Cortex

A Multi-concept Theme for Agencies and Freelancers

Cortex - A Multi-concept Theme for Agencies and Freelancers

1. Getting Started

Hi, and welcome to the Cortex User Guide. The User Guide covers all the information needed to use the Cortex theme to build an amazing website, as well as some helpful tips and tricks that will make your experience working with the Cortex theme easier and more enjoyable. If you need any additional assistance while using our theme, you can always submit a ticket to our support forum at https://helpcenter.qodeinteractive.com/ and our support team will be glad to help you out.

You can navigate through different sections of the User Guide by clicking on the links in the menu to the left of your screen. You will also notice that we have highlighted certain parts of the text throughout the User Guide, such as important pieces of information, useful tips, and helpful code snippets, with different formating for an easier overview. Here are some examples of the different formating we use for Important Notes, Useful Tips, and Code Snippets:

This is an important note
This is a useful tip
<div class="code-snippet">This is a helpful code snippet</div>

In this first section of the Cortex User Guide we will go through the essential steps required to start building your website with the Cortex theme. We will explain how to install the theme, import the included demo content, as well as how to update the theme. At the end of this section you will also find a set of Frequently Asked Question related to troubleshooting the theme. 

Installing Cortex

After downloading the Cortex installation file from ThemeForest, extract it and in the extracted folder locate the cortex.zip file. You can then install the Cortex theme using one of the two following installation methods:

  1. WordPress upload - For most users, this is probably the simplest installation method. To install the Cortex theme using this method, please follow these steps:
    1. Login to your WordPress admin panel
    2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme
    3. Click on Choose File and select cortex.zip
    4. Click on Install Now
  2. FTP upload - If you would like to install the Cortex theme via FTP, please follow these steps:
    1. Extract the cortex.zip file you previously located. You should now see a folder named cortex
    2. Using an FTP client, login to the server where your WordPress website is hosted
    3. Using an FTP client, navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ directory under your WordPress website's root directory
    4. Using an FTP client, upload the previously extracted cortex folder to the themes directory on your remote server

Once the installation is complete, your Cortex theme will be ready for use. Now all you need to do is navigate to Appearance > Themes and activate the Cortex theme. After you have done this, you should see Mikado Options appear in the left navigation bar of  your WordPress admin panel.

You should also see a notification at the top of the screen that required plugins need to be installed. Please install and activate all of the required plugins, since they are necessary for the theme to function properly.

Make sure to install the "Mikado Core" plugin, since this plugin is of critical importance for proper theme functioning. This plugin includes core theme functionalities and custom post types that come with the theme (Portfolio, Testimonials, Mikado Carousel), and without this plugin you will not be able to create any of these custom post types or the elements in the theme that require them. 
If writing permissions aren't set for folders containing CSS and JS files on your server, you will see a warning message at the top of the theme options page. In order to remove that message, you need to change permissions for the wp-content/themes/cortex/css and wp-content/themes/cortex/js folders and set them to 755. We recommend setting writing permissions in order to optimize your site performance. If you have any issues with this, please contact your hosting service provider. Alternatively, you can submit a ticket to https://helpcenter.qodeinteractive.com/ with FTP access for your site, and our support team will take a look.

Importing Demo Content

With the Cortex theme, you have the option to either start creating your site from scratch, or choosing to import one of the included demo sites to use as a starting point, and then modifying it to suit your needs. In this section we will explain how to do the latter.

If you plan on building an online shop with Cortex, you should install the WooCommerce plugin before importing the demo content. For more information on how to install WooCommerce, please read the WooCommerce section of this User Guide.
If you plan on using contact forms on your website, you should instal the Contact Form 7 plugin before importing the demo content so you recieve all the contact forms from our demo site. For more information on how to install Contact Form 7, please read the Contact Form 7 section of this User Guide.

Cortex comes with a one-click import module. To import one of the included demo sites, please follow these steps:

  1. Login to your WordPress admin panel
  2. Navigate to Mikado Options > Import

  3. From the Import dropdown menu, choose the demo site that you would like to import
  4. From the Import Type dropdown menu, choose what type of content you'd like to import:
    • All - imports pages, content, widgets, and settings. We recommend this for users who would like to import a demo site exactly as it appears on our live demo.
    • Content - imports only pages and their content. This option is recommended for users who would like to see how we've created our page layouts, but who want to keep their own settings in Mikado Options.
    • Widgets - imports only widgets. This option is recommended for users who would only like to populate the theme’s widget areas with the widgets from their chosen demo. No other content is imported.
    • Options - imports settings in Mikado Options only. This option is recommended for users who would like to achieve the same look and feel of their chosen demo site, but do not want to import any additional content.
  5. If you also wish to import media files (images, videos, sounds), make sure to set the Import attachments option to "Yes".
  6. Click on the Import button and wait for the import process to finish.
Please note that the images we use on our demo sites are copyrighted, and if you'd like to publish them on your site, you would need to purchase them separately. We bought most of our images on Shutterstock.

Updating Cortex

You can update your theme by performing the following steps:

  1. Download the latest theme .zip file from ThemeForest
  2. Extract it and locate cortex.zip
  3. Extract cortex.zip and locate the cortex folder
  4. Copy/Replace the contents of the cortex folder to the /wp-content/themes/cortex folder of your web site.

Troubleshooting FAQ

1. Why can't I save my menu?

WordPress by default has a limited number of menu items. When you import our demo content, which contains a lot of menu items, you might not be able to save changes you make to a menu. You can fix this problem by contacting your hosting and asking them to add the following lines to the php.ini file:

suhosin.post.max_vars = 5000
suhosin.request.max_vars = 5000
2. Why is there a smiley displayed on blank pages?

This problem is most likely related to JetPack and memory settings of your hosting. You can either disable JetPack or read what the JetPack developer wrote: Regarding the memory limit, please refer to the WordPress Codex section concerning this problem. Some sites that load many plugins alongside WordPress ultimately require a higher memory limit than WordPress defaults to, but since this is limited to specific hosts and configurations, it must be dealt with on an individual basis. You'll find the Codex article at: http://codex.wordpress.org/Common_WordPress_Errors#Allowed_memory_size_exhausted

3. How do I optimize my site?

Please use this tool to investigate reasons for slow loading: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?hl=en

4. How to translate or rename default theme labels?

You can use the Poedit software (http://poedit.net/wordpress) to translate/rename all the theme's labels. Another solution is to edit the theme folder/languages/en_US.po file directly in a text editor and manually edit the labels you want to translate.

5. Why do I see a white screen when importing demo content?

If you get a white screen or some other error when trying to import our demo content, this probably happens because of the maximum execution time limit. You need to increase the maximum execution time (upload time) setting of your web server. The default maximum execution time on web servers is 30 seconds. Please increase it to 120 seconds. Possible ways of achieving this are:

Ask your hosting provider to take care of this for you.

2. Using Cortex

Once you've installed Cortex, you can start building your site. In this section of the User Guide we will explain how you can set up your header, upload your logo, create your menu, set up your footer area, customize the general look and feel of your website, and create your first pages.

Setting Up the Header

One of the first things you might want to do after you have installed and activated your Cortex theme is to set up your header area. The header contains the logo, menu, search bar, side area icon, and other optional widgets.

 

To set up your header, navigate to Mikado Options > Header from your WordPress admin panel. The settings you define here will be the default settings for all pages on your site. If you need any help in further understanding any of these options, please refer to the Mikado Options section of this User Guide. 

 

 

Some options, such as the header skin and background color, can be overridden on a page to page basis from a specific page’s backend. For more information on how local page settings work, please refer to the Pages section of this User Guide.

To add your logo to the header, navigate to Mikado Options > General > Branding from your WordPress admin panel and click the upload button next to the Logo Image – Default field. After you upload your image and save the options, you should have a visible logo in your header area. For more information regarding the various logo types that can be uploaded, please refer to the Mikado Options section of this User Guide.

Menu Creation

To create a new menu, navigate to Appearance > Menus from your WordPress admin panel and click on Create a new menu. Enter a name for your new menu and then click Create Menu.

Every page that you have created will be listed in the section on the left named Pages. Simply check the pages that you would like to add to your menu and click the Add to Menu button. Once you have added pages to your menu, you can click and drag the menu items to rearrange them, or nest them one underneath the other.

In the Menu Settings section (which is located underneath the Menu Structure section), check the checkbox next to Main Navigation and click Save Menu. This will activate the menu you have just created, and you should now see a functional menu in your header.

To set up your footer, navigate to Mikado Options > Footer from your WordPress admin panel.

The settings you define here will be the default settings for all pages on your site. If you would like both the top and bottom footer areas to be displayed, make sure that both the Show Footer Top and Show Footer Bottom options are enabled. If you need any help understanding any of these options, please refer to the Mikado Options section of this user guide.

Content is added to your footer via widgets. Navigate to Appearance > Widgets from your WordPress admin panel. On the right side of your page you will see the widget areas for your footer. The widget areas for the top footer are named Footer Column 1, Footer Column 2, Footer Column 3, and Footer Column 4. On the left side of the Widgets page you will see the available widgets. To add a widget to one of the Footer widget areas, simply drag the desired widget to one of the Footer Column widget areas on the right.

To add content to the bottom footer, simply add widgets to the Footer Bottom widget area, or the Footer Bottom Left and Footer Bottom Right widget areas.

General Look and Feel

Now let’s set up the general look and feel of your site. If you have imported a demo site and would like to keep its general look and feel, then you do not need to do anything else. Otherwise, go to Mikado Options > General and in the Font Family field set a default font family for your site. Next, in the First Main Color field set a default main color for your site.

Now that you have set up the basic elements for your site, you’re ready to start building your pages.

Building Pages

To create a new page, navigate to Pages > Add New from your WordPress admin panel. In the text field near the top of the screen enter a title for your page. After you have added a title, choose the “Full width” template from the section on the right named Page Attributes. This will allow you to add sections to your page that span across the whole width of the screen.

In the bottom section of your screen you will find local page settings. Any settings that you define here will override the global settings set in Mikado Options. 

It is generally considered good practice to set up the look and feel of your site on a global level, and override the settings when necessary on a local level. This will save you a lot of time, unlike if you were to set up every page separately.

To start adding elements to your page, first make sure that you are in the backend editor view. If the blue button near the top left of the page says BACKEND EDITOR, click on it to enable the Visual Composer page builder view. Once you’re in the Visual Composer view, the blue button will say CLASSIC MODE. You can now click on the Add Element button to start adding elements to your page. You can learn more about elements in the Custom Shortcodes section of this user guide.

Please note that the Frontend view for Visual Composer has been intentionally disabled since some of the added custom shortcodes require page reload because of script calculations, and due to this do not appear on the page while building with the Frontend view. The Frontend view can be used. However, while building your page some elements might not display properly until you refresh the page. If you would like to use the Frontend view, you can enable it by navigating to wp-content/themes/cortex/framework/modules/visualcomposer/visual-composer-config.php and in that file finding the following piece of code: if(function_exists('vc_disable_frontend')){vc_disable_frontend();} and either removing or commenting it out. To disable the Frontend view again you just need to uncomment or return this code.

Finally, click the Publish button in the upper right section of the page. (If you made some changes on an already published page, you will see an Update button instead).

3. Pages

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss page creation in more detail, including the various page templates available in the theme, and all the page specific options.

When creating a new page, one of the first things you will probably want to do is to choose an appropriate template for your page. To this this, visit your page from the backend (or create a new page by going to Pages > Add new), and locate the Page Attributes section on the right side of the screen. Cortex comes with a variety of page templates to choose from:

*All of the blog templates listed above are used for displaying blog posts in various manners.

Now that you have chosen an appropriate template, let’s go over the custom fields available for pages.

Please note that any settings you save here will override the global settings you've set in Mikado Options. It is generally considered good practice to set up the look of your pages on a global level, and then override settings on a local level, if necessary. This will save you a lot of time, unlike if you were to set up every page locally.
Mikado Blog
Mikado Content Bottom
Mikado Footer
Mikado General
Mikado Header
Top Bar
Mikado Logo
Mikado Sidebar
Mikado Title

 

4. Blog

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss the creation of blog posts and all the available options for each post, setting up pages to display blog listings, as well as how to change the date format for your posts.

Blog Posts

To create a new blog post, go to Posts > Add New from your WordPress admin panel. First, you need to enter a title for your blog post in the text field near the top of the screen. Then choose a format for your blog post in the Format section on the right side of the screen.

Let's take a look at the available blog post formats:

 

 

 

 

Now it's time to categorize this post:

  1. Beneath the Format section you will see a section named Categories. Here you can select the categories that you would like to add this post to. If you would like to create a new category, click on the + Add New Category link. A text field will appear in which you can enter a category name, and then click Add New Category.
  2. Once you've selected the categories you would like to add your post to, click the Publish button. Congratulations, you've just published your first blog post!
  3. Beneath the Categories section you will see the Tags and Featured Image sections. Here you can add tags to your post, and set a featured image which will be displayed for this post on blog list pages.

Now that we have published our first blog post, let’s go over the available custom fields for blog posts.

Note that most of them are the same custom fields you'll find when creating standard pages.
Mikado Content Bottom
Mikado Footer
Mikado General
Mikado Header
Top Bar
Mikado Logo
Mikado Sidebar
Mikado Title

Blog Lists

After you have created enough posts, you need to also create a blog list on which all of these posts will be displayed. To create a blog list, you first need to create a new page on which your blog list will be displayed, and in the page's backend find the Templates dropdown on the right side of the screen. Then simply choose from one of the following options:

By choosing one of the blog templates you will have set this page to automatically show a list of your blog posts. All you need to do now is publish the page.

Date Format

If you wish to change the date format on blog posts, navigate to Settings > General > Date Format from your WordPress admin, and select your format of choice.

5. Portfolio

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss the creation of portfolio items, as well as how to add portfolio lists to your website pages.

Portfolio Items

To create a new portfolio item: 

  1. Navigate to Portfolio > Add new from your WordPress admin panel.

  2. Enter a title for your portfolio item in the text field near the top of the page.
  3. On the right side of the screen you will see a section named Portfolio Categories. Here you can select the categories that you would like to add this portfolio item to. If you would like to create a new category, click on the + Add New Category link. A text field will appear in which you can enter a category name, and then click Add New Category.

  4. Once you have checked the categories you would like to add your post to, click the Publish button.

Beneath the Portfolio Categories section are the Portfolio Tags, Attributes, and Featured Image sections. In the Portfolio Tags section, you can enter tags for this portfolio item. In the Attributes section, you can set the order in which you would like this portfolio item to appear in portfolio lists. In the Featured Image section, you can set an image to be displayed for this item on portfolio lists.

Now that you have set up your first portfolio item, let’s go over the available custom fields for portfolio items.

Note that most of them are the same custom fields you'll find when creating standard pages.
Mikado Content Bottom
Mikado Footer
Mikado General
Mikado Header
Top Bar
Mikado Logo
Mikado Portfolio Images (multiple upload) 

This section allows you to upload multiple images at once:

  1. Click the Upload button.
  2.  Fill your gallery with images. You can do this by simply dragging and dropping them into the window. Alternatively, click on Add to Gallery on the left, and select files from your media library to add.  
  3. Once added to the gallery, you can write captions for the images and reorder them by clicking and dragging.
  4. Click the Update gallery button. 
Mikado Portfolio Images/Videos (single upload)

This section is meant for uploading single files. The advantage of using this method is that you can upload videos, whereas in multiple upload, only images can be used. Note that you can combine both upload methods.

Mikado Additional Portfolio Sidebar Items

If you wish to add additional items to your portfolio sidebar, you can do so here by clicking the Add New Item button.

Mikado Sidebar
Mikado Title
Mikado Portfolio Settings
PortfolioSmall Images Left
Portfolio Small Images Right
Portfolio Small Slider Left
Portfolio Small Slider Right
Portfolio Big Images
Portfolio Wide Images Left
Portfolio Wide Images Right
Portfolio Big Slider
Portfolio Wide Slider
Portfolio Gallery
Portfolio Small Masonry
Portfolio Big Masonry
Portfolio Split Screen
Portfolio Full Screen Slider

You can also choose one of the Portfolio Custom types, if you would like to build your portfolio from scratch via shortcodes, like you would any other page.

Portfolio Lists

A portfolio list displays a listing of your portfolio items, each of which can be clicked on for a detailed overview of the single portfolio item.

Portfolio lists are added to pages via the Portfolio List shortcode. You also have the option to create a portfolio slider using the Portfolio Slider shortcode. To add a portfolio list to a page, navigate to the backend of that page and add the Portfolio List element to the page via VIsual Composer (by clicking on the Add Element button, and then choosing the Portfolio List element from the element selection screen). For a comprehensive overview of all the options provided in the Portfolio List and Portfolio Slider elements, please see the Custom Shortcodes section of this User Guide.

7. Mikado Options

This section of the User Guide provides a comprehenisve overview of all the settings available in the Mikado Options section of your WordPress admin panel. The settings found here are applied globally and will affect all pages on your website. However, note that many of these options can be overridden locally by applying settings on individual pages or on shortcode elements.

General

Branding
Appearance
Behavior
Custom Code
Google API

Fonts

Headings

Here you can set up all styles for heading tags (H1-H6)

Headings Responsive

Here you can set up responsive styles for headings (H1-H6), when viewed on tablet and mobile devices.

Text

Header

Header
Header Standard Options
Menu Area
Sticky Header
Fixed Header
Main Menu
Main Menu General Settings
Header Centered Options
Menu Area
Sticky Header
Fixed Header
Main Menu
Main Menu General Settings
Header Vertical Options
Vertical Main Menu
Header Full Screen Options
Fullscreen Menu
Mobile Header
Typography
Mobile Menu Opener

Side Area

Initial Search Icon in Header
Search Bar

Title

Title Settings
Typography

Page

Sidebar

Elements

Accordions
Typography
Basic Accordions Color Styles
Boxed Accordion Title Color Styles
Button
Typography
Types
Tabs
Tabs Navigation Typography
Tab Navigation Color Styles
Boxed Tab Navigation Color Styles
Parallax

Blog

Blog Lists
Blog Single

Portfolio

Portfolio Single

Social Networks

Show Social Share On

Here you can choose on what types of pages you would like to enable the social share functionality.

Social Networks

Here you can set which social networks you would like sharing to be available on. If you would like to, you can also set a custom icon for each social network.

Twitter
Instagram

Content Bottom

404 Error Page

Contact Form 7

You can set multiple custom styles for contact forms, and then choose what style you would like to apply to each form you add to a page.

WooCommerce

Product List
Single Product

Reset

  You can use this option to reset all the Mikado Options to their default settings.

Backup Options

You can use this panel to export and import your theme options. Please note that if you import theme options, your current options will be rewriten.

Import

You can use this options panel to import demo content. For more information about importing demo content please refer to the Getting Started section of this User Guide.

8. Custom Shortcodes

In this section of the User Guide we will take a comprehesive look at all the custom shortcodes included in the theme and their repsective options.

 

Row

The row element is a container element in which you can add other elements (shortcodes) and sort them on your page. 

General
Design Options

In the Design Options tab you can set margins, borders, paddings, as well as border colors, border styles, border radius, background color, and a background image to your row.

Portfolio List

The portfolio list shortcode enable you to present a listing of your portfolios on a page.

General
Query and Layout Options

Portfolio Slider

The portfolio slider shortcode enables you to display your portfolio items in an interactive slideshow which viewers can navigate through.

Elements Holder

The Elements Holder shortcode allows you to display any combination of elements in an organized column structure.

General
Width and Responsiveness

After you have set up your elements holder, you can add Elements Holder Items to it, and edit the following fields:

General
Width and Responsiveness

In this tab you can define paddings for the Elemnts Holder Item ona various stages (screen sizes).

Mikado Team

This shortcode alows you to easily present your team members.

Icon

Icons are great for communicating all sorts of information.

Mikado Call to Action

Call to Action elements allow you to display bold messages on your page, inviting viewers to follow a link or take some manner of action.

General
Design Options

Mikado List - Ordered

You can use this shortcode to create ordered lists.

Mikado List - Unordered

You can use this shortcode to create unordered lists.

Mikado Message

Messages allow you to display hints, warnings, or any other messages that you wish to communicate to your users.

Mikado Counter

Counters are great for communicating information in the form of numbers.

General
Design Options

Mikado Countdown

The countdown element provides a great way to display a countdown timer on your page.

General
Design Options

Mikado Progress Bar

The Progress Bar element is great for communicating a large amount of information in a visual and easy to understand manner.

Process

You can use this shortcode to display your creative or work process in numbered steps.

After you have set up the process shortcode, you can start adding process items into it and setting the following options for each one:

Mikado Icon List Item

Icon List Items allow you to make lists using icons, rather than numbers or bullets.

Mikado Tabs

Tabs allow you to organize your content and display only what is necessary at a particular moment.

After you have chosen your type of tabs you can add tabs and change the following settings for each tab:

Now you can add content to the tab. You can insert any shortcode inside the tab.

Mikado Pricing Tables

Pricing Tables are a great way to present your business' pricing packages.

After you have chosen the number of columns, you can add separate pricing tables and set up the following options:

Mikado Pie Chart

Pie Charts are great for communicating information in a visual and easy to understand manner.

General
Design Options

Mikado Pie Chart 2 (Pie)

Mikado Pie Chart 3 (Doughnut)

Mikado Pie Chart With Icon

General
Design Options

Mikado Accordion

Accordions allow you to organize your content and display only what is necessary at a particular moment.

After you have set up the accordion holder, you can add Accordion Tabs and modify the following options:

Now you can enter content into your accordion. You can enter any shortcode into the accordion.

Mikado Blog List

This shortcode allows you to display your blog posts on a page.

Blog Slider

You can use this shortcode to display your blog posts in a slider.

Button

Buttons are a widely used element on the web and can be used for a variety of purposes.

General
Design Options

Mikado Blockquote

The blockquote element provides a great way to make a section of text stand out on your page.

Mikado Custom Font

If you need to use text styling that's not in one of the predefined heading or paragraph styles, you can do this by using the Custom Font shortcode.

You can use the Image Gallery to display a grid or slider gallery of your images.

Google Map

You can use this shortcode to display a Google Map anywhere on the page.

Separator

Use the separator shortcode to create a visual divider between elements and sections on your pages.

Mikado Video Button

You can use this element to create a "Play" button which, when clicked, will open a video in a lightbox.

Icon With Text

This shortcode allows you to easily add icons with text to your page.

General
Icon Settings
Text Settings

Mikado Social Share

You can use this shortcode to add social share icons to pages.

Mikado Vertical Split Slider

The vertical split slider provides a way to create split slides on your screen. the left and right side items of the vertical split slider transition into the screen from the top and bottom, respectively, and then come together to display a complete image.
 
To create a vertical split slider, you first have to add the Vertical Split Slider element to your page.
 
After you have added the Vertical Split Slider element, you need to add a Left Sliding Panel and Right Sliding panel into it.
 
Then, in each sliding panel, you need to add a Slide Content Item, and set the following options:

Section Title

You can use this shortcode to add a stylized title to your page sections.

Section Subitle

You can use this shortcode to add a stylized subtitle to your page sections.

Section Holder

You can use this shortcode to create a stylized section containing subsections in the form of  boxes. Each subsection can contain any other shortcode.

General
Design Options

After you have set up the Section Holder, you can start adding Section Items inside it and setting the following options for each one:

After you have set up your section item, you can add any other shortcode inside it.

Twitter Feed

You can use this shortcode to display your twitter feed on your website.

Image With Text

You can use this shortcode to display an image with some accompanying text.

Text Slider

You can use this shortcode to create a slider with textual slides.

After you have set up the Text Slider, you can start adding Text Slider Items into it and setting the following options for each one:

Interactive Items

You can use this shortcode to create informative interactive items that can have a "flip" animation effect on hover.

General
Design Options

After you have set up your Interactive Items shortcode, you can start adding individual interactive items into it and setting the following options for each one:

General
Design Options

Banner

You can use this shortcode to create an advertising banner.

Parallax Call to Action

You can use this shortcode to create a stylized call to action with up to two images that have a parallax effect.

General
Design Options

Dropcaps

You can use dropcaps to highlight the first letter in a paragraph. You can add the dropcaps shortcode through the Classic view, by clicking on the Mikado icon and choosing Dropcaps.

9. Mikado Slider

The Mikado Slider provides a powerful way to create sliders. It’s easy to create, edit and delete sliders using our custom interface.

Creating a Slider

In order to begin creating a new slider, go to Mikado Slider > Add new slide from the admin panel, and enter a title for your slide in the text field near the top. Also, on the right side of the screen you will see a section named Sliders. This is where you assign your slide to an existing slider. To assign your slide to a specific slider, just select the checkbox next to that sliders name. If you haven't created any sliders yet, you can add a new slider by clicking on the + Add New Slider link. 

You can edit your slide by using the following fields:

Mikado Slide Background Type 
Mikado Slide Background Image
Please note that the image will be fitted across full width of the screen. We therefore recommend that your image is in full HD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels.

It is possible to display an image that doesn’t span the full height of the screen. In this case, you will have to set a custom height for your slider. Setting a custom height for your slider will be explained below in the Using your slider section.

Mikado Slide Background Video
Mikado Slide Elements
Elements Holder Frame
Elements

In this section you can add elements to your slider. To add an elements, click the Add New Item button. You can choose between Text, Image, Button, and Section Link elements, each with its own set of options. We will describe the options for each type of element below.

General Options

These are options that can be set for each element, independent of the type of element you choose.

Text Element Options:

Image Element Options:

Button Element Options:

Anchor Link Options:

You can use anchor links to link to sections on a page. In order to set an anchor link for a section, you need to edit the row you would like to link to, and in the row options input your desired anchor ID in the Anchor ID field.

Mikado Slide Behaviours
Header

For more information on the header skin setting, please refer to the Mikado Options > Header section of this user guide.

Note that you must enable the dark/light effect for the slider in Mikado Slider > Sliders > Effect on header (dark/light style) in order for this to take effect. We'll explain this in more detail later on, in Finishing Touches.
Slide Image Animation

Using Your Slider

In order to display your slider on a page, you need to first go to Mikado Slider > Sliders and copy the shortcode string generated for your slide. Then you need to navigate to the page you would like the slider to display on and paste its shortcode into the Slider Shortcode field on that page.

The shortcode of your slider should look something like this:

[mkdtf_slider slider='new']

Finishing Touches

You can further edit your slider by going to Mikado Slider > Sliders from the admin panel and selecting your slider from the list. In the slider options, you will find the following settings:

11. Testimonials

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss how to create and how to add them to your website pages.

Testimonials are a great way to show potential clients what others are saying about your business.

To create a testimonial, navigate to Testimonials > Add New from your WordPress admin panel and enter a title for your testimonial in the text field near the top of the screen.

Mikado Testimonials

Fill in the following fields to complete your testimonial:

You can now assign your testimonial to a category. On the right side of the screen you will see a section named Testimonial Categories. Here you can select the category that you wish to add this testimonial to. If you would like to add a new category, click on the + Add New Testimonials Category link, and a text field will appear in which you can enter a name for your new category. Then click on Add New Testimonials Category.

After you have selected the categories you want to add this testimonial to, click the Publish button.

Finally, in order to display your testimonials on a page, go to that page from the backend and click the Add Elements button, and from the elements menu select Testimonials.

You can now edit how your testimonials display on the page by filling out the following fields:

12. Widgets

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss the available widgets and widget areas in the theme.

Widgets are easy to manage and can be incredibly useful to have on your site.

For Cortex, we have developed custom widgets and widget areas in order to provide you with even more functionality. You also have the option of creating your own custom sidebars (custom widget areas).

Widgets

Please note that you need to have the Woocommerce plugin installed in order for the Mikado WooCommerce Dropdown Cart widget to appear in the widget selection.

Widget Area

13. WooCommerce

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss how to install and set up the WooCommerce eCommerce plugin with Cortex.

Cortex comes with WooCommerce integration, which allows you to easily create an online shop. For more information on installing and configuring WooCommerce, please visit this page:

http://docs.woothemes.com/documentation/plugins/woocommerce/getting-started/

In order to set up WooCommerce with the Cortex theme, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New from your WordPress admin panel.

  2. Type “WooCommerce” in the search field.
  3. Locate "WooCommerce - excelling eCommerce" in the search results and click on Install Now.

  4. Once the installation has completed, click on Activate Plugin.
  5. You will now see a notice saying “Welcome to WooCommerce – You're almost ready to start selling :)". If you plan on importing demo content, click on Skip Setup. Otherwise, click Install Pages.
  6. If you plan on importing demo content, you should first set the product image sizes in order to achieve the same look as on our demo sites. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings and click the Products tab, and then the Display within the Products tab . Under the section Product Images, enter the same values that we did:

    Note: if you wish to modify these sizes at a later date, you may need to regenerate thumbnails in order for it to take effect. This can be done with the following plugin: http://wordpress.org/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails/.
  7. See Importing Demo Content in the Getting Started section of this user guide and perform the process explained there.
  8. Go into the backend of your shop page. This can either be a custom page you have created yourself, or the shop page from the demo site that you have imported. Under Page Attributes, choose the WooCommerce template.

14. Contact Form 7

In this section of the User Guide we will discuss how to install the Contact Form 7 plugin and how to add contact forms to your pages.

Cortex comes with Contact Form 7 integration, making it possible to create contact forms for various purposes.
 
In order to setup Contact Form 7, please perform the following steps: 
  1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New from your WordPress admin panel.

  2. Type "Contact Form 7" in the search field.
  3. Locate "Contact Form 7" in the search results and click on Install Now.

  4. Once installation is complete, click on Activate Plugin.

Now when you use Visual Composer while creating your pages, you will see a new shortcode in the list of shortcodes – the Contact Form 7 shortcode.

Click on this shortcode to add a contact form to your page. There are several fields to fill in:

You can read more about the Contact Form 7 plugin at https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/.

3rd Party Integration

If you wish to integrate a newsletter sending service, you need to additionally install a plugin called "Forms: 3rd-Party Integration." You can check out the link to their site here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/forms-3rdparty-integration/.

Once you've completed the installation process and activated this plugin, navigate to Contact > 3rdparty Services from your WordPress admin panel in order to set the options. For more information on setting up this plugin, check out the following link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/forms-3rdparty-integration/screenshots/.