Easy Admin Color Schemes
- Posted on April 18th, 2008 at 1:30AM
- This has 28 comments and 17 trackbacks
- Rating: (2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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- If you like this creation please donate
Today, after a few weeks of development, I am releasing my new WordPress plugin called Easy Admin Color Schemes. WordPress 2.5 introduced the color schemes functionality. But, until today, you couldn’t very easily add your own schemes. You had to actually make your own plugin to be able to have a custom color scheme. Not exactly everyones cup of tea. So, I decided I would create a plugin which had an easy-to-use interface which allowed anyone to add new color schemes painlessly.
Information
Latest Version: 2.0
Download: Easy Admin Color Schemes (71.8 KiB) - 402 downloads so far
Version History
- 04.18.08 -
v1.0- First release - 04.20.08 -
v1.1- Changed some URL query variable names in an attempt to prevent clashing with other plugins - 04.21.08 -
v1.2- Changed the way Last Modified dates are handled so the plugin still works instead of erroring out - 04.22.08 -
v1.3- Fixed an issue with slashes in the CSS content when you save a scheme - 04.23.08 -
v1.4- Added a better-looking default color scheme called Washedout - 04.23.08 -
v1.5- Added error codes to aid in debugging and fixed some image issues with the new Washedout color scheme - 04.26.08 -
v1.6- Added a link to the user profile page right by the Admin Color Scheme selector which links to the plugin - 04.26.08 -
v1.7- Fixed the way the new link on the profile page works so only users with proper permissions can see it - 04.29.08 -
v1.8- Corrected some things to allow for better localization - 05.09.08 -
v2.0- Added a new export feature which allows users to export color schemes in a couple different formats- Also added an upload feature so color schemes that have been exported can be imported back in
- Fixed some issues with setting the current scheme from the plugin page
- Fixed a few spelling errors in various parts of the plugin
- Fixed some problems with the JavaScript
- Fixed a few issues with localization
- Improved the error reporting functions
Screenshots
Installation
This plugin is pretty much like any other WordPress plugin. Just download the zip file containing the plugin, extract it to a temporary directory (like your desktop), upload it to your plugin directory in your WordPress installation, and activate it in the plugin area of your admin interface.
The only other note I can think of is, make sure you have the “schemes” folder (which is inside the “easy-admin-color-schemes” folder) writable. That is required because the plugin needs to interact with that folder to store and access the schemes created with this plugin. If your server runs Linux, you should chmod the folder to something like 777. If your server runs Windows/IIS I don’t believe you have to mess with anything.
Usage
I created the plugin to be as user-friendly as possible. So, I don’t think there needs to be a great deal of explanation of how it works. It has six main functions: Use, Add, Edit, Import, Export, and Delete.
Useallows you to set a color scheme as the current one on your profile. So, say you are currently using the Fresh color scheme (default in WordPress 2.5), and you want to switch to a scheme you just created. No problem! Just click on Use next to the scheme you want to use, and bam, you’re now using that scheme.Addlets you do just that, add a new color scheme. All you have to do is fill in the few form fields and click Add Scheme. You’re done! Now anyone who has access to your admin interface can use that scheme.Editwill load up the scheme you have selected into the form. Now you can modify any aspect of the scheme and save it. Simple.Importallows you to import pre-existing color schemes into your WordPress site. If you have a CSS file that has the proper headers (e.g. a color scheme that you have exported from the Easy Admin Color Schemes plugin) you can use the import function to be able to use it.Exportwill load up the scheme you have selected into the export form. Now you can choose to export the color scheme as either a special CSS file or a generated WordPress plugin which allows the color scheme to be used on any WordPress site without the need for the Easy Admin Color Schemes plugin.Deleteof course, allows you to delete any scheme (except for schemes that are not compatible with this plugin). Just click Delete next to a color scheme you want to delete, and that’s it!
Known Issues
- Attempting to set a color scheme from the built-in color scheme picker on the profile editing page does not work. I think this may be an issue with WordPress. The plugin injects all the custom color schemes just as they should be, yet the schemes cannot be set from the profile page for some odd reason.
Important!
With the major changes in version 2.0 of the plugin there are some major chances for problems. If you experience any problems please get in contact with me right away so I can fix it.
Related
- WeblogToolsCollection.com - This plugin was just featured on Weblog Tools Collection. Sweet!
- WordPress.org - My plugin can also be found in the official plugin repository on WordPress.org.
I haven’t been able to test this plugin extensively yet, but I believe it should work on most setups. If you have any problems though, please feel free to get in contact with me. I’d be happy to look into any issues that might exist.
I think that pretty much covers the basics. Come to think of it, I think that pretty much covers everything. Simple huh? Well, give it a go! Let me know what you think! Most importantly, have fun! 
If you liked this creation and you would like to see more, please donate!
Comments
JamesDimick.com › Thoughts › Pluggin’ Away! said: 04.18.08 at 3:14AM
[...] Bookmarking Interface I just released my first ever WordPress plugin. Read more about it here. I hope someone finds it useful. Ads by [...]
Alistair said: 04.18.08 at 9:57AM
Yo dude,
Tremendous work, serious well played. Big shame I don’t use WP any more although this new release is tempting me back in.
Thanks for contributing.
James said: 04.18.08 at 10:07AM
Thanks for the kind words man! I just hope some people will find it useful. It seemed like I kept reading how people didn’t like the idea of having to create an entire plugin just to make a new color scheme. I just wanted to address that issue. Heck, maybe this plugin could even be used as a template for how to implement something like this in the WordPress core. Who knows…
Josh Byers said: 04.18.08 at 11:20AM
Hi James,
Great plugin. I’ve been wanting to do something similar and you have done an excellent job. I would really like to integrate this plugin with my Custom Admin Branding Plugin. With it you can style the login screen and the header and footer of the admin with custom images.
Put the two together and you have a super admin customizer.
What license is your plugin released under?
James said: 04.18.08 at 12:30PM
Hey Josh, thanks for the comment.
I released this plugin under the standard GPL that most WordPress plugins follow. So, it’s open for everyone.
Anyway, I think that’s a great idea! I’d love to work with you on that.
First plugin to change admin colour themes for Wordpress | Kimchikid said: 04.20.08 at 5:17AM
[...] I checked the dashboard recently I found that James Dimick has released a brand new Wordpress plugin for changing the admin colors called Easy Admin Color [...]
FabriceV said: 04.20.08 at 7:03AM
Why isn’t it included as a submenu of the Design menu?
Regards
James said: 04.20.08 at 7:22PM
Yeah, my initial idea was to include it on under the design menu, but I wasn’t sure. But, since you mention it, perhaps it would be a good idea to have it there.
Question though, should it be only on the design menu? Or maybe where it is now and the design menu. Not sure how it should be.
Rich Schmidt said: 04.20.08 at 7:27PM
I tried using this plugin, but it kept interfering with the plugin management page. I installed it like usual (and I’ve installed plenty of plugins, so I don’t think I did anything unusual there), but after installing it, I couldn’t install or uninstall any other plugin… including this one! When I tried, I would get taken to the Easy Admin Color Schemes page with some kind of error message at the top about an unsupported action? Something like that. The only way to get out of it was to rename or delete the directory in http://ftp.
I thought it might be a conflict with another plugin, but I disabled everything but Akismet, and it did the same thing.
Just FYI, since it looks like a great plugin. But it’s not worth giving up the ability to install/uninstall other plugins to use it.
James said: 04.20.08 at 7:58PM
Oh really? Weird! I do know of one plugin that it is not working with. It’s the download monitor one. I’m working on a fix for it right now and I’m thinking it might fix compatibility issues with some other plugins at the same time. The fix will be in the next release. I’m working on it right now and I’ll be releasing it shortly. I’ll update this post once I’ve released it. I’d really appreciate it if you could try the new version (once I’ve released it) and let me know if it fixed it.
James said: 04.20.08 at 8:52PM
Hey Rich,
Can you download the latest trunk build of my plugin and let me know if that works for you? Just overwrite the current PHP file of the plugin with the trunk version.
(You can find the latest trunk build here)
FabriceV said: 04.21.08 at 6:56AM
Few arguments to locate it into the Design submenu.
- it is design
- suppose user do not need it each time, thus can be located into a submenu.
- a lot of plugins with daily usage already use the first menu, and I need space.
- You could rename it scheme or color (minimize space too
I currently evaluate WordPress and a whole bunch of plugins and I have no blog (yet), I am not the most concerned
Regards.
James said: 04.21.08 at 7:04AM
Thanks for getting back to me. Those are some good points. I’m going to consider it all and have it changed in the next release. Thanks for your input.
Wordpress Son Ç?kan Eklentiler | said: 04.23.08 at 12:04PM
[...] Easy Admin Color Schemes [...]
pseudotecnico:blog » Pulizie di primavera said: 04.27.08 at 9:42AM
[...] Easy Admin Color Scheme: permette di modificare rapidamente i colori dell’area admin. Tag Technorati: wordpress, Admin Big Width, Easy Admin Color Scheme, Popularity Contest [...]
Craig said: 04.29.08 at 6:54PM
James-
Awesome idea, and I can’t say enough about people like yourselves who offer your time and talents to the world.
I’m not having any love with this plugin. I’m running 2.5.1, BTW. The live preview doesn’t actually change, and even though I can create and edit schemes until the cows come home, and with a new scheme active, the colours don’t change. Frustrating, to say the least.
By the way, there is a typo in your success message…it says “Your chnages have been saved” so when you get time you can change chnages to changes!
James said: 04.29.08 at 7:19PM
Well, I can’t say enough about the great people like you who take the time to point out my obvious screw-ups.
Honestly, thanks for taking the time to comment. I wouldn’t have any idea about the problems if you didn’t let me know. 
Anyway, as for the live preview not working, that has to be a problem with my JavaScript. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it is a JavaScript problem. This plugin is the first time I’ve ever really knuckled-down and made myself learn a bit of JavaScript.
So, I’m sure you can guess that means I’m a bit of a n00b when it comes to that area. However, I did test it out in several browsers before I released the first version. I have just now again tested it in Firefox 2.0.0.14, Opera 9.27, Safari 3.1.1, and Internet Explorer 7. It seems to be working without any errors in all those for me. What browser are you using?
About it not using the scheme you choose, I’m not quite sure what might be causing that. Do you get any errors or anything? Have you tried refreshing the page a few times after you set the new theme? It might be a caching issue with your browser. Also, have you tried setting the new theme as your current one in your profile page? If it works from there but not from my plugin page then that would narrow it down to an issue with my plugin.
And as for the typo, I keep typing the word “change” wrong like that lately for some reason.
I’ll fix that right away.
Again, thanks for getting in contact with me. If you can give me some feedback on the points I mentioned I hopefully be able to fix the problems really quickly.
JamesDimick.com › Thoughts › What’s New? said: 05.01.08 at 8:59AM
[...] I’m sure most of you know by now, I just released my first WordPress plugin. It’s nothing too spectacular but I think it’s pretty nice. That has been my main focus [...]
Weblog Tools Collection » Blog Archive » Create Your Own Admin Color Scheme said: 05.03.08 at 11:31AM
[...] what if you want to create your own color scheme? Thanks to a plugin written by James Dimick called Easy Admin Color Schemes, users can now create their own flavor of the WordPress 2.5 back [...]
johnny said: 05.03.08 at 2:17PM
Good job, I think is a good idea …. similar than
http://www.wpadminthemes.com/
James said: 05.03.08 at 3:11PM
Thanks for the link. That looks like a cool site. Never heard of that site until now. Cool idea.
Create And Share WP Admin Themes | Jeffro2pt0 said: 05.04.08 at 2:19AM
[...] described how to create your own Admin color scheme for WordPress 2.5 by using a plugin called Easy Admin Color Schemes. One of the features that I thought this plugin was missing was the ability to share the designs [...]
Willo said: 05.04.08 at 12:06PM
I’m having the same issue with the Preview not loading, and the new scheme not showing up. I use Firefox 2.0.0.14 and have the latest javascript installed. I’ve refreshed several times, cleared the cache, selected the new theme in my profile as well as on the plugin page, but I have not attempted to restart my PC - will attempt that next.
It’s a great plugin! I just wih it were working for me
James said: 05.04.08 at 3:19PM
Hmm… It must be a real problem considering you are like the 3rd person to report that same issue. I’m just not sure what is causing the problem.
The only thing I can think of for the preview issue is that my JavaScript is not correct. Seeing as I’m not a JavaScript pro that is a real possibility. I’m going to do some searching and forum posting to see if I can find a JS pro that can review my code and see if it has any issues.
As for the scheme not being set, that is all PHP. I am quite knowledgeable with PHP so I don’t believe it to be a problem there. Plus, it works for some people (and me). One possible problem is that it can’t set a custom scheme as your current scheme for some reason. What happens if you try to set one of the default schemes as your current scheme from the plugin page?
Rev. Voodoo said: 05.04.08 at 5:00PM
hmmm….the plugin isn’t changing anything for me? I’m on WP 2.5.1. I can get into the plugins settins and set up my own scheme. The live preview doesn’t show any change. But when I save the scheme I just created it shows me the scheme with my colour choices and title all proper, and that it is selected. However nothing actually changes.
Rev. Voodoo said: 05.04.08 at 5:09PM
Looking at question you’ve asked others, I figured I’d answer those same questions. I used to be able to switch between the WP included themes just fine (as of yesterday). But I just discovered with this plugin installed, it says my Custom Theme is the selected theme (though it isn’t showing). But now I can’t seem to change my theme at all. Even to the standard themes.
James said: 05.04.08 at 5:53PM
Thanks for the feedback!
What you have described makes me pretty sure it is an issue with something in my plugin. What is baffling though is the fact that it seems to work for some people but not others.
Like I said in my last comment, I’m gonna do some poking around to see what I can figure out. Hopefully I’ll come up with a fix to the problems.
Anyway, thanks! Your feedback has helped me to track down the problem.
anne said: 05.05.08 at 8:15AM
I love your idea. It’s really nice.
But then, I’m having a hard time customizing it. Also, the live preview doesn’t work on 2.5.1. I hope there’s already a premade scheme for us to choose with. It’s quite time consuming to replace those hex codes one by one. I tried it but I ended giving up.
Still looking forward for the changes.
James said: 05.05.08 at 9:16AM
Hey Anne,
Yeah, I’m currently aware of the live preview not working for some people. I’m getting that fixed ASAP!
As for schemes, by default the plugin comes with a theme called Washedout that I made. But, the dull grays I’m sure is not everyones cup of tea so I’m planning on adding some more default schemes in the very near future. I’m also currently in collaboration with the creator of WpAdminThemes.com which will hopefully bring even more pre-made schemes into the mix.
So, keep an eye out for that very soon. Also, I will hopefully have the live preview issue fixed very soon too.
Thanks for your comment!
bfnh said: 05.05.08 at 3:46PM
this is a great plugin, and lucky for me, the washout theme is pretty close to what i wanted to do.
James said: 05.05.08 at 4:20PM
I’m glad you like it.
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JamesDimick.com › Thoughts › Easy Admin Color Schemes 2.0 said: 05.09.08 at 7:11PM
[...] Ratings Yet)Bookmark: Bookmarking Interface I just released the new version of my Easy Admin Color Schemes plugin. It introduces new import/export functionality as well as many bug fixes. So, go on over to [...]
Carlos Rivalta said: 05.10.08 at 1:18PM
I need help, What i am doing wrong.
Fatal error: Call to undefined function wp_admin_css_color() in G:\server\wamp\www\wordpress\wp-content\plugins\easy-admin-color-schemes\easy-admin-color-schemes.php on line 294
James said: 05.10.08 at 5:48PM
What version of WordPress are you using? Also what version of the plugin are you using?
Einstellung des WordPress-Admin « Blogs, Design, Intern « Selbständig im Netz said: 05.11.08 at 2:45PM
[...] mit einem entsprechenden Plugin die Farbgebung des Admin-Bereichs verändern. Das Plugin “Easy Admin Color Schemes” macht die Änderung der Admin-Farben sehr [...]
Marulz Blog » Blog Ar?ivi » Weblog Tools Collection: Create Your Own Admin Color Scheme said: 05.13.08 at 8:35AM
[...] what if you want to create your own color scheme? Thanks to a plugin written by James Dimick called Easy Admin Color Schemes, users can now create their own flavor of the WordPress 2.5 back [...]
bnry said: 05.13.08 at 9:44AM
I have the same problem that some report. The preview don’t work, and I can’t change between color schemes.
What is more worying is that when i deactivate this plugin, and can’t change the admin color scheme from the edit profile screen! I’m doing some tests now.. will post more when I’m through with that.
bnry said: 05.13.08 at 10:16AM
Ok.. I have done some testing, and I’m able to recreate the problem. I have noted down what I did, so you can recreate the problem yourself.
1. Start with a fresh install of wordpress 2.5.1
2. Verify that you can change admin color schemes from the profile screen
3. Copy Ease Admin Color Schemes to the plugins folder and activat the plugin
4. Verify that you can change admin color schemes from the profile screen
5. Set permissions on the schemes subfolder to 777
6. Verify that you can change admin color schemes from the profile screen
7. Go to SETTINGS > COLOR SCHEMES
8. Click on EDIT on the washedout scheme
9. Verify that Live Preview works
10. Click on Create a color scheme
11. Choose some random primary colors
12. Click Update Live Preview
13. Verify that Live Preview DON’T WORK
14. Click on Create Scheme
15. Verify that the new scheme is added to the list (My Cool Scheme)
16. Click USE on My Cool Scheme
17. Verify that NOTHING HAPPENS
18. Deactivate the plugin
19. Go to the profile screen
20. Verify that NO COLOR SCHEME IS SELECTED and you are NOT ABLE TO CHANGE ANY COLOR SCHEMES
21. Reactive the plugin
22. Go to SETTINGS > COLOR SCHEMES
23. Choose USE on the Fresh color scheme
24. Go to the profile screen
25. Verify that the fresh scheme is selected, but you are NOT ABLE TO CHANGE THE COLOR SCHEME
26. Deactivate the plugin and delete the files from the server
27. VERIFY THAT YOU STILL CANNOT CHANGE ADMIN COLOR SHCEMES FROM THE PROFILE SCREEN!!
There is something your plugin is doing to wordpress that is destroing it! How do I enable changing of admin color schemes again? Am I sure this is the only thing that isn’t working now? No, I’m not. I have tried copying inn the wordpress files again, but nothing helps.. so it seems the problem is in the database? What data does your plugin change in the db?
I really hope you are able to fix this problem.