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Image via Wikipedia
Anyway, if you have a TypePad account you can use it as your OpenID on a growing number of sites and services.
If the site / service does not explicitly mention typepad the address (URL) you need to use is:
profile.typepad.com/usernameYou just need to replace "username" with your actual TypePad username and off you go!
Byrne has released another plugin for MovableType that allows users to easily customise their header image:
The Custom Header Plugin for Movable Type makes it easy for users to upload and customize the header for their blog. It uses javascript and Ajax to make the customization process as seamless, intuitive and painless as possible. No knowledge of HTML or CSS is required, but the theme you are using must explicitly support this pluginFurther information and download on his site
Image via CrunchBase, source unknown
Widgets are like snippets of code. You can have lots of widgets that do lots of different things.
For example, on several of the MT powered sites that I manage I use the widgets to handle my Google Adsense and other affiliate banners / buttons.
By using a widget to hold the code I can achieve several things:
- The widget is self-contained, so if I need to update the code I don't have to poke through lots of different templates - I just update it in one place
- You can move the widgets around ie. decide which one displays first in a widget set
- You can remove a feature by simply removing the widget from its parent set
They're handy!
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If you have the iPhone (iMT) plugin installed make sure you either remove it completely or upgrade it to the latest version before attempting an upgrade to MovableType 4.2.
If, like me, you have a penchant towards installing plugins and then forgetting about them completely, you can end up in "navigation hell" post-upgrade. (I don't even own an iPhone!)
With the old version of the iPhone plugin still installed your upgrade will appear to have completed successfully, but you won't be able to access most of the navigation menus inside your new MT 4.2 Pro install.
The simplest fix is to remove the iMT directories inside both your plugins directory and your mt-static/plugins directory.
Once you've done this you can then actually make use of MT again!
Thanks to Beau for helping resolve this for me on a Sunday afternoon (even though he's currently in Japan and was on his way to bed!)
More on this on the MT forums
If, like me, you have a penchant towards installing plugins and then forgetting about them completely, you can end up in "navigation hell" post-upgrade. (I don't even own an iPhone!)
With the old version of the iPhone plugin still installed your upgrade will appear to have completed successfully, but you won't be able to access most of the navigation menus inside your new MT 4.2 Pro install.
The simplest fix is to remove the iMT directories inside both your plugins directory and your mt-static/plugins directory.
Once you've done this you can then actually make use of MT again!
Thanks to Beau for helping resolve this for me on a Sunday afternoon (even though he's currently in Japan and was on his way to bed!)
More on this on the MT forums
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Byrne has posted a nice little tutorial on creating dropdown navigation for MovableType.
I don't think I'll be implementing it as yet, as I really prefer to let designers design. My own attempts at design usually end in disaster!
I don't think I'll be implementing it as yet, as I really prefer to let designers design. My own attempts at design usually end in disaster!
While the new licensing model for Movable Type is a LOT easier to understand it's not without it's complications.On the download page there is a basic license overview, but it still leads to confusion!
There are now 4 versions and 3 products, which seem to be as follows:
- Movable Type - license now open source and suited to "hackers" and developers who want to get "down and dirty" with the code.
- Movable Type Pro, which has two licenses
- Blogger - covers just about anyone that is not an incorporated company (ltd, llc etc.,)
- Business - any incorporated business entity
- Movable Type Enterprise - for big business. Its main "upsell" would appear to be support for database engines such as Oracle and MS SQL server. Obviously the Enterprise version also comes with support options and fees.
So, in essence, you can opt for MT Pro even if you are making a fortune from affiliate advertising etc., as long as you aren't an incorporated entity.
That's pretty cool, as some of the community solution parts of the MT platform really negate the need for any other backend when building out a community site.
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The guys over at SixApart have done up some documentation on theme creation for designers / developers.
While it may not answer every possible question it is a good starting point.
If you feel you can improve on it etc., don't forget there is a wiki as well
While it may not answer every possible question it is a good starting point.
If you feel you can improve on it etc., don't forget there is a wiki as well
If you can get your hands on a copy the February edition (issue 173) of .net Magazine (Practical Web Design in the US market) has a very simple and easy to follow tutorial on getting a Movable Type blog up and running.
The tutorial covers everything from downloading the files, extracting them, installing the software and customising a template to fit your site's character.
Unfortunately it's not available online... Sorry!
The tutorial covers everything from downloading the files, extracting them, installing the software and customising a template to fit your site's character.
Unfortunately it's not available online... Sorry!
One of the minor annoyances with MovableType4's default settings is that the comment form does not display on single entry archives ie. if you are viewing an article / post you don't see that "welcoming" form.
Thanks to some help on the SixApart mailing lists the solution is quite easy !
Edit mt.js from within your MT install and comment out the line that includes the following:
hideDocumentElement('comments-form' );
It should be somewhere around line 129.
As it's Javascript the syntax would be to use double forward slashes on each line (//).
Once you've made the change simply republish or wait for your republish to run ( you did setup a cronjob, didn't you?) and you should now see the comment form !
Thanks to Anu for the tip!
Thanks to some help on the SixApart mailing lists the solution is quite easy !
Edit mt.js from within your MT install and comment out the line that includes the following:
hideDocumentElement('comments-form' );
It should be somewhere around line 129.
As it's Javascript the syntax would be to use double forward slashes on each line (//).
Once you've made the change simply republish or wait for your republish to run ( you did setup a cronjob, didn't you?) and you should now see the comment form !
Thanks to Anu for the tip!
