Automatically add links to posts or pages that are being published to your Facebook wall, pages or groups.

Simple one time setup and forget. The way links appear on Facebook can be customized. This plugin comes with full support. The link title will be the post title. The link description will be the excerpt, or part of the post text if there is none. It is possible to configure a link image (WordPress icon, first image in the media library or in the text, featured image or custom image) or you can let Facebook select one automatically. It is possible to exclude individual post links from being added to your wall, pages or groups by ticking a check box just above the publish button. Setup guide There is support for multi-user and network sites and shortcodes will be processed. It works for remote publishing too, for example from Android or iOS(iPhone, iPad) powered devices or using Window Live Writer or from Linux usingBloGTK or Blogilo. Additional features: Show the names of the people who liked your post on Facebook below the post text Show the standard Facebook like button; this button is not connected to added links Show the standard Facebook send button; this button is not connected to added links Support for the Open Graph protocol Shortcodes and template tags for liker names, like button and send button Integrate Facebook comments and likes on added links into WordPress Post WordPress comments back to Facebook Copy Facebook comments to the WordPress database (for archiving, editing, replying, moderation, etc) Sidebar widget for Facebook comments/messages and/or like/send button, like box and/or a link to your Facebook profile Beta features:

        

Add Share link, thanks to Micha! If you find this plugin useful, please rate it accordingly. If you rate this plugin low, please let me know why. Please report any issue you have with this plugin in the support forum, so I can at least try to fix it. Solutions to common problems are described in the FAQ. This plugin requires PHP 5 and WordPress 3.0 or better

  

English (en_US), built-in, corrections are welcome Dutch (nl_NL) Flemish (nl_BE)

           

Norwegian (nb_NO) Afrikaans (afr_AFR) Italian (it_IT) Turkish (tr_TR) German (de_DE) Polish (pl_PL) Hungarian (hu_HU) Russian (ru_RU) French (fr_FR) Vietnamese (vi_VN) Swedish (sv_SE) Spanish (es_ES)

Warning: if you delete your Facebook application, you will also delete the links it added!

Using the WordPress dashboard 1. Login to your weblog 2. Go to Plugins 3. Select Add New 4. Search for Add Link to Facebook 5. Select Install 6. Select Install Now 7. Select Activate Plugin Manual 1. Download and unzip the plugin 2. Upload the entire add-link-to-facebook/ directory to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory 3. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress

U01 What is a caption, message, etc?

Take a look at the screen shot to get an idea of what is what. The plugin will use the excerpt if available, else the post text and will use it as description. The option Use excerpt as message will move the excerpt to the message at top and the post text will be used as description at the bottom. If you specify a Text trailer the text will be truncated and the text trailer (for example Read more ...) will be used as last words (no link). If you clear the text trailer, Facebook will show See more and if you click on it, see can see the whole post on Facebook.

U02 Why is the option 'Featured post image' grayed out?

Because your current WordPress theme doesn't support featured images.

U03 How can I display featured images as Facebook link pictures?

1. Configure the plugin to use featured images 2. Select a featured image in the WordPress post screen A few notes: Not all WordPress themes support featured images You have to select a featured image before published a post If there is no featured image set, the WordPress icon will be used As an alternate to feature images, you can use the Add Link to Facebook post meta box (since version 0.23). In this box you can select one of the images attached to the post. Selecting an image this way takes precedence over the other settings.

  

U04 To which wall will a link be added?

Always to the wall of the post author, if configured. Even if somebody else is editing the post.

U05 Which link picture will Facebook select?

Mostly the first picture in the post, but it depends on the theme and layout of your website. It also depends on support for the Open Graph protocol by your theme. Since version 0.56 you can enable the Open Graph protocol using the plugin settings.

U06 Why doesn't Facebook display my link picture?

Maybe because it is smaller than 50 x 50 pixels. Facebook might also have had trouble accessing the image.

U07 I don't want a link picture

Facebook doesn't support this as far as I know, but you could let the custom link picture point to a valid but non existing address.

U08 What happens when I update a post?

If the link to the post was added already to your wall, page or group, nothing, else a new link will be added. See also the next question.

U09 How can I add a link to an existing post?

Change the post status temporarily to draft, update the post and publish the post again. If you want to add a link again, you should remove the custom fieldal2fb_facebook_link_id first.

U10 Will links for future posts be added?

Yes, when they are published automatically a link will be added to your wall, page or group too.

U11 How about private / password protected posts?

Don't worry, no links to private posts will be added.

U12 I want to add links to my fan/community/business page

This option is only available after you have authorized, since information from Facebook needs to be fetched. Just go to the plugin settings through the WordPress Tools menu and select the page you want the links to be added to using the option Add to page. Maybe you want to check the option Add as page owner too. If you do that, you have to re-authorize one time more, because an extra Facebook permission is required for that. Note that pages and groups exclude each other.

U13 I want to add links to a group

This option is only available after you have authorized, since information from Facebook needs to be fetched. Just go to the plugin settings through the WordPress Tools menu and checkUse groups. You have to re-authorize one time more now, because an extra Facebook permission is required to access groups. After you have done that, you can select the group to add links to. Note that pages and groups exclude each other.

U14 How can I use hyperlinks on Facebook?

Since Facebook doesn't accept HTML, all HTML is stripped from the post text and excerpt before adding a link to Facebook. This means that hyperlinks are stripped too. The hyperlink texts are preserved, however. If you want to keep hyperlinks, check the option Keep hyperlinks. The consequence is that the hyperlink texts will be stripped. So you have to choose if you want the hyperlink text (the default) or the hyperlink itself.

U15 How can I use short URL's as Facebook link? 

Install and configure an URL shortener plugin

   

URL Shortener is known to work Any short URL plugin that supports the filter pre_get_shortlink orget_shortlink will work Enable the option Use short URL (available since version 0.32) You probably want to enable the option Use site title as caption too

U16 I don't like the gear wheel application icon

You can change it in the Facebook application settings.

U17 Why is the option "add 'Share' link" experimental?

For two reasons: 1. The Facebook interface for this feature is undocumented 2. Sharing works, but Facebook doesn't handle it correctly (discussion, bug report)

U18 How can I translate the plugin?

You can use the Dutch translation as a start. After saving the file, you can translate it by using a text editor or Poedit. See here for details on plural forms. Another way is to install and use the Codestyling Localization plugin. Please use the contact form to send me the new .po file.

U19 How can I change the styling?

1. Copy add-link-to-facebook.css to your upload directory to prevent it from being overwritten by an update 2. Change the style sheet to your wishes; the style sheet contains documentation

U20 How can I setup one wall for all users?

An administrator can setup his wall (personal/page/group) for all users of one site by checking the option Share with all users on this site. The other users cannot configure their own wall amymore if this option is used. Only the same administrator can undo this.

U21 I don't see a link to my post on Facebook

Assuming that you have configured and authorize the plugin, you can check this: Is the wall of the post author configured? See also question U4 and U20. Has the post author the configured minimum capability? (default edit_posts) Is Do not add link to Facebook un-checked? Is the post password protected? See also question U11. Was the post published before using the plugin? See also question U09. Was there already a link added? See also question U09. Did you check the Most Recent link on Facebook? Are you logged into the correct Facebook account? Are you looking at the correct personal/page/group wall? If you are publishing to a page: check the Facebook tab Others. See also question U12.

         

U22 Where are the settings of the plugin?

In the WordPress menu Tools. Note that if you checked the option Share with all users on this site, only the adminstrator that checked this option can access the settings.

U23 How can I use the shortcodes?

Just put one of the shortcodes below in your post or page text. To show liker names: [al2fb_likers] [al2fb_likers post_id="123"] To show a like button: [al2fb_like_button] [al2fb_like_button post_id="123"] To show a like box: [al2fb_like_box] [al2fb_like_box post_id="123"] To show a send button: [al2fb_send_button] [al2fb_send_button post_id="123"]

 

 

 

 

U24 How can I use the template tags?

Put one of these lines somewhere in your theme: if (function_exists('al2fb_likers')) al2fb_likers(); if (function_exists('al2fb_likers')) al2fb_likers(123); if (function_exists('al2fb_like_button')) al2fb_like_button(); if (function_exists('al2fb_like_button')) al2fb_like_button(123); if (function_exists('al2fb_like_box')) al2fb_like_box(); if (function_exists('al2fb_like_box')) al2fb_like_box(123); if (function_exists('al2fb_send_button')) al2fb_send_button(); if (function_exists('al2fb_send_button')) al2fb_send_button(123);

       

U25 Can I add links to multiple walls?

One WordPress user can only add links to one wall OR one page OR one group, even if that user happens to have multiple sites (which is possible within a network site). Adding the same link to more than one wall may lead to difficulties with Facebook as this can be seen as spam. It may also be a violation of the Facebook Platform Policies.

U26 Why are liker names not displayed?

The option Show likers below the post text shows the names of the people that liked the link the plugin added on Facebook. The like button is a standard Facebook like button which is not connect to links added by the plugin (this is not possible). The like button is connected to the page on which it is displayed. So, people that click on the like button are displayed within the like button (depending on how the like button is setup), but not as people that liked an added link.

U27 I don't want to display a single comment from Facebook on WordPress

Trash the comment, but leave it in the trash folder. If you delete the comment permanently, the plugin will copy the comment again from Facebook. --- Security ---

X01 Which users can use this plugin?

Users with the edit_posts capability: all user roles, except subscriber. Since version 0.11 administrators can change this using the setting Required capability to use plugin. --- Compatibility ---

C01 Is this plugin compatible with my theme?

Most likely yes, but featured images can only be used as link picture when your theme supports this. This plugin is known to be incompatible with: Geo Places: publishing from the front-end doesn't add links

C02 Is this plugin compatible with plugin xxx?

Probably yes, but it all depends on how the plugin works. Auto posting plugins will work if one of the following actions is used: transition_post_status xmlrpc_publish_post app_publish_post al2fb_publish This plugin is known to be incompatible with: Maybe WP Robot: links will not be added Maybe FeedWordPress: no links are added for syndicated posts WP-FB-AutoConnect

   

  

C03 Are shortcodes being processed?

Yes, both in the excerpt and the post text.

C04 Are multi-user and network sites supported?

Yes, each user can configure his/her own wall or page or group. See also question U25.

C05 Is remote publishing supported?

Yes, via both XML-RPC and the Atom Publishing Protocol. So you can use for example an Android or iOS powered device (XML-RPC) or Window Live Writer(Atom) or BloGTK or Blogilo for Linux to publish posts and still have links added to your wall or page automatically. Don't forget to enable remote publishing using the WordPress menu Settings > Writing.

C06 Are custom post types supported?

Yes, but the custom post type should support custom values for it to work. --- Custom values ---

V01 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_link_id' for?

This is the Facebook identification of the added link.

V02 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_link_time' for?

This is the time (UTC) the link was added to Facebook or the time of the last error.

V03 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_link_picture' for?

This is the picture type and URL of the link as added to Facebook.

V04 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_exclude' for?

This is to remember you ticked the check box Do not add link to Facebook.

V05 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_image_id' for?

This is to remember the image you have selected as link picture.

V06 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_error' for?

If something goes wrong when adding a link to your wall or page, the error message is stored in this field. You can try to add the link again by updating the post. Please send me the message and follow the instruction in the last question.

V07 What is the custom field 'al2fb_facebook_nolike' for?

This field indicates that the like button shouldn't be show for the post or page.

V08 What is the custom field 'c_al2fb_meta_excerpt' for?

This fields holds the custom excerpt that will be used in stead of the WordPress excerpt. --- Error messages ---

E01 I get 'Error validating application'

You have probably entered a wrong App ID or the Facebook application may be deleted. If you didn't create a Facebook application yet, you should follow the instructions in the yellow box on the plugin page.

E02 I get 'Error validating client secret'

You have probably entered a wrong App Secret.

E03 I get 'Given URL is not allowed by the Application configuration'

You have probably entered a wrong URL in the Facebook application settingWeb Site > Site URL. Assuming you created a Facebook application successfully: Go to the plugin page through the WordPress Tools menu Copy the link after Web Site > Site URL: Click on the Click here to create link Navigate to My Apps and select the application you created before Click on the Edit Settings link and select the tab Web Site Paste into the field Site URL and press Save Changes Now try to authorize again.

     

E04 I get 'The user hasn't authorized the application to perform this action'
You have probably revoked one of the permissions of the Facebook application. If you did this by accident, you can simply re-authorize the plugin. If you did this deliberately, you should remove the App ID and App Secret from the plugin settings. If you are the only user of the website, you can also disable the plugin.

E05 I get 'Invalid access token signature'

You have probably reset the App Secret. You should re-enter it.

E06 I get 'Error validating verification code'

You have probably deleted the Facebook application. You should delete the App ID and App Secret from the plugin settings and create a new Facebook application. This should not happen if you didn't delete the application. In that case please send me the debug information, see the last question for instructions.

E07 I get 'This API call requires a valid app_id'

You could try to re-authorize to fix this, but it should not happen. Please send me the debug information, see the last question for instructions.

E08 I get 'An active access token must be used to query information about the current user'
If you keep getting this error after upgrading to the latest version, please report it and send me the debug information (see the last question for instructions).

E09 I get 'Invalid access token signature'

You have probably entered an access token manually, but incomplete or with extra characters.

E10 I get 'Your server may not allow external connections'

This means the PHP setting allow_url_fopen is disabled and that cURL is not available too. You may have to ask your hosting provider to enable at least one of the two.

E11 I get 'cURL error ...'

Please help me to find out the cause by sending me the debug information, see the last question for instructions. You can find the cURL error codes on thelibcurl error page. cURL errors encountered so far: Error 1: The URL you passed to libcurl used a protocol that this libcurl does not support: the hosting server may not support secure connections (https) Error 6: Couldnt resolve host: the DNS of the hosting server may not work correct Error 7: Failed to connect() to host or proxy: the hosting server is probably not allowing connections to the internet Error 28: Operation timeout: hopefully temporarily no internet available on the hosting server Error 60: Peer certificate cannot be authenticated with known CA certificates: the security certificates on the hosting server could be missing or outdated Error 77: Problem with reading the SSL CA cert: the certificate files on the hosting server are not accessible or missing For above cURL errors you need to contact your hosting provider. Error 60: try enabling the option Do not verify the peer's certificate (since version 1.2).

     

E12 I get 'HTTP 400 Bad Request'

You are probably using Microsoft Internet Explorer. This browser has the bad habit not to display the content when there is an HTTP error. Actually you are most probably having one of the above errors, but you cannot see which one. You can switch to Mozilla Firefox or if you don't want that you can send me the address in the address bar.

E13 I get 'Javascript not enabled'

Can not happen anymore in recent versions.

E14 I get '(#100) Invalid parameter'

You may have deleted a link on Facebook that was added by the plugin and also tried to delete it using the plugin. Go to the post with the error, enabledCustom fields with the Screen Options in the upper right corner if needed, now scroll down to the Custom Fields section and delete the values starting withal2fb_ to remove the error. Since version 1.32 of the plugin, you can use theClear error messages checkbox.

E15 I get 'Error validating access token'

The access token the plugin acquired during the authorization process may be revoked. Maybe because there was a security problem with your Facebook application or Facebook account. Reauthorizing will probably solve this problem. If you know why you got this error, please leave a message on thesupport forum. You could also try to reset your application secret here and enter the new secret in the plugin settings.

E16 I get 'You failed to provide a valid list of administators'

This message occurs when clicking on the like button. The like button probably points to a page without Open Graph Protocol meta tags. If you didn't enable the Open Graph Protocol try to enable it. If you have set the option Link to, make sure this page has Open Graph Protocol meta tags. If this option is not set (the default) the like button points to the post or page. Note that the plugin cannot create the meta tags for pages with more than one post (for example the home page, categories and archives). The plugin is only able to determine the correct Facebook application for posts and pages, because it needs to know an author for this. You can use the URL Linter to see if there are valid meta tags.

E17 I get 'Error finding the requested story'

The plugin tried to add a WordPress comment to an added link on Facebook, but the link does not exist anymore. To prevent this message in the future, you should delete the link from WordPress too. While deleting, you will probably get the error described in question E14 too.

E18 I get 'Missing redirect_uri parameter'

It could be that you have filled something wrong into the field App ID. This field should contain only digits.

E19 How can I remove error messages?

The first thing you should try is to simply update the post(s) using the WordPress update button. The plugin will add a link to the post if it didn't already do that and remove the error message in the process. You can also tick the checkbox Clear error messages in the post submit box, near

the update button. In this way you can clear the error message without adding a link to Facebook (you'll probably want to check Do not add link to Facebook too in this case). --- Support ---

S01 Where can I ask questions, report bugs and request features?
You can open a topic in the support forum.

S02 How can I send the debug information?

Please go to the plugin page (via the Tools menu) and click on the link Debug information in the Resources panel. Optionally fill in your name and describe the problem as accurate as possible and press the Send button.