Update: This plugin has been replaced and improved with the Latest Comments With Avatars Reloaded Plugin.

Despite my site running ultra-slow at the moment, I’ve managed to release my first plugin: Latest Comments With Avatar (LCA). I decided I’d have a go at creating a MyBlogLog plugin, as I’m a big fan of the new MyBlogLog Avatars that are rapidly appearing on many blogs, and I thought it’d be cool to jazz up the typical ‘Latest Comments’ section. What my plugin does is show the commenter’s Avatar alongside the post title, and you can see it in operation in my sidebar.

The current version of Latest Comments With Avatar (0.9) includes the following:

• Compatible with Wordpress 2.0+
• Full control over how many comments are displayed
• Trackbacks can also be displayed - you decide
• Not a resource hog - very important given my site’s current performance Uses cache and optimizes database queries

Installation & Usage:

1. Download the file lca.zip
2. Upload to your server’s /wp-content/plugins/ folder the file lca.php and activate the plugin
3. Decide where you want to place the comments by adding the following code (the sidebar is an ideal place):

< ?php if (function_exists (avatar_show_comments)) { avatar_show_comments(5,FALSE); } ?>

The default settings will show 5 comments. To display more comments increase the first function call. To include trackbacks change the second call to TRUE.

Download latest Comments With Avatar (LCA): Version 0.9 (save file and rename it asc.php)
Future Versions:

1. Because of the image size, I’d like to add an optional comment excerpt as there is loads of space. I’m trying to work out how to do this (can anyone help?)
2. I’d like to provide an option to show the smaller version of the MyBlogLog Avatars, rather than the full-size Avatars

Support & Comments:

Please leave a comment below if you have any issues. Support will be minimal as I’m no Wordpress whizz, but ask away anyway as more competent users may be able to help.
Credits

This plugin unashamedly draws upon code and great work from the following plugins - My Avatars and Blokura.

That’s it for now. If you haven’t got a MyBlogLog Avatar yet then click here - don’t forget to join my community when you’ve finished!

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