mnml-blog Template

“mnml-blog” is a clean and minimalist template for DokuWiki. It is designed to use DokuWiki with the BlogTNG plugin as blogging software. The name means “minimalist blog”, and it was created for my personal weblog.

• Maintainer: Andreas Haerter.
• Contact: See ”Support” and ”Contact”.

If you like the template, you might want to donate a few bucks, or get some cool QR Code merchandise. It is a lot of work. Thank you!

The source code of this template is available as Git repository. You may find the text ”How to create an easily maintainable DokuWiki template” useful, too.

See CHECKSUMS.asc for MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256 checksums. The file is signed with my GnuPG/PGP key (0x423B2839). You can use gpg --verify ./CHECKSUMS.asc to check/validate it.

1. Refer to template on how to do the basic install and use templates in DokuWiki. For updating, see below.
2. Check if the BlogTNG plugin is installed and up2date. This template is designed for the usage with the BlogTNG-Plugin only (it may work for other purposes, but I do not test or support anything else)! You may find ”How to create a DokuWiki based blog (BlogTNG plugin)” useful to get everything started.
3. The files in “lib/tpl/mnml-blog/blogtng-tpl” are a BlogTNG data template (see BlogTNG templates for details). Please copy these files into all used BlogTNG data template dirs below “lib/plugins/blogtng/tpl”.
   Hint: By default, there is only “lib/plugins/blogtng/tpl/default”. You may overwrite the existing files in there ( but remember: you have to do this again on every BlogTNG-Update then!).
4. Look where the option “mnmlblog_newpostform_location” (→ “Use following wiki page for the '<blog newform>' form”) points to (default is :wiki:create_new_blogpost) and create a wiki <blog newform> page there (the “New Post” link at the bottom right of the footer is using this link). See BlogTNG for details.
5. Create a header or sidebar navigation. Have a look at ”What are these "Please fill this placeholder ([pagename])" everywhere?” to get help.

If you need help:

• Check the FAQ.
• Check the README.
• Use http://search.dokuwiki.org to find useful information.

If you found nothing helpful, ask your question at the DokuWiki forum (preferred) or IRC channel.

If you think you have found a bug or have a useful idea (a.k.a. “feature request”), create an issue on GitHub (preferred), or contact me by mail.

Feel free to submit patches as GitHub pull requests (preferred) or by mail as well. However, please try to respect the DokuWiki coding style as this template follows its rules.

What to do to update your installed mnml-blog template?

1. First of all: Backup your data, especially /lib/tpl/mnml-blog.
2. Don't be scared. It is no rocket science.
3. Download the current update from above.
4. Uncompress it and copy it over your current /lib/tpl/mnml-blog. This works without problems when you followed the rules described in the README (⇒ the place for *all* user-defined, custom stuff is /lib/tpl/mnml-blog/user!) cause previously existing files in this directory are simply not included in the update archive (and therefore it can't overwrite anything of your stuff).
5. The files in “lib/tpl/mnml-blog/blogtng-tpl” are a BlogTNG data template (see BlogTNG templates for details).
   Please copy these files after a mnml-blog update into all used BlogTNG data template dirs below “lib/plugins/blogtng/tpl”.
   Hint: By default, there is only “lib/plugins/blogtng/tpl/default”. You may overwrite the existing files in there ( but remember: you have to do this again on every BlogTNG-Update then!).
6. Here is a list of files that were removed in recent releases. They do no harm, but you should delete them to keep your installation clean and tidy:
   

   #removed in 2011-11-30
   /css/_mediamanager.css
   /css/basic.css
   /css/content.css
   /css/design.css
   /css/includes.css
   /css/structure.css

The template optionally imports normal wiki pages and shows their content as

• sidebar navigation
• header navigation (off by default)
• copyright note (off by default, default is the common copyright note by DokuWiki)

This means you can create the page mentioned in the “Please fill this placeholder” message (e.g. ”:wiki:navigation_sidebar”) and its content will be shown instead of the message. All of these placeholders are configurable. Have a look at the DokuWiki admin section:

• Show header navigation?
• If yes, use following wiki page as header navigation:
  […]
• Show sidebar navigation?
• If yes, use following wiki page as sidebar navigation::
  […]
• Show copyright notice?
• If yes, use default copyright notice?
• If not default, use following wiki page as copyright notice:
  […]

If you need an example for a header or sidebar navigation, try the following as content for the page configured at “If yes, use following wiki page as header|sidebar navigation” (respectively :wiki:navigation_header and :wiki:navigation_sidebar by default):

  * [[:start|Home]]
  * [[:contact|Contact]]

As mentioned above, just edit the page like every other wiki page to change the navigation. A simple list is enough, the template provides some CSS magic to create a navigation out of it.

Simply have a look at /lib/tpl/mnml-blog/VERSION. This is a textfile containing the version you are using (e.g. 2011-05-08).

See customizing.

The template should be compatible with all modern browsers:

• Firefox ≥ 3
• Opera ≥ 10
• Safari ≥ 4, Chrome ≥ 1 and other newer Webkit based browsers.
• MS Internet Explorer ≥ 7

Please note:

• MS Internet Explorer 6 is also supported in general, there are only some cosmetic issues at the admin menu. These issues do not affect normal wiki pages. The new Media Manager (introduced with DokuWiki 2011-11-10 “Angua RC1”) does not work with IE6.
• I can't test every browser (version) out there. Therefore it does not mean the template does not work if your browser is not listed above. Just try it out if you want to be sure.

Have a look at the README. Everything regarding

• own logo
• own favicon
• own CSS
• own JavaScript
• own Apple Touch Icon (apple-touch-icon.png)

is described there.

For the ones who are never reading READMEs:

• The place for all user-defined, custom stuff is “mnml-blog/user”. Reason: this folder will not be touched on updates.
• If you want to replace the default text logo showed in the upper left, simply create a /mnml-blog/user/logo.[png|gif|jpg]. The template recognizes the file automatically and will use it instead of the default logo.

Older releases are no longer recommended for usage and are listed for reference only.

mnml-blog version	Download	Designed for and tested on DokuWiki	Comment
2011-12-09	Release Update	rc2011-11-10 “Angua RC1”, 2011-05-25a “Rincewind”	Small improvements, better clearing of blog posting contents (don't forget to update all used BlogTNG data template dirs below lib/plugins/blogtng/tpl).
2011-11-30	Release Update	rc2011-11-10 “Angua RC1”, 2011-05-25a “Rincewind”	Full support for DokuWiki's new Media Manager; Apple Touch Icon support (see README for details); added Russian and Spanish language.
2011-05-15	Release Update	rc2011-05-08 “Rincewind RC2”, 2010-11-07 “Anteater”	Fixed blogtng template error “template file comment for template main does not exist!”
2011-05-10	Release Update	rc2011-05-08 “Rincewind RC2”, 2010-11-07 “Anteater”	Cross browser compatibility fixes.
2011-05-08	Release	rc2011-04-22 “Rincewind RC1”, 2010-11-07 “Anteater”	Initial release.

For a complete change log, see the commits on Github.

• Fix wording in some places, space before references (2012/05/04 18:22)
• update README (2012/05/03 06:42)
• update development email contact address (2012/05/02 04:22)
• rewrite README file (2012/05/02 01:22)
• rewrite CREDITS file (2012/05/01 23:17)
• removed ChangeLog file (2012/05/01 23:03)
• fix font style of italic acronyms (2011/12/10 19:21)
• release preparations (2011/12/09 12:12)

Feel free to add yours here:

• http://blog.andreas-haerter.com
• http://pleh.info
• http://www.rocking-minds.org
• http://linuxisit.com
• http://chrisge.org
• http://blog.slucas.fr
• http://www.heiko-barth.de/blog/
• http://notepad.pavlatka.cz