Everyone

Guide: Having your own "everyone" page

As I hinted at in the previous post, you too can have your own everyone page that lists all entries for the people you read. It's not hard to do, but it's not simple, either, as I've been too busy at work to finish everything that I've been meaning to do.

If you'd like your own page just like this one, you have a movable type blog, and you're willing to follow the not-hard-but-not-easy instructions, read on.

1. Create your list of feeds: You need to create a new 'index template' that will store your list of people/sites that you read. Login to MovableType, click on 'templates,' and then click on 'Create new index template.' Here are the setting you need to use:
   - template name: Feeds
   - output file: leave this blank
   - Rebuild this...: uncheck this option
   - Link this template to a file: feeds.txt


2. In the Template body you will need to enter in a list of the people/sites that you read. As a guide, here is the feeds list for movabletypo.net:

   kwc
   redchilipepper
   honeyfields
   cshell
   metamanda
   pqbon
   1010
   bp
   livejournal allplainstapped
   http://movabletypo.net/index.rdf
   xanga btrfli1218
   http://meatamanda.illnourished.com/index.rdf
   marathon
   

   You'll notice that this list has some URLs in it, but it also just lists in the names of people. The URLs are the location of the RSS feed for a particular site. In some cases, I've tried to save you some effort by entering in a 'shortcut' (e.g. kwc) for common sites, as finding the correct RSS feed to use can be cumbersome. I've listed these shortcuts at the bottom of this entry.



3. Very important: click on 'save'


4. Edit your stylesheet: Copy in these CSS style definitions to your 'Stylesheet' template (under 'templates'):

   
   .feed-item {
   border: 1px solid #ccc;
   padding: 5px;
   margin-bottom: 5px;
   font-size: small;
   }
   .feed-item a img {
   border: 0px;
   margin-left: 5px;
   }
   .feed-entries-title {
   color: #999;
   font-size: medium;
   font-weight: bold;
   margin-bottom: 5px;
   }
   .feed-title {
   font-size: small;
   font-weight: bold;
   margin-bottom: 10px;
   }
   .feed-postedon {
   font-size: x-small;
   }
   

   
   If you know CSS, you can customize this to match the look and feel of your site.
   


5. E-mail me or post a comment to tell me that you've completed these steps, as it's now time for me to create an account for you. While you're awaiting my response, you will need to figure out where you want all of the entries to appear. Most likely you will want them to be listed on a separate page, which means that you will have to create this in Movable Type. This is probably the most difficult part of the process, as you will have to be comfortable editing a Movable Type template.
   
   
   
   1. Creating a page to view the feeds: As in the previous steps, go to 'templates' and 'Create a new index template.' However, this time around you will use slightly different settings:
      - template name: whatever you want to call it
      - output file: sites-i-read.html (or something else appropriate)
      - Rebuild this...: check this option
      - Link this template to a file: leave this blank
   
   
   
   2. The Template body is largely up to you to decide. This is the page that the entries will be displayed on, so it's up to you to decide the look and feel. To make it easier, here is a sample template for you to get started with. Not suprisingly, it will look a lot like the movabletypo.net front page.
   
   
   3. Click on 'save.'
   
   
   4. Click on 'rebuild.' You should now be able to open the page in your browser. You should see the same feeds that appear on movabletypo.net appear on your page. When I respond to your request for a new account, I will e-mail you instructions on how to change this to your own feed.
   
   
   5. If you use the sample template, you will also want to copy the following CSS into your stylesheet:

      
      .top-item {
      border: 5px solid #ccc;
      padding: 10px;
      margin-bottom: 20px;
      font-size: small;
      }
      .top-item-title {
      color: #999;
      font-size: medium;
      font-weight: bold;
      margin-bottom: 5px;
      }

   
   
   6. You will probably want to edit your 'Main Index' template to link to this new page

Shortcuts

To save you the time of finding the URL for the feed you want, you can also enter in any of the following shortcuts into your list of feeds: - 1010 - bp - cshell - everyone - honeyfields - mhuang - illnourished - itinerant - jheer - jrc - kwc - metamanda - meatamanda - marathon - pqbon - redchilipepper

Comics
- pvp
- dilbert
- foxtrot

Xanga
- xanga username1, username2 (e.g. "xanga nowhun, brtfli1218, honeyfields")

LiveJournal
- livejournal username1username2 (e.g. "livejournal nowhun, allplainstapped")

by kwc | March 8, 2004 12:11 AM