Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0

I’ve updated the WordPress.org repository with Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0. This version brings with it a new Gutenberg block, enhancements to the meta box and widget as well as several bug fixes.

Existing users can update the plugin from their WordPress admin. New users should be able to do the same. As usual, if you’d like to get support, please make a post in the WordPress.org support forum.

New Gutenberg block

WordPress 5.0 was released a little over a year back with the new Gutenberg a.k.a. block editor. Creating a block for the Contextual Related Posts has been on the todo list since then. I’m happy to say that v2.8.0 now includes a block called “Related Posts [CRP]”. You can quickly add this anywhere in your post by searching for this name.

Once you click on the block, you will be able to view several settings as per the below image.

Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 - Gutenberg block settings
Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 – Gutenberg block settings

An extra bit of settings is the Other attributes box where you can enter additional attributes using a URL-style string query. e.g. post_types=post,page&link_nofollow=1&exclude_post_ids=5,6. For a full list of parameters, check out this article.

New settings in the widget

Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 - Widget
Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 – Widget

Two new settings have been added to the widget – Order posts and Randomize posts. These will override the global settings for this particular widget. If you’re not familiar with this, visit the List Tuning knowledge base article.

New Keyword setting

Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 - Metabox
Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0 – Metabox

The Contextual Related Posts meta box now has a new field called Keyword. You can use this field to override the default searching using the post’s title and content. You’ll only need to do this if your post title and/or content doesn’t give you the posts you desire. This can be a word, a phrase, a full sentence or a paragraph.

All changes in Contextual Related Posts v2.8.0

  • Features:
    • New block for Gutenberg aka the block editor. The block is called Related Posts [CRP] and you can find it under the widgets category
    • Two new settings in the widget: Order posts and Randomize order that allows the global setting to be overridden
    • New setting called Keyword in the Meta box where you can enter a word or a phrase to find related posts. If entered, the plugin will continue to search the post_title and post_content fields but will use this keyword instead of the values of the title and content of the source post
  • Enhancements:
    • Show author, Show date, Show post excerpt and Post thumbnail settings will show a message that they cannnot be modified in case the Rounded thumbnails or No text styles are selected
  • Bug fixes:
    • Selecting date order now orders the related posts by newest first
    • Fixed PHP warning in the widget
    • Stop using current_time( 'timestamp' )
    • Fixes incorrect thumbnail image displayed for attachments in the related posts list

Download Contextual Related Posts

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