“Revoltz” Documentation by “Ernesto Méndez” v1.0.0

“Revoltz”

Created: 4/13/2010
By: Ernesto Méndez

Thank you for purchasing the Revoltz WordPress theme. This document will cover every detail you need to know to get started using and configuring Revoltz. If you have any questions that are not convered on this document, please feel free to send me an email via my Contact Page, at ThemeForest.

Installing the theme
The Revoltz Admin Menu
Theme Options
Configuring the Revoltz Slideshow
Configuring the Revoltz Homepage
Configuring the Revoltz Portfolio
Configuring the Revoltz Blog
Configuring the Contact Page
Configuring Social Networks
Editing the Theme's Language Strings
Adding Advertisement to your Site
Adding Flickr Galleries
Adding Posts to your Site
Adding Pages to your Site
Troubleshooting
PSD Files
CSS and Javascript Files
Sources and Credits

A) Installing the theme - top

You can install the theme in 2 ways: By using the ZIP file provided and uploading via your WordPress Admin, or by using the revoltz/ directory (containing the theme's files), and uploading via FTP.

Using the ZIP file

The theme comes already packaged in a ZIP archive called revoltz.zip. You can use this archive to install the theme on your WordPress site. To install your theme, do the following:

Go to Appearance > Themes
Click on the Add New button, next to the "Manage Themes" heading
Click on Upload
Click on Browse and look for the revoltz.zip file.
Click on Install Now.

This procedure will install the Revoltz theme on your WordPress site. You can activate the theme after it has been uploaded.

Using the revoltz/ directory

The theme's files are located inside the revoltz/ directory. To install into your server via FTP, do the following:

Login to your WordPress site with your preferred FTP client
Navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ directory
Upload the revoltz/ directory inside the /wp-content/themes/ directory

After the upload is complete, you will be able to choose the Revoltz theme from Appearance > Themes. You can then proceed to activate the theme and start using it.

Troubleshooting: Corrupted theme

Sometimes, problems can arise when uploading/installing, and the theme can become corrupted, due to an incomplete installation. WordPress usually reports the broken theme and it says that the Stylesheet (style.css) is missing.

If your theme becomes corrupted for any reason, do the following to fix it:

Login to your WordPress site with your preferred FTP client
Navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ directory
Remove the revoltz/ directory completely

After you have removed the revoltz/ directory, you can proceed to re-install the theme, either by using the ZIP File method, or by using the revoltz/ directory method.

B) The Revoltz Admin Menu- top

Revoltz comes with a very complete Administration Panel, that allows you to easily configure your theme. It is AJAX based, meaning that you don't need to reload the page every time you save the changes. The different sections are organized with tabs.

After you install and activate the theme, you will see a new menu option in your WordPress Admin menu, that contains the following items:

Theme Options: Perform general configuration tasks for the theme
Social Links: Add/Remove your favorite Social Networks to your theme
Edit Language: Change every label of the theme, just the way you want it
Advertising: Add/Remove 125x125 Ads

Each of these option pages, have their independent configuration settings. This means you can reset the settings for each one of the option pages individually. If you Reset the settings for an option page, then All the options saved in All the Tabs will be reset. Have this in mind when managing your settings.

C) Theme Options - top

On this Administration Panel, you will be able to change all the options about your theme. Here is an overview of the different sections:

General: Change options such as the Color Theme, Copyright, Analytics and more
Background: Add a Background to your site, and control how it will repeat and display on your site
Logo: Add a logo to your site, and control its alignment and margins
Slideshow: Configure your Revoltz Slideshow and manage its settings
Homepage: Setup your homepage's options and control which content is displayed or excluded from your Homepage
Portfolio: Manage your Portfolio options, and see your current Portfolio Structure
Blog: Configure your Blog, control which content is displayed or excluded, Choose your desired layout for the Blog
Contact: Setup your Contact form, enable Spam Protection or choose your desired layout for the Contact Page
Advanced: Manage advanced options, such as Custom CSS or Custom JavaScript

To save your options, click on the Save Options button. This will save your options in the background. You will be notified when the options have been saved, so you can continue working.

D) Configuring the Revoltz Slideshow - top

Revoltz comes with a Slideshow, which allows you to show different posts from different categories on your site.

To configure the Slideshow, go to the Revoltz Theme Options, and switch to the Slideshow Tab. Follow these steps:

Choose your Slideshow Category from the Use Posts from Category option
If desired, enable the Slideshow AutoPlay feature
Save your settings

The slideshow comes with more options that you can configure. Play around with the values until you reach your desired configuration.

The amount of time each slide will wait before changing to another, is controlled by the Duration for Each Slide option. The Transition Fade Time option is half the time it will take to transition from one image to another. This will also determine the smoothness of the transitions.

You also have the option to hide the Slideshow Category from the Category Widgets you place on your Sidebar. Useful if you want to have fine grained control of which categories are displayed on your Sidebar.

Adding Posts to your Slideshow

The Slideshow Category is only a way to organize the posts so that the theme knows which posts belong to the Slideshow. It is not meant to be the only category that your posts will belong to. For example, in the Image above, the post title is Feels Great to be Happy, and the Category is PHOTOGRAPHY. If you have noticed, you don't see the Slideshow category, since it is not displayed on your Slideshow layout.

So, this means that if you add a Post to the Graphics, Photography and Slideshow categories, (being Slideshow your Slideshow category), then your Revoltz Slideshow will only display Graphics and Photography, since those are the categories that the Post originally belongs to.

The Slideshow category somehow serves as an Imaginary Category, which only serves the purpose of marking the posts to be used on your Slideshow.

To add posts to your Slideshow, follow these steps when creating a new Post.

Add the Post Contents
Add a Post Image to your Post (using the Revoltz Post Images & Options panel)
Assign the Post to the Original Categories it belongs to
Assign the Post to the Slideshow Category (that you have chosen in the options)
Publish your Post

If you don't add a Post Image to your Post, then a generic "No Image" placeholder image will be displayed, letting you know that the post needs an image.

E) Configuring the Revoltz Homepage - top

The homepage is very flexible. It contains many different sections and lots of widget areas to organize your content. It also contains articles, organized in a Magazine-Like manner, combined in a way to provide a pleasant reading experience:

Organizing and Displaying the content in the homepage is pretty easy. There is an options page dedicated to do just that. Go to the Revoltz Theme Options, and switch to the Homepage tab. There you will see all the configuration options pertaining to the Homepage.

You can configure the Posts to Display on the Homepage. Since the articles are organized in pairs of Two, it is recommended to add numbers that are multiple of 2, so the layout contains the optimal amount of posts.

If you have already configured the Portfolio, you have the choice to Hide All Portfolio Categories. This means that all the Posts inside the Portfolio Categories specified in all of your Portfolio Pages, will not be shown. To see all of your Portfolio Categories, go to the Portfolio Tab, there you will see all the Categories being used for your Portfolio.

Also, If you have already configured your Slideshow, you can hide the Posts that are assigned to your Slideshow Category.

If you want extreme control on which posts are displayed on your Homepage, then you can use the Only show Posts in the following Categories option. Create a category and assign the posts that you want to appear in the Homepage, to that category.

F) Configuring the Revoltz Portfolio - top

Revoltz comes with a very flexible Portfolio, which allows you to have as many Portfolio Pages as you want, each one with independent settings. Also, this allows you to have Any Portfolio Structure with Subpages, giving you finer control of how you want to display your Portfolio on your Site.

Portfolio Initial Configuration

Before starting to publish your Portfolio Content, configure the general Portfolio Options. Go to Revoltz Theme Options, and switch to the Portfolio Tab. Set your desired Portfolio Posts per Page. Also, you have extra options that allow you to hide the Portfolio Categories from the Category Widgets.

There is a special option that controls the Portfolio Alternate Layout. Click on the Hide Portfolio Item Excerpts (minimal layout) option. This will hide the Exceprts, and will enable the following layout:

Adding Portfolio Pages

Now that you have your Portfolio Options configured, it's time to create the Portfolio Pages. Revoltz comes with a Page Extra writing panel, that provides all the options to configure your Portfolio:

The Revoltz Page Extra page writing panel, helps you configure your pages with ease. To configure a Portfolio page, do the following:

Go to Pages > Add New. You don't need to add any content to the page.
Check the box that says This is a Portfolio Page
(Optionally) Specify a Page Parent
Specify your Portfolio Categories, that you want to be used when displaying this Portfolio Page
(Optionally) Specify your Portfolio Posts per Page for this Portfolio Page. If empty, the default will be used
Publish your Page

To create Portfolio Sub-Pages you need specify the Page Parent that you want to use. After you do, then the page will appear as a subpage of the Page Parent you choose.

Visualizing your Current Portfolio Configuration

After you have added your Portfolio Pages, you have your Portfolio Structure defined. You can see your Portfolio Structure from the Revoltz Theme Options, on the Portfolio tab, as seen on the following image:

As you can see on the image, to the left you will see your Portfolio Pages that you have created, and to the right, you will see the Portfolio Categories that you have assigned to the Portfolio Pages. If you click on the Pages, you will be redirected to the Edit Page screen.

Adding Posts to your Portfolio

Revoltz comes with a Post Images & Options panel, which allows you to enter various options for your posts, including Portfolio Posts:

To add Posts to your Portfolio, do the following steps:

Create a new Post
Add a Post Image into your Post
(Optionally) Add a Portfolio Thumbnail to your Post
(Optionally) Add a Portfolio Video to your Post
Assign your Post to one of your Portfolio Categories
Publish your Post

If you add a Portfolio Video to your Post, make sure you add a Portfolio Thumbnail, or the portfolio will show a "No Image" Placeholder. The post will then appear into the pages that have the Portfolio Categories associated.