Movable Type

From Support Center

This tutorial is a step-by-step walk-through on installing Movable Type web log (blog) software on your Globat web site.

This tutorial expects that you are familiar with the File Manager interface of the Globat Command Console.

Table of contents

1 Getting the Software Package 2 Decompressing the Package 3 Modifying the Configuration 4 Moving the Folders and Files 5 Setting up the Database 6 Running the Loader 7 Logging in and Setting up your First Blog 8 Creating your First Entry

Getting the Software Package

Movable Type offers several versions of their software, including personal and commercial versions. The version we describe in this tutorial is the limited free personal version. This means that it can't be used for profit (see Movable Type's user agreement for more information) and that you can't get tech support from Six Apart (the owners).

It is, however, available at no cost to you.

To learn about Movable Type, visit http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/

To download the free version, visit http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/pricing and select "Download Now" under the heading Limited Free Version. If you are planning to use the blog for commercial purposes, please research the commercial versions of the software.

To download the Movable Type software, you must agree to the license agreement, and log in (or create) a TypeKey account. Creating a TypeKey account is free if you do not yet have one. Once you have logged in, you will be able to download the software package.

You will be offered a full version or an upgrade version. Select the full version.

You will also be offered a .zip or .tar.gz version. Please download the .tar.gz version as the Globat servers run on a UNIX-like system.

Then, click "Download Movable Type."

Select "Save As..." if prompted. In some versions of Internet Explorer, you may see a security warning. Click the warning, and then select "Download File..." Then select "Save" when prompted. You may wish to save it to your Desktop for easy access.

Once the download is complete, you will need to either use File Manager upload or FTP to place the software package on your site. If using FTP, please place it in a folder called downloads inside httpdocs. You will need to create the downloads folder if it does not yet exist. If you wish to use File Manager to upload the file, follow the instructions below:

1. Log in to the GCC (https://login.globat.com/), and select the Site Content button, then click "File Manager."
2. Click the link for the folder httpdocs.
3. Create a New Folder in httpdocs called downloads (if one does not exist).
4. Click the folder downloads to load it on the screen.
5. Click the "Upload" button.
6. We will be uploading just one file. Make sure Binary is listed, and then click the "Browse" button. Find the Movable Type .tar.gz file you just downloaded. After you have selected the file, click the "Upload" button at the bottom of the screen. It may take several minutes to upload the file depending on the speed of your Internet connection. Please be patient while it uploads.

Decompressing the Package

At this point, you have either used FTP to send the file to your web space, or used File Manager as instructed above. The Movable Type package tar.gz file should now be in httpdocs/downloads.

We will need to decompress the tar.gz package in order to use the Movable Type software. To decompress the file, we will need to create either a PHP script (preferred) or Perl script.

To create the PHP script, you will need to create a New File with File Manager (or upload the completed text file with FTP). To create a New File in File Manager:

1. Log in to the GCC (https://login.globat.com/), and select the Site Content button, then click "File Manager." (...if you are not already logged in to File Manager.)
2. If you are not yet in the httpdocs/downloads folder, select the httpdocs link, and then the downloads link on the following page.
3. You will now see the .tar.gz file you uploaded. If you do not see it, try repeating the upload steps from the previous section.
4. Click the "New File" button. Call the file decompress.php.
5. Enter the following code into the decompress.php file (please type the filename that matches your .tar.gz file):

    <?php
     exec("tar xzf MT-3[1].17.tar.gz");
    ?>

6. Then, save the file.
7. We'll need to use "CHMOD" from within the File Manager to change the permissions so we can execute this script. Click the checkbox next to decompress.php and then click the CHMOD button.
8. You will need to set the decompress.php to mode 755 (User R - W - X - Group R - X - Other R - X). Click "Confirm" after you have checked the appropriate permissions.
9. Now, you need to run the script by visiting decompress.php with your web browser, go to:

    http://www.example.com/downloads/decompress.php

   ...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name. It may take a minute to decompress the file. Be patient while the web page loads, it will not finish loading until the file is decompressed. You should then see a blank screen.
10. Refresh the folder view in File Manager. You should see a Movable Type folder in httpdocs/downloads.

    

    Your version number may vary slightly if you have a newer version of Movable Type.
11. Delete the decompress.php file.

Modifying the Configuration

Open the decompressed folder (MT-3.17-full-en_US in our example) and choose "Items per page: 30" at the bottom of the file list within File Manager. There is a combination of over 25 folders/files. To complete the installation, we'll need to move many of these files. First, we'll need to edit some files.

In File Manager, check the checkbox next to mt.cfg and click "Edit."

In mt.cfg you will see a line reading:

CGIPath http://WWW.YOUR-SITE.COM/PATH/TO/MT/

You will need to change the http:// address to match where you will place your Movable Type blog. If your domain is example.com, and you're putting your blog at /blog/ on your domain, your line would read:

CGIPath http://www.example.com/blog/

You will need to edit a second section of this file. Scroll down until you see this code:

# Configuration for MySQL databases. Add the name of your database
# and the username that you have for logging in to that database
# below. The password needs to go in the file mt-db-pass.cgi.
#
# ObjectDriver DBI::mysql
# Database <database-name>
# DBUser <database-username>
# DBHost localhost

You will need to uncomment the last four lines (meaning, remove the #s) so they look like this:

ObjectDriver DBI::mysql
Database <database-name>
DBUser <database-username>
DBHost localhost

Now, you'll need to change <database-name> to the name of your database. We'll call ours blog_data (we'll create this database a little bit later).

Note: On shared servers, no two databases can have the same name. If your first choice for a database name is taken, please try another unique name. If your domain is globat-example.com, you may wish to call the database globatexblog or globatexblog_data.

We'll need to change <database-username> to the name of our database's user. We'll call ours mt_user (we'll create this database user a little bit later).

Note: On shared servers, no two database users can have the same username. If your first choice for a username is taken, please try another unique name.

Those four lines now should read something similiar to this:

ObjectDriver DBI::mysql
Database blog_data
DBUser mt_user
DBHost localhost

Next, scroll to the end of the mt.cfg file, and add these four lines:

DBUmask 0022
HTMLUmask 0022
UploadUmask 0022
DirUmask 0022

Save the edited file.

We'll also need to edit mt-db-pass.cgi to store our database password. In File Manager, check the checkbox next to mt-db-pass.cgi and click "Edit."

You'll see this line:

database_password

Replace that line with your desired password. Do not use an easy to guess password! Here is our demonstration password:

no1knowsit

Save the mt-db-pass.cgi file after you've edit it.

Moving the Folders and Files

We'll need to create the folder where we want our Movable Type web log to load. In File Manager, return to httpdocs and create a New Folder. This folder's name should match the name you placed in CGIpath when you edited mt.cfg. We're using blog as our destination folder in this example.

Now, return to the decompressed Movable Type folder. It's within httpdocs/downloads. Our example folder is httpdocs/downloads/MT-3.17-full-en_US.

We need to check the boxes next to all of the following folders and files to move them to our blog folder (or the folder name you chose):

docs, extlib, images, lib, plugins, tmpl,
schemas, search_templates, mt.cfg, styles.css,
and all of the CGI scripts (mt.cgi, etc.).

If you do not move all of those listed above, your Movable Type software may not work correctly. Ensure that "Items per Page" is set to "30."

Once you have checked all the folders, click the "Move/Copy" button. Your destination directory is the folder you created. In our example, it is the folder httpdocs/blog. Once you have set the proper destination file, click "Confirm" beneath the file list to complete the move.

Setting up the Database

Before we finish our Movable Type configuration, we need to create the database and database user for Movable Type's data. To do this, we'll use the Databases section within the GCC.

If you're already in the GCC, click the Databases button. (If you're not yet in the GCC, Log in (https://login.globat.com/) and then click Databases.)

Click the "Add Database" button.

Name the database the same name you used when you configured mt.cfg above. We called our example database blog_data. Use the unique name you gave your database.

Next, add the user and password you used when you configured mt.cfg and mt-db-pass.cgi. We used username mt_user and password no1knowsit.

Running the Loader

Now, after you've set up the database, you're ready to run the loader, which is located here:

http://www.example.com/blog/mt-load.cgi

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name.

If you've configured everything correctly so far, you should get a "System Initialization Complete" message.

You'll also get a notice to delete mt-load.cgi. Delete mt-load.cgi immediately! You will find mt-load.cgi in httpdocs/blog/ in File Manager. (Set "Items per page: 30" if you do not see mt-load.cgi.)

Logging in and Setting up your First Blog

To log in the first time, you'll need to visit:

http://www.example.com/blog/mt.cgi

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name.

The default log in the first time is username: Melody password: Nelson.

You'll want to change your profile immediately, which will include your username and password (link highlighted):

Change your username and password on the Profile page. You can also enter your e-mail address, a nickname, and a few other bits of information. When your changes are done, click "Save." Then click "Main Menu" at the top center of the screen.

Next, you'll want to change some of the configuration of your web log, including it's name and location. Click the "Configuration" link on the Main Menu (link highlighted):

You'll want to modify Weblog Name, Site URL, Archive URL, and Timezone.

Your Site URL should be the address to load your blog, including the directory, e.g.

http://www.example.com/blog/

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name, and blog with your blog folder name.

Your Archive URL should be the address to load your blog, including the directory, adding archives/ to the end of it, e.g.

http://www.example.com/blog/archives/

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name, and blog with your blog folder name.

After making your modifications, click "Save Changes."

If prompted, click "Rebuild Site." (In some web browsers, you will need to click "Rebuild Site" on the left menu.)

After your site is Rebuilt, click "Main Menu."

Creating your First Entry

Once your Movable Type blog is configured, you can add entries later by visiting:

http://www.example.com/blog/mt.cgi

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name, and blog with your blog folder name.

You'll be prompted for your username and password.

To add an entry once logged in, click the "Create Entry" link (highlighted below):

Type in your entry in the appopropriate boxes. Once you are satisfied with your entry, select "Publish" from the Post Status drop-down box.

Then, click "Preview" to Preview your entry, or "Save" to Publish the entry.

Your published entries can be viewed by anyone at:

http://www.example.com/blog/

...replacing example.com with your Globat domain name, and blog with your blog folder name.

Congratulations! You now have a functional Movable Type blog. Happy blogging!