This post may be a bit premature, but I am just full of something today and I need to hear from you about it. Besides, it’s been a long time coming anyway.

Anyone who knows about building blogs and has seen any of the blogs I’ve built will not be surprised to hear that the Studiopress Lifestyle theme is my favorite. In fact, I love it so much that I’ve been using the same version for over a year. And, even though two new versions have come out since I stared, because I’m not a huge fan of change, I’ve stuck with the 2.0 version.

But, this post is not about how great the theme is. It’s about how great it’s not. Let me explain.

A few days ago I finally broke down and got the 4.0 version. I read about it and even saw a couple of videos about it and so, kicking and screaming, I got myself a copy.

Well, I am currently working on the second blog I’ve tried to build with Studiopress Lifestyle 4.0 and I gotta tell you, I’m not lovin’ it. In fact, the first blog I tried to build with it, I needed to finish in a hurry because it was for a customer so halfway through it, I trashed the whole thing and started over again with 2.0.

The blog I’ve been working on today does not have a time limit so I thought I’d take my time and learn about the new theme. I’ve found one problem so far and I cannot get past it. Unless one of my readers can tell me how to fix this, I’ll no doubt be giving up on 4.0 entirely.

Here’s the problem;

It’s with the thumbnails on the front page. The little pictures next to each article? In 2.0 you could create a custom field for each post and put up a unique thumbnail for each one. But, if you have too many posts, or just don’t feel like it, you can simply upload a default thumbnail and if you don’t define a unique thumbnail for a post, the default will automatically show up.

Enter Studiopress Lifestyle 4.0. If I don’t enter a unique thumbnail for a post, nothing shows up on the home page! Even though I uploaded my default thumbnail, the new theme doesn’t care. Either I enter the URL to a thumbnail or I get nothin’.

What’s up?

If I’m right and this is, in fact, a change in the theme, I think it’s definitely a negative. But, I’m more inclined to think that I’m making a mistake somehow. Missing something maybe.

I’ve searched the web for something about this issue and found nothing. Nothing! So, I”m turning to my readers, all seven of them. LOL.

No, seriously, if you’ve got any experience or pearls of wisdom to share about this issue with Studiopress Lifestyle 4.0, I’d love to hear from you. Even if it’s just to agree with me and vent about it! I’d at least like to know I’m not alone.