Shortcodes for StoreLocatorPlus and Add-ons

[slplus] is the primary shortcode used within WordPress sites to display the Store Locator Plus map and location search interface. Many other attributes can be found within the plugin and add-ons.

A shortcode is a special label inside of square brackets that is used within WordPress pages and posts to display the output from a plugin. You place a shortcode within the text of your page or post and the plugin will “do it’s magic”.

Note: Shortcode attributes WILL NOT WORK if Force Load JavaScript is turned on under Store Locator Plus General Settings. Try turning it off before using attributes. If Store Locator Plus won’t load when you turn Force Load JavaScript off, get a different WordPress Theme that fully implements WordPress code standards.

Note: As of  WordPress Plugin API update 4.2.3 effects shortcodes with filtered styles which will not be recognized when stored between quotes.

Adding Locations with additional features

If you have any of the Store Locator Plus featured Add-ons such as Power, Experience, or Premier add-ons , or if you have the MySLP Saas Professional or Enterprise level plan you will see additional sections when Adding (or managing) a Location.

You can opt to fill in all the rows and info that determine the Location and geocoding and hit Add button if you are done entering information. Or you can opt to continue to the next section, whether it be featured, tags, categories, or other functions that are in separate sections on the Location Add Tab.Click the “Add button” at the bottom of the next section instead.

For example, I want to add a location that also is going to have a category assigned to it. I have the latest version of the Power Add-on activated. After adding all the Location information, I do not click on the Add button under the location information but continue on down to the next section called “Power” and add whatever pertinent information I wish to add there. Once I am satisfied and have no additional data to add, I click on the Add Button under the Power section of the Locations Panel to create the location that I have just added.

The category or other additional data you just associated will appear when you review the Locations Page.When to click the add buttonaddlocationa nd acategories

How to Export Locations to CSV file

Bulk Export

You must have the MYSLP/Professional level or the WPSLP plug-in with the Power add-on .

  1. Go to the Store locator Plus side bar menu, select the Locations tab
  2. Select from the drop down  menu under BULK actions , select export  Download to CSV.
  3. You may select  the locations by clicking either individually and Apply  or click on the action bar and select the Apply /  ALL button or you may  filter what you wish to export. Screenshots, the first one is the Plug-in  menu
    Above shown is the WPSLP plug-in with Power add-on
    SLP SaaS bulk export with Professional level plan

    SLP SaaS Action bar to check off All

Store and Category Manager

Store and Category Manager interface is available if you have the  Power  Add-on installed (for WPSLP users) or have the MYSLP Professional level or higher. You will see a tab “Categories” in your Store Locator Plus User Interface.

Under side menu MYSLP/StoreLocatorPlus menu

Once you open the Category Tab  you can begin to add categories and slugs or edit existing.  Set Markers and Icons per category (optional) if you want those to appear in place of map markers.  A Bulk action drop down to delete some or all categories is  at the top of the category box.

Settings/Search

You can choose to show the categories that you have created in a drop down menu as part of the search form.  There are additional category selector options available for WPSLP premier subscribers  or MYSLP Enterprise subscribers (example see Checkbox selector). You can add text as a label that will display  at the top of the categories drop down menu, or you can leave blank.  You can also add text for the category select box that will appear in front of the category drop down on the user interface.

Hide Empty Categories Setting

For WPSLP Power add-on users . Do NOT turn this on unless you have   Pages enabled.

Settings/Results

If you want the category icons to appear in results list check off Category Icons

Categories

The ability to categorize your locations using the WordPress category (taxonomy) system.  The Categories Manager (Formerly known as Tagalong) is part of the Power Add-on   for  WPSLP self managed customers, and available for the MYSLP Professional or higher plans)  It builds on the Store Locator Plus store_page taxonomy that is also used with the Pages portion of the Power Add-on (for WPSLP stand alone).  Build a “simple flat list” of categories or a hierarchical (parent/child) category structure. Once you’ve categorized locations you will find other added benefits on the user interface.

How to upload and install your Word press Store Locator Plus and Add-Ons

Obtaining SLP  Add On Pack

Note  This page does not apply to our SLP SaaS subscription customers.   All updates for those customers are taken care of by us.  SLP SaaS is also referred to as MySLP. It is not a plug-in.  It is a managed Software service.  No need to worry what version you are on.

All add-on packs are available from the WordPressStore Locator Plus website.   Power Add-On ,  Experience Add-on , or you can purchase a Premier Subscription that provides access to all of the add-on packs as well as preferred access to the Premier support forums, pre-release products, new features and functionality that is  available only to subscribers.

Note: If you purchase the  Power or Experience add-ons as an upgrade to your existing  (Legacy) add-ons, the legacy add-ons will automatically be deactivated. Delete the legacy add-ons.  First “always have a full backup of your site”  We strongly recommend looking into the WordPress backup, or   Jet Pack.   One of the features included , besides real-time incremental backups of your site with restore points, is the ability to restore the site to an alternate site

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Install An Add On Pack

SLP version 5.10 and above are not listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory.    Ditto any add-ons you purchased from our Store front . As such the first time you add the plug-in it will  need to be installed via the below  installation process.

  • Login To Your Store Locator Plus  Account
  • Download the latest zip file version
  • Login to your WordPress admin panel for your website.
  • Go to the plugins sidebar menu.
  • Select Add New.
  • Select Upload.
  • Browse to your downloaded zip file.
  • Click Install now.
  • Activate

Updating An Add On Pack

Once installed a query from the WordPress Admin Panel communicates with the Store Locator Plus servers and a message  or red line will be shown as updates are available.  Occasionally, the WP server times out before it gets to the SLP plugin servers. Use the check again tool in the WP Admin sidebar or check the versions at the Store Locator Plus home page.
WP check again

Some third-party plugins and WordPress themes can prevent the update notice appearing from the Store Locator Plus server.   It is prudent to visit the Versions Page and only if necessary, perform a manual update.  

You should perform updates on your test site or a staging site first to avoid downtime or potential  issues effecting your production (live) site. You should always have a recent back-up to restore to. The safest way to do manual updates, follow these steps

Deactivate the plugin you are updating
Delete the plugin
Go to Plugins | Add New
Select Upload
Upload the latest release zip file
DO NOT click the Activate button
Go to Plugins on the sidebar
Check off the plugin you just installed
Go to bulk actions and select activate

Tags For Locations

Tags are text labels that can be used as identifiers and can be added to any location if you have WPSLP (do it yourself) Power Add On,  or with the  Professional level subscription for MYSLP.   It is a quick and informal way to add filters or for grouping features to your Store Locator Plus locations.

Administration

Settings for Store Locator Plus Tag Search are under the  Settings/Search section when you have the Power Add On installed.

Turning On Tag Searching

Tag based searches are off by default.  Set the Search Form Tag Input to something other than “none”.

Custom Label For Tag Searching

You can set a custom label for the tag search input. By default the label is blank. Leave blank type in what you want to appear for the Search By Tag Label: entry

Pulldown or Text Input

You can elect to have either a drop down or a text box input for users when filtering results by location tags. The default mode is to allow for free-form text input. To use the other methods you must enter a series of your tags separated by commas.

Providing

An “Any ” Selection On The Tag Drop down

You can also provide an “any” selection which will search for all locations, in addition to the list of tags you enter on the drop down. Check off the “show any” setting and Store Locator Plus will automatically add the phrase “any” to the top of your search list.

dropdown with tags option
dropdown with tags option

Creating A List Of Location Pages [slp_pages]

This feature is available with an active Premier Subscription only.

Create a list of location pages, the Store Pages created by the Pages option of the Power add on, requires version 4.5 or later of the Power add on with the Pages option enabled.

Listing location pages is done by adding the [slp_pages] shortcode to your WordPress page or post.   Only published Store Pages are shown.   By default new pages created via the Manage Locations interface are created in ‘draft’ mode.