CREOL People API

A WordPress plugin that displays people in a customizable grid layout using data from the CREOL API.

Description

The CREOL People API plugin provides a simple shortcode to display staff, faculty, alumni, or other personnel from the CREOL (College of Optics and Photonics) database. The plugin fetches data from the CREOL API and displays it in a responsive layout with customizable options.

Features

• Flexible Display Modes: Choose between card view (with images) or compact grid view
• Responsive Design: Automatically adapts to different screen sizes
• Smart Caching: Reduces API calls with configurable transient caching
• Group Filtering: Filter people by one or two group names
• Alumni Support: Display alumni personnel in table and grid modes
• Highly Customizable: Control columns, limits, color scheme, and display modes via shortcode attributes

Installation

From GitHub

1. Download the plugin files or clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/UCF/CREOL-People-API.git

2. Upload the CREOL-People-API folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory

3. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress

Manual Installation

1. Download the ZIP file from the releases page
2. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
3. Choose the ZIP file and click "Install Now"
4. Activate the plugin

Usage

People Shortcode

Display all people from a specific group:

[creol_people_api grpname1="Faculty"]

Alumni Shortcode

Display alumni records (grid display):

[creol_alumni_api]

Table example:

[creol_alumni_api display="table"]

Advanced Examples

Display with two group filters:

[creol_people_api grpname1="Faculty" grpname2="Optics"]

Limit the number of results:

[creol_people_api grpname1="Staff" limit="6"]
[creol_alumni_api year="2023" limit="10"]

Use compact grid mode (no images):

[creol_people_api grpname1="Faculty" display="grid"]

Custom column layout:

[creol_people_api grpname1="Faculty" columns="4"]
[creol_alumni_api year="2020" columns="5"]

Combine multiple options:

[creol_people_api grpname1="Faculty" grpname2="Research" display="card" columns="3" limit="12"]

Custom cache duration (in seconds):

[creol_people_api grpname1="Staff" cache_ttl="600"]
[creol_alumni_api year="2019" cache_ttl="1200"]

Shortcode Attributes

People shortcode attributes: | Attribute | Description | Default | Values | |-----------|-------------|---------|--------| | grpname1 | Primary group name to filter by | (empty) | Any group name | | grpname2 | Secondary group name to filter by | (empty) | Any group name | | limit | Maximum number of people to display | 0 (all) | Any positive integer | | display | Display mode | card | card, grid | | columns | Number of grid columns | 3 | 1 to 8 | | cache_ttl | Cache duration in seconds | 300 (5 min) | Any positive integer | | include_positions | Include specific positions | (empty) | Any position name | | exclude_positions | Exclude specific positions | (empty) | Any position name | | dark_mode | Set theme to dark | 0 | 0 (off) or 1 (on) |

Alumni shortcode attributes: | Attribute | Description | Default | Values | |-----------|-------------|---------|--------| | year | Graduation year to filter by | (empty) | Any year in the (YYYY) format | | degree | Degree type to filter by | (empty) | all (default), ms, phd | | limit | Maximum number of people to display | 0 (all) | Any positive integer | | display | Display mode | grid | table, grid, list | | columns | Number of grid columns | 3 | 1 to 8 | | cache_ttl | Cache duration in seconds | 300 (5 min) | Any positive integer | | dark_mode | Set theme to dark | 0 | 0 (off) or 1 (on) |

Attribute Aliases

For convenience, the following aliases are supported (case-insensitive):

• grpname1, grp1, GrpName1 (all equivalent)
• grpname2, grp2, GrpName2 (all equivalent)

Display Modes

Card Mode (people)

Shows a full card for each person including:

• Profile image
• Name
• Position/Title
• Email address
• Phone number
• Room number

Grid Mode (people)

Displays a compact grid without images, showing only:

• Name
• Position/Title
• Email address
• Phone number
• Room number

Grid Mode (alumni)

Display a compact grid without images, showing only:

• Name
• Program
• Semester
• Degree type
• Advisor

Table Mode (alumni)

Displays a responsive table containing:

• Name
• Program
• Semester
• Advisor

List Mode (alumni)

Displays a plain list showing:

• Name
• Program
• Semester

Styling

The plugin includes default styles that can be overridden in your theme. Key CSS classes:

• .creol-people-grid - Main container
• .creol-people-grid-mode - Applied when using grid display mode
• .creol-person-card - Individual person card
• .creol-person-image - Image container
• .creol-person-body - Text content container
• .creol-person-name - Person's name
• .creol-person-position - Job title/position
• .creol-person-email - Email address
• .creol-person-phone - Phone number
• .creol-person-room - Room number
• .creol-alumni-grid - Alumni grid container
• .creol-alumni-table - Alumni table
• .creol-alumni-card - Alumni card

Custom CSS Example

/* Override card styles in your theme */
.creol-person-card {
    border: 2px solid #000;
    box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
}

.creol-person-name {
    color: #003366;
    font-size: 1.2rem;
}

Caching

The plugin uses WordPress transients to cache API responses, reducing load times and API calls. The default cache duration is 5 minutes (300 seconds), but can be customized per shortcode using the cache_ttl attribute.

To clear the cache:

• Transients are automatically cleared after the TTL expires
• Manually delete transients using a plugin like "Transients Manager"
• Use WP-CLI: wp transient delete --all

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.0 or higher
• Active internet connection to fetch data from CREOL API

Support

For bugs, feature requests, or contributions, please visit the GitHub repository.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on how to contribute to this plugin.

License

This plugin is licensed under GPL3. See the main plugin file for full license information.

Changelog

1.2.1

• Updated alumni fields
• New alumni display mode 'list'
• Patched 'local network access' bug

1.2.0

• Alumni shortcode support
• Grid and table display modes for alumni
• Minor UI/UX improvements

1.1.0

• Dark mode attribute
• Include/exclude positions
• Up to 8 cols
• Updated responsive design
• Minor UI/UX improvements

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Shortcode implementation with group filtering
• Card and grid display modes
• Responsive grid layout
• Transient caching support
• Customizable columns and limits

Credits

Developed by UCF Web Communications for the University of Central Florida.