What is the Yahoo! Shortcuts plugin for Wordpress?
The Yahoo! Shortcuts powered Wordpress plugin is an easy way for webmasters to enrich blog posts with great content (maps, finance quotes, news headlines, Flickr photos, and much more.) A well placed Shortcut:
- Makes it easy for your readers to see interesting related content in the context of your post.
- Makes your blog more engaging and informative.
How does it work?
As you compose your blog post, the Shortcuts plugin looks for content related to what you are writing about. A Shortcut may lead your reader to a finance quote for a public company, a map of a point of interest, a Flickr image, or information about specific companies, products, and people. When it finds relevant content, it lets you know.
Shortcut recommendations appear on the Shortcuts review page. You control which Shortcuts to add and which to remove. There are two presentation options for Shortcuts.
- You can display the Shortcut to readers as a term underlined with a blue dotted line that shows the related content when the reader’s cursor hovers over the term.
- You can present the recommended content as a badge or image embedded in your post.
This Shortcuts plugin works best with English language blog posts.
Go to Yahoo! Shortcuts to download the Shortcuts plugin.
DETECTION
What kind of terms does the Shortcuts plugin look for in a blog post?
It detects points of interest, addresses, most public companies (American stock exchanges) including their stock ticker symbols, products, people, cars, and lots more.
How can I see which terms in my blog post I can add Shortcuts to?
Once you install and activate the Shortcuts plugin, start typing your post.
- You can see a running total of the number of Shortcuts found by expanding the Y! “Powered Shortcuts” module on the upper right corner.
- Click the “Review this Post” button to go to the Shortcuts review page and see the Shortcuts found in your post.
The Shortcuts plugin almost always finds somethingat the least it suggests a relevant Flickr image.
How often does it look for new Shortcut terms?
As you compose your post, every 60 seconds Shortcuts looks for new terms and updates the total number of Shortcuts found at the top of the page.
What type of information does it offer when it finds a Shortcut term?
Shortcuts recommends information that is specifically relevant to each term it finds. A Shortcut can be a map, finance quotes, news headline, Flickr photo, or additional information about people, places, or things.
How can I review the type of Shortcut that is recommended for a term?
- Click the “Preview this Post” button in the “Y! Powered Shortcuts” module.
- From the Shortcuts review page, use your mouse to hover over the underlined Shortcut terms.
Can I add a Shortcut to a term that is not selected by the plugin?
No, at this time we don’t offer that option.
Why is Shortcuts missing some terms I would expect it to detect?
Shortcuts works really well, but it’s not perfect… yet.
How do I improve the chances that it will detect companies?
Use the company’s ticker symbol. For example:
-
“HP (HPQ) was founded by two Stanford University graduates…”
We recognize ticker symbols in multiple formats:
-
(NYSE:HPQ) or simply (HPQ)
SHORTCUT SELECTION & EDITING
What is the difference between a Shortcut link and a badge?
A link underlines the detected term (e.g. “Justice John Roberts”) with a blue dotted line. The link displays a small preview window when a user hovers over the underlined text. A Shortcuts link is a very subtle way of integrating interesting content into your blog post.
A badge is a representation of the Shortcut information that you can embed in your blog post and no user action is required to see the content.
Can I remove Shortcuts from my blog?
Yes. You can remove all recommended Shortcuts for a blog post at once or select a specific Shortcut and remove only that one.
To remove all recommended Shortcuts at once:
- Click the “Preview this Post” button in the Y! Powered Shortcuts module.
- At the top of the Shortcuts review page, click “Remove all Shortcuts.”
To remove a single Shortcut:
- Click the “Preview this Post” button in the Y! Powered Shortcuts module.
- Click the arrow icon next to the Shortcut, and select “Remove” from the dropdown menu.
How do I preview my blog post?
Preview your post the way you normally would on Wordpress.
Note: What you see displayed after selecting “Review this Post” is not exactly what your reader sees.
Can I reposition a badge in my post?
Yes. Return to the Wordpress editor page. The badges you placed in your blog appear as images. To move a badge or an image in your blog post:
- Select the image with your mouse and drag it to where you want to place it.
- Use the right, center, and left horizontal alignment controls on the text editor toolbar.
FLICKR IMAGES
How does this Flickr thing work?
Shortcuts considers up to three heavily-weighted terms in your blog post and searches Flickr for each term. The Flickr images presented are the results available under a Creative Commons license attribution. (Go to Flickr Creative Commons licensing for additional details.)
Where can I see the Flickr images it found for my post?
- Click the “Preview this Post” button in the Y! Powered Shortcuts module.
- Scroll down the Shortcuts review page to see the Flickr images.
What if Flickr doesn’t find any relevant pictures for my post?
You can use the search box at the bottom of the Shortcuts review page to find Flickr images.
GENERAL
Where can I find the Wordpress plugin download?
You can find download instructions for the Yahoo! Shortcuts Wordpress plugin at http://shortcuts.yahoo.com.
Why do you have Terms of Service if this is offered under a BSD open-source license?
The Wordpress plugin that brings the content to you is open-sourced. Our Terms of Service cover the trademarks and content (Finance quotes, maps, etc.) that flow through the Shortcuts.
Does the Wordpress plugin work on all Wordpress templates?
It has been tested on multiple types of templates including:
- Templates with 2, 3, and 4 columns
- Templates with various background colors (black, red, and pink)
If you experience problems using the plugin with a specific template --- let us know. Send us your feedback.
Does the Wordpress plugin support custom Wordpress rich-text editors?
No, custom rich-text editors are not supported.