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Update Atahualpa WordPress Theme

Expert WordPress users and regular readers of this blog will know that we recommend updating to the latest WordPress version regularly, to ensure that the any known security vulnerabilities are patched. Many people also take that opportunity to upgrade their favorite plugins and theme to ensure continued compatibility.

But what if you are using a highly configurable theme like Atahualpa? How do upgrade and yet keep all your custom settings, header images and favicon after the upgrade. The good news is that most of the theme settings for Atahualpa are stored in the database so that an upgrade will not lose that customization.

So how do you update the Atahualpa WordPress Theme when the time comes?

Before you update WordPress, your plugins or theme, backup your database, wp-content folder and wp-config.php files to make sure you can reverse out of the change in the event that there is a problem.

If you have used custom header images or made any changes to the page code in the Atahualpa theme, or set a shortcut icon, Web site icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon (favicon) than you will need to use the manual method to update the theme. If you are using the theme with default header images etc. or have a quick way to restore them after an upgrade, then you can use the WordPress update facility. However, the way we recommend is to Upgrade the theme manually, as follows:

  1. Backup your database.
  2. Backup the wp-content folder, which contains your themes, favicon and header images.
  3. Download the latest version of the theme to your computer.
  4. Unzip the file and copy in your custom images and delete the ones supplied.
  5. Check for any Atahualpa theme patches and apply them.
  6. Update any code changes you made in the previous version (experts only!)
  7. Add any custom templates you use to the new theme folder.
  8. Upload the theme folder to the ‘wp-content/themes’ themes folder on your host.
  9. Activate the the new theme via WordPress Dashboard, and test.

The new theme should now display correctly. But if you have a problem you can revert to the earlier version using Dashboard again. Common causes of problems are as follows:

  • Code customization which has not been correctly installed or has a negative impact in the new theme. Solution recheck the code is complete and in the correct location and retest.
  • Images using the full path name not displaying. Solution – Verify URL Names in WordPress options, or avoid using where possible.
  • WordPress menus not displaying. Solution – reselect the menus in Dashboard, Appearances, Menu.

So now we know how to update the Atahualpa WordPress Theme, which should make the task easier the next time!

Other Resources

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Theme Update for TechCo Support Site

Those of you who visit TechCo Support regularly will notice that we have now updated our theme to Atahualpa 3.5.1. Atahualpa is a highly configurable WordPress theme which allows you to change hundreds of parameters and features to suit your needs

There are a huge number of configurable items, (268 according to BytesForAll, the theme creators) with five separate categories for changing the header area alone. The theme will support five columns, with one or two sidebars on either side, each of which can have a number of combination such as display on Pages, or Categories, or not. The sidebar combinations alone would fill a substantial article, so let it suffice to say that you can configure them to meet most requirements, no matter what they are.

Atahualpa features a distinctive rotating header image, which changes every time you load a page. This can be further rotated selecting from the WordPress dashboard, Appearance, then Atahualpa Theme Options, Header Images, Rotate header images with Javascript, and setting a value in seconds in the dropdown.

For this to work, you will need a selection of images of the correct header size: 1300 pixels width, by 160 pixels high by default. You can also select to have the images transition by fading out then in, in the same place.

To install the Atahualpa theme, there are two methods:
Automatic Install From the WordPress Dashboard

  • Click on Themes, Under Appearance
  • Select the Install Themes tab
  • Type Atahualpa in the textbox under Search for themes by keyword, author, or tag.
  • Ensure Term is selected in the Dropdown, and click Search
  • When the Atahualpa theme appears below, click Install
  • After the transparant overlay appears, click the Install Now button
  • You should then see messages including the following:
    • Unpacking the package…
    • Installing the theme…
    • Successfully installed the theme Atahualpa 3.4.9.
  • Activate the theme by clicking the Activate link next to Actions, and you are in business!

Manual Install
Alternatively, for those used to manually installing WordPress themes, you can download the package, unpack it and then upload it to the Themes directory on your site. You should end up with a directory called atahualpa351, or whatever is the version number. Atahualpa versions will happily coexist with earlier releases, so if there is something you do not like you can always revert to the earlier version.

This versatile theme from BytesForAll is available currently as version 3.5.3, which we are actively evaluating at the moment. The latest version of Atahualpa also includes support for the new WP 3+ menu system integrated with 2 Menu Locations (called Menu 1 and Menu 2). The original Page Menu Bar and Category Menu Bar will work if you don’t setup a menu with the new system. We will let you know as soon as we apply this update to our live sites

If you are interested in using Atahualpa on your own WordPress blog, then see

  • Bytes For All
  • Atahualpa Support Forum