This plugin works within the Genesis Framework, to display featured images in new and fun ways. It should work with either HTML5 or XHTML themes, but older themes may have a width set on elements which may not allow the full backstretch experience.
This plugin takes a different approach to how we use and display featured images for posts and pages. Instead of simply reusing an image which already exists in the post/page content, the plugin anticipates that you will want to use lovely large images for your featured images, but to do so intelligently. Depending on what you upload, the plugin will:
* display the image above your post/page content, centered and up to the width of the content, if your image is larger than your Medium Media Setting, and less than or equal to your Large Media Setting.
_Note: although this plugin requires the [Genesis Framework by StudioPress](http://studiopress.com/) or child themes, it is not an official plugin for this framework and is neither endorsed nor supported by StudioPress._
__Display Featured Image for Genesis__ now allows you to select a default, or fallback, Featured Image, which will be used if a post/page does not have a Featured Image set, or if the post/page's Featured Image is too small (smaller than your medium image setting), and on archive pages. You may set the Default Featured Image under Appearance > Display Featured Image Settings.
As of version x.y.z, you can now set a Featured Image for each taxonomy (categories, tags, and any taxonomy for custom post types). This image will be used on taxonomy archives, and as a fallback image for posts within that taxonomy if no featured image exists (or if the featured image is too small). If a post is assigned to multiple terms, the most used term will be the one used.
Now you can add the Featured Image from each post to your RSS feed. This is an optional setting and applied intelligently:
* if your feed is set to output the full text, the Featured Image will be added to the beginning of your post content as a full width image.
* if your feed is set to output only the summary of your content, the Featured image will be added to the beginning of your summary as a thumbnail, aligned to the left.
You can check/change your feed settings on your site's Settings > Reading page.
_If you are already inserting your Featured Image into your feed through another function or plugin, you'll want to remove that before activating this feature; otherwise you will have two copies of the image added to your feed!_
__Display Featured Image for Genesis__ has some styling built in but I have intentionally tried to keep it minimal. All styling is for the backstretch image options, as the large options seem pretty straightforward. Stying for titles are largely inherited from your theme--for example, the title will use the same size and font for your page titles, whether you are using a Featured Image or not. Some styles you can incorporate into your own theme:
*`.has-leader` applies to any page using a leader/backstretch image. Applies to the whole page.
*`.big-leader` the container which holds the leader/backstretch image and the post/page Title and excerpt or description.
*`.featured-image-overlay` style appended to the post/page title if Move Excerpts option _is not_ selected (default).
*`.excerpt` (for single posts/pages) and `.archive-description` (for archives) are styled as a unit. These are the containers for the post/page/archive/taxonomy title and description if the Move Excerpts option _is_ selected.
*`.featured` is appended to the large image output directly above the post/page content.
_Set a Default Featured Image on the Appearance > Display Featured Image for Genesis settings page._
Yes and no. Technically, it does, even older (XHTML) themes. However, depending on other factors such as the individual theme's styling and layout. Not recommended for themes such as Sixteen Nine Pro, or The 411 Pro due to layout, and not for Ambiance Pro or Minimum Pro without changing some theme functionality.
It seems that you can also include [conditional tags](http://codex.wordpress.org/Conditional_Tags) in the above, eg `$post_types[] = is_front_page();` to stop the featured image from displaying. This is most helpful if you have set a default featured image on the plugin's settings page.
If you do not want the height of the backstretch image to be quite the height of the user's window, you can reduce it by just a hair. Go to Appearance > Display Featured Image Settings and change the 'Height' number from the default of 0. The higher this number is, the shorter your image will be. Feel free to experiment, as no images are harmed by changing this number.
### I checked the __Move Excerpts/Archive Descriptions__ option, but don't want excerpts to show on a certain custom post type, even with the featured image.
There's a filter for that, too. For example, adding this to your functions.php file would make sure that the excerpt does not show on single posts, or posts from the Staff post type, even if they have an excerpt.
_Note:_ unless you check the option to __Move Excerpts/Archive Descriptions__, archive headlines will be styled similarly to the standard single post/page output. If you check this option, all titles and descriptions will move to overlay the leader image.
