Pro Theme Design

Screenshots

Complete Feature List

As well as the features mentioned above, Mimbo Pro also supports…

• A flexible skins system enabling giving you the ability to change the site design without touching ANY code (just css and images) - includes two skins for free.
• A built in contact form with user definable email address, and messages.
• Built in support for Google Analytics and Feedburner, just add your personal settings and away you go.
• Custom ad slots on the homepage, upload the images then select them and enter a url “et voila” they’re on the homepage.
• Custom templates for categories, archives, authors, sitemap, search results
• Auto-resizing for images
• Built-in contact form
• HTML controls for comments (bold, italics, blockquote, link)
• Print-friendly options on single-post pages
• Two widgetized sidebars with optional advertising
• Tabbed and separated comments/trackbacks
• Built-in gravatars and author highlighting
• Cookie crumbs on single-post pages
• Print.css stylesheet
• Optional microformats in the footer

Getting Started

Requirements

• Wordpress 2.5+
• A host server with GD library (very common)

Installation

1. Download and unzip the file
2. Dump the theme into your “/wp-content/themes/” folder
3. Log in into your WordPress control panel
4. Click the Presentation tab
5. Select the “Mimbo Pro” screenshot

Getting things configured

1. To experience the real power of Mimbo Pro, first get acquainted with the control panel options by clicking Presentation->Mimbo Pro Options. Here you’ll configure your ads, homepage categories, contact form, and other helpful bits.
2. If you’re an author, click the Users tab and insert your bio information. Upload a jpg, making sure it shares your first name (ex: “Darren.jpg”).
3. Switch on your custom templates (Contact, Archives, Image Gallery and Sitemap) by clicking Write->Write Page, and applying the appropriate template in the “Page Template” pulldown menu.
4. Search around the forums and read what people are doing with Mimbo Pro
5. We recommend setting your permalinks to “Date and Name Based” to ensure all feeds work correctly

Video Tutorials

Darren has put together a couple of video’s running through some of the Mimbo Pro features. You can watch them below.

• Control Panel settings
• Associating Images with Posts

FAQ

1. How do I associate an image with a post?
   For consistency, we recommend associating an image with every post you make.

   First, simply browse and upload your photo with WP’s standard image-upload tool. Next click ‘Edit’ and copy the image path, starting with ‘wp-content/’. Scroll down and create a custom field key called ‘Image’. Then paste the image path in the ‘value’ field.

   Sound like a lot of techie jargon? Watch the video for a better idea.

2. Why aren’t my images working?
   First make sure you are using v1.1 of Mimbo Pro and at least v2.3.3 of Wordpress. Also make sure your /scripts/cache/ folder is set to 777 and that you’ve watched the video and entered the custom fields correctly.

   Please also make sure you’re using a capital letter in the custom field key: “Image”.

   If your WP installation lives somewhere other than the root of your site, you may also have to take that into consideration when entering your image paths. Still not working? Try changing the root path in /scripts/timthumb.php, line 26. This is especially useful for people with multi-domain hosting accounts.

3. How do I customize the masthead logo and background image?
   This can be easily done through the Mimbo Pro Options tab (Presentation->Mimbo Pro Options).
4. Can I switch color schemes?
   Mimbo Pro comes with two alternate color schemes which are also managed through the Mimbo Pro Options tab.
5. How do I add photos and formatting to the body of my posts?
   There are two CSS classes, .picleft and .picright, as well as default styling provided for blockquotes and lists. See this post for examples.
6. How do I keep my excerpts looking consistent?
   By default, Wordpress excerpts use the first 55 words of a post, but you can always tailor them yourself by using the “Optional Excerpt” panel.
7. Have you got any videos about the theme?
   Absolutely, Darren has put together some corkers about Control Panel settings and associating images with posts
8. What if instead of adverts, I want widgets in the right sidebar?
   Simply turn off ads in the Mimbo Pro Options tab and click Presentation->Widgets — there are two widget-ready sidebars for you!
9. On the homepage, how do I make the lead story block “sticky”?
   Categorize your story like normal (example: “Music”), but also add a category called “lead”. Then click the Mimbo Pro Options tab and select the “lead” category from the pulldown menu.
10. How do I change the jpeg quality in the automated cropping and resizing?
    Cropping and resizing is done in scripts/timthumb.php, you can edit the default value (currently 70) on line 24.