Thingamablog requires Java 1.4 or higher to run. Java can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.java.com

To check if you’re running a compatible version of Java, open a command prompt/shell and enter "java –version ". You should see something like…

java version "1.4"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4-b02, mixed mode)

This assumes, of course, that Java is on your PATH. If it’s not, you’ll have to supply the path to the Java executable in the above command.

Note that Java is cross-platform so Thingamablog will run on any platform on which Java can run.

Installation

For Windows users Thingamablog is shipped in an executable installer named thinga-setup-1.x.exe. Simply double click this file to install Thingamablog onto your computer.

For users of other platforms (i.e. Macintosh, Unix, Linux, etc) Thingamablog is shipped in a zip file named thingamablog1x.zip. Simply unzip the file to the location where you’d like to install Thingamablog.

In addition, the source code is available for those who’d like to make changes. The source code ships in a zip file named thingamablog1x-src.zip

The freshest version of Thingamablog can always be obtained from the Thingamablog download page.

Running Thingamablog

If you installed Thingamablog from the Windows Installer, you can launch it by choosing Start » Programs » Thingamablog » Thingamablog , or by clicking on the Thingamablog icon on your desktop.

If you installed Thingamablog from the zip file, you can run it by entering java -jar thingamablog.jar from the command line, or a shell script.

Creating Databases

Thingamablog stores weblog and feed data in a local database on your hard drive. Therefore, before you can create weblogs of feeds you have to specify where Thingamablog should create a database.

Note: The first time you run Thingamablog you're asked to create a database.

To create a database select File » New Database. A file dialog appears, asking you to select the directory where you would like to create the database. After selecting the directory, Thingamablog creates the required database directory structure. You can now create weblogs and feeds.

Additionally, you can also open existing databases. To do so, select File » Open Database. A file dialog appears, asking you to select the database you'd like to open. Browse to the directory of your database, and select the file "user.xml." After selecting the file, Thingamablog closes the current database, if needed, and opens the database you selected.

Creating Weblogs

Creating new weblogs with Thingamablog is achieved with an easy to use "Weblog Wizard."

You may create as many weblogs as you like, and each may contain as many entries, authors, and categories as you like.

You can access the Weblog Wizard from the New Weblog button on the toolbar. Alternatively, you can also access the wizard from the File menu. (File » New Weblog)

Using the wizard requires that you complete six steps, which are glossed over in the Quick Start Tutorial. To get started with the wizard you must supply two peices of information; the Base URL and the Base Path of the weblog.

The Base URL is the top most URL the weblog will have. It must begin with the protocol and should not end with a filename. Examples of valid base URLs might be http://www.yourblog.com, http://www.yourblog.com/subfolder/blog, etc.

The Base Path is the path on the FTP server, network, or disk drive that you upload the files to. Typically for FTP this path is either "/" or "/public_html", or something similiar. If you're publishing via FTP and are unsure of what your path is, you can obtain it from a standard FTP client. From the FileZilla screenshot below, we can see that the Base Path should be /www/public_html

After completing the wizard, simply click the "Finish" button, and the newly created Weblog appears in the " My Sites" hierarchy.

Importing a 0.9.x version Weblog

In the previous version each blog had its own separate database. In v1.0 each blog shares a single database thereby allowing you to work with multiple weblogs simultaniously. You, therefore, have to import your 0.9.x version weblog into the new v1.0 database if you're upgrading from the previous version.

To import your v0.9.x blog into the new version do the following…

• Open the “Import 0.9.x Weblog “ dialog (File » Import » Import 0.9.x Weblog…)
• Click the browse button and open the “blog.dat” file of your weblog
• Click the import button to copy your blog data into the new database
• Close the Import dialog
  

Your weblog has now been imported into the new database and you should be set.