Modifying Movable Type interface using plugins
in Movable Type, Webdev
If you’re Movable Type users, you will find that there are many (too many?) menus in your Movable Type user area. I have some weblogs created in my single Movable Type installation. Here are few things I usually do in my Movable Type interface:
- Jump between weblogs, and go to a specific pages/settings.
- Rebuilding templates/weblogs after I make changes on my templates.
- Closing comments and trackbacks for old entries.
I want to be able to work in an efficient way. I want to be able to jump quickly to a specific pages/setting. I want to rebuild some templates and weblogs. I want to close comments and trackbacks easier. Can I have those things? Yes, I can.
Movable Type has many great plugins. Not only for the weblog output purposes, but also for the administration area. Here are some plugins I install as solutions:
- AcceptCommentsPings by yosshi
- PowerRebuild by Arvind ‘Movalog’ Satyanarayan
- WeblogsActionMenu by Kevin Shay
AcceptCommentsPings Plugin
From the plugin documentation page:
AcceptCommentsPings Plugin is a plugin for switching entries ‘Accept Comments/TrackBacks’ status from plugin action menu in entries listing page.
This plugin will be very useful if you have many entries, and you want to change some comment/trackback entry statuses at once. Select the entries from the list, and choose an action.
PowerRebuid Plugin
PowerRebuild is a plugin that allows you to rebuild comments, trackbacks, templates and blogs by simply choosing the items you wish to rebuild and clicking a button.
If you made modifications in your template directly from template textarea or using a linked template file, you need to rebuild your templates to see the changes. Rather than rebuilding your entire index template, if you want to rebuild a specific index template, you can just choose the template you want to rebuild. You can do the same mechanism for your weblogs (rebuild a specific weblog).
WeblogsActionMenu Plugin
The dropdown menu of available weblogs in the header of every Movable Type screen is a handy way to jump from one weblog to another. What’s not so handy is that you have to first go through the other weblog’s menu in order to do anything with that weblog. WeblogsActionMenu lets you jump directly to a specific action for a different weblog than the one you’re in.
You do not have to install those plugins, it’s optional. Without having those plugins installed, you Movable Type will be just fine. So far, I find that those plugins are very useful.
This entry receives 2 comments.
kus
textpattern ( again , sorry ) have quickpick fuction instead on top of admin interface. So you can jump to another page as fast as you can think.
You do not have to install a plugins to do it and its very easier than MT. But TxP have not fuction to change setting or behaviour like those MT plugins.
huaahhh susahnya ngetik pake english, pokoke plugins kaya getu gak ada di TxP!
Dec 13, 2006 at 7:44 am
Thomas Arie
True. When I used TxP, I used rss_admin_quickpik. Of course, I do not need to do “extra” things when using TxP. Why? Because there are quite many differences between these two platforms.
I still find that TxP has many great features, and I recommend it for those who loves simplicity and flexibility.
Dec 13, 2006 at 8:30 am