Here’s how I resolved the problem with the Special Text Boxes Plugin for WordPress. Click below to see the steps in the drop-down box. Or keep reading to see if your experience is similar to my own.
Resolved: Click here to get the short version.»
Table of Contents
The Anecdotal Version
Unless you’re a graphic artist, there aren’t many ways to beautify your WordPress blog, aside from switching themes.
You were looking for an easy way to add some color, set off note-worthy info, and mix it up a little. Wanting to use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) instead of so many graphics, you found the Special Text Boxes plugin, just like I did, and you were a happy camper!
Then, something strange happened. Out of the blue. Without warning.
Special Text Boxes Plugin Stopped Working!
I’m not even sure when the plugin quit working. When I visited the page a few weeks ago after noticing from my stats that it was getting some regular hits, I was surprised. To tell you the truth, I was a bit embarassed, because I had written an article — as part of an entire series on using CSS to prettify your blog — that featured the plugin, gave examples of how to use the shortcode, etc.
My CYA response? I slapped up a quickie note, really an apology, hoping to take it down soon as I figured out the problem.
I don’t mind troubleshooting but I do mind wild-goose chases. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t done anything much to the blog to affect how this particular plugin was working. Only two things came to mind: I had upgraded WordPress to the 3.x series and I had upgraded the plugin whenever the last update came available.
Having tried the usual — deactivating, reactivating — I visited the developer’s site to see if anyone else was having this problem and what solutions they had come up with.
CSS Is The Clue
One clue I discovered had to do with the CSS being compromised by another plugin. Over on the SimpleLib1 blog, several people indicated that SMF forum software was over-riding the CSS stylesheet classes included with Special Text Boxes. While I don’t use SMF, I kept that bit of info in mind.
Thinking about that, I went into the plugin editing screen. Maybe you’ve never had a reason to use the plugin edit function. On your WordPress dashboard Menu, it’s located under Plugins > Editor.
Selecting the Special Text Boxes plugin, I did a search for “CSS” in the file that appeared. And this is when I finally figured out what was going on!
The code pointed to a cascading stylesheet — a CSS file. When I looked over to the right, there was only one file there, the main plugin file (wp-special-textboxes.php). Quite probably, if there is only ONE file in the list of files for a plugin, something is WRONG. Usually, there are numerous files, and at least one of them is a STYLESHEET. Where were the rest of the files?
What Happened To My Files?
Problem almost solved. I fired up my FTP software (WinSCP), logged into my server, scooted over to the plugin directory, and drilled down to see if any files were missing. To my horror (okay, that’s a bit strong) … To my surprise, not only was the stylesheet missing, almost all the files had been eaten up.
I’m thinking the last update didn’t complete properly. The old plugin files were erased but the newer ones were never written.
This might seem like a no-brainer . . . I deleted the few existing files and reinstalled the plugin. Everything is back to its former glory which you can witness in the original article, Special Text Box CSS Styles.
I hope this simple reinstallation fixes your problem, too. If not, look for clues in the problems and resolutions others have found over on the Special Text Boxes plugin page.
Remember: Don’t just deactivate and reactivate. Use the delete files function. Then do a search via your WordPress admin panel and reinstall the plugin. 
Did You Get It Working Again?
Did you encounter a weird reason for your Special Textboxes plugin not working? Have you fixed the problem? Drop a note in the comments below about how you worked it out.
Footnotes
- Thanks to Minimus at SimpleLib for great work on Special Textboxes Plugin for WordPress and for sharing it with us writers! [↩ go back]
About Vernessa Taylor
As a Technology Consultant and Internet Coach, Vernessa Taylor+ works with both online and offline business owners. She writes about small business systems such as project management and customer referral systems at CoachNotes Blog.
The Short Version
(1) Delete the entire plugin.
(2) Reinstall the most up-to-date version of the plugin.
(3) Problem solved.
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hi ,
I am working on wordpress from long time . I too alwys do if some strange problem ocurred best way is to delete the plugin and install it frsh to save time , if you do not need to find the problem.
Thanks for sharing post with good stuff
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Yes, you are right. Getting rid of a misbehaving plugin by deleting it, then reinstalling it, often works to correct a problem. In this case, I had to actually delete all the strange files using FTP (not just the usual plugin panel). Thanks for coming over.
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