Keep themes updated – timthumb.php compromised

It came to light recently that a vulnerability exists in a script used widely by WordPress Theme authors, including those by Elegant Themes, which I highly recommend.

This is an easy bug to fix, but that requires users to update their WordPress themes (not just the core installation), and we know that site maintenance is an easy thing to postpone in a busy world.

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Removing items from the Finder Sidebar in OSX 10.6.7

In a previous tip I mentioned using the Finder Sidebar for speeding up your workflow, but since the 10.6.7 update, the behaviour of the Finder Sidebar has changed.

Where we used to be able to simply drag an item out, in 10.6.7 the item simply snaps back to the sidebar (or ‘shelf’, as some call it).

Finder SidebarSolutions

  • Hold Command whilst dragging items out of the Finder Sidebar
  • Right Click the item you want to remove, and select ‘Remove from Sidebar’

Unfortunately, there’s no mention of this in the OSX 10.6.7 changelog.

Bonus tip: You might like to seperate items in the list – there’s a handy method documented at Finder Sidebar Separators.

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Configuring XAMPP as a WordPress development server

XAMPP logoFinally!  I’ve managed to get a satisfying development environment for WordPress on my local machine! I’ve had a semi-operational setup for a few years, but have just managed to meet all my needs!

I’m using XAMPP on Mac OSX to design my WordPress themes, and now my setup features:

  • a sensible, unique hostname for my local site (eg. memelab.dev)
  • prettylinks using url rewrite
  • functioning WordPress and plugin updates
  • a wp-config.php edit which eliminates the need to edit the database when uploading the site to the production server Read More »
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Productivity on the Mac: Saving Files

If there’s one thing that annoys me, its trawling through a Save As dialog box in order to save the file to an appropriate location.

Save time with three simple but rarely mentioned strategies which can take the pain out of filing your documents. Read More »

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Photoshop Precision: Using transform options

This is the next installment in the Photoshop Precision series: how to cut the guesswork out of scaling and positioning your images.

You can postion and scale objects precisely using the transform toolbar, which runs along the top of the screen if it is set to visible.

To show it, you must be in transform mode (Command-T [Mac] or Control-T [PC] or Edit > Free Transform), and the options must visible (Window > Options). Read More »

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