voyages-image-list

Overview

voyages-image-list is a WordPress plugin that when implemented on a page displays a form for listing images by querying the SDSS astronomy database. The form contains three main sections: Instructions, the search form itself, and Results.

Instructions

The Instructions block displays first on the page and contains text directions for navigting the rest of the form. This section can be disabled if necessary (see Installation and Implementation).

Search Form

The search form occurs after instructions on the left side of the page. It contains a text box to hold the SQL code the user wishes to submit and four colored buttons.

Unlock allows the user to edit the text box, which is disabled by default. Unlocking the text box will change the Unlock button to Lock, which when pressed re-locks the text box. The lock status of the text box is indicated by an image of a lock that will appear right above the text box when locked.

Check Syntax performs a check for proper syntax for any SQL code currently in the text box. The results of the syntax check will appear in the Results section of the form.

Submit processes any SQL code currently in the text box and queries the SDSS database. The results of the query are displayed in the Results section of the form. In addition, checking the Open in New Tab checkbox will also display any results in a new tab. Note: submitting incorrect SQL code could result in errors. Always use the Check Syntax feature to ensure correctness.

Reset clears the Results section of the form. It does not affect anything else on the page, including the text box.

Results

The Results section occurs after Instructions to the right of the page. The results of running Check Syntax or Submit are displayed here. When no results are present, the message "Results Empty! Check Syntax or Submit to get results" displays.

Installation and Implementation

To install voyages-image-list on a WordPress site, download the zip file of voyages-image-list and extract it. Then, copy the entire folder into the wp-content/plugins directory for your site. voyages-image-list should now be available under "Plugins" in the wp-admin dashboard. Click "activate" to enable the plugin on your site.

Once installed, voyages-image-list can be implemented on a page using the following shortcode: [voyages-image-list]. However, there are some required and optional parameters for this shortcode.

num (required): This serves as the unique identifier for a certain form. As such, each form on a page must have a unique value for this parameter. Additionally, they must start at 0 and count up from there. For example, three forms on the same page would look like: [voyages-image-list num="0"] [voyages-image-list num="1"] [voyages-image-list num="2"].

default (optional): This serves as the default text to be displayed in the text box within the search form. For example, [voyages-image-list num="0" default="select top 10 specobjid as name, ra, dec from SpecObj"]. There is a built in default query if this parameter is not utilized in the shortcode.

color (optional): This dictates the color of the text within the search form text box. Any HTML supported color will work. For example, [voyages-image-list num="0" color="red"]. The default text color is black if this parameter is not utilized in the shortcode.

instructions (optional): This says whether to display the Instructions section. Setting this parameter to "show" will display it, while setting it to "hide" will not display it. For example, [voyages-image-list num="0" instructions="hide"]. The default value is "show" if this parameter is not utilized in the shortcode.

Example: [voyages-image-list num="0" instructions="hide"] [voyages-image-list num="1" color="green" instructions="show"] [voyages-image-list num="2" color="red" default="select top 10 specobjid as name, ra, dec from SpecObj"]