Latest Posts

functions.php

<?php
/**
 * template_pre_loop
 * @desc	Used before a custom loop
 *			Parameter is the WP_Query options for the new loop
 *			Saves the original query and post data
 *			Returns the new query, along with the original wp_query and post
 * @param	array	$options
 * @return	array 
 */
function template_pre_loop($options) {
	global $wp_query, $post;
	
	$original_post		= null;
	$original_wp_query	= null;
	
	if(!empty($post)) {
		$original_post = clone $post;
	}
	if(!empty($wp_query)) {
		$original_wp_query = clone $wp_query;
	}
	
	$wp_query = new WP_Query($options);
	
	return compact('wp_query', 'original_wp_query', 'original_post');
}

/**
 * template_post_loop
 * @desc	Used after a custom loop
 *			Parameter is the original array saved from the pre loop function
 *			Resets the query and post data
 *			Returns the original wp_query and post data
 * @param	array	$original
 * @return	array 
 */
function template_post_loop($original) {
	global $wp_query, $post;
	
	extract($original);
	
	if(!empty($original_wp_query)) {
		$wp_query = clone $original_wp_query;
	}
	if(!empty($original_post)) {
		$post = clone $original_post;
	}
	
	wp_reset_query();
	
	return compact('wp_query', 'post');
}

sidebar-latest.php

<?php
$setup = array(
	'post_type'		=> 'post',
	'title_li'		=> '',
	'echo'			=> 0,
	'depth'			=> 1,
	'posts_per_page'	=> 3,
	/*
	// limit to posts with a thumbnail
	'meta_query'		=> array(
		array(
			'key'		=> '_thumbnail_id',
			'compare'	=> '!=',
			'value'		=> '',
		)
	)
	*/
);
?>
<?php $original = template_pre_loop($setup); ?>
<?php get_template_part('loop', 'post-latest'); ?>
<?php $original = template_post_loop($original); extract($original); wp_reset_query(); ?>