View source for NATS Code Wordpress Plugin

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The NATS Code Wordpress Plugin lets you use [[ct#NATS Code|NATS codes]] in your Wordpress posts.  The plugin will replace <tt>[nats]</tt> in your posts with affiliate NATS codes. As of 0.2.1, it will also work for links in the text widget.

* Newest Version: 0.2.4 released Tuesday, 17 November 2009
* [[Media:natscode-0.2.4.zip|Download Plugin]]
* [http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:NATS_Code_Wordpress_Plugin Comment on Plugin]

== Installing on Wordpress ==
Download the plugin and extract it into your Wordpress installation's
wp-content/plugins/ directory. In Wordpress, go to the Plugins page,
look for "NATS Code" in your Inactive Plugins list, and Activate it.

For more information on Wordpress plugin installation, please see the
[http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins Managing Plugins page].

=== Removal ===
In Wordpress, go to the Plugins page. Look for "NATS Code" in your Active
Plugins list, and Deactivate it.

'''Note''': If you deactivate this plugin, you will probably want to go back and change all the links that use it; otherwise, they will have [nats] in the URL instead of a NATS code.

== Configuring the Plugin ==
On your Settings page, click the "NATS Code" tab.  Fill in the default NATS code to use if no other NATS code is available.

=== The Affiliate Checkbox ===
Affiliates who send traffic to other people's sites should check the
Affiliate box. Program owners who send traffic to their own sites and
accept affiliate traffic should leave the Affiliate box unchecked.

Checking the Affiliate box will '''prevent the plugin from getting NATS codes from the query string'''. 
Affiliates won't get any credit for traffic that goes through this blog
to the NATS join page.

=== Site Codes === 
If you marked the Affiliate checkbox, you can fill in NATS codes to use with this plugin. There are three fields:
* Short Name - an internal [[ct#Shortname|shortname]] to be used with this NATS code. You will use this shortname to refer to the NATS code in your posts
* Description - (optional) an internal description of this NATS code. This won't be seen anywhere outside of the admin, and is only to help you keep track of your NATS codes
* NATS Code - the NATS code to use.

Add new NATS codes by filling in the bottom row of text boxes; then click Add New. Edit codes
by changing the fields in one row; click Edit. Delete a code by clicking
the Delete button.

'''Note''': If you delete a code that is used in your posts, the plugin
will use the default NATS code instead.

== Using the Plugin ==

=== For Program Owners ===
''For Program Owners that didn't mark the Affiliate checkbox described above.''

When you write a link that should pass a NATS Code, insert
<tt>[nats]</tt> as a place holder. For example:

<pre>
<a href="http://join.example.com/track/[nats]">Click Here</a>
</pre>

The plugin replaces <tt>[nats]</tt> with the referring affiliate's linkcode when surfers referred by affiliates visit this page.  The plugin replaces <tt>[nats]</tt> with the NATS code you set in the configuration step when surfers find this page on their own.  The plugin can also replace <tt>[nats]</tt> with a custom NATS code when surfers find this page on their own; place the custom NATS code in <tt>[nats]</tt> separated from ''nats'' by a pipe character.  For example:

<pre>
<a href="http://join.example.com/track/[nats|Custom_NATS_Code]">Click Here</a>
</pre>

Program Owners do not have site codes, as there's no way for this plugin to effectively change which site the NATS code is for while keeping the affiliate link. To do that, please see [[strack]], which allows you to switch a surfer's site.

=== For Affiliates === 
''For Affiliates that marked the Affiliate checkbox described above.''

Setting up your site codes in the  NATS code section of the settings page.

When you write a link that should pass a NATS Code, insert
<tt>[nats|site:shortname]</tt> as a place holder. For example:

<pre>
<a href="http://join.example.com/track/[nats|site:shortname]">Click Here</a>
</pre>

Replace ''shortname'' with the short name you created on the settings page.

For example: set up a site code with the short name ''examplesite'' and with the NATS Code <tt>MyDoZwe</tt>,
and put this in your post:

<pre><a href="http://join.example.com/track/[nats|site:examplesite]">Click Here</a></pre>

When they visit your blog using the above example, surfers can click the
following link:

<pre><a href="http://join.example.com/track/MyDoZwe">Click Here</a></pre>

You can also link to a NATS code by entering the NATS code directly.
For example:

<pre>[nats|NATS_CODE]</pre>

Replace ''NATS_CODE'' with the NATS code you want to use. Note: this has
no benefit over simply using the NATS code in the link.

Finally, you can link to the default NATS code by removing all
qualifiers.  For example:

<pre>[nats]</pre>

== Wordpress Links and Cookies ==

As of version 0.2.2, the natscode plugin will pass the nats code in all wordpress-generated interlinks (links to the post, links to the categories, etc), if it is not used in Affiliate mode.

'''Note''': In case there are links where the nats code is not passed, 0.2.2 also adds a cookie to store the nats code. The main difference is this: if you go to the wordpress with a nats code, and then remove the nats code from your query string, that nats code will still be used. Keep this in mind while testing; to remove the nats code completely, you'll need to remove the "nats" cookie from your browser.

As of version 0.2.3, the natscode plugin also works with links in your blogroll. Because Wordpress strips out [ ] tags in the blogroll, instead put your nats code in link this:
  NATSCODE
you can still use all the other features, just using <tt>NATSCODE</tt> instead of <tt>[nats]</tt>. For example:
  NATSCODE|Custom_NATS_Code
  NATSCODE|site:foo
== Wordpress Caching ==
We tested this plugin with both ''wp-cache'' and ''wp-super-cache''.
It creates a separate cache file for each NATS code it receives from
surfers; if you get traffic from a lot of different affiliates,
generating a cache file for each NATS code may undermine your caching
system.  Also, if you change the default NATS code or your Site Codes, you must clear your
caching plugin's cache.

== Wordpress Multiuser ==
We did not test this plugin with Wordpress Multiuser and it may not
work.  If you use Wordpress Multiuser and you're willing to help us test
an improved version of this plugin, please
[http://clients.toomuchmedia.com submit a feature request ticket].

== Conflicts with other plugins ==

=== FeedWordpress ===
If you are using [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/feedwordpress/ FeedWordpress] to syndicate rss feeds, you need to enable filtering syndicated posts.
* Go to Settings
* Choose Syndication
* Look for "Formatting filters" under the "Syndicated Posts" section.
* From that dropdown, choose "Expose syndicated posts to formatting filters"
* Click "Save Changes" at the bottom.

If you are using special html (such as embed tags) in your posts, turning this off will kill that data, because of the wpautop filter. To fix that, add and activate the [http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/disable-wpautop/ Disable wpautop plugin].

== Previous Versions ==
* 0.2.3 [[Media:natscode-0.2.3.zip|Download]]
* 0.2.2 [[Media:natscode-0.2.2.zip|Download]]
* 0.2.1 [[Media:natscode-0.2.1.zip|Download]]
* 0.2 [[Media:natscode-0.2.zip|Download]]
* 0.1 - Initial Release. [[Media:natscode.zip|Download]]
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[[Category:NATS4 Extras]]