Today's installment of MuNuby Help will cover your Main Index Template and your Stylesheet.
As before, Jr Rocket Scientist feedback is welcome.
First, a short primer. For this primer, I will assume everyone has a basic understanding of HTML tags and structures.
The Main Index template controls your blog content: banner, blog description, post titles, post content, by-line information, sidebar links & images, site counters and credits, etc. Some of the elements are contained in the MT database and are pulled into the page via MT specific tags (begininng with the letters MT and $MT). Some elements are hand coded: URL links, boilerplate text, banner images, sidebar images, site counters, etc. The Main Index template controls the placement of each of these element inside the main page.
The Stylesheet controls the presentation of your content: column widths and placement; background colors and images; border & line sizes, styles and color; margins and paddings; font families, colors, sizes, weights, transformations, etc.
In your Stylehseet, there are two classifications of elements:
Elements that you can use only one time in an HTML page, div ID, which are indentified by a # sign followed by the class label - #body
and
Elements that you can use several times in an HTML page, div Class, which are indentified by a . sign followed by the class label - .blogbody
Both elements are followed by an open brace {, list of attributes each followed by a semicolon separator ; and closed by a close brace }. The attributes enclosed between the open and close braces are what controls the presentation of your content.
Please note that capitalization of div ID and div Class names IS important!
Next, I'll show you which classes of the Stylesheet control which element(s) in the Main Template.
The div ID name or div Class name from the Stylesheet will be labeled in bold text followed by the HTML tags (and I insetred italicized div close tags) from the Main Index Template.
<head>
Document Declarations...
Script Instructions...
</head>
#body
</body>
#banner
<div id="banner">
<h1><a href="<$MTBlogURL$>" accesskey="1"><$MTBlogName$></a></h1>
.description
<span class="description"><$MTBlogDescription$></span>
</div> <!-- Close banner -->
#content
<div id="content">
.blog
<div class="blog">
<MTEntries>
<$MTEntryTrackbackData$>
<MTDateHeader>
.date
<h2 class="date">
<$MTEntryDate format="%x"$>
</h2><!-- Close date -->
</MTDateHeader>
.blogbody
<div class="blogbody">
<a name="<$MTEntryID pad="1"$>"></a>
.title
<h3 class="title">
<$MTEntryTitle$>
</h3><!-- Close title -->
<$MTEntryBody$>
<MTEntryIfExtended>
<span class="extended"><a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>#more">Continue reading "<$MTEntryTitle$>"</a></span><br />
</MTEntryIfExtended>
.posted
<div class="posted">Posted by <$MTEntryAuthor$> at <a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTEntryDate format="%X"$></a>
<MTEntryIfAllowComments>
| <a href="<$MTCGIPath$><$MTCommentScript$>?entry_id=<$MTEntryID$>" onclick="OpenComments(this.href); return false">Comments (<$MTEntryCommentCount$>)</a>
</MTEntryIfAllowComments>
<MTEntryIfAllowPings>
| <a href="<$MTCGIPath$><$MTTrackbackScript$>?__mode=view<amp;entry_id=<$MTEntryID$>" onclick="OpenTrackback(this.href); return false">TrackBack (<$MTEntryTrackbackCount$>)</a>
</MTEntryIfAllowPings>
</div> <!-- Close posted -->
</div> <!-- Close blogbody -->
</MTEntries>
</div> <!-- Close blog -->
</div> <!-- Close content -->
#links
<div id="links">
.calendar
<div align="center" class="calendar">
<table border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" summary="Monthly calendar with links to each day's posts">
<caption class="calendarhead"><$MTDate format="%B %Y"$></caption>
<tr>
<th abbr="Sunday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Sun</span></th>
<th abbr="Monday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Mon</span></th>
<th abbr="Tuesday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Tue</span></th>
<th abbr="Wednesday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Wed</span></th>
<th abbr="Thursday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Thu</span></th>
<th abbr="Friday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Fri</span></th>
<th abbr="Saturday" align="center"><span class="calendar">Sat</span></th>
</tr>
<MTCalendar>
<MTCalendarWeekHeader><tr></MTCalendarWeekHeader>
.calendar
<td align="center"><span class="calendar">
<MTCalendarIfEntries><MTEntries lastn="1"><a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTCalendarDay$></a></MTEntries></MTCalendarIfEntries><MTCalendarIfNoEntries><$MTCalendarDay$></MTCalendarIfNoEntries><MTCalendarIfBlank><nbsp;</MTCalendarIfBlank></span></td><MTCalendarWeekFooter></tr></MTCalendarWeekFooter></MTCalendar>
</table>
.sidetitle
<div class="sidetitle">
Search
</div> <!-- Close sidetitle -->
.side
<div class="side">
<form method="get" action="<$MTCGIPath$><$MTSearchScript$>">
<input type="hidden" name="IncludeBlogs" value="<$MTBlogID$>" />
<label for="search" accesskey="4">Search this site:</label><br />
<input id="search" name="search" size="20" /><br />
<input type="submit" value="Search" />
</form>
</div><!-- Close side -->
.sidetitle
<div class="sidetitle">
Archives
</div> <!-- Close sidetitle -->
.side
<div class="side">
<MTArchiveList archive_type="Monthly">
<a href="<$MTArchiveLink$>"><$MTArchiveTitle$></a><br />
</MTArchiveList>
</div><!-- Close side -->
.sidetitle
<div class="sidetitle">
Recent Entries
</div>
</div> <!-- Close sidetitle -->
.side
<div class="side">
<MTEntries lastn="10">
<a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a><br />
</MTEntries>
</div><!-- Close side -->
.sidetitle
<div class="sidetitle">
Links
</div> <!-- Close sidetitle -->
.side
<div class="side">
<a href="">Add Your Links Here</a><br />
</div><!-- Close side -->
.syndicate
<div class="syndicate">
<a href="<$MTBlogURL$>index.rdf">Syndicate this site (XML)</a>
</div><!-- Close syndicate -->
<MTBlogIfCCLicense>
.syndicate
<div class="syndicate">
<a href="<$MTBlogCCLicenseURL$>"></a><br />
This weblog is licensed under a <a href="<$MTBlogCCLicenseURL$>">Creative Commons License</a>.
</div> <!-- Close syndicate -->
</MTBlogIfCCLicense>
.powered
<div class="powered">
Powered by<br /><a href="http://www.movabletype.org">Movable Type <$MTVersion$></a><br />
</div> <!-- Close powered -->
</div> <!-- Close links -->
<br clear="all" />
</body>
</html>
Below are some examples that should assist our new members with their transition to the MT blogging software.
As you Junior Rocket Scientists review this, give me some feedback on what you would change to make it a better primier for our new members. Thanks.
Tonight is Part I, covering where the tempaltes are located, how to access them and which templates modify which parts of your MT blogging platform.
Tomorrow will be Part II, covering the Main Index and Stylesheet. I will outline for you which parts of the stylesheet modify which parts of the Main Index.
Thursday will be Part III, covering the Comment Templates and the Trackback Templates.
MuNuby Help Part I
Click embedded image for full size pop-up image.
This is your opening screen:
To edit your templates and stylesheet, click on the TEMPLATES buttons on the left side:
This is your template editing screen:
The Main Index is the file to edit for HTML content.
The Stylesheet is the file to edit for CSS presentation.
The Comment Templates are files used to edit the HTML content for your comment windows.
The Trackback Template is the file to edit the HTML content of your trackback window.
I've* worked out how to fix the Recent Posts thing so that
(a) it sorts the posts in proper order, taking timezones into accountI'll have the changes in place in the next couple of days.
(b) it excludes anything dated in the future, and
(c) it updates automatically, without needing Munuviana to refresh
* Finally
Bill Cimino is desperately seeking 327 comments today, so, in the interest of charity to the content-impaired, please drop by and help him out.
Welcome to all the new MuNuvians!!
Here are some sites that have some predesigned templates and stylesheets designed for Moveable Type. They are all text files that you cut and paste into your existing templates and stylesheet.
MT Default Styles
Click on one of the selections to go to a dialogue box with the code. There is a link to a screenshot sample of that code to preview.
Web Jones: Bright Ideas for the Web.
Several high-quality selections available to download.
Strange Banana
Computer generated code. Some interesting stuff here. Each design is completely computer generated and will give your site a unique look.
Firdamatic: Design Tool for the Unispred Blogger
This site will create a 2 or 3 column template for you after you fill out some forms with your information.
Elegant Webscapes
Lisa from Just A Girl In The World provides some very nice free stylesheets. She also provides some design services at reasonable rates.
BlogStyles
Here are some 2 & 3 column designs to choose from. Very inexpensive and lots of choices.
Here are some most excellent reference sites.
Lusciuos Links: Weblog Prgrams, Tips, Tricks
Here is a good resource for Movable Type information and support.
CSS Zen Garden: The Beauty of CSS Design
Samples of what you cna accomplish using css. Fantastic designs and lots of them!
W3 Schools
Tutorials for everything! HTML, XHTML, CSS, Color Codes
If you happen to need any additional assistance, drop me an e-mail or contact me via MS Messenger username:MadfishWillie@hotmail.com. I'll be more than happy to do what I can to help you out.
I figure this is the least I could do to pay forward the help everyone gave me when I first came over (I was really stupid back then / only kinda stupid now) and show my appreciation to Pixy for hosting my site(s).
I always swore that I would never subject myself to being a new kid again, but I MUST say, this is quite enjoyable! Thank you for the cake! And the invitation! I am still trying to figure out how to change my default template (yes, I am a little slow) - the configuration is quite different than the templates at the hosting site that I was so kindly rescued from!
Many thanks!
. . .to say thank you for making my Mu Nu debut very special.
What a loverly bunch of cocoanuts you all are!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!
Love,
"Emma"
Hi kids.
There's a little party going on in the MuNu forums, and you're all invited.
If you can't see it, it's because you're not registered for the forums. You need to register first, and then join the Munuvian Underground user group. Then I need to set you up as moderators, and then you can join in the fun.
I know that sounds complicated, but it really... Er, well, it is a bit complicated.
Anyway, Susie, Mookie, CD, Madfish Willie, Simon, Daniel, Stephen and Jim are already signed up, so stop by and say hello to the other Munuvians.
P.S. There's tea and crumpets.
For those interested I've found another referrer script to keep a listing on your site of who's visited your page. It's similar to the Stephen Downes one but this one has some variations you can choose. I loaded it today and it seems quick and so far accurate. Although it seems to be missing my Instalance...mostly because I've not had one.
Hi fellow Munuviana residents!... (that is so strange for me to say... I'll work on getting used to it through repetition)
Thanks for letting me move into such distinguished company... Those of you that have read my little corner of the blogosphere in the past know I'm rather sporadic in my posts... Unfortunately, the next month will be no different as its my busy time of year at work... So sometime in May, I am going to sit down and read how to actually use and configure my shiny new digs... Until then, come by if you like, as I'm managing to squeak out a post here and there... (just be prepared for a bland appearance for now)
How do I get my blog clock to adjust for the Daylight Savings Time we just had last night?
Pixy, on the Munu index, my friend can't find Kabuki Mookie. Is it limited access or something? Is there a way i can fix it or something?
Who needs Sitemeter? Or Statcounter?
Look!
Up in the sky!
Is it a gif?
Is it a Javascript?
No!
It's MUNU COUNTER!
Just add this to your templates in the appropriate place:
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://counter.mu.nu/count.js"></script>Stand up and be counted!
<noscript><img src="http://counter.mu.nu/count.gif" border="0"></noscript>
Unfortunately, right now only I can see the stats, but I'll write I have written a little script to publish them periodically at counter.mu.nu.
Following Stevie's advice, I'm giving StaCounter a try. It's like Sitemeter, only apparently it works.
Anyway, one thing it does that Sitemeter doesn't (unless you pay them) is invisible counters. So I was thinking of having a MuNu-wide counter so we can see how many hits we get altogether.
What do you think?
Update There's just one tiny little problem:
If your website is getting over 250,000 pageloads a month (8,000 pageloads a day) you may not insert this code. We are waiting on additional hardware in February to further increase the capacity of the service.Since Ambient Irony alone does up to 1400 pageloads a day (more usually, about 600) that's probably not going to work.
Oh well.
I made a statement on my blog as a subterfuge to my attackers that said my site was being hacked. Such was untrue. I was not mindful that such also showed up in the recent posts column here on Munuviana and such might have possible caused a panic among the docile denizens hereof. My sincerest apologies for my error.
If you can read this, you are much too close.
I'm kinda enjoying the Nation States thingy. If I get some time, I'll unleash my Inner Loser and start some of the RPG'ing going on in the forums.
Anyway, I've noticed each day it ranks your country in some way, and compares that to the world and to your region. Today's is Compassion ("Exhaustive UN tests involving kittens revealed the following nations to be the most compassionate," was the method used) and for once, The Protectorate of Publian Rats was high up in the list as Most Compassionate, at number three. Xsetian was number one, and DFMoore number two.
I must say, I was quite surprised at who was dead last, but after thinking about it for a bit...I'm no longer that surprised.
Check out this site
It's called Fundrace.com and you can look to see how much people you know gave to political campaigns.
For instance:
Steve Wozniak
CEO
Wheels of Zeus
Howard Dean
$2,000
300 Santa Rosa Dr
Los Gatos, CA 95032
Creepy?
I have frontiernet for an ISP and I am going to find them and bash their little stupid skulls in (figuratively speaking of course).
All of a sudden they are now requiring all incoming emails from email servers to have reverse DNS enabled. That is good and all, but I got not prior notice, and now no one, except other frontiernet email accounts can send to me. This includes people in the Pennsylvnia state government who are supposed to be emailing me time sensative materials.
After waiting 15 minutes on hold to talk to a guy, I found out that I have to notify all my people who email me and have THEM contact THEIR ISPs so THEY can fix the problem.
It really pisses me off that I have to call my co-workers and people I work with and inconvenience them to fix what is my ISPs problem.
Can anyone explain this to me more than I alreay probally misunderstand it?
Hey ya'll, just wanted ya'll to know things are settlin' down in my new home, so if ya want to come to visit, please do http://tig.mu.nu/ ... I am startin' to feel a bit lonely. Also, if anyone has the munu blogroll script, I need it please.
All of a sudden, overnight, I went from Large Mammel to Flappy Bird in the Ecosystem. I had 115 links yesterday, and today I have 20?
What is that crazy bear doing?
Kudos to Sarah and Pixie for taking action in the spirit of our better nature as Munuvians. This typifies one of the many reasons I am glad I was invited to join this group.
Whys the font so small in the coments? And before you ask, I did check my personal settings and their normal.
I just got this email from a reader:
Hi Sarah,
I posted a comment yesterday to this entry: blah blah
I was refused on the first attempt with the following message:
"Your comment could not be submitted, possibly because you suck. If you're not a spammer, try making your comment look less like spam. My allergies have cleared up fine, thank you. Oh, and if you are a spammer, piss off. (By the way, your comment looked like spam for serenade.splinder.it to me, because you said "serenade.splinder.it".)"
Now http://serenade.splinder.it is my personal blog, not spam at all - and I see other people posted their own blog URLs. I think your spam filter is being a little too aggressive...
Holy crap. I don't have so many readers that I can afford to piss new ones off! I couldn't find a way to make my comments section more friendly. Help?
The great Republic of DFMoore has been created, in the region of Munuviana (started not by me, but by Rob at XSet).
Come one, come all. You can start your own nation and then to move from the Pacific to Munuviana, simply click on Pacific (on the left) then "move to a new region" and search for Munuviana...
Pixy and anyone else who knows about this stuff (that means you, Jim):
Sure we're still waiting for the secrets of setting up these subfolders. But I've another question. I wrote a post with several pings in it, but those to a couple of Munu and similarly setup blogs had an error in sending the ping to the permalink. I went back and adjusted the pings to the URL for the trackbacks, but why do I need to do that? Is there some reason it doesn't ping normally to the permalink (admittedly there were several pings in the post and the others all worked)? It's happened to me before. This time I even took the trouble to add the URL to the 'Ping URL' bit at the bottom but it only worked with the trackback URLs. Any ideas?
UPDATE: I just discovered that the pings I sent to the Typepad based blogs didn't work either! I even got an error saying I was sending the Typepad pings too quickly and I had to resave the entry three times before they all went. Why is the URL to send trackbacks to different to the permalink and is there an easy way to do this?
I just want people to feel the linky-love.
Having played with PHP-Nuke a bit, I've decided I don't like it much. The only bit that works really well are the forums, and they are really just phpBB, only broken in a couple of places. Since I already have a not broken phpBB forum running, it seems simpler just to use that.
Anyway, I've spoken with the lovely Renata, who runs the current forums, and she agrees that it would be best just to have a single set of MuNu forums. The forums will be broken into two parts - the existing forums (Renata's World) and the new ones (Munuvian Underground). People joining the forums can subscribe to one or another or both. Actually, we might streamline that a bit.
Anyway...
I have a cold and my brain is all stuffed up.
Apart from that, you can trot over to the MuNu forums and register. Let me know when you've signed up, so I can make you all moderators of your individual forums. After registering, you'll also need to go to the Usergroups page (there's a little button near the top of the forum page) and sign up for the Munuvian Underground group.
I know a couple of you are already registered. Susie is already set up; if there's anyone else there I can't find you.
This one's for real, so... Do whatever you want! If anyone actually doesn't want a forum, let me know, but they're all created already and rarin' to go.
Hello everyone!
Big thanks to Pixy Misa for making this move possible.
I've read the instructions, and they seem simple:
a) read the instructions
b) read them again
c) replenish coffee
d) remember there's a dirty plate in the sink and wash it
e) read the instructions
f) decide laundry Must Be Done
Have I missed anything?
One dumb question: after I copy the Blogger template, where do I save it?
UPDATE: Thanks to Jim and the Rubber Chicken, I think I'm getting it. I need to confirm what I think I know with Pixy Misa, but I'm posting.
Thanks to all for the encouragement!
June 15, 2005 - I can be so dumb. I only just figured out how to stop the spam comments.
Pixy, I know you're a busy man, what with your mega computer doing all sorts of things it shouldn't, plus that visit from that Bunny. But I've still got pieces of phengometer and interociter all over the place. Any chance of some help...? The worst of it is I think I have an inkling of what needs to be done, which means I really have no idea at all.
I happened to look at PP with IE, and for some reason the whole blog has shifted to the right. (It looks fine in Mozilla, of course!) Anybody know what I accidently did to cause this?
March 15th has been declared International Eat an Animal for PETA Day by Meryl Yourish, and I want to encourage all of Munuvia to participate! Heather, mark your calander!
Does anyone know an easy way to move my menu bar to the right. As of now I have my menu bar on the left, and my content on the right. I want to try it opposite, but without changing any other stuff.
What would be the easy way to do it?
The NapRoom
Has anyone else received a weird message from this pinhead?
A new comment has been posted on your blog Publius & Co., on entry #2064 (I like ducks.). http://publius.mu.nu/archives/002064.htmlIP Address: 216.75.abc.xyz
Name: Seth
Email Address: sethcudney@hotmail.com
URL:Comments:
I'll eat all the ducks!
You Jerks!
Just wondering, is all....
Pixy or anyone else...
Just tried to log on - my blog is my home page - and got a weird message:
blah blah blah file may be harmful to your computer...
madfishwillies.mu[1] (instead of madfishwillies.mu.nu)...
then the options: open | save | cancel | more info
Does anyone else get this message or is the problem on my end? Thanks for any assistance any of you can give me.
UPDATE: Everything is showing up fine now. Don't know what the problem was, but it's not there now.
Take a look at this and let me know if you think it's a good idea. In particular, have a play around in here. You've each got your own room, so no fighting!
I'm planning on restyling it to look like this and then merging the two and using it to replace this which is hopelessly out of date.
The alternative is to work on Minx until it does everything that Movable Type and PHP-Nuke do, only better, and then use it, but that will probably be six months or more. (Minx just for blogging should come sooner than that.)
Let me know what you think.
My friend just tried to go to my site, and she used the abrieviated form of http://mr.mu.nu instead of mookieriffic.mu.nu and what used to lead to my site now leads to snooze button dreams. Why?
Quick question - does any one have an OPML newsfeed directory for all the Munuviana blogs? I want to put them all in my FeedDemon reader as it would save a ton of time, but I'm too lazy to go and do it all manually.
I know we talked about this before, but how do you get a list of referrers on your page. I like to know where my visitors are coming from.
You know when you go buy something from IKEA and you get home and say I can do this because it looks easy and the instructions are so simple but it turns out they're not so simple because the screw that goes into that other bit doesn't fit and you need to drill the wall but you don't have the right bits either and now it's all out of the packaging and spread out over the floor and you don't know what goes where and you've wasted your entire afternoon?
Cpanel is a little like that.
There's a question coming: I've set up a subdomain in Cpanel. For example let's say I've called it aboutme.simonworld.mu.nu. So how do I now put content onto it??? Format it? Do anything to it?
I actually managed to fit the IKEA mirror on the wall in the end.
My mom is extremely concerned that she can't view my blog properly. The sidebar is pushed all the way down to the bottom. She has a small monitor, but since I set up my blog in terms of % of the screen instead of pixels, that shouldn't have an effect, right? Does anyone know why this might be or how we could fix it? She keeps calling and writing telling me that it's all messed up :)
Sarah
The Symphony was taking its time posting, probably because of all the links. Due to the hideous way trackback autodiscovery works (it first has to read all the pages you've linked to, to see if they're pingable) it didn't seem to be actually doing anything.
Anyway, 15 pings away... Let's see how many work.
Damn, I screwed up the images!
Still pinging.
I can update this post again and it will still be pinging.
Update: Movable Type steers like a cow.
