Archive.php, and post_is_in_descendant_category

Question

I've got a small issue with my archive.php. I was trying to set up an If statement that displays a certain category and sub categories with a different layout & sidebar based on my theme options. I've placed a small bit of code in the start of my archive.php in order to set these options based on if the post is in category 'nytt' or is a sub cat of nytt (ID 49). It works like a charm, if the category listing in part of NYTT or a sub cat, but now, all other categories don't display, the page won't load further than the header. And for the life of me I can't figure out why. I'm staring at this code like it holds a secret which it won't give up..

<?php
get_header();

$subtitle=get_opt("_posts_subtitle");
$slider='none';
if ( in_category( 'nytt' ) || post_is_in_descendant_category( 49 ) ) {
    $layout='left';
$sidebar ='teacher-training';
}
else { 
$layout = get_opt('_blog_layout');
$sidebar = get_opt('_blog_sidebar');
}

include(TEMPLATEPATH . '/includes/page-header.php');

?>

<div id="content-container" class="content-gradient <?php echo $layoutclass; ?> ">
<div id="<?php echo $content_id; ?>"><?php

if(have_posts()){
while(have_posts()){
    the_post();
    global $more;
    $more = 0;

include(TEMPLATEPATH . '/includes/post-template.php');  

} 

print_pagination(); 

}else{
echo ('No posts available');
}

?> 
</div>
<?php 
if($layout!='full'){
 print_sidebar($sidebar);
}
?>

<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
<?php
get_footer();
?>

Also I understand that I could be using the category.php to accomplish this as well, but as my theme was using archive.php by default I decided to use this instead. I've declared the [post_is_in_descendant_category] (http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/in_category#Testing_if_a_post_is_in_a_descendant_category)! function in my child themes functions.php.

Any help would be uber appreciated. Thanks for your time and expertise!

Answer 1

Firstly, do you have DEBUG set to TRUE in wp-config? Not loading further than the header may well mean there's an error that isn't displaying. Set it to True to see the error.

Secondly, you are using for in_category on an archive page - which I believe would only apply to the first post on the page. This may not make a difference in your case though.

Third, I would not use the default archive for this at all. I would create a template specifically for this category: category-nytt.php (see template hierarchy). This will both let you dispose of all the in_category/post_is_in_descendant_category gubbins entirely, and leave your default archive.php (once restored) to work in the standard way for standard posts.

EDIT:

See the answer here for having subcategories use their parent's template.