Movable Type Installation Help - For Amy

Working with Amy's How to Skin Your Site and the Movable Type journalling software


This document explains the contents for setting up the important MT templates. This document assumes that you already have set up your MT files as documented on the MT Installation Instructions page. If you need further help setting up Movable Type, check out the Blogplates resources page. This tutorial is only meant to be a side tutorial for those using Amy's tutorial to skin their site. You can use multiple love-productions templates in this manner, because all of the div classes in the stylesheets are consistant throughout the sets.

The categories are broken up into the sections, and you may need to tweak with other templates to get them to your liking. If you'd like to hire me to install a copy of MT to your server and put the templates in, please drop me an email at graphics@love-productions.com. I'd be happy to work with you!

For use with a love-productions graphic set: You should unzip the zip file you downloaded onto your hard drive and upload all of the graphics files, stylesheet, and any scripts included into a subdirectory of your journal called images before beginning.

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Log into Movable Type and click on the Templates for the blog you are configuring. I'm gonna show you examples of all of the important templates that need customizing below.

Template Name	Output File	Rebuild
Index Templates
Main Index	index.php	Yes
Master Archive Index	archives.php	Yes
Skins	skins/index.php	No
Skins 2	skins/index2.php	No
Skins: cookiecheck	skins/cookiecheck.php	No
Archive Templates
Category Archive	[template here]
Date-Based Archive	[template here]
Individual Entry Archive	[template here]
Template Modules
header	[template here]
footer	[template here]

You'll need to create the templates that don't currently appear on the list - click Create New Index Template to add Skins, Skins 2, and Skins: cookiecheck. Create new directory under you main blog directory named "skins" and chmod it to 777. This will allow you to publish the 3 MT-generated skins files. Click Create New Template Module to create the modules header and footer. For the Main Index and Master Archive Index, you'll also need to make sure you change the extention of the file from .html to .php as shown on the output file.

There are also comment and trackback and popup templates which will appear on your window, but this tutorial assumes using Individual Archives for comments and doesn't customize any of the additional templates.

Once you've used all the codes below to customize your templates, you'll want to create skins [sample templates here]. When I create a skin, I take the portion of the file that is above where the entries will appear and call it header1.php. And then I take the portion of the file that is below where the entries will appear and call it footer1.php. With the next skin I add, I create a new header2.php and footer2.php, increasing the number each time.

Rebuild all when you are done. Then upload your skins and start posting!

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Template codes updated on: 18-Mar-2010 2:07:28

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Indexes

Name: Main Index
Type: index
Rebuild: 1
<$MTInclude module="header"$> <MTEntries> <MTDateHeader> <div class="bloghead"><$MTEntryDate format="%B %d, %Y"$></div> </MTDateHeader> <a name="<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"></a> <div class="subhead"><$MTEntryTitle$></div> <div class="blogbody"><$MTEntryBody$></div> <MTEntryIfExtended><a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>">MORE...</a><br></MTEntryIfExtended> <div class="blogfoot">posted by <$MTEntryAuthor$> at <a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"><$MTEntryDate format="%I:%M %p"$></a> <MTEntryIfAllowComments>| <a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#comments">Comments (<$MTEntryCommentCount$>)</a></MTEntryIfAllowComments></div> <br></MTEntries> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Name: Skins 2
Type: index
Rebuild: 0
<?php //if you have more than 15 skins, you'll want to change all of the instances of 15 to a higher number if (isset($newskin)) { $newskin=(int)$newskin; if ($newskin<1) $newskin=1; if ($newskin>15) $newskin=1; } elseif (isset($skin)) { $newskin=(int)$skin; if ($skin<1) $newskin=1; if ($skin>15) $newskin=1; } else { //if you want your skin to default to something other than the number one skin, change this number. $newskin=1; } $skin=$newskin; setcookie('skin',$newskin,time()+(86400*365),'/'); setcookie('skin',$newskin,time()+(86400*365),'/','.<$MTBlogHost$>'); setcookie('skin',$newskin,time()+(86400*365),'/','<$MTBlogHost$>'); $skin=$newskin; ?> <html> <head> <title>Test your new skin out!</title> <?php $headervar = "<$MTBlogSitePath$>skins/header"; $extension = ".php"; include ($headervar.$skin.$extension); ?> <h1>Like it?</h1> <p> Your skin number has been reset to <?php echo "$skin." ;?> If you like it, journey on to the <a href="<$MTBlogURL$>">main page</a> of this site and play with it a bit. If it's not quite what you want, you can always <a href="<$MTBlogURL$>skins/index.php">go back</a> and select another. </p> <br><br> <div align="center" class="blogfoot">The setup of skins for <$MTBlogName$> was made possible by a tutorial by <a href="http://www.domesticat.net/" target="_blank">Domesticat</a> with MT help by <a href="http://love-productions.com" target="_blank">love-productions</a>. </div> <?php $footervar = "<$MTBlogSitePath$>skins/footer"; $extension = ".php"; include ($footervar.$skin.$extension); ?>

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Name: Master Archive Index
Type: index
Rebuild: 1
<$MTInclude module="header"$> <MTArchiveList> <a href="<$MTArchiveLink$>"> <$MTArchiveTitle></a><br> </MTArchiveList> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Name: Skins: cookiecheck
Type: index
Rebuild: 0
<?php //if you plan to have more than 15 skins, you'll want to change all instances of 15 to another higher number. if (isset($newskin)) { $newskin=(int)$newskin; if ($newskin<1) $newskin=1; if ($newskin>15) $newskin=1; } elseif (isset($skin)) { $newskin=(int)$skin; if ($skin<1) $newskin=1; if ($skin>15) $newskin=1; } else { //if you want your default to be something different than the number 1 skin, change this number. $newskin=1; } $skin=$newskin; ?>

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Name: Skins
Type: index
Rebuild: 0
<?php include("<$MTBlogSitePath$>cookiecheck.php"); ?> <$MTInclude module="header"$> <div class="bighead">Pick a Skin</div> <br> join <a href="http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=skinned;action=home" target="_top" onmouseover="window.status='the skinned! ring homepage'; return true" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true">skinned!</a> <br> <b>Skin 1</b><br><a href="<$MTBlogURL$>skins/index2.php?newskin=1">Make this one my skin.</a><br><br> <b>Skin 2</b><br><a href="<$MTBlogURL$>skins/index2.php?newskin=2">Make this one my skin.</a><br><br> <b>Skin 3</b><br><a href="<$MTBlogURL$>skins/index2.php?newskin=3">Make this one my skin.</a><br><br> <div align="center" class="blogfoot">The setup of skins for <$MTBlogName$> was made possible by a tutorial by <a href="http://www.domesticat.net/" target="_blank">Domesticat</a> with MT help by <a href="http://love-productions.com" target="_blank">love-productions</a>. </div> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Name: Dynamic Site Bootstrapper
Type: index
Rebuild: 1
<?php include('<$MTCGIServerPath$>/php/mt.php'); $mt = new MT(<$MTBlogID$>, '<$MTCGIServerPath$>/mt.cfg'); $mt->view(); ?>

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Archives

Name: Date-Based Archive
Type: archive
Rebuild: 0
<$MTInclude module="header"$> <ul><MTEntries> <li><a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a><br> </MTEntries></ul> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Name: Category Archive
Type: category
Rebuild: 0
<$MTInclude module="header"$> <ul><MTEntries> <li><a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a><br> </MTEntries></ul> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Name: Individual Entry Archive
Type: individual
Rebuild: 0
<SCRIPT TYPE="text/javascript" LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!--// // Copyright (c) 1996-1997 Athenia Associates. // http://www.webreference.com/js/ // License is granted if and only if this entire // copyright notice is included. By Tomer Shiran. function setCookie(name, value, expires, path, domain, secure) { var curCookie = name + "=" + escape(value) + ((expires) ? "; expires=" + expires.toGMTString() : "") + ((path) ? "; path=" + path : "") + ((domain) ? "; domain=" + domain : "") + ((secure) ? "; secure" : ""); document.cookie = curCookie; } function getCookie(name) { var prefix = name + "="; var nullstring = ""; var cookieStartIndex = document.cookie.indexOf(prefix); if (cookieStartIndex == -1) return nullstring; var cookieEndIndex = document.cookie.indexOf(";", cookieStartIndex + prefix.length); if (cookieEndIndex == -1) cookieEndIndex = document.cookie.length; return unescape(document.cookie.substring(cookieStartIndex + prefix.length, cookieEndIndex)); } function deleteCookie(name, path, domain) { if (getCookie(name)) { document.cookie = name + "=" + ((path) ? "; path=" + path : "") + ((domain) ? "; domain=" + domain : "") + "; expires=Thu, 01-Jan-70 00:00:01 GMT" }; } function fixDate(date) { var base = new Date(0); var skew = base.getTime(); if (skew > 0) date.setTime(date.getTime() - skew); } //--> </SCRIPT> <$MTInclude module="header"$> <MTEntryPrevious><a href="<$MTEntryLink$>">« <$MTEntryTitle$></a> | </MTEntryPrevious> <a href="<$MTBlogURL$>">Main</a> <MTEntryNext>| <a href="<$MTEntryLink$>"><$MTEntryTitle$> »</a></MTEntryNext> <MTDateHeader> <div class="bloghead"><$MTEntryDate format="%B %d, %Y"$></div> </MTDateHeader> <a name="<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"></a> <div class="subhead"><$MTEntryTitle$></div> <div class="blogbody"><$MTEntryBody$><br /> <$MTEntryMore$></div> <div class="blogfoot">posted by <$MTEntryAuthor$> at <a href="<$MTEntryLink$>#<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"><$MTEntryDate format="%I:%M %p"$></a></div> <MTEntryIfAllowComments> <a name="comments"></a>Comments<br> <br> <MTComments> <div class="blogbody"><$MTCommentBody$></div> <div class="blogfoot">Posted by: <$MTCommentAuthorLink$> on <$MTCommentDate$></div> </MTComments> <div class="bloghead">Post a comment</div> <div class="blogbody"> <form method="post" action="<$MTCGIPath$>mt-comments.cgi" name="comments_form" onsubmit="if (this.bakecookie.checked) rememberMe(this)"> <input type="hidden" name="static" value="1" /> <input type="hidden" name="entry_id" value="<$MTEntryID$>" /> Name:<br><input name="author" size=30><br><br> Email Address:<br><input name="email" size=30><br><br> URL:<br><input name="url" size=50><br><br> Comments:<br> <textarea name="text" rows="10" cols="70"></textarea><br><br> <input type="checkbox" name="bakecookie">Remember info?<br><br> <input type="submit" name="preview" value=" PREVIEW "> <input type="submit" name="post" value=" POST "><br><br> <input type="button" onclick="forgetMe(this.form)" value="FORGET PERSONAL INFORMATION"> </form> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> <!-- document.comments_form.email.value = getCookie("mtcmtmail"); document.comments_form.author.value = getCookie("mtcmtauth"); document.comments_form.url.value = getCookie("mtcmthome"); //--> </script> </MTEntryIfAllowComments> <$MTInclude module="footer"$>

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Modules

Name: header
Type: custom
Rebuild: 0
<?php include("<$MTBlogSitePath$>skins/cookiecheck.php");?> <?php $headervar = "<$MTBlogSitePath$>skins/header"; $extension = ".php"; include ($headervar.$skin.$extension);?>

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Name: footer
Type: custom
Rebuild: 0
<?php $footervar = "<$MTBlogSitePath$>skins/footer"; $extension = ".php"; include ($footervar.$skin.$extension);?>

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Name: sidebar
Type: custom
Rebuild: 0
<b>Links:</b><br> <!--Enter your favorite blog links in this space. I've started you out with a few, and to add to this list, start by checking out the Blogger home page with the recently updated blogs - Once you find one you like, check out their links and sidebar! You'll get a great collection! --> <a href="http://www.love-productions.com/hopelessromantics/">HopelessRomantics</a><br> <a href="http://www.love-productions.com/thekitchen">TheKitchen</a><br> <br> <br> <b>Memberships:</b><br> <!--If you join any webrings or user groups, this would be a great place to put them. Why not start with the most popular weblog webring, Webloggers? The link is below. Also, by using a love-productions template, you are automatically a blogplates user, you just need to go over to the below link and use the contact link to be listed in the directory.--> <a href="http://www.jish.nu/webloggers" target="_blank">Weblogger</a><br> <a href="http://www.love-productions.com/blogplates/" target="_blank">Blogplates</a> user<br> <br> <b>Archives:</b><br> <MTArchiveList archive_type="Monthly"> <a href="<$MTArchiveLink$>"><$MTArchiveTitle$></a><br> </MTArchiveList> <br> <b>Credits:</b><br> <br> <!--These linkbacks should be kept in to link back Movable Type for the great services provided. That way, you can linkback, but still be matching :-) --> <br> <a href="http://www.movabletype.org" target="_blank" class="credit"><img src="images/mt.gif" alt="powered by movable type" border=0</a><br>

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Skins

As with any tutorial, it helps to see real examples. You are welcome to check out the newest graphics set I'm testing out on this test blog by visiting The Skins blog. Please note that if you are interested in using this skin, you'll want to check out the Setlist and download it from there. Thanks. It uses all of the codes above here for its information inside of MT. And then, I have external files saved for the header and footer. You could put these inside of MT, but when I have more than a few skins, it seems to clutter my MT templates list. So I have a subdirectory of the skins directory named nav (per Amy's directory structure!) that contains folders for each of the skins and header/footer/sidebar files for each skin.

My directory structure looks like this:

• blogdirectory
  • files: all files generated by MT.
  • folder: archives
    • files: all files generated by MT.
  • folder: skins
    • folder: nav
      • files: header1.php, header2.php, footer1.php, footer2.php
      • folder: skin1
        • files: images and scripts and css used by skin1
      • folder: skin2
        • files: images and scripts and css used by skin2
  • folder: common
    • files: rings.html, reads.html, nav.html

Sample Header

filename: skins/nav/header1.php
note: this file is currently inserting in the sidebar instead of showing the php include - I'm working on learning how to fix that!


Warning: file(http://love-productions.com/mt/templates/skins/skins/header1.php) [function.file]: failed to open stream: No route to host in /home/love/public_html/graphics/help/mtskins.php on line 127

Warning: implode() [function.implode]: Invalid arguments passed in /home/love/public_html/graphics/help/mtskins.php on line 128

Sample Footer

Footer1
filename: skins/nav/footer1.php

Warning: file(http://love-productions.com/mt/templates/skins/skins/footer1.php) [function.file]: failed to open stream: No route to host in /home/love/public_html/graphics/help/mtskins.php on line 139

Warning: implode() [function.implode]: Invalid arguments passed in /home/love/public_html/graphics/help/mtskins.php on line 140

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Additions Added 040102 - Add on a calendar into your sidebar!!!!

Common Terms:

blog: shortened term for the word weblog. Check The History of Weblogs for more information on how this genre of websites came to be.
blogplate: (also plural form, blogplates) Weblog Templates. Many linkware and shareware graphic designers create templates which are expressly designed with blogs in mind. Blogplates.net is a webring of many of these designers sites.
sidebar: a common location for links and buttons to other related sites. Yours should include a linkback to love-productions.com for the template usage.
upload: using an ftp program to copy files from your hard drive onto your host's server. Recommended program for uploading - Leech FTP.
give credit: the idea of making sure to linkback on the same page to show where the items on your site came from. See Give-Credit for more information.

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