Can I set a default dashboard layout for all users?

Question

I'm creating a multi-author blog, and have recently added the "Dashboard Notepads" plugin. This allows me to add 1 to 3 dashboard widgets which I can write custom notes in, like news or notices. Is there a way I can set that widget to appear at the top by default? I had a look but could only find a plugin which works up to 2.8. Using version 3.0.4. I would much rather do this without the need to change code, although I would consider it as a last resort option.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi @Relequestual:

I think what you want is here:

• Dashboard Widgets API / Advanced: Forcing your widget to the top

It doesn't require you to change code per se, just to add the code like shown in the WordPress Codex to your theme's functions.php file which is a standard way to customize and/or extend WordPress:

To find out the values you need use, just add a print_r($wp_meta_boxes); line then an exit; immediately below the global $wp_meta_boxes; line like this:

global $wp_meta_boxes;
print_r($wp_meta_boxes);
exit;  // Stop execution here so you can see it.

You may need to actually view source to make sense of it all.

-Mike