Movable Type Help

Updated May 18, 2007

We use the Movable Type blogging software for our Slow Travel blogs. Movable Type is easy to use. On this page I describe the basics to get you started. (For advanced users, how to change your blog style.)

Starting Your Blog

When your blog has been setup, we email you your login information. The first thing you should do is setup some basics.

Login to the Movable Type Control Panel with the username and password we created for you (you can change your password and your displayed name).
You are on the Control Panel for your account. Click on the name of your blog to go to its control panel.
You are on the Control Panel for your blog. Links to recent entries are displayed. The left column gives you links for working on your blog.
Set your blog title and description. Click SETTINGS in the left column (under CONFIGURE). Change the weblog name and description. We set it to something simple when we setup your blog - you will want to change it. Title and description are displayed in the header of your blog. Click the SAVE CHANGES button at the bottom of the page. Note: You can change this title and description at any time, but you must republish your blog if you change them.
Create your About Me page. We created a first entry for you called "About Me". This is linked to from the right sidebar on your blog and is what people will read to learn more about you. (Note: Not implemented yet - but will be soon.) Click ENTRIES in the left column to get the list of recent entries. Click the name of the entry to edit it. Overwrite the text we entered with any information about yourself that you would like your readers to know. Set STATUS to PUBLISHED and click the SAVE button to update the post.

Create a New Entry in Your Blog

To create a new entry, click NEW ENTRY in the left column. You are on the CREATE form. Type in a title and the entry body (you may want to experiment with entry body, extended entry and exerpt for publishing). Set STATUS to PUBLISHED and click the SAVE button to add this entry to your blog. (Or click PREVIEW to look at the entry first, then SAVE.)

When you publish an entry, Movable Type formats the page and sends it to your blog folder on the SlowTrav server. The page stays the same on SlowTrav until you publish it again.

Adding live links to your entry

There is only one way to add a live link to an entry (text that when clicked takes someone to another website). Type the text that you want to be linked, e.g. Slow Travel. Highlight the text. Click the LINK button (icone with two loops) above the input box. A window popups up (you may have to tell your browser to allow popups or scripted windows to see the window). Paste the full link, including http:// into this popup window. Click the OK button. The HTML for a link is inserted into your text in the format:
<a href="http://www.slowtrav.com">Slow Travel</a>

Adding a photo to your entry

We recommend no more than two photos per post. If you have lots of photos, create a photo album in Slow Photos (www.slowphotos.com) and link to it from your post. To add a photo to your entry.

First, format your photo on your computer to 72ppi resolution and not wider than 500px.
From your entry, click UPLOAD FILE in the left column. The Upload File window pops up.
Browse to the photo on your computer. Click the UPLOAD button. Your photo is uploaded from your computer to the SlowTrav server.
The next window gives you the option of starting a new entry with this photo, or giving you the HTML to insert into your entry. I usually select "Show me the HTML". You have two choices for displaying photos: POPUP IMAGE - a link in your entry that someone clicks to see the photo (this is good if you have larger photos) and EMBEDDED IMAGE - the image displays right in your entry (we recommend this option). Choose "Show me the HTML" and click the EMBEDDED IMAGE button.
The next window gives you the HTML. Highlight it, right click, select COPY. Then close the window.
Put your cursor in your entry where you want the photo. Right click, select PASTE. The HTML is pasted into your entry. Put a blank line before and after the photo HTML.

PREPARING YOUR PHOTO: Always set your photo resolution to 72ppi (this is the resolution that works best on monitors). You can size your photo, or upload it as is and let Blogger size it.

If you change your blog title/description, you have to republish

If you change your blog title or description, or any other settings, or the template, you must republish your blog. To do this, click REBUILD SITE in the left column. A window pops up. Select REBUILD ALL FILES and click the REBUILD button. The blog is republished and you get the option to VIEW YOUR SITE when done.

More details on using Movable Type are available in their documentation - see Resources below.

Optional Things for Your Blog

Favorite Links

Do you want a list of your favorite websites in the sidebar? Send us the list of links and we will put them in the sidebar. This can include a link to any or all of your photo albums on Slow Photos (www.slowphotos.com).

Photo

Do you want a photo in the sidebar? Format one to 72ppi resolution, 200px wide and email it to us. We will place it in the sidebar of your blog.

SiteMeter Stats

SiteMeter is a free stats program that will let you track the visitors to your blog. Go to www.sitemeter.com and set up an account for yourself. For your web site URL, give it the top level URL for your blog, e.g. www.slowtrav.com/blog/pauline/

You will receive an email with the code to insert. Email this code to us and we will include it in your sidebar.

Change the Style for Your Blog

For advanced users, how to change your blog style.

Post to Your Blog from Flickr

Flickr can link to your blog! The information you need is:

MT cgi-bin: http://www.slowtrav.com/mt/
Username: the username you login with
Password: not your usual password, but the "web services password" from your profile on your blog

Resources for Movable Type

www.movabletype.org: Movable Type

www.sixapart.com/movabletype/docs/: Support page with link to PDF version of the Movable Type manual with blogging basics.

www.learningmovabletype.com: Learning Movable Type, tutorials and helpful tips for beginners to the Movable Type web publishing system.

www.movalog.com: Movalog, Making Movable Type jump through hoops

styles.movalog.com/generator/: From Movalog, customize your Movable Type template (style sheet generator)

forums.sixapart.com: Movable Type Community Forums

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