Mantra FAQs

A. Legal

[wp_super_faq show_specific_category=”faq-legal”]

B. WordPress Functionality

[wp_super_faq show_specific_category=”faq-wordpress-functionality”]

C. Theme Functionality

[wp_super_faq show_specific_category=”faq-theme-functionality”]

D. Updates

[wp_super_faq show_specific_category=”faq-updating”]

E. Specific Functionality

[wp_super_faq show_specific_category=”faq-mantra-specific”]

1,163 Comments

  3. While using the wp e commerce plugin, the product image on the products page malfunctions while using the mantra theme. Despite changing the size multiple times and testing the cropping of the images both on and off the images appear in a scrolled window that is only about 5 pixels smaller than the image. Any suggestions?

  5. Hey all, first time making a website and I stumbled upon your theme and just had two quick questions about the presentation page. I was hoping to center my header image on the page, as well as the navigation bar.

    I pasted this code to my custom CSS to try and center the header:

    #header { background-position: center center !important; }

    It doesn’t seem to work/do anything. At a loss for how to do it, and center the navigation bar as well; only got a real basic grasp on the HTML and CSS coding. Any help would be appreciated.

    1. The header image is applied to #branding, not #header.
      Also, your uploaded image is 1100px (100%) of the header width, so there’s nothing to center. You need to upload a shorter image.

      You can center the menu by adding left-padding to #access (350px should do it). Just remember to set #access’ new width by subtracting the padding from the existing width (1100 – 350 = 750px), otherwise it will drift offscreen and create a scrollbar in the browser window.

  8. I have translated the mantra to Persian and was using it on my site till two weeks ago when the php version on my server was updated to 5.3. Due to this change, the plugin that I was using on the wordpress to make the wordpress language as persian stopped working and I had to disable that plugin.
    Now Mantra detects the blog language as English and so does not use the Persian translation.
    Is there any way that I force the Mantra manually to use the Persian translation instead of autodtecting the language?
    Or is there any way that I set a flag in wordpress files so mantra detects the language as Persian?

    1. If I understand what you’re pointing at correctly, that’s not a gap, that’s the header background.
      You cannot remove the background, you can however remove the background colour (leave the corresponding colour field empty in Mantra Settings)

  10. On the presentation page “columns”, the ability to adjust the image size height is clear, but how to adjust the width?

    The default setting of 120 is way too large, and reducing it to the aesthetically correct height leaves the width looking ridiculous.

    By the way, I paid the 20 Euros and I didn’t get the 24 hours service promised for another question I had.

      1. Thanks for your note. Everything is cleared up now. As you may have read on my website, I love Mantra. I would like to see the column width customizable. I want to add small jpgs in the columns, but it won’t look right unless I can adjust both height and width.

  11. How can I enlarge the text size of the post meta? Increasing the text size generally does not seem to affect that, it enlarges post body text but leaves the meta (tags, date, author) at 12px and I’d like to make it a touch bigger.
    Thanks!

  13. Hiyas,

    I’ve only just noticed that the comments section is coming up with a white background, and a different colours when you hover over it.

    Just wondering what the classes are that I should change?

    I’m assuming it’s ‘.commentslist’, but what about for the hover?

    Cheers,
    Luke

    1. I recommend using a browser extension like Firebug (for Firefox) to tinkle with CSS 🙂
      .commentlist li.comment is for the standard comment section, .commentlist li.comment:hover for on hover.

      Anyway, love what you’ve done there. Hope you won’t mind getting inspiration from your site when we’ll get to creating colour presets for Mantra.

      1. Ahh, I had “.commentlist, li.comment:hover” in the quick test I did, which didn’t work right. Got it now though, thanks. I’ll probably play around with the colours again in the future, but for now it’s at least decent.

        And thanks for the compliment! I’m more than happy to share what I’ve done if you like =]

        Firebug looks pretty in-depth. Since installing and customising Mantra, I’ve been using Chrome’s “Inspect Element” function to work out what’s what, which has been incredibly helpful.

  15. Proposal
    I like two columns, sidebar has the correct width. With 3 columns side bars are too narrow.
    Here is the challenge. My site is gonna have two (or three) main areas it covers / be about.
    1. Lure coursing (dog race)
    2. Tech support

    As I said, I like two columns, but then I get the same widgets on both areas. Is it possible to create one or more templates with “Two Columns, Sidebar on the right (2)”, “Two Columns, Sidebar on the right (3)”?

  16. Hi everytime I do theme update i lose the content_slide on my home page. I always have to add the code back into the content.page.php how can avoid this in the future.

  17. Hi,
    I really appreciate you-the creator of MANTRA- for the excellent work you’ve done for nothing in return! I hope you’ve been getting enough donations for it. (For my part, I’ll donate as soon as I overcome my credit card probz)
    My question is about the presentation page: Is it possible to use “Presentation Page Columns” as ads widget or can we show “random posts” in these columns? And how? Thanks!

    1. The four presentation page columns only display (configurable) static text at the moment. I don’t know Kay’s plans on extending this, but he might drop in with a comment later.

  19. Love the theme. However, I’ve really only been stumped by one thing.

    I’m using the Presentation Page, with extra text above and below the header. However, this text seems to be coming up in italics, and I can’t figure out how to format it the way I want. Am I missing where these options are? I’ve tried coding within the text box itself, but it doesn’t seem to work.

    Thanks in advance.

  20. Hey again!

    I found two buggs in template “Category page with intro”

    1. I make a page named same as the category i want in page. So far, so good. But when i hit “edit” from that page, i get the content from post in that category there too. So i must edit those pages using that template by admin side.

    2. It’s not possible to add comments in that template.

  22. I got a problem. Was trying to add noscript in header and use custom CSS settings to style it. Obviouse some bugg or i did something wrong in CSS, because my site got like 0 width.

    I removed noscript tag and removed all custom CSS and even reuploaded original style.css. (sadly enough i have not saved theme by export – i have learned now)

    Obviuse is width settings gone to 0 px for some reason, so i try to move the setting to where it was. Problem is that i can’t move it. http://kandasa.net/wp/wp-content/mantra_layout_problem.jpg (i guess it’s because content icon is on top of sidebar icon) How can i fix, so i can adjust this?

    1. inline:35

      #wrapper, #access, #colophon, #branding, #main {
      -> width: 50px;
      }

      width: 50px; <– disable that, you'll have your site full-width again. Change it to something like "80%" to leave some side space. You could even use max-width or min-width, depending on what you're going for.

      Oh, wow… i just looked at the screenshot…
      Idk what you did, but it looks like you messed with the editor-style.css.

      Did you mod a template? Did you insert custom CSS in the "mantra settings?" Did you add your own CSS rules to a child theme?

      Use a tool like firefox web developer feature, or firebug, to help determine where your mistake is, if you can't remember what you did, where you did it.

      Also, Mantra apparently relies on scripting for some of its layout, and if you disable that, you'll have to compensate for it via complex CSS architecture. Doing that kind of thing with CSS is hard enough that lots of developers just go ahead and use scripting, instead… though /almost/ everything presentation/layout-related, can be achieved without. Almost.

      1. I tried to add style on noscript tagg i added in header.php. I used mantras custom CSS.
        I added
        .javascript_alert {
        color: red;
        text-align: center;
        }

        I removed it and tagg in head.
        I uploaded both style.css and header.php (original)
        SÃ¥ obviouse something have been changes another place due to this. I thought as i removed custom css in settings and saved, it should be ok, but no.

        So i dont have edited anything else than header and custom css in mantra settings – and removed changes after this problem.

        1. I did have noscript addon for FireFox active when i saved the settings in theme – maby that was a bad idea and bugged up the theme somehow? (i had it active because i needed to se message on site)

      2. Ok, this is realy strange.
        Tried other themes and 0 problem, so i deleted Mantra theme. Then DL it again and installed it. The problem still there. (even tried another browser)
        I cant see any in DB related to layout, but somewhere this settings have to be …

      3. That value is automatically computed based on the site width defined in Mantra Settings, so editing it is not an option.
        50px is kind of a failsafe value when something goes wrong (particularly when the site width sliders in Mantra Settings do not work).

        Getting the sliders to work is the path to go…

  23. Hi,

    please, it is possible to align center a banner (html code) at the Presentation Page Extra Text Bottom Text 1? And if it be possible, how could I manage this? Thx in advance.

    BK

  24. Any way to use “custom” images to replace the white tabs with something else? (same size pic, actually same pic, just color “inverted”)

    When i tried the most logical way (change pic, upload to same folder as original, custom css pointed to new pics, which /should/ be overwriting the native css rule, but /isn’t/…), it didn’t show my pics, but prevented display of the original default tabs.

    I also did this with the “back2top.png” button, with the same result.

    BTW- Kudos on finally making the /image/ in the featured “nivoslider” responsive, to match the slider itself. Now, if only i could make Mantra read /my/ css (height: 100%;), instead of overwriting my css with a 2nd copy of it’s own…

    Which brings me to the original reason i posted here.

    I’m seeing a lot of .js “shenanigans” in the source.
    There is /wayyy too much inline styling/ happening, and lots of repeated stuff. Too much reliance on scripts, in general. This is complicating things for me, probably others, and probably putting more work on client devices than necessary.

    Pretty much anyone who would know to attempt to use mantra, already knows enough simple html/css to make a wordpress child theme and make simple adjustments in that way.

    Might i be “so bold” as to suggest using the “mantra settings” section as a place to adjust things that are too complicated and inaccessible for “typical” people?

    Example: You have an option to disable “the white,” but no option to alter the white /tabs/, which will be clearly visible, and look /very/ out of place.

    Have a look at Blaskan and Catchbox’s menus, and then consider an easy “bootstrap/Kickstrap” integration with Mantra.

    I /really/ like what you guys are trying to do, here… but there’s a few critical annoyances countering the effectiveness of having “over 100 options” available in the settings.

    I’m trying to offer constructive criticism. I really want to use this theme, because i think it’s actually “the best.” Every theme i’ve ever seen, has problems. This one does too, but it also has /solutions/. I’d like to find a different solution than “use something else.”

  25. Hi again! This time I think I might have a real problem 😛

    I wanted to use a custom top menu for my site. So I made one. But when I view the page the menus are messy, the sub-menus are not the same length and some of the short ones shows up beside eachother. Here are some screenshots to show you what I mean. The first one is of the automatic generated menus. The second is my custom menu.
    http://lolapagola.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/aut.meny_.png

    http://lolapagola.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/cust.meny_.png

    1. Hmm… that issue keeps popping up from time to time. I’m not sure it’s caused by automatic/custom menus as we ourselves use custom menus and that issue does not occur. We are still investigating the cause…

      2. Thanks for your quick reply 🙂 Even though it would be best to be able to have custom menus I can manage fine with the autmatic ones, because I really love this theme. 🙂 Hope you find the cause eventually 🙂

  26. We’re trying to get a wordpress version of our site up and running, and I am wondering if there is a way for me to center the header image? (wordpress.tswguides.com) Or at least give some padding on the left? A number of folks view our site from a in-game browser, and it cuts off the left margin somewhat so we don’t want the image left aligned.

    Thanks 🙂

    1. Hey CD Smith, this involves changing core files for the theme. You will need to add the ability to add an extra social icon in the settings and then add the ability to display this in the functions.

      What version of the theme do you have as they are in different files depending on the version

      1. I just upgraded to the newest version. I found a workaround (manually added the code into header.php), but would love a solution that won’t break with each update. My menu tabs have also disappeared since the update.

  29. Hey guys. I’ve just tonight made the jump from Blogger to WordPress and it’s all because of this amazing theme. Thank you so much!

    I’ve been tweaking and playing all night [minor colour and border changes in Custom CSS] but one thing I’ve noticed it that the site title doesn’t appear to be displaying correctly on the home page. It starts with a hyphen, as though it’s expecting it to say “Home” or something. At the moment, on the home page, the title seems to display as ” – play / pause / play – an Adelaide music blog + podcast.” while on the first post, entitled “Migratin'”, it displays as “Migratin’ – play / pause / play – an Adelaide music blog + podcast.”.

    On the home page, I’d like it to just be “play / pause / play – an Adelaide music blog + podcast.”. Is there anything you can recommend?

    Thanks again! Will be donating when I can!

    Cheers,
    Luke

    1. Hi Luke, I had this problem and it is a case of going into the theme functions file and changing it in there

      You need to look for this function: function mantra_filter_wp_title( $title ) in your functions.php file and change it in that function.

      If you go to appearance > editor you will find the file there.

      Hope this helps

      2. Ahh, I’ve found the issue!

        The problem is that I had “play / pause / play – an Adelaide music + podcast” entreily in the site title and the description was blank.

        The code for generating the site title has the following check:

        if ( (is_home() || is_front_page()) && $site_description )

        I believe this is saying “IF you’re on the home page OR the front page AND a site description exists, THEN” title = ‘site name | site description’.

        However, since I didn’t have a site description, it was loading the title as if I wasn’t currently on the home or front page, as ‘article title – site name’. BUT since it was actually on the home page, the ‘article title’ part was blank.

        The fix required was to simply move “an Adelaide music + podcast” into the site description field!

        However, set as the default, the theme doesn’t put the site description into the title, so I’ve played around with the code a bit to get it how I want – adding the $site_description part to the $filtered_title, and – most importantly – moving the “Get the Site Description” part to ABOVE the first $filtered_title calculation.

        Thanks heaps Chris, I couldn’t have done it without you!

        1. Here’s the change if anyone needs it:

          Original:
          // Get the Site Name
          $site_name = get_bloginfo( 'name' );
          // Prepend name
          $filtered_title = $title.' - '.$site_name;
          // Get the Site Description
          $site_description = get_bloginfo( 'description' );
          // If site front page, append description
          if ( (is_home() || is_front_page()) && $site_description ) {
          // Append Site Description to title
          $filtered_title =$site_name. " | ".$site_description;

          My change:
          // Get the Site Name
          $site_name = get_bloginfo( 'name' );
          // Get the Site Description
          $site_description = get_bloginfo( 'description' );
          // Prepend name
          $filtered_title = $title. " | " .$site_name. ": " .$site_description;
          // If site front page, append description only
          if ( (is_home() || is_front_page()) && $site_description ) {
          // Append Site Description to title
          $filtered_title =$site_name. " | ".$site_description;