Blog AddOn

Screenshots

Example list view:

Example post:

Features

• Integrates blog posts with Foswiki topics.
• Uses editable categories to filter or group posts. Categories can also be used to distinguish multiple blogs with separate 'owners'.
• Offers tags to further filter blog posts.
• Offers comments and options to hide or close comments.
• Provides a handy interface with sorting and filtering options that can be INCLUDEd in any topic in the same Web.
• Optionally displays user pictures; see Settings below

Working with BlogAddOn

• Visit yourblogweb.BlogPost for the overview of blog posts
• Visit yourblogweb.BlogPostCreator to create new blog entries
• Visit yourblogweb.BlogCategories to edit the categories

Putting the blog post list in a different topic

%INCLUDE{"yourblogweb.BlogPost"}%

List display options

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
display="posts"
}%

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
display="list"
}%

Summary options

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
display="posts"
outline="summary(450, noheader)"
}%

Images in list view

• author picture: if setting BLOGADDON_AUTHOR_PICTURE_FIELD points to a form field in the user profile that contains the name of an attached file - see Settings below
• summary picture: if the blog post has a value for form field SummaryImage that contains the name of an attached file
• commenter picture: see author picture

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
picsizeauthor="30"
}%

Create button

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
section="createButton"
}%

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
section="createButton"
label="Write up!"
}%

Filtering and sorting options

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
sort="created"
}%

Showing the latest posts, 15 posts per screen

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
sort="formfield(PublishingDate)"
pagesize="15"
}%

Showing blog posts in 1 category

%INCLUDE{
"yourblogweb.BlogPost"
sort="formfield(PublishingDate)"
category="Interesting"
}%

Creating filter links

%SEARCH{"   *\s*.*?" topic="BlogCategory" web="yourblogweb" type="regex" multiple="on" casesensitive="on" nonoise="on" format="<a href='%SCRIPTURL{view}%/yourblogweb/BlogPost?sort=created;pagesize=10;sortdirection=descending;category=$pattern(.*   \*\s*([^\n]*).*)'>$pattern(.*   \*\s*([^\n]*).*)</a>"}%

Settings

• To show user pictures:
  • In WebPreferences or SitePreferences: point preference setting BLOGADDON_AUTHOR_PICTURE_FIELD to the field name of the user topic that contains the filename of the user picture. For example, for PersonalInfoAddOn that field is named "Picture", so you would write:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_AUTHOR_PICTURE_FIELD = Picture

• To use a different list topic (default is yourblogweb.BlogPost):
  • In WebPreferences or SitePreferences, or in the list topic itself, write:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_LIST_TOPIC = yourblogweb.thelisttopic

  • Note: if you wish to use the topic macro, write BASETOPIC instead of TOPIC; do not forget to add the Web. This is correct: Set BLOGADDON_LIST_TOPIC = %BASEWEB%.%BASETOPIC%
• To let comments be posted to a different Web:
  • In WebPreferences or SitePreferences: point preference setting BLOGADDON_COMMENTS_WEB to the Web you want to get comments. By default this is the current Web.
    For example:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_COMMENTS_WEB = Comments

• To hide comments for a user or all members of a group:
  • In WebPreferences or SitePreferences, or in the list topic itself, write:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_HIDE_COMMENTS = WikiName or GroupName

  • Note that you cannot add multiple names or groups, only one user or group name.
  • To hide all comments and comment box from not logged-in users, use:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_HIDE_COMMENTS = WikiGuest

• To disallow a user or all members of a group to give comments:
  • In WebPreferences or SitePreferences, or in the list topic itself, write:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_DENY_COMMENTING = WikiName or GroupName

  • Note that you cannot add multiple names or groups, only one user or group name.
  • To show existing comments, but hide the comment box from not logged-in users, use:
    

       * Set BLOGADDON_DENY_COMMENTING = WikiGuest

• BLOGADDON_ALLOW_GUEST_COMMENTS - to allow guest comments. Experimental feature.

Installation Instructions

• Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below)
• Unzip BlogAddOn.zip in your ($FOSWIKI_ROOT) directory.
• Copy the topics from /data/_BlogAddOn to the web you want the blog to appear
• Alternatively,
  • Manually resolve the dependencies listed below.

    Name	Version	Description
    Foswiki::Plugins::ZonePlugin	>=3.1	Required. required for Foswiki < 1.1
    Foswiki::Plugins::CommentPlugin	>=6512	Required
    Foswiki::Plugins::SpreadSheetPlugin	>=1	Required

Reference for administrators

• yourblogweb.BlogPost - overview of all posts with filtering and sorting options
• yourblogweb.BlogPostCreator - form to start new posts
• yourblogweb.BlogCategory - editable list of blog categories
• yourblogweb.BlogPostForm - form definition with post data fields
• yourblogweb.BlogPostTemplate - every new post gets settings from this topic
• yourblogweb.BlogPostViewTemplate - every post is displayed through this view template
• yourblogweb.BlogPostCommentTemplate - form template for comment box (see CommentPlugin)
• yourblogweb.BlogRss - RSS feed topic with filters for category, tags and author
• yourblogweb.BlogPostExample - example blog post; delete when everything works

• Renaming post topics: the comment topic needs to be renamed as well
  • The comment topic is created automatically when the first comment is submitted, using the syntax topic name + Comment.
• Renaming categories: the comment topics are not updated automatically

AddOn Info