Movable Type 3 Bible, Covers versions 3.0 and 3.1, Desktop Edition

by Rogers Cadenhead

• ISBN13: 9780764573880
• ISBN10: 0764573888
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

If Movable Type can do it, you can do it too By its very nature, the Web encourages change at a frenetic pace. Movable Type helps you manage that pace, and this is your indispensable guide to installing and using the most popular server-based personal publishing tool. From exploring Movable Type's template-driven publishing system to developing your own plug-ins, here's what you need to know to create and maintain sites as adaptable as the Web itself. Inside, you'll find what you need to know about Movable Type Prepare your Web server and install Movable Type Set up and configure a weblog, using archives and categories to create a more sophisticated site Add visual elements with photos and graphics Design a weblog with templates and use template tags Establish communication among sites using trackback pings Add search capabilities and import content from other blogs Develop Perl-based plug-ins to enhance Movable Type Configure Movable Type to receive and manage comments from site visitors See what's new in Movable Type 3.1 in a bonus Movable Type 3.1 appendix

Author Biography

Rogers Cadenhead is a Web developer, RSS Advisory Board member, and host of more than 3,000 webloggers on Buzzword.Com. He has written 19 books on Internet-related topics, including Radio UserLand Kick Start and Teach Yourself Java 2 in 21 Days. He’s also a Web publisher whose sites receive more than 10 million visits a year. He maintains this book’s official World Wide Web site at http://www.cadenhead.org/movable.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
Chapter 1: Publishing with Movable Type	1	(20)
Joining the Content-Management Revolution	2	(3)
Delivering Web Content with Movable Type	2	(2)
Acquiring the Software	4	(1)
Exploring the Movable Type Software	5	(14)
Sharing the Workload with Other Authors	7	(1)
Writing for a Weblog	8	(1)
Filing Weblog Entries in Categories	9	(1)
Publishing with Movable Type	9	(8)
Publishing Photos, Graphics, and Other Files	14	(1)
Writing for an Audience	15	(2)
Connecting Movable Type to Other Software	17	(1)
Installing Movable Type	18	(1)
Summary	19	(2)
Chapter 2: Preparing a Web Server for Movable Type	21	(12)
Meeting the Conditions for the Software	21	(1)
Checking for a Perl 5 Installation	22	(1)
Setting Up a Database for Your Weblog	23	(3)
Setting Up Perl Modules	26	(3)
Using CGIWrap to Improve Security	29	(3)
Summary	32	(1)
Chapter 3: Installing Movable Type	33	(16)
Downloading the Software	33	(2)
Setting Up Movable Type to Use Perl 5	35	(1)
Preparing a Database	36	(1)
Editing the Configuration File	37	(4)
Choosing the Software's Directories	38	(1)
Setting Up Database Access	39	(1)
Configuring E-Mail Servers	40	(1)
Changing Script Names	41	(1)
Uploading the Software to Your Web Server	41	(1)
Setting Up Security Permissions	42	(2)
Checking for the Availability of Perl Modules	44	(2)
Initializing the Software	46	(1)
Summary	47	(2)
Chapter 4: Configuring a Weblog	49	(16)
Running Movable Type for the First Time	49	(2)
Setting Up Your Account	51	(1)
Creating Your First Weblog	52	(3)
Licensing Your Software	55	(1)
Adopting a Creative Commons License	56	(3)
Adding Other Authors to a Weblog	59	(2)
Keeping an Eye on the Software's Activity Logs	61	(2)
Summary	63	(2)
Chapter 5: Writing a Weblog Entry	65	(18)
Using the Weblog Entry Form	66	(4)
Writing an Entry	70	(8)
Dividing Entries into Two Fields	72	(3)
Setting Default Values for the Editing Form	75	(14)
Formatting Text for Publication	76	(1)
Choosing Default Editing Settings	77	(1)
Setting Up a QuickPost Window	78	(2)
Summary	80	(3)
Chapter 6: Organizing a Weblog	83	(12)
Publishing a Weblog	83	(3)
Editing Weblog Entries	86	(2)
Saving Archives of Weblog Entries	88	(1)
Categorizing a Weblog	89	(5)
Creating a New Category	90	(3)
Using Power Edit Mode	93	(1)
Summary	94	(1)
Chapter 7: Publishing Photographs and Other Files	95	(12)
Preparing Graphics for the Web	96	(3)
Using GIF Graphics	97	(1)
Using JPEG Graphics	98	(1)
Using PNG Graphics	99	(1)
Selecting the Right Format	99	(1)
Uploading Photos and Other Files	99	(7)
Uploading a Graphic	102	(2)
Uploading Other Kinds of Files	104	(1)
Changing the Maximum File Size for Uploads	105	(1)
Summary	106	(1)
Chapter 8: Producing Web Pages with Template Tags	107	(34)
Creating a Template-Driven Weblog	108	(3)
Working with Movable Type Tags	111	(28)
Displaying Text Produced by a Tag	113	(6)
Formatting Date and Time Tags	119	(3)
Using Global Tags	122	(3)
Using Entry Tags	125	(11)
Displaying an Entry	128	(4)
Linking to Entry Archive Pages	132	(1)
Using Entry Container Tags	133	(3)
Using Category and Archive Tags	136	(3)
Summary	139	(2)
Chapter 9: Designing a Weblog with Templates	141	(18)
Generating Web Pages from a Template	141	(2)
Editing Movable Type Templates	143	(7)
Creating Archive Pages from Templates	146	(2)
Choosing Customized Names for Archive Pages	148	(2)
Displaying Images in a Pop-Up Window	150	(7)
Using Calendar Tags	151	(3)
Using Other Tags	154	(3)
Summary	157	(2)
Chapter 10: Offering Comments	159	(20)
Receiving Comments from Site Visitors	160	(5)
Signing In to TypeKey	160	(3)
Acquiring a TypeKey Token	163	(1)
Deciding Whether to Use the Service	164	(1)
Setting a Comment Policy	165	(3)
Managing Comments and Banning Users	168	(5)
Banning an IP Address from a Weblog	169	(2)
Banning a TypeKey User	171	(1)
Settling on a Comment Policy	172	(1)
Using Comment Template Tags	173	(2)
Presenting Comments in a Template	175	(2)
Summary	177	(2)
Chapter 11: Sharing Trackback Links	179	(20)
Connecting Weblogs Together with Trackback	180	(2)
Receiving Trackback Pings from Other Weblogs	182	(8)
Managing Trackback Pings	187	(3)
Receiving E-Mail Notification	188	(1)
Banning Trackback Pings from Specific IP Addresses	188	(2)
Sending Trackback Pings for Each Entry	190	(2)
Setting Up Manual Trackback Pings	191	(1)
Contributing to a Trackback Content Aggregator	192	(4)
Collecting Trackback Pings in a Category	193	(2)
Routing a Category to a Content Aggregator	195	(1)
Using Trackback Template Tags	196	(1)
Summary	197	(2)
Chapter 12: Backing Up a Weblog	199	(14)
Exporting Data from a Movable Type Weblog	200	(7)
Exporting Single-Line Entry Fields	203	(2)
Exporting Multi-Line Fields	205	(1)
Exporting Comments and Trackback Pings	206	(1)
Automating Regular Backups of Your Data	207	(3)
Summary	210	(3)
Chapter 13: Adding Search Capabilities to a Weblog	213	(18)
Searching a Movable Type Weblog	214	(1)
Putting a Search Form on a Web Page	215	(5)
Offering an Enhanced Search Form	217	(3)
Creating a Search Template	220	(6)
Using Search Tags	221	(1)
Setting Up the Search Script	222	(4)
Presenting Google Searches on Your Weblog	226	(3)
Using Google Tags	227	(2)
Summary	229	(2)
Chapter 14: Importing Entries from Another Weblog	231	(16)
Moving Weblog Data into a Movable Type Weblog	231	(5)
Importing Comments and Trackback Pings	236	(4)
Exporting Weblog Entries from Blogger	240	(1)
Exporting Weblog Entries from Radio UserLand	241	(3)
Importing Weblog Data to Movable Type	244	(2)
Summary	246	(1)
Chapter 15: Connecting to Movable Type with XML-RPC	247	(22)
Using XML-RPC	248	(5)
Sending an XML-RPC Request	249	(2)
Receiving an XML-RPC Response	251	(2)
Connecting to Movable Type with Client Software	253	(1)
Using Movable Type's XML-RPC Server	254	(1)
Calling Methods of the Blogger API	255	(5)
blogger.newPost	256	(1)
blogger.editPost	257	(1)
blogger.deletePost	257	(1)
blogger.getRecentPosts	257	(1)
blogger.getUsersBlogs	258	(1)
blogger.getUserlnfo	259	(1)
Acquiring a Blogger Application Key	259	(1)
Calling Methods of the MetaWeblog API	260	(4)
metaWeblog.newPost	261	(1)
metaWeblog.editPost	262	(1)
metaWeblog.getPost	262	(1)
metaWeblog.getRecentPosts	262	(1)
metaWeblog.newMediaObject	263	(1)
Calling Methods of the Movable Type API	264	(3)
mt.publishPost	264	(1)
mt.getCategoryList	264	(1)
mt.getPostCategories	265	(1)
mt.setPostCategories	265	(1)
mt.getTrackbackPings	266	(1)
mt.getRecentPostTitles	266	(1)
mt.supportedTextFilters	267	(1)
mt.supportedMethods	267	(1)
Summary	267	(2)
Chapter 16: Enhancing Movable Type with Plug-Ins	269	(32)
Extending the Capabilities of Movable Type	270	(1)
Linking to Previous Years	270	(2)
Managing Weblog Authors	272	(2)
Enhancing Category Tags	274	(2)
Retrieving Weblog Data Using MySQL	276	(19)
Working with Existing Template Tags	278	(1)
Retrieving Other Movable Type Data	279	(1)
Retrieving Author Data	280	(1)
Retrieving Weblog Data	281	(3)
Retrieving Category Data	284	(1)
Retrieving Comment Data	285	(1)
Retrieving Weblog Entry Data	286	(2)
Retrieving Banned IP Address Data	288	(1)
Retrieving Activity Log Data	289	(1)
Retrieving E-Mail Notification Data	289	(1)
Retrieving Author Permissions	290	(1)
Retrieving Plug-In Data	291	(1)
Retrieving Session Data	291	(1)
Retrieving Trackback Ping Data	292	(1)
Retrieving Template Data	293	(2)
Retrieving Trackback Aggregator Data	295	(1)
Programming Templates with Scripting Tags	295	(5)
Summary	300	(1)
Chapter 17: Presenting External Web Content with Plug-Ins	301	(20)
Presenting Weather Data	302	(1)
Publishing Random Quotes and Other Text	303	(4)
Linking to Amazon.Com Content	307	(12)
Sharing Content from Amazon.Com	308	(3)
Performing Custom Searches	311	(2)
Finding Your Favorite Performers	312	(1)
Presenting Products by Number	313	(3)
Sharing Wish Lists and Other Product Lists	316	(3)
Summary	319	(2)
Chapter 18: Publishing RSS Syndication Files	321	(16)
Sharing Content with XML Syndication	322	(13)
Creating an RSS 2.0 Newsfeed	325	(5)
Creating an RSS 1.0 Newsfeed	330	(5)
Summary	335	(2)
Chapter 19: Supporting the Atom Syndication Format and API	337	(20)
Creating an Atom Newsfeed	338	(1)
Working with Atom Feed Elements	339	(6)
Using Content Constructs	340	(2)
Using Date Constructs	342	(1)
Using Link Constructs	343	(1)
Using Person Constructs	344	(1)
Authoring an Atom Feed	345	(5)
Defining Globally Unique Identifiers	347	(1)
Linking Web Resources Together	348	(2)
Publishing Feed Items	350	(2)
Editing a Weblog with the Atom API	352	(3)
Summary	355	(2)
Chapter 20: Developing New Plug-Ins with Perl	357	(18)
Designing Your First Plug-In	358	(2)
Handling Tag Attributes	360	(2)
Creating a Container Tag	362	(5)
Working with Other Template Tags	367	(1)
Enhancing Plug-In Scripts	368	(5)
Reporting Errors in Tag Usage	368	(1)
Creating a Global Filter Plug-In	369	(3)
Creating a Conditional Tag	372	(1)
Summary	373	(2)
Chapter 21: Hooking into Movable Type with Plug-Ins	375	(12)
Managing Plug-Ins with a Browser	376	(1)
Adding Plug-In Action Links to the Interface	377	(3)
Programming with Movable Type Classes	380	(6)
Working with Weblog Authors	382	(1)
Handling Weblog Objects	383	(1)
Manipulating Weblog Entries	384	(2)
Summary	386	(1)
Appendix	387	(6)
Index	393