Accessing Plugin Management

WP Spotlight’s Plugin Management feature enables you to quickly manage plugins on your WordPress site without needing to navigate through multiple dashboard menus. From activation and deactivation to installation and updates, Plugin Management in WP Spotlight simplifies all essential plugin tasks. Here’s a complete guide to using this feature effectively.

Accessing Plugin Management

Open WP Spotlight: Use the main key bind Alt+S (Check key bind customization to set your own keyboard shortcut)

Select Plugins:

• If you have a dedicated key bind for plugins (default: Alt+P), use it to directly open Plugin Management.
• Alternatively, select Plugins from the WP Spotlight menu after initiating the search.

Plugin Management Options

When you open the Plugin Management feature, you’ll see several key options that streamline plugin-related tasks:

1. Repository: Search for new plugins from the WordPress repository.
2. Activate: Activate any currently installed but inactive plugins.
3. Deactivate: Deactivate any active plugins.
4. Delete: Permanently remove deactivated plugins from your site.

Each of these options is detailed below:

1. Repository: Installing and Viewing Plugins

View Top Plugins: When you select Repository, WP Spotlight will display a submenu with the top 10 plugins from the WordPress repository.

Search for Specific Plugins: Enter the name of a plugin in the search bar to locate it within the repository.

Install Options: Once you find the desired plugin, WP Spotlight will display relevant actions:

• Install: Adds the plugin to your site without activating it.
• Install & Activate: Installs and activates the plugin in a single step.
• Download: Download the plugin file for manual installation.
• View Org Page: Opens the plugin’s page on WordPress.org in a new tab.

2. Activate: Enabling Inactive Plugins

View Inactive Plugins: Selecting Activate will display a list of all deactivated plugins on your site.

Activate a Plugin: Click on a plugin to activate it. WP Spotlight activates the plugin in the background, allowing you to continue working without needing to reload the page.

Note: After activation, the page will reload automatically. This is done so that users can access any setup wizard that comes with the plugin.

3. Deactivate: Disabling Active Plugins

View Active Plugins: Select Deactivate to view a list of all currently active plugins.

Deactivate a Plugin: Click on any plugin in the list to deactivate it. The deactivation occurs in the background, so you can continue other tasks uninterrupted.

4. Delete: Removing Unused Plugins

View Deactivated Plugins: Choose Delete to see a list of all deactivated plugins (since only inactive plugins can be deleted).

Delete a Plugin: Click on any deactivated plugin to remove it permanently from your site. Make sure you’ve deactivated a plugin before attempting to delete it.

Searching for a Specific Plugin by Name

In addition to the categorized options, WP Spotlight allows you to directly search for a plugin by its name. Here’s how:

1. Open WP Spotlight and either select Plugins or enter the plugin’s name in the search bar.
2. If the plugin is installed, WP Spotlight will display the submenus under that plugin given that it is activated. Deactivated plugins will not show on search. 

Example Workflow: Managing a Plugin from Installation to Activation

Let’s walk through an example workflow to install, activate, and manage a plugin:

1. Install Plugin: Open WP Spotlight, go to Plugins > Repository, and search for “Yoast SEO.”
2. Install & Activate: From the submenu, select Install & Activate to add and enable Yoast SEO in one step.
3. Update Plugin: If an update becomes available, open WP Spotlight, go to Update Required, and click on “Yoast SEO” to apply the update.
4. Deactivate Plugin: Open WP Spotlight, go to Deactivate, and select “Yoast SEO” to disable it.
5. Delete Plugin: Finally, go to Delete and click on “Yoast SEO” to remove it permanently.

WP Spotlight’s Plugin Management feature is designed to make plugin-related tasks seamless and efficient. Whether you’re a beginner or a power user, this feature keeps plugin operations quick and intuitive.