Title: BNS Featured Tag
Author: Edward Caissie
Published: <strong>August 26, 2009</strong>
Last modified: April 10, 2016

---

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This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.

![](https://s.w.org/plugins/geopattern-icon/bns-featured-tag.svg)

# BNS Featured Tag

 By [Edward Caissie](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cais/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/bns-featured-tag.2.7.2.zip)

 * [Details](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/#installation)
 * [Development](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/)

## Description

Plugin with multi-widget functionality that displays most recent posts from specific
tag or tags (set with user options). Also includes user options to display: Tag 
Description; Author and meta details; comment totals; post categories; post tags;
and either full post, excerpt, or your choice of the amount of words (or any combination).

Copyright 2009-2015 Edward Caissie (email : edward.caissie@gmail.com)

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the
terms of the GNU General Public License version 2, as published by the Free Software
Foundation.

You may NOT assume that you can use any other version of the GPL.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A 
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 along with this
program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth
Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA

The license for this software can also likely be found here:
 http://www.gnu.org/
licenses/gpl-2.0.html

## Screenshots

 * [[
 * The options panel (default settings).

## Installation

This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working.

 1. Upload `bns-featured-tag.php` to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
 2. Activate through the ‘Plugins’ menu.
 3. Place the BNS Featured Tag widget appropriately in the Appearance | Widgets section
    of the dashboard.
 4. Set options to personal preferences:

 * Widget Title
 * Tag Names – separated by commas
 * Show (first) Tag Description (checkbox)
 * Show Author and date/time details of post (checkbox)
 * Show all categories attached to post (checkbox)
 * Show all tags attached to post (checkbox)
 * Show post in full or use default of post excerpt (checkbox)

or

 1. Go to ‘Plugins’ menu under your Dashboard
 2. Click on the ‘Add New’ link
 3. Search for bns-featured-tag
 4. Install.
 5. Activate through the ‘Plugins’ menu.
 6. Place the BNS Featured Tag widget appropriately in the Appearance | Widgets section
    of the dashboard.
 7. Set options to personal preferences:

 * Widget Title
 * Tag Names – separated by commas
 * Show (first) Tag Description (checkbox)
 * Show Author and date/time details of post (checkbox)
 * Show all categories attached to post (checkbox)
 * Show all tags attached to post (checkbox)
 * Show post in full or use default of post excerpt (checkbox)

Reading this article for further assistance: http://wpfirstaid.com/2009/12/plugin-
installation/

#### Shortcode: bnsft

Default Parameters:

 * ‘title’ => ‘Featured Tag’
 * ‘tag_choice’ => ”
 * ‘union’ => false
 * ‘use_current’ => false
 * ‘exclude_current’ => false
 * ‘count’ => ‘0’
 * ‘show_count’ => ‘3’
 * ‘offset’ => ”
 * ‘sort_order’ => ‘DESC’
 * ‘use_thumbnails’ => true
 * ‘content_thumb’ => ‘100’
 * ‘excerpt_thumb’ => ’50’
 * ‘show_tag_desc’ => false
 * ‘show_meta’ => false
 * ‘show_comments’ => false
 * ‘show_cats’ => false
 * ‘show_tags’ => false
 * ‘only_titles’ => false
 * ‘no_titles’ => false
 * ‘show_full’ => false
 * ‘excerpt_length’ => ”
 * ‘no_excerpt’ => false

## FAQ

  Where can I get support for this plugin?

Please note, support may be available on the WordPress Support forums; but, it may
be faster to visit http://buynowshop.com/plugins/bns-featured-tag/ and leave a comment
with the issue you are experiencing.

  Can I use this in more than one widget area?

Yes, this plugin has been made for multi-widget compatibility. Each instance of 
the widget will display, if wanted, differently than every other instance of the
widget.

  How can I style the plugin output?

The plugin uses several “common” WordPress functions that create standard class 
and id elements that can be styled in the style.css file

 * the classes generated by the post_class() function; and, the id generated by “
   post-” appended to the_ID() function wrap the general post output
 * the plugin class `post-details` wraps the general meta details of the post, such
   as the Author, Categories, Tags, etc.
 * the overall plugin may also be wrapped in a widget “container” class, or id, 
   specific to the theme itself such as (but not limited to): widget, sidebar, left,
   right, etc.

As of version 1.9, you may create a custom stylesheet using the name `bnsft-custom-
style.css`; and save it to the BNS Featured Tag plugin folder.
 Elements you add
into this file will not be overwritten with future plugin updates. With the addition
of the display Tag Description option an additional class was written into the plugin.
To style the category description displayed add the class ‘bnsft-tag-desc’ to your
bnsft-custom-style.css file then use your choice of properties to style the text,
for example:

    ```
    .bnsft-tag-desc {font-style: italic;}
    ```

The following CSS elements are generated by the plugin code:

 * .bns-featured-tag
 * .bnsft-widget-title
 * .bnsft-clear
 * .bnsft-content
 * .bnsft-no-posts-message
 * .bnsft-link
 * .bnsft-tag-desc

Additional style elements may be available but are most likely created through WordPress
core functionality, the current active Theme, or another active plugin.

  Can I increase the maximum posts to display?

As of version 1.6.2 the Total Posts to Display is independent of the “posts per 
page” setting as set under Settings | Reading.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“BNS Featured Tag” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Edward Caissie ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cais/)

[Translate “BNS Featured Tag” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/bns-featured-tag)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bns-featured-tag/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/bns-featured-tag/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/bns-featured-tag/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/bns-featured-tag/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 2.7.2

 * Released August 2015
 * Updated to use PHP5 constructor objects

#### 2.7.1

 * Released June 2015
 * Minor inline documentation clean up and copyright years updates

#### 2.7

 * Released December 2014
 * Added plugin update message listing the changelog details from installed version
   to the current release
 * Minor code formatting improvements
 * Changed text domain from `bns-ft` to `bns-featured-tag`
 * Inline documentation updates
 * Re-factoring of method names to more simple non-prefixed versions
 * Updates to the `readme.txt` file

#### 2.6

 * Released May 2014
 * Added a “wish link” and “support_link” to the plugin meta row
 * Added `bnsft_no_posts_message` hook
 * Added `bnsft-no-posts-message` and `bnsft-widget-title` classes
 * Added upgrade safe path location for custom styles
 * Changed “Tag Name” label to “Tag slug/ID” with additional details
 * Defined constants `BNS_CUSTOM_PATH` and `BNS_CUSTOM_URL`
 * Extracted `plugin_data` into its own method
 * Fixed sort order implementation
 * Moved BNSFT Plugin Meta function into main class of plugin
 * Moved inline options styles into “options” stylesheet
 * Reformat code to better meet WordPress Coding Standards
 * Update required version to WordPress 3.6
 * Updated inline documentation

#### 2.5

 * Add new “union” option so posts must be in all tags chosen
 * Add emphasis text for ‘beta’ options

#### 2.4.1

 * Add BNSFT Plugin Meta function
 * Add hook `bnsft_query` allowing the query arguments to be over-written
 * Add hook `bnsft_output` allowing the entire output to be over-written

#### 2.4

 * Released July 2013
 * Add exclude current post in single view option
 * Completed use current post tags in single view option / functionality

#### 2.3.1

 * Released February 17, 2013
 * Fixed where content and excerpt post thumbnail sizes are used
 * Fixed conditional check for post thumbnails usage

#### 2.3

 * Released February 2013
 * Added code block termination comments and other comments / documentation
 * Moved all code into class structure
 * Replace `query_posts` with new `WP_Query` class object

#### 2.2

 * Released December 2012
 * Added filter to full post link element
 * Added filter to allow modification of author and date post meta details
 * Added filter to allow modification of category list post meta details
 * Added “Posts Offset” option
 * Added “Sort Order” option
 * Improved widget option panel UX with jQuery toggles
 * Optimized output buffer closure in shortcode function
 * Programmatically added version number to enqueue calls
 * Removed load_plugin_textdomain as redundant

#### 2.1

 * Add ‘no_titles’ option

#### 2.0

 * Documentation and code format updates
 * Add ‘no_excerpt’ option
 * Linked Featured Image to post
 * Rearrange Widget Options panel

#### 1.9.2

 * confirmed compatible with WordPress 3.4
 * fixed issue with featured image post thumbnails not showing

#### 1.9.1

 * Removed extra slash in `wp_enqueue_scripts` parameters
 * Fixed 404 error when ‘bnsft-custom-style.css’ is not available

#### 1.9

 * released November 2011
 * confirmed compatible with WordPress 3.3
 * added PHPDoc style documentation
 * added functionality to BNS Featured Tag Custom Excerpt function – see `custom_excerpt`
 * added stylesheet to manage plugin specific CSS elements
 * added support for bnsft-custom-style.css stylesheet (will not be over-written
   with updates)
 * added i18n support using `bns-ft` textdomain
 * added call to `the_excerpt` and wrapped post output in `bnsft-content` CSS element
 * added clearing CSS element and `wp_link_pages` after `the_content` call
 * changed `bnsft_first_words` to `custom_excerpt`
 * cleaned up code organization and optimization
 * cleaned up documentation
 * fixed ‘only_titles’ form issue
 * moved CSS for images wider than widget area from inline to ‘bnsft-style.css’

#### 1.8.5

 * released June 2011
 * updated additional items in readme.txt (this file)
 * re-sized options panel
 * re-arranged options panel for better UX / UI in new size
 * updated screenshot

#### 1.8.4

 * released May 2011
 * confirmed compatible with WordPress version 3.2
 * addressed some minor items in the readme (this file)
 * cleaned up some text strings in the code
 * minor variable changes – `load_widget()`, `custom_excerpt()`

#### 1.8.3

 * Confirm compatible with WordPress 3.1 (beta)
 * Change ‘the_time’ to date-format option
 * Only show number of comments if not password protected

#### 1.8.1

 * Fix typo and other minor items in readme.txt file
 * Update internal ‘Release Date’ comment

#### 1.8

 * released: October 3, 2010
 * added post_thumbnail support
 * added shortcode support (`bnsft`)
 * version requirements changed appropriately to minimum WordPress version 2.9

#### 1.7.2

 * released: July 5, 2010
 * added wp_reset_query();

#### 1.7.1

 * released: June 13, 2010
 * format tag names into tag slugs for use in the query (needs to be further addressed)
 * cleaned up code to meet WP Standards

#### 1.7

 * compatible with WordPress version 3.0
 * updated license declaration

#### 1.6.3

 * removed `the_ID()` function as redundant

#### 1.6.2.3

 * compatible with WordPress version 2.9.2
 * updated license declaration

#### 1.6.2.2

 * clarified the plugin is released under a GPLv2 license

#### 1.6.2.1

 * compatibility check for 2.9.1 completed

#### 1.6.2

 * Total Posts to Display can now exceed the posts_per_page option value.
 * matched version number to BNS Featured Category – future versions should also
   stay in step

#### 1.6

 * corrected issue with checkbox not displaying its state correctly
 * minor correction to variable structure to allow for multiple instances of the
   plugin with independent post counts
 * added option to display the description for the (first) tag choice as taken directly
   from the Tags panel under Posts in the Dashboard
 * wrapped Tag Description in its own class: ‘bnsfc-tag-desc’

#### 1.5

 * added option to set the quantity of the first words of the post to display instead
   of the default excerpt.
 * modified description to reflect new functionality
 * slightly increased the size of option panel to better display controls

#### 1.4

 * added version control compared against $wp_version
 * added horizontal rule to option panel for clarity

#### 1.3

 * code cleanup and error trapping
 * added dynamic reference of maximum posts based on blog Settings | Reading “posts
   per page”

#### 1.2

 * code clean up
 * changed `the_content(__('Read more ...'))` to `the_content()` as a more “default”
   version

#### 1.1

 * added option for Post Titles only
 * added `div style="overflow-x: auto"` wrapper to allow for images wider than the
   widget area

#### 1.0

 * Initial Release.

## Meta

 *  Version **2.7.2**
 *  Last updated **10 years ago**
 *  Active installations **30+**
 *  WordPress version ** 3.6 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **4.5.33**
 *  Language
 * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/)
 * Tags
 * [featured](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/featured/)[multi widget](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/multi-widget/)
   [posts](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/posts/)[tags](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/tags/)
   [user-options](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/user-options/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/bns-featured-tag/advanced/)

## Ratings

 5 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  2 5-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  0 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  0 3-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  0 2-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  0 1-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/?filter=1)

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Edward Caissie ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cais/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/bns-featured-tag/)

## Donate

Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?

 [ Donate to this plugin ](http://buynowshop.com)