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Just a quick note to announce the latest release of the “Jerome’s Keywords” plugin for WordPress 1.5. The new version fixes a few (minor) bugs and adds some requested features. The coolest part is that I’ve hooked it into WordPress’ rewrite rules code, which means that .htaccess rules can be updated automatically. This also fixes problems seen when using the index.php/%blah% style of permalinks.

The short list:

• Improved permalink handling for tag searches.
• Automatic .htaccess rule generation.
• the_keywords() now accepts parameters for formatting if you want to get fancy.
• Fixed XHTML validation bug and handling of tags containing forward slashes ( / ).
• Temporary workaround for conflicts with the mini-posts plugin.

Thanks to everyone who sent me feedback, found bugs and suggested new features. Keep ‘em coming! The only request that didn’t make this release was adding an options page — I’m still not decided on that one. Also, a special award for bravery goes to Dave Metzener for beta testing the new permalink/rewrite code.

At the prodding of “rg”, I’ve updated my keywords plugin to improve keyword searches. Previously, post keywords — or tags — were simply linked to the WordPress search function. This is fine if your tags show up in the body of your post, but for photos and other odd content this isn’t necessarily the case. So now the plugin creates its own search results from posts that use similar tags. The results page can even use its own template if you’re so inclined.

I always wanted it to work this way but hadn’t sorted out all of the WordPress filters/actions to make it happen until now. You can give the plugin a try on this site, or download it and try it on your own. Get tagging!