the button
• Fixed: The popup menu positioning script should no longer jump from side to side
• Fixed: The border-radii in the main navigation should now behave correctly
• Changed: Chapter appending will now always trigger, even if the chapter is already published
• Improved: Updated Font Awesome to 6.5.2 (cookie icon still broken)
• Improved: All chapter/update cards no longer show zero word counts or empty excerpts
• Improved: All story cards no longer show the word count if below 2k except for oneshots
• Improved: Theme update notices now pop up every minute instead of 12 hours
• Improved: Future theme update notices now include the release notes
• Improved: Made previously untranslatable strings in the theme settings translatable
• New: Added "skip-tools" CSS class to suppress the paragraph tools selectively
• New: Added option to re-enable XML-RPC (at your own peril)
• New: Added option to rewrite chapter permalinks to include the story-slug
• New: Added option to change the age confirmation modal redirect URL
• New: Added customizer option for "battered" card frame
• New: Added support for the Elementor plugin
• New: Added "Fictioneer 002 Elementor Control" mu-plugin to theme folder
• New: Added additional utility CSS classes
• New: Added three Canvas-type page templates for page builder plugins
• New: Added sidebar for custom templates and plugins (not rendered anywhere by default)
• New: Added [fictioneer_sidebar] shortcode to display the sidebar
• Dev: The fictioneer_check_for_updates() function is no longer pluggable
• Dev: Removed fictioneer_update_check_timestamp option from database
• Dev: Removed fictioneer_latest_version option from database
• Dev: Removed fictioneer_theme_status option from database
• Dev: Removed debug display of execution time as it could cause strange errors
• Dev: Replaced background element in all templates with fictioneer_page_background() action
• Dev: Replaced main observer element in all templates with fictioneer_main_observer() action
• Dev: Added fictioneer_get_theme_info() with the fictioneer_theme_info database option (array)
• Dev: Added $new_version and $previous_version params to the fictioneer_after_update action
• Dev: Added new fictioneer_sanitize_url() helper
• Dev: Added fictioneer_filter_discord_{type}_webhook filters