CommentPress Core is an open source theme and plugin for WordPress that allows readers to comment paragraph-by-paragraph, line-by-line or block-by-block in the margins of a text.
Annotate, gloss, workshop, debate: with CommentPress Core you can do all of these things on a finer-grained level, turning a document into a conversation. It can be applied to a fixed document (paper/essay/book etc.) or to a running blog. Use it in combination with BuddyPress and Groupblogs to create communities around your documents.
Please note: this plugin comes bundled with the official CommentPress Default Theme which will be auto-activated when the plugin is activated. If you are upgrading from a previous version of CommentPress, please follow the instructions in the Installation section before doing so.
For sites hosted in the European Union, please note: CommentPress makes use of cookies, but for presentational purposes only. If you intend to use CommentPress on a public site, you may need to inform visitors of this.
The name has been changed from CommentPress to CommentPress Core for two reasons: because it serves as the basis for extending it for your purposes and also to safeguard historical installations, which could break if they upgrade. Newer CommentPress installations (version 3.0 onwards) can upgrade to the current version.
For further information and instructions please see the CommentPress site or contact the developers by email at [email protected]
There are two ways to install from GitHub:
If you have downloaded this as a ZIP file from the GitHub repository, do the following to install and activate the plugin and theme:
- Unzip the .zip file and, if needed, rename the enclosing folder so that the plugin's files are located directly inside
/wp-content/plugins/commentpress
- Activate the plugin
- Visit settings pages and configure plugin and theme
- You are done!
If you have cloned the code from GitHub, it is assumed that you know what you're doing.
You can download and install CommentPress Core using the built in WordPress plugin installer. If you download CommentPress Core manually, make sure it is uploaded to "/wp-content/plugins/commentpress-core/".
Base Install:
- Install WordPress
- Install "CommentPress Core"
- Activate "CommentPress Core"
Your basic "CommentPress Core" setup is complete. At this point you can:
- Create a custom menu for the main site
- Use the Theme Customizer to modify the look
- Change Background and Header
- Customise "CommentPress Core" via its Settings Page
Base Install:
- Install WordPress
- Create Network
Okay, we're ready to install "CommentPress Core":
- Install and Network Activate "CommentPress Core"
- This should have enabled "CommentPress Core" on your main blog
- Network Enable the "CommentPress Default Theme" UNLESS
- You have "CommentPress Core"-compatible child themes you want to use instead:
- Network Enable any "CommentPress Core"-compatible child themes you want to use
Go to the "CommentPress" network settings page under "Settings" in "Network Admin":
- Configure your options as desired
- Click "Save Changes"
Your basic "CommentPress Core" setup is complete. At this point you can:
- Create a custom menu for the main site
- Use the Theme Customizer to modify the look
- Change Background and Header
- Customise "CommentPress Core" via its Settings Page
Base Install:
- Install WordPress
- Create Network
Essential Plugins:
- Install, Network Activate and configure "BuddyPress"
- Download and Network Activate my fork of "BuddyPress Groupblog" on GitHub (which fixes a number of bugs) from https://github.com/christianwach/bp-groupblog
- If you can't do this, Install and Network Activate "BuddyPress Groupblog" 1.8+
- Install and DO NOT Network Activate "BuddyPress Template Pack"
Optional Plugins:
- Network Install "BuddyPress Group Email Subscription"
- Network Install "Invite Anyone"
- Network Install "My Page Order"
- Network Install "Co-Authors Plus"
- Network Install "Simple Footnotes" (recommended), "FD Footnotes" or "WP-Footnotes"
Okay, we're ready to install "CommentPress Core":
- Install and Network Activate "CommentPress Core"
- This should have enabled "CommentPress Core" on your main blog
- Network Enable the "CommentPress Default Theme" UNLESS
- You have "CommentPress Core"-compatible child themes you want to use instead:
- Network Enable any "CommentPress Core"-compatible child themes you want to use
Go to your main blog's Dashboard:
- Activate "BuddyPress Template Pack"
- Go to the "BP Compatibility" page
- Click "Finish"
- Tick "Disable BP Template Pack CSS"
- Click "Save Settings"
- Optionally, activate your chosen "CommentPress Core"-compatible child theme
Go to your "Groupblog Setup" page under "Settings" in "Network Admin":
- Select your desired "BuddyPress Groupblog" theme as your default "BuddyPress Groupblog" theme
- Click "Save Changes"
- Click the "Redirect" header
- Set "Redirect Enabled to:" to "Home Page"
- Click "Save Changes"
Go to the "CommentPress" network settings page under "Settings" in "Network Admin":
- Select your desired "CommentPress Groupblog" theme. This will be applied to group blogs that are "CommentPress Core"-enabled
- Configure other options as desired
- Click "Save Changes"
Your basic "CommentPress Groupblogs" setup is complete. At this point you can:
- Create a custom menu for the main site
- Use the Theme Customizer to modify the look
- Change Background and Header
- Customise "CommentPress Core" via its Settings Page
To create a "CommentPress Core"-enabled Groupblog:
- Begin to create a group as usual
- At the "Groupblog" screen, click "Enable CommentPress"
- Choose any further options
- It is recommended that you "Enable member blog posting" with the default settings
- Continue and finish creating the group
- To go to the groupblog, click "Blog" (or "Workshop" if you have chosen that naming scheme)
- Start your group blogging!
Upgrades from previous versions of CommentPress are possible. Please follow the following procedures for your context.
It is recommended that you upgrade to the latest versions of WordPress as well as the latest versions of the old "Commentpress" plugins and theme before upgrading to "CommentPress Core", but "CommentPress Core" will do its best if this is not possible. A minimum of WordPress 3.3 is required, but upgrades under WordPress 3.4+ work much better. The old "Commentpress" plugins and theme can all be found on Github:
- Get the latest Commentpress Plugin
- Get the latest Commentpress for Multisite
- Get the latest Commentpress Ajaxified
- Get the latest Commentpress Theme
- Activate "CommentPress Core" plugin
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
- Delete "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin
- Delete "Commentpress" plugin
On each site:
- Activate "CommentPress Core" plugin
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
When EVERY site has done this, go to Network Admin -> Plugins:
- Delete "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin
- Delete "Commentpress" plugin
To upgrade to CommentPress Core.
- Install, but DO NOT activate OR network-activate CommentPress Core.
- Network Deactivate "Commentpress for Multisite Extras", if present
- Network Deactivate "Commentpress for Multisite"
- Network Disable all old "Commentpress" child themes
- Now Network Activate "CommentPress Core"
"CommentPress Core" will now be active on your main site.
On each site:
- Activate "CommentPress Core" plugin
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
- "CommentPress Core" will try and deactivate the "Commentpress" plugin. Deactivate it if it is still active.
When EVERY site has done this, go to "Network Admin" -> "Plugins":
- Delete "Commentpress Ajaxified" plugin
- Delete "Commentpress" plugin (NOT "CommentPress Core"!)
- Delete "Commentpress for Multisite Extras", if present
- Delete "Commentpress for Multisite"
The merging process for the plugins and theme.
- See the commits on GitHub
Up to this version, CommentPress was a separate plugin and theme.
- See the plugin commits on GitHub
- See the theme commits on GitHub
- See the ajax plugin commits on GitHub
- See the multisite plugin commits on GitHub