> What are the differences and similarities as to how the buddybar and the WP adminbar are configured? What will be lost and what will be gained and how configurable will it be?
The BuddyBar will still be there, though it will be turned off by default in favor of the WP Admin Bar. (In BP 1.5, that’s reversed – you can enable the WP admin bar manually with
`define( ‘BP_USE_WP_ADMIN_BAR’, true );`
in wp-config.php.)
BP’s WP Admin Bar implementation has:
– a logged-in user dropdown menu (links to logged-in user’s groups, activity, etc
– admin links for current group
– admin links for currently displayed user
– Notifications
There is ‘Visit Random’ button in the current implementation, though it’s worth an enhancement request on http://trac.buddypress.org
In any case, it will be completely customizable. The BuddyBar is mostly hardcoded HTML. The WP Admin Bar is built using an easy-to-use API, making it far easier to customize to your liking. If you don’t like the search, it’s easy to remove. If you don’t like the appearance, it’s easy to modify with CSS.
> Does anyone know yet if BP 1.5 will run on WP 3.3?
It’s mostly fine. The WP Admin Bar, which changes a lot between 3.2 and 3.3, does not work all that well.
> Is there any way to create one nice big CSS for the whole BuddyPress shebang, so it won’t be so difficult to figure out the where, how, and why of formatting?
Most of bp-default’s CSS is in bp-themes/bp-default/_inc/css/default.css.
Thanks.
Seems that the 1.6 upgrade won’t be as tooth pulling as I had imagined it might be 
In the meantime, I think that while my current setup is running ok, when I find some time I’ll set up a test environment for the new uprades – so as not to have a jumble for my users when the time comes.
Good thinking but also time intensive – I gave myself two weeks to get BuddyPress 1.2.10 and then 1.5 up and running and marketed on my site and three months later I’m still trying to get it working. I wish I had the time to set up a test environment.
Setting up a true development environment may take some time up front, but it saves enormous amounts of time in the long run. The simple fact that you can work locally instead of remotely is in itself an enormous time-saver. Add on top of that the fact that you will be avoiding unexpected site crashes, because everything will be tested ahead of time, and it’s a far more sane way to work
All true. Unfortunately I’m not Shiva, nor can I clone myself, and am having a hard time working on QA contracts AND developing a business with a broken install of buddypress. Plus my test environment would be on a live server anyway since I just don’t have room on my laptop. One thing I’d love to see is for BuddyPress to become more compatible with WP themes in general – so that what should be at most a 30 minute install isn’t a 3-month-12-hours-every-single-day hackfest. BuddyPress has a lot of potential which is why I decided to use it. But my business idea is dead in the water until I can get questions answered.
Also regarding 1.5 -> 1.6
1) I understand that 1.6 will be using bbPress 2.x plugin for group forums. Is this correct? If so, will it be using bbPress in such a way that bbPress forums, topics, posts, replies, and comments will be stored as custom WP posts?
2) I can’t seem to figure out where one might read about 1.6 so this may be obvious to others, but is there any chance that 1.6 will also implement buddypress groups, activities, etc as WP custom posts rather than in BP specific db tables?
Thanks very much,
joe
What the heck are you doing that requires 3 months 12 hr days? I built bp mobile plugin over a weekend probably spent 10 – 12 hours max.
== BuddyPress to become more compatible with WP themes in general ==
@kkradel use the BP Template Pack plugin with your WP theme. If you need assistance post a new topic in this forum.
@modemlooper Because it involved my first multisite install at the same time and reconfiguring an existing eleven year old web site. I’ve totally got the BuddyPress pages up and running and they have been since I installed it – it’s the CONFIGURING the look and feel that is a pita. There are a lot of menus and CSS problems to work out. It’s learning where all of the files live and what does what. It’s not like editing WorPress at all, which is easy, or at least not time consuming.
Oh, and I’m finding that there are a few needed pages the BP Template pack doesn’t create. Like when someone clicks on “View” after an excerpt (not the read more link), the resulting page is not configured with template pack, which is fine, the pages themselves are easy enough to create.
I know you guys think that Template Pack is the coolest thing, but it’s still not plug and play and it’s still a lot of work.
Oh wait, I should say that that page is created, it’s just not on the list of pages that are created, so until I landed on it, I didn’t know that was a page I had to work on.
