Orangescale.NET

Why I still use Movable Type?

Why I stay with this Movable Type over some other blogtools I can choose? Well, I am not saying that other blogtools are bad, but it is more on producing a weblog I really need; on the design, item placement, etc.
Now, I want to share some reasons why I still use MT until now.

Here are some points I want to share, (other might find some):

• I have multiple weblogs
• Each item has its own template tags
• Different templates for different pages
• Documentation

First, I have some weblogs. Well, I need some weblogs to manage what I write.

Secondly, I really like how MT template system. Each item has its own template tags. By this, I can handle how each weblog data — title, date header, link to comment, comment listing, etc. — should be displayed. This is an example:

“Entry title goes here”

Consectetaur adipisicing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.Consectetaur adipisicing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.

Thomas on September 6, 2004 | Permalink

To produce that kind of output, I have this in my template:

<p><$MTEntryTitle$></p>
<$MTEntryBody$>
<p><$MTEntryAuthorNickname$> on <$MTEntryDate format="%d"$> | <a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>">Permalink</a></p>

And to add some more arguments, I can use other arguments to handle its output, e.g. acronym="", convert_breaks="", remove_html="", etc.

It is possible to have different templates (including different items) for different pages. These are some samples:

• In the main page for example, you do not want to display list of monthly archives. But in your individual entry pages (where you usually put your comment list or comment form), you want to have that list.
• You do not want to display all months in your sidebar, but only last five months.
• In the individual entry page, you want to have a different placement of entry items, different from the main page (position of entry title, body, permalink, etc.).
• In your monthly archives, you want to have a list of ten last entries since you have so many entries, displaying titles, excerpt, and authoring date. And you want to gave another page displaying a list of entry titles.

Those things are possible.

When I need help, I can go to the documentation in the distribution. I think MT has the best documetation system.

I know some people hate the rebuild section. Personally, when I learn MT for the first time, this is the most part I do not like. For the customization reason, I do not want to consider that as a problem. Anyway, the machine does this, not me. I just need to click a button. :)

The other thing is about the hosting space. The MT distribution has a big files. And when I rebuild, of course, there will be hundreds of pages, depending on how many entries I make — I have an individual entry. But anyway, I have a quite big space. So, no problem. It is not about the space, it is more on the result.

Well, that’s all for now. A short writing about MT in my perspective. You?