FSP 1.1

Adding an MT category index in 22 steps

Here's how I put the MT link on the left.

1. In the master menu, choose FSP (name of my blog).
   
2. In the FSP menu, choose categories
   
3. In Categories, create and save an MT entry.
   
4. return to the FSP menu.
   
5. select blog config.
   
6. select archiving.
   
7. turn on category archiving.
   
8. go CoreSetup tab.
   
9. note the directory location specified for archives.
   
10. SSH into the web host.
    
11. cd to the archive directory.
    
12. ls cat*.
    
13. copy the output of ls to an editing buffer ( a vi session, teachtext, Word2003, etc).
    
14. edit the ls output to linkify: change cat_MT.html to
    < a href="archives/cat_MT.html" > MT < /a > .
    
15. back to the MT FSP Editing Menu.
    
16. select templates.
    
17. select Main index.
    
18. between Recent Entries and Links, add
    in the linkified text.
    
19. to get the Categories, copy the div
class=sidetitle and div class=side
    from another section and edit accordingly.
    
20. save.
    
21. rebuild (you may lose your work if you rebuild before saving).
    
22. Enjoy.
    

MovableType is great, but could benefit from some task oriented walk through
the process documentation.

Read categories and ask yourself,
How would a reader find the categories ?
How would a blog author tell the reader what categories there are ?

Movable Type User Manual: CATEGORIES
Table of Contents
CATEGORIES
Edit Category Screen
CATEGORIES

Movable Type allows you to enter a list of categories, then assign one or more
categories to each of your entries. This allows you to keep track of your entries
from a maintenance standpoint--for example, when listing your entries you can
choose to list entries only from a particular category--and it can also be used to
provide a categorization structure to your archives.

Each entry can be assigned one primary category and any number of
secondary categories. The primary category is used when you wish to display
information about only one of the categories to which an entry is assigned--for
example, when using the <$MTEntryCategory$> tag. When you wish to display
a list of all of the categories to which a post has been assigned, you can use the
< MTEntryCategories > container.

The difference between primary and secondary categories is not one of ranking
but rather of usage--your secondary categories are not necessarily ``lesser'' or
``lacking in importance'' when compared to your primary category. Rather, the
difference is one of usage: the primary category is the category which will be
displayed when using the <$MTEntryCategory$> tag, or when linking to the
Category archive for an entry using <$MTEntryLink
archive_type="Category"$>.

You can manage your list of categories in Movable Type by logging in, selecting
a weblog, then clicking Categories. Add new categories by typing their labels
into the empty text entry boxes; the system always shows five empty boxes, so
if you fill up the first five, just press SAVE and you'll get five more.

Edit Category Screen

By clicking the Edit category attributes link, you can edit some additional
metadata regarding the category. You can associate a description with each of
your categories. This description can then be used on your archive pages, for
example, as introductory text describing that particular category and the entries
within it.

You can also manage TrackBack-related information for the category:

TrackBack URLs to ping
Use this field to associate a list of TrackBack URLs with a category. When you
post a new entry into this category on your own site, each of the URLs you have
listed will be pinged with information about this new entry.

Accept incoming TrackBack pings
When you turn on a category's ability to accept TrackBack pings, the system
sets up a TrackBack item for this category so that remote sites will be able to
send pings to your site, notifying you of new entries that fit within the category.
These pings can then be displayed on your site, allowing you to build a
repository of links relating to a particular subject.

After clicking the ``On'' checkbox, save the changes, and the system will give
you the TrackBack URL that other users can use to ping your category.

Passphrase Protection
If you only wish to allow a certain set of users to send TrackBack pings to your
category, you can set a passphrase for the category. Users who wish to send
pings to your TrackBack-enabled category will need to know the passphrase in
order to ping you.

This is a good way to enable ``private'' TrackBack items; even if someone can
guess the TrackBack ID, he will not be able to send a ping unless he knows the
passphrase.

This is optional. If you do not set a passphrase, everyone will be able to ping
you without providing a passphrase.

You can set up category archiving in your weblog configuration--select a
weblog, then click Weblog Config. In the Archive Configuration section, under
Archive Frequency check the box next to By Category.

Copyright © 2001-2003 Six Apart. All Rights Reserved.

Posted by dc at April 26, 2003 05:29 PM | TrackBack