[Plugin: The Events Calendar] Plugin 2.0.9 does not display comments on events.

Hi there Fred. Thanks for the note here; I’m wondering if this is specific to either the theme or template being used? I just booted up Events 2.0.9 on the Twenty Twelve theme and my comments are showing on the frontend without issue.

If you haven’t already, you should make sure that comments are enabled both for WP and for Events. If they are, try switching to a different template under Events -> Settings -> Template. If none of the options on the dropdown there have any impact…can you try reverting to Twenty Eleven (or Twenty Twelve, if you’ve installed it yet) so we can see if this is theme-specific?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Rob,

Thanks for all your suggestions! I finally had a chance to try some of them. I determined that the problem is due to a combination of two factors:

Factor #1: Plugin-Specific. In Events > Settings > Template, I was using the Default Events Template. Apparently, I need to use the Default Page Template. (The Blog template also works.)

Factor #2: Theme-Specific. I’m using the Genesis framework from StudioPress with the Lifestyle and Metric child themes. In Genesis > Theme Settings, I had unchecked “Enable Comments on pages.” Apparently, this setting needs to be enabled for approved comments to display properly on events. Note that the comment form displays properly on events even when this setting is disabled; in that case, events can receive comments but cannot display them after they’ve been approved.

Problem: The Default Events Template is much better for my purposes than the Default Page Template. The Default Events Template uses a full-width layout with no sidebars, which is exactly how I want to display the calendar and event list views. The Default Page Template for both sites has a two-column layout with a single sidebar. I do not want to display a sidebar on the calendar and event list views.

Workaround (not acceptable): I could change the default page layout for the entire site to be full width with no sidebars, but… I would then have to manually change the layout for every page and post throughout the site, both now and in the future. That’s just not acceptable.

Requests: Can you fix the Default Events Template so that it displays comments in the same way as the Default Page Template? Can you also fix it so that any event which receives comments can also display comments once they’ve been approved?

Thank you,

Fred

I think we should be able to modify based on this, yes. Jonah from our team here is the resident Genesis specialist (he even wrote our tutorial on integrating with it: ), and he’d probably be best suited to respond here. Let me see if he can point you in the right direction when he’s back on Monday.

Stay tuned and thanks for your patience so far.

Hi Fred,

Using the base Genesis framework, I’m seeing comments on events in the Default Events Template after I’ve checked the “Enable commenting on an event.” option and enabled comments for the specific event. Have you made sure that your specific event(s) have comments allowed? Please check that first… If you do, I’ll need to take a look at your specific theme. Can you email me a copy for evaluation to pro [at] tri [dot] be referencing this thread and attn. to me?

Thanks,
Jonah

Hi Jonah,

My last message was based on the Metric child theme for the Genesis framework, but I just confirmed that the same combination of factors apply to the Lifestyle child theme as well. In both cases, I was careful to ensure that comments were enabled in three places: the Genesis theme settings, the plugin settings, and the settings for the specific event.

Fred

Ok Fred, then I’ll need a copy of one of the two themes to test things out. Can you please email these to me with the instructions above?

Thanks,
Jonah

Hi Jonah,

I just did a third test using the free Sample Child Theme for the Genesis framework, and the results were exactly the same as for the Metric and Lifestyle themes. In all three cases, after I enabled comments in the theme settings, plugin settings, and individual event settings, approved comments were displayed only when using the Default Page Template, not the Default Events Template.

You can download the Sample Child Theme here:

https://www.studiopress.com/free-themes/sample

Can you reproduce my problem using the Sample Child Theme? I’m using WordPress 3.4.2, Genesis 1.8.2, and Sample Child Theme 1.8.

Thanks,

Fred

P.S. I’m using The Events Calendar 2.0.9 on both sites and Eventbrite Tickets 1.0.3 on the site with the Metric theme.

Hi Fred,

It does work for me using the Sample Child Theme. Make sure your events also don’t have comments closed on articles older than x days, i.e. either change this Discussion setting or look at events in the future.

If that still doesn’t work, try deactivating all other plugins to see if there’s a conflict or reverting to the Twenty Eleven theme to see if it’s something with your theme.

I hope that helps!
– Jonah

Hi Jonah,

I just finished another round of tests. Rest assured that my Discussion setting was already as you indicated.

I disabled all other plugins, but still had the same problem within Genesis. When I switched to the Twenty Eleven theme, the problem went away and the Default Events Template worked fine.

The problem does appear to be specific to the Genesis framework, but not to any particular Genesis child theme. What could Genesis be doing to alter the way your Default Events Template behaves? Is Genesis filtering a function that your template calls? Also, what’s different about that template vs. the Default Page Template?

If you can delve into the code to determine the fundamental difference between the template that works for me and the template that doesn’t work for me, you may be able to resolve the problem even if you can’t replicate it at your end. I’d be happy to test any proposed solutions you develop.

Thanks very much,

Fred

Hey Fred. Just wanted to confirm now that I’m doing a forum pass that we did see your note here; Jonah should be able to take another look on this end tomorrow at some point. Thanks – as always – for your support and patience so far.

Hi Fred,

Like I said before, comments are showing for me in the base Genesis theme and the Sample Child Theme. Do you have overrides of any of the template files in your child theme in an ‘events’ folder? What about anything customized for Genesis in your functions.php file? Can you send me the theme so I can test out your specific setup and take a look at what you’ve got?

You can email to pro [at] tri [dot] be, please reference this thread and attn. to me.

Thanks,
Jonah

Hi Johan,

I have a plain vanilla installation of The Events Calendar. I did not do any customization via template overrides. The only customization I did was via CSS, and I disabled that for purposes of the test when I disabled all other plugins.

On the site with the Metric theme (where I’ve done most of the testing), I made no changes at all to the functions.php file. On the site with the Lifestyle theme, the only changes I made to functions.php pertained to the size of the header image and the choice of default header images. Other than that, I am using a plain vanilla installation of Genesis on both sites.

I cannot send you a copy of a premium child theme. My license from StudioPress does not allow that. That’s why I tested everything with the free Sample Child Theme for Genesis. The behavior is exactly the same there as it is for the Metric and Lifestyle child themes.

As I said, you do not necessarily need to replicate the problem in order to solve it. The biggest clue to the cause of the problem is that the Default Events Template does not work with my Genesis installation, whereas the Default Page Template does work. If you examine and compare how those two templates process event comments, I think you’ll find the answer to this mystery! Clearly, Genesis is modifying the behavior of the Default Events Template in some way, perhaps by filtering or redefining a function that your template calls.

Would you like me to send you a copy of the MySQL database so that you can check whether I have any unusual WordPress settings?

Fred

Hi Fred,

I just don’t know what else could be causing it because I essentially have the same setup as you (aside from settings). I see comments with the Default Events Template so that doesn’t seem to be the issue to me. You’re running the latest version of Genesis correct?

– Jonah

Jonah, yes, I’m using the latest version of Genesis. My theory is that my installation of Genesis is modifying the behavior of the Default Events Template. Why my installation does this and yours doesn’t is a mystery! Could it have something to do with my WordPress settings? -Fred