For what it's worth, I had the same parse error for footer.php. The problem had to do with using "<?php" vs. just "<?" as the open tag for inline PHP code. Some php.ini files are set so that PHP doesn't recognize "<?" as a valid open tag. For me, changing the "<?" tags to "<?php" in footer.php the error went away and the theme worked perfectly.

I can confirm that everything works using the instructions I've provided in this thread and in the user manual, so if you have trouble I'm pretty sure the problem is that you're running this on a localhost. Try using a live domain.

Without a live domain and login to look at, I really can't provide much more support.

1.My attempt to reconstruct the menu:
-create a HOME button by choosing a custom link e.g.
http://localhost/wordpress
with the label HOME and add to menu
-create buttons one by one by following the left to right order
note that FULL PAGE does not exist, and that one can easily drag the menu items on the right to reorder them if necessary

no pb here.

2.
In the tutorial (walk-through) video:
http://themeforest.net/item/wordpress-university/full_screen_preview/76163
the main page displays a featured image corresponding to the 'more featured post' .
One notice that the video shows text on top of the image in a black semi-tranparent
zone, and this description can be hidden.
I dont see any of this even when I select a featured image and fill-in the description with some text... Do I need to install any widget or ?
Could you document precisely how to proceed, step by step?
p

Hi Chris
not the right explanation.
I had looked at the video before and followed its instructions.

Tonight, I have done a complete reinstall of: xampp/wordpress and your theme.
-Just in case I had made an error-

no pb for xampp and wordpress -of course-.
Not sure however about your theme:

Here are my installation steps and diagnostics

1.activate the theme after having placed the folder named wpuniversity -and this folder alone- under the folder wp-content/themes

2.installation and activation of OptionTree
3.Import of the file named option_tree_import.xml
this occurs in the panel titled 'Theme Options XML' in the import section
of the OptionTree Settings.
In order to import the file I upload it, then push the Import XML button
4. paste of option_tree_paste and upload data
In order to do this, I come back to the same panel, bottom part -Theme Options Data-
and paste the content of the file named 'option_tree_paste' in the text area and push the Import Data button

5. tools/import
I go to tools/import
I install the wordpress importer and run it
then I import the file named dummy_content.xml

(at this stage, I would have hoped that the entire demo is available, but such is not the case unfortunately, and I would be interested in a good argument for this failure...)

anyway: the diagnostic here is:
1.I observe that all the fields in the theme options of the OptionTree seem to be filled
by correct values, which are most likely contained in the imported data
2.yet I also observe that the site does not look good at all: no navigation buttons -probably the result of not having yet activated the menu- and -worse- an error in the footer area.
3.I also have observed that the import of the data (dummy_content.xml) is not perfect and that an error occurs in the transfer of data from your site! (maybe this is unimportant, just an image yet it is another error).

Note that when importing the data, I have let wordpress create
the import author admin
then checked the box import attachment and submitted the import.
If I retry, you will see the error:

1.Post About already exists.
2.Post News Post already exists.
3.Post Featured Post already exists.
4.Post Another Featured Post already exists.
5.Post Featured Posts already exists.
6.Post More Featured Posts already exists.
7.Post collegecampus already exists.
8.Post university-of-washington-frat-houses already exists.
9.Post 28-washfostercampusimage14 already exists.
10.Post university_washington already exists.
11.Post Admissions already exists.
12.Post Academics already exists.
13.Post Faculty & Staff already exists.
14.Post Students already exists.
15.Post Alumni already exists.
16.Post Contact already exists.
17.Post A Brief History already exists.
18.Post Affiliations already exists.
19.Post Our City already exists.
20.Post Calendar already exists.
21.Post Post With No Image already exists.
22.Post w already exists.
23.Post New Students already exists.
24.Post Returning Students already exists.
25.Post National already exists.
26.Post International already exists.
27.Post Another News Post already exists.
28.Post More News already exists.
29.Post News Posts already exists.
30.Post News Posting already exists.
31.Post More News Postings already exists.
32.Post DSC_0019 already exists.
33.Post DSC_0057 already exists.
34.Post DSC_0075 already exists.
35.Post DSC01901 already exists.
36.Post DSC_0071 already exists.
37.Post DSC_0046 already exists.
38.Importing attachment http://www.wpuniversity.themolitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/DSC_00751.JPG... Remote file error: Remote file returned error response 404 Not Found
39.Post Student Events already exists.

and my logical question is :
How should I proceed EXACTLY from here to see the demo?

I would be pleased if you could write a more extensive version of the manual to this effect!

I observe also that instead of the buttons of navigation I have a navigation tree that I dont want, starting with 'a brief history' which should be in the footer.

Of course I can, naively, go to menus
create a menu named mainmenu, assign it in the Drop down List of Main Navigation Menu,
and say select the NEWS category

Then (miracle) I get a single button named NEWS.
However here I observe that you have prepared 15 pages and 7 categories, and the name HOME is in none of the pages and none of the categories. Again, the demo is not complete, and I am left to figure out myself what to do (maybe create a page named HOME)

More problems:
if I try to press the button NEWS, I land on a page
http://localhost/wordpress/?cat=4

which indeed contains some lorem ipsum . However it is far, again, from meeting the expectations of the demo:
The background of the page is grey, and the text is barely visible, instead of being white. In addition, the right column is desperately empty. Would a good manual not explain precisely how to drop a widget here, or even more precisely, how you replicate the demo page for NEWS ?

Last, but not least the footer error occurs systematically:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in C:\xampp\htdocs\wordpress\wp-content\themes\wpuniversity\footer.php on line 58

So I reiterate:
I am a mathematician, not a professional programmer. I may well have made mistakes, but that is precisely what I am trying to avoid by contacting you and requesting advices. Please answer my questions carefully. Your theme is very,very nice, and it is my intention to get it to work. However you are the expert and I ask you some serious assistance here to solve these problems :)

Thanks Chris, hope you will take this seriously...
p

It sounds like you haven't imported the OptionTree settings yet. Please follow the instructions for setting up OptionTree and be sure to import the provide information. Watch this video for details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS0WlHITVfc

Hi again Chris
I have tried filling the right column by dragging a text widget into the Home Page widgets (and then, giving a title, filling some html and saving).
However this does not show up in the home page. Why?
Again, I am trying to build your demo -and no more. That is, for me, a hard job.
I am sure that you can easily answer these questions.
Thanks for your help!
p

Hi Chris,
Most probably, areas 2 and 4 above (i.e. items in column 2) come from installing widgets in certain pages.

If I look at my NEWS page:
http://afhalifax.no-ip.org/wordpress2/?cat=12
I see 2 problems: the background is grey and the right column is empty.
Which widgets do you use - e.g. in your version of the page:
http://themeforest.net/item/wordpress-university/full_screen_preview/76163

for the sections:
POSSIBLE COLORS
RECENT POSTS

and how do you fill the right column of the bottom part of the home page
(e.g. which widgets takes the calendar events and display them in area 2 under
Upcoming events) ?

Thanks for your help!
p

Hi Chris,
I am making progress in attempting to reconstruct your demo, thanks for your advices.
However, I still do not understand precisely how to get the 'bottom' of the page working.

a look at these 2 urls will show the differences between your demo (url1) and my installation (url2)
url1: http://themeforest.net/item/wordpress-university/full_screen_preview/76163
url2: http://afhalifax.no-ip.org/wordpress2/

There are 4 areas in your page which I dont see in mine:
area1: under the navigation bar: news sports students ..
area2: at the right of area1: with a header : upcoming events

these two areas are on a white background
then below theses 2 more areas on a grey background
area3: under the header : a brief history (contains the wp logo + some lorem ipsum
area4: under the header : wordpress university

ok here are my questions:
1. how precisely should I proceed to see area3 and area4?

? what should I enter in the page 'Create the Theme Options' (under Settings of OptionTree) of OptionTree under the Footer Content section.
I see a Title, an Option Key, an Option type and a description.
How should I fill these fields ?

I left the defaults (Page footer_page Page)
? under Theme Options of OptionTree, what exactly should I input in the single field required?
I tried : A brief history (as a page)

if I need to enter 'a page id' somewhere, could you show me an example and tell me where I should enter this id?
2. I have created an event in the calendar. How do I manage to see it posted in the
home page in area 2 ?

I would be pleased if you would answer these questions in a manner that allows me to solve these points, and thank you in advance for your help :)

p

Thanks Chris for your fast answer:)
This reply sounds helpful. I will do my homework asap and come back to you -if necessary.

pf

1. Yes, I'm referring to the user manual.
2. The XML file with "option tree" in the name is for option tree ;-). The other XML file is for the WordPress "import" tool (under "tools") to add the content in the demo site.
3. Until you specify a page, you will see that error.
4. Use the first xml mentioned in #2 above for the option tree. Keep in mind that the page ID may not match a page you created, so you'll want to check the settings to make sure everything matches.
5. See the second XML file mentioned in #2 above.

Thanks for your reply.
I am sorry, but could you be more precise.
1. What do you mean by 'the help file'? Is this the 'user manual.pdf' file or some other document?
2. I have installed Option Tree. When you speak in your video of 'the xml file' which file do you mean? The theme comes with TWO .xml files. Which one should I use? Or should I use both? In which order?
3. Should I not expect a page without error, just after installing the theme, even if I have not created 'footer content' ?
4. -and the most important- Could you not provide an initial content which ALREADY contains the information shown in the demo in the footer? I expected after installation that the BASIC elements would all be there!
5.I repeat: the demo on :
http://themeforest.net/item/wordpress-university/full_screen_preview/76163
is very nice. Would you mind posting the necessary information necessary to have a copy of the demo, no more but no less?

Thanks Chris for your support!
p

The content at the bottom is controlled by a page you specify on the theme settings page, using the page ID number. Please make sure you're entering that information as outlined in the help file.

Next to that is a widget, which is controlled from the "widgets" page.

Hi
I am running wordpress under xampp -and I am the administrator of the remote web site:
http://afhalifax.no-ip.org/wordpress3/

Your demo of the theme is quite convincing - e.g.
http://themeforest.net/item/wordpress-university/full_screen_preview/76163

However, all the grey part at the bottom of your demo is simply not working for me.
Should the theme show the 'a brief history' + lorem ipsum when it is installed according to the manual? Would it be possible to get a version of the theme that contains exactly what the demo shows ? This would be extremely useful!
cheers and thanks for your reply!
p

Looks like you're running Wordpress on a local install. Try it out on a live server/domain and it should work just fine.

Hi
I just installed the wordpress university theme, but I do not see any of the
bottom part of the page.
Instead I get the following error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in C:\xampp\htdocs\wordpress3\wp-content\themes\wpuniversity\footer.php on line 58

Would you mind telling me what the pb might be?
Thanks !

pmfullsack