MisterWebNet

The constructor theme for wordpress is a hugely versatile theme but if you are new to themes it can be tricky figuring out how to add a slideshow. So this is a (quick) rundown on what I've learned so far. Hope it helps someone!

1. Install the NextGen plugin for wordpress - don't forget to activate it!

2. You will need the imagerotator script from JW Image Rotator. Download this, extract it and find the imagerotator.swf file. You need to upload this file to your NextGen plugin folder on your website. This is normally located at http://wwwYourSite.com/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery

So the full path to imagerotator.swf would be:

http://wwwYourSite.com/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-galleryimagerotator.swf

3. Now we need to let NextGen gallery know where the imagerotator file is so it can do fancy stuff - like a slideshow. In your admin panel, on the left hand side scroll down until you get to your 'Gallery'. Select OPTIONS and then 'SLIDESHOW' from the list of tabs. The field for 'Path to the Imagerotator (URL):' will probably be blank so click the handy button next to it ('search now'). This should find your imagerotator file and insert a url like the one above. If not enter the url manually.

4. The next step is for those who want a slideshow showing an image for each post in a slideshow on the front page.

Go to APPEARANCE->CUSTOMIZE->SLIDESHOW.

Make sure 'enable' is clicked. At the bottom of the options select the 'default' gallery. Save the changes.

Now we need to add an image to use for the slide show to your articles. Open your latest article.  Click the 'add image' button. Select the file you wish to use from your computer and having done so note down the 'Link URL' value, i.e the url to the image. For best results you may wish to manually edit your images to have them looking sharp and properly fitted (ie plenty of cropping and scaling in GIMP or some photoediting software).

If you do not wish to add the image to the post but just keep it as a slideshow image, ignore the 'add to post' button and just click 'save all change'.

Now that we have an image ready to be used, beneath the text box on our 'add post' (or edit post) page we can enter a special tag so the NextGen gallery knows to use our image in the slideshow.

So in the box 'Custom Fields' enter thumb-slideshow as the key and the image url you noted down above as the value.

Save the article (or update it). Your image should now be showing in the slideshow.

5. If you just wish a bunch of images from a gallery to rotate in the slideshow then follow this step.

In your NextGen gallery options, create a category/gallery and then add some images to it. This step is well documented elsewhere so I'll skip past it here. After you have done this, on the left hand side of your wordpress admin panel go to APPEARANCE-> CUSTOMIZE and select 'slideshow' that shows up in the list of tabs. Make sure 'enable' is clicked. Scroll to the end of the page and 'default' is probably the gallery selected. Just select the gallery you created above and save all changes. Your images should now be showing up.

Okay, this little rushed post might not be perfect but I think it contains the bare bones of the process. If I missed anything, do please add a comment and I'll correct the post!