Twitter Tools Support

FAQs / Tips / Common Issues

What is the Application Name I should be using when setting up Twitter Tools?

You can choose your own application name so long as it is unique, not “Web,” “Twitter Tools,” etc.

The application name shows up in streams for users on Twitter.com. For instance if you look at our Twitter stream – http://twitter.com/wphelpcenter – under each tweet in light gray text you will see, “via CoTweet”. This is because we use an application called CoTweet to send our Tweets.

The value you provide here is what will show up in that spot. Perhaps using the domain name of your site or the name of your site is a good option. It is up to you what you enter here. Please note that you must choose a name that is not in use by any other application/user. It must be unique. #

I can not find the Access Token or Access Secret! On the Twitter Tools settings page it says that on the right side of the applications page I should click on the "My Access Token" button but that link isn't there!

The link for “My Access Token” is located in the right hand column of the page that contains your consumer key and secret on dev.twitter.com. It’s just below the “Reset Consumer Key and Secrete” button and right above the “View Your Applications” button. See this screen shot for details. #

What do I do if I receive the error: Authentication Error

You will need information from two pages to get Twitter Tools set up. If you’re not able to connect to Twitter, it may be that something went wrong with your copy and paste of the appropriate API keys and tokens.

You’ll get the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret from this page — http://dev.twitter.com/apps/######/

You’ll get the Access Token and Access Token Secret from this page — http://dev.twitter.com/apps/######/my_token

If you’re logged out of Twitter’s Developer Area, you can log in at http://dev.twitter.com/login. Once you’ve logged in, you can click Your Apps at the top of the page to get to your Twitter Tools app. #

Parse error on line 19 of twitteroauth.php

If you are receiving this error is likely because your web host is serving your files using PHP version 4. However, many web hosts are able to support PHP version 5 via configuration options. Try contacting your web host and see if they are able to switch your account to make use of PHP version 5 or instruct you on how to make the switch yourself. #

I am receiving an error message, "Call to undefined function curl_init()"

Please check with your web host to ensure they have the PHP CURL libraries installed as they are required for Twitter Tools to function. CURL is helpful to many web applications and once installed, this error message or any others mentioning CURL should stop displaying. #

I'm getting a Fatal error: Class 'OAuthSignatureMethod_HMAC_SHA1' not found when I try to connect with Twitter Tools. What's wrong?

This problem typically has to do with your hosting environment. There is a PECL module that includes OAuth support for PHP. It is loaded on some Web servers, and by default it does not have the class OAuthSignatureMethod_HMAC_SHA1 defined. Twitter Tools attempts to define this class, but the incomplete PECL module prevents Twitter Tools from loading it’s complete version of the module. Please contact your Web host to see if they can disable this module for your site. #

I get a blank page when I click the "Connect to Twitter" button

Getting a blank page when attempting to connect to Twitter is usually a result of your Web host serving your site with an older version of PHP or not having the cURL extension compiled into PHP. Please see the related FAQ entries on this page for more information. You will want to contact your host to see if this is an issue and see if they can resolve this problem for you. #

Why is my title being truncated when Twitter Tools publishes my tweet?

Twitter limits tweets to 140 characters. Twitter Tools has to allow for the length of the shortened URL to your post, plus the length of the prefix, when determining whether the post title will have to be truncated. Longer post titles will be truncated because of Twitter’s limitation. #

Why doesn't my tweet include the blog post URL?

Most likely you have enabled the optional bit.ly plugin, but have not entered a valid API key and password. A common error is copying and pasting an extra space along with the bit.ly API key – make sure only your API key and no spaces are included in that field. #

Why aren't my tweets updating in the sidebar or why are they not being created into posts?

On the Twitter Tools settings page, try using the Reset Tweet Checking and Update Tweets buttons. #

It just doesn't work - help!

You may want to double-check that your server time is correct. OAuth requires that your server time is consistent with the server time on Twitter’s side. Fixing this issue has helped get the plugin working for a number of users. #

I deleted my tweet from twitter, but it still shows up in my sidebar!

For performance reasons, and to avoid exceeding Twitters connection limits, Twitter Tools stores all tweets in a table on your WordPress installs database. Any tweet’s retrieved from Twitter will remain in your sidebar widget until they are “pushed off” by new Tweets #

Why aren't my digests posting?

If your server had a hiccup in the middle of posting a digest, Twitter Tools might think that it’s still trying to post a digest and thus won’t start working on another. Try clicking the ‘Reset Digests’ button on the settings page – that may get things working again. #

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