Ticket #13467: Plugins section.txt

plugins.php

Plugins extend and expand the functionality of WordPress. Once a plugin is installed, you may activate it or deactivate it here.

You can find additional plugins for your site by using the Plugin Browser/Installer functionality or by browsing the WordPress Plugin Directory directly and installing new plugins manually. To manually install a plugin you generally just need to upload the plugin file into your /wp-content/plugins directory. Once a plugin has been installed, you can activate it here.

Most of the time, plugins play nicely with the core of WordPress and with other plugins. Sometimes, though, a plugin’s code will get in the way of another plugin, causing compatibility issues. If your site starts doing strange things, this may be the problem. Try deactivating all your plugins and re-activating them in various combinations until you isolate which one(s) caused the issue. 

If something goes wrong with a plugin and you can’t use WordPress, delete or rename that file in the /home/sparkle/public_html/wp-content/plugins directory and it will be automatically deactivated.

For more information:
Documentation on Managing Plugins http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins#Plugin_Management
Support Forums http://wordpress.org/support/
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plugin-install.php

Plugins hook into WordPress to extend its functionality with custom features. Plugins are developed independently from WordPress core by thousands of developers all over the world. All plugins in the official WordPress.org Plugin Directory [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins] are compatible with the WordPress GPL v2 license. You can find new plugins to install by searching or browsing the Directory right here in your own Plugins section.

If you know what you're looking for, Search is your best bet. The Search screen has options to Search in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory for a particular Term, Author, or Tag. You can also search the directory by selecting a popular tags. Tags in larger type mean more plugins have teen labeled with that tag.

If you just want to get an idea of what's available, you can browse Featured, Popular, Newest, and Recently Updated plugins by using the links in the upper left of the screen. These sections rotate regularly. 

If you want to install a plugin that you've downloaded elsewhere, click Upload in the upper left. You will be prompted to upload the .zip package, and once uploaded, you can activate the new plugin. 

For more information:
Documentation on Installing Plugins http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins_Add_New_SubPanel  
Support Forums http://wordpress.org/support/

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plugin-editor.php

You can use the editor to make changes to any of your plugins' individual PHP files. Be aware that if you make changes, plugins updates will overwrite your customizations. 

Choose a plugin to edit from the menu in the upper right and click the Select button. Click once any file name to load it in the editor, and make your changes. Don't forget to save your changes (Update File) when you're finished. 

The Documentation menu below the editor lists the PHP functions recognized in the plugin file. Clicking Lookup takes you to a web page about that particular function. 

If you want to make changes but don't want them to be overwritten when the plugin is updated, you may be ready to think about writing your own plugin. For information on how to edit a plugin or start from scratch, check out the links below. 

For more information:
Documentation on Editing Plugins http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins_Editor_SubPanel
Documentation on Writing a Plugin http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_a_Plugin 
Plugin Resources http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_Resources 
Plugin Support Forums http://wordpress.org/support/forum/10