Please Pardon the Dust

Posted March 23, 2005 in Design.

The site was a bit of a mess today, unbeknownst to me. I was making some changes to the database for a new version of Tense Log, and one of those changes had some rather adverse effects here.

While I'm on the subject, here's a preview of a Tense Log v2.0 template (altered slightly to get the best bits in).

Preview of a Tense Log v2.0 template.

Tense Log v2.0 has a completely redesigned template system that's far more flexible. Templates are no longer limited to simple tags; you can now set parameters for more customization and even add custom tags with a new plug-in architecture. You can see an example of a new tag in the bottom corner of the screenshot above: there's a list of recent entries in the sidebar.

The list of changes is over half a page long now, but here are some highlights:

  • Entries can now be previewed, allowing you to see how they look in your template, and validate your code, before they're published to your site and RSS feeds.
  • An optional archive page has been added (like the one here), allowing you to browse through entries quickly.
  • RSS feeds have been added for comments as well as individual categories.
  • RSS feeds are now searchable. If you're only interested in entries about JavaScript, for example, just click on the RSS feeds link and enter JavaScript in the search box. The resulting feed will include only entries that contain the word JavaScript, so you're only notified about what you're interested in.
  • The RSS feeds now have a style sheet and transformation applied, making them much friendlier to use. I'll be talking about this more in the near future.
  • Images are now included in RSS feeds.
  • Comments can now be closed after a period of time.
  • An email form has been added to the comments pages, allowing people to contact each other without revealing their email addresses on the site.
  • Uploads can now be moved easily between folders.

There are a host of other additions and bug fixes as well. It's starting to feel close to finished, but it may be some time before I release it. If you're interested in beta testing, contact me! If you have any comments, complaints, or even questions about Tense Log, I'd love to hear from you too. Just leave your thoughts below.

Update: It seems commenting has been broken for some time now as well. Thanks to Rob for pointing it out. The problem has been fixed.

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