Can I add content to the sidebar from a page plugin?

Question

I am converting my Q2A chat room to a plugin for 1.3, and currently there is a big blank space on the right where the sidebar would go (I only show certain things on certain pages through my theme).

Is it possible to add content to the sidebar from the plugin? I would like to use the area to list the members currently in the chat room.

Answer 1

If you're talking about adding content to the sidebar on a standard Q2A page (e.g. the list of questions) then I'm afraid it's not possible, and you still need to use an advanced theme for this.

BTW, I'm currently thinking about adding 'widget' plugins in version 1.4 which will allow this.

Comments

No, I mean adding content to the sidebar on a page plugin. When you load a page from a plugin it only takes up 3/4 of the width with a gap on the right where the sidebar should be (I don't have any default sidebar content). You have it too - see http://www.question2answer.org/qa/example-plugin-page - I wanna add logged-in members on the right column there.

So hopefully a widget plugin may solve this (if they can be added from within a page plugin). In the meantime, do I need to edit my theme to add specific content to the sidebar?

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Ah. Got you now. Yes I'm afraid you'll still have to modify the sidebar from the theme, even on a page delivered by a plugin.