May 19 2005

We've just posted an writeup in the ProNet articles section entitled How to speed up publishing in Movable Type. If you're not using Movable Type 3.1x's dynamic publishing feature and experiencing slow rebuild times, it's a must read.

In addition to this article, we've been working to expand our documentation overall. Some overdue additions to the core Movable Type docs include full documentation of configuration settings, which finally covers all the little details of the mt.cfg file, and comprehensive instructions for Installing Movable Type on Windows.

We'll be continuing to make improvements, but all of these resources should help even the most advanced user find some new tips, tricks, and techniques for working with Movable Type.

May 3 2005

Most people who know and use Movable Type are extremely web savvy, but that doesn't mean they don't still want to sit down with a good book sometimes. We've rounded up a few books that would be of interest for almost any Movable Type user, from newbies to experts.

One of the most popular titles is Rogers Cadenhead's Movable Type Bible Desktop Edition. Though Rogers has gained some fame from having registered the new Pope's name as a domain name, he's been tasteful enough to refrain from promoting the fact that he's written a bible himself. Aside from the restraint he's shown, the book is great for its in-depth coverage of the best ways to use Movable Type's features, covering best practices in addition to technical features. You can check out the first chapter of the book on Rogers' site.

Another recent title is Sams Teach Yourself Movable Type in 24 Hours. Molly Holzschlag and Porter Glendinning really outdid themselves in the appendices to their book, which are an invaluable reference for people who spend significant time digging into Movable Type templates.

And one more title that's not released yet, but that we're eagerly awaiting the publication of, is Hacking Movable Type. Featuring contributions from a number of well-known contributors to the Movable Type community, including our own Jay Allen and Brad Choate, this should be a good complement to the other titles, diving into the guts of Movable Type and discussing what can be done if you use Movable Type as a starting point for your own creativity.