Fast forward a few days, several glasses of iced tea, and a lot of research later and here’s my newly updated blog. Of course once I figured out the bigger picture, like using my own header image or using a custom background for the page element only, the little details started to kick my ass…like, how to make that whole header image a link and why that custom page background didn’t seem to be repeating correctly. I found work arounds to most of the problems I encountered.

The majority of the changes I made were to the style.css file, which is how it’s supposed to be. I made very minor changes to the header.php and index.php pages. Here are some tips for those that encounter the same problems I did:

Making a Header Image a Link

Per the WordPress Codex, find the <div id=”header”> link in header.php (it’s toward the bottom) and change it to this:

<div id=”header” onclick=”location.href=’http://www.your-url.com/’;” style=”cursor: pointer;”>

Page Background Image Issues

You have the option to have a tiled/repeating background image either for the entire page of your blog (the area to the right and left of this content, the empty white space) and/or you can have a page only (the content area of your blog posts and sidebar, like this page is set up) tiled/repeating background image. As you can see I chose to use a page background, so when I designed the site I set it up so that the header, the Screaming Ink graphic, would blend with the page body and then with the footer below. I had little splash marks tying everything together, to make the page appear seamless. I didn’t use the standard background tile that has all four sides equally tiled so you can repeat it without seeing a pattern. I specifically wanted the ink splatters running the length of the right side.

For some reason the background image didn’t start below the Screaming Ink graphic and the effect was jarring, since there were ink splatters that were not lining up. I spent hours changing the settings for the header and the page in the style sheet; I added padding and changed margins to no avail. Finally, I realized that the page tag is actually for the whole page. Essentially, the page background starts at the very top of the page, not underneath the header, like I had thought. My header is 129 pixels tall, so my background (which is much taller than the header) had 129 pixel hidden from view behind the header. I fixed this in Photoshop to make them appear slightly more seamless.

So remember: Unless your header and reapeting background image are the same height, your header is hiding part of your background image.

That’s pretty much all I can remember right now, since those are the most recent things I dealt with. It was a fun learning experience and it took a lot of patience. There are some minor tweaks I still need to make to the typography, but those can wait for a few days.

I followed the installation all the way through: I finished the database and email set up, I received confirmation that everything was set up correctly, I got additional confirmation that the config file was successfully written, and it was indicated that I would begin setting up my user account by clicking the “Continue” button. Upon doing so, I got a screen that read “Time to Upgrade!,” which is an odd thing to see on an install. That screen lead to screen prompting me for a username and password. Obviously, having not finished completely setting up an account, I do not have a username or a password. Rinse and repeat two more times using a newly set up MySQL database on my server and an attempt to streamline the process by putting everything in a single folder — the installation instructions had me moving 2 sets of files into 2 different folders.

I searched around and there was very little in the way of help. There’s no discernible logic to the way the Movable Type site is set up, specifically the help section; it’s like trying asking directions of someone that doesn’t speak the same language and who also happens to be schizophrenic. For example, they have a Troubleshooting section that covers, what I’m guessing are, common issues. That page advises that if you still have problems to search the “Movable Type Knowledge Base.” Scrolling through the list of installation issues I noted that most of the help articles were from 2005 with a couple of 2006 articles peppered in…none of which addressed my issue, with the 2008 version of their software.

The closest I could find in the way of not feeling completely alone in this situation was one guy, on some forum, who had the same problem back in 2007, but apparently that problem resolved itself according to his last post. Of the small number of responses he received, no one had any specific advice or information on how to remedy, or even what was causing, the problem he was having.

I’m sure there are plenty of people happily using Movable Type, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be one of them anytime soon. If they can figure out a streamlined way to install the software, say maybe allow the end user to install the core files and then have the system download the rest after a setup, then maybe I’ll try again. Otherwise it looks like I’m sticking with the beauty of a 5 minute install that is WordPress.

When Google Maps first loads it presents you with a map of the whole country. This is very useful if you’re an explorer who’s looking to find new land for your native country. For the rest of us, it’s just that familiar old blob we call North America. By typing in your starting address followed by your city, you’ll get a nice zoomed in map of the neighborhood of your starting point. There will be a dialog balloon listing your starting address with the option to get directions to or from that address.

I needed to find multiple addresses and I didn’t know where many of the addresses were located in relation to one another. I chose to start with the first address on my list, using the “Get directions From Here” option. The site updated with turn by turn driving directions from my starting address to my destination and a nice set of “A” and “B” markers with a fancy purple line connecting them on the map itself.

So far so good, but I wasn’t sure how to add another address…until the obvious slapped me. Right beneath the driving directions there’s a link that reads “Add destination…” Clicking that opens a dialog box that allows you type in an address or, I later found out, the name of a location to which Google will give you a list of businesses with that or a similar name and their addresses. If the business name isn’t available or if you just want to label your map simply type your address in the following format: Business Name, Address

Google automatically maps the address and uses the business name as a title in the directions. This is a great feature, especially when you need to go to multiple places that you’ve never been to before; addresses on commercial buildings always seem hidden or obstructed, if present at all. As I added addresses the map and directions were updated instantly. For each address I got a new alphabetical marker designating the address’s position on the map and a purple line showing the route from one stop to the next. Unfortunately, the addresses I entered looked like a looping mass of purple, as the directions had us going 5 miles one way, turning around going 3 miles in the opposite direction and then turning around again and going 4 miles back in the direction we just came from.

I knew there had to be an easy way to overcome this obstacle; some way to unscramble the loop so that the trip made more sense. Instinctively I clicked on one of my alpha markers in the directions panel and pulled it to see if it would do anything and, to my amazement (it does not take much these days), the marker started to drag with my mouse movement. I grabbed the “D” marker and pulled it up under marker “A” and suddenly “D” became “B” and all the other makers were updated (”B” became “C”, etc), as well as the purple travel line. Since I can see the destinations on a map, I can readily adjust the markers in the most logical order until the whole trip is a single, non-overlapping, purple line.

I’m completely impressed with how intuitively designed and well thought out Google Maps is. It made something that could have been a complete pain relatively simple and easy to do. I like simple and easy!

This is my first post, a test of how this system works and what I can try to do to change things.