Update: This post has become a bit popular due to, as I say below, the lack of a clear set of brain-dead simple instructions for updating your MT banner. I will point out - as the Blog Herald did - there is now a plugin for this. As one of my commenters also pointed out, however, that plugin doesn't work for everybody. So for many folks who have just a simple blog, and aren't building the next Obama campaign web site (that was Movable Type, believe it or not) my instructions will probably still work best.
Ok, literary types and photography fans. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room for a minute. This post is a public service to the poor souls who, like me, use Movable Type as their blog software, and who, like me, have found that relatively simple tasks can sometimes be nearly impossible to figure out due to the lack of a "for dummies" style guide to the software.
This blog uses software called Movable Type 4.23, which departs significantly from the Movable Type 3.x and prior versions on the simple issue of how to customize your banner (that pretty picture at the top of the page). Movable Type bloggers have torn their hair out over just how exactly to do this very simple task, because nobody seems to bother to write the relatively straightforward steps down for anyone to read. Or worse yet, the instructions provided are unnecessarily complex, advising the user how to make a banner that will cry out in the morning like a Turkish minaret and toast bread and wash clothes and then tuck the blogger into bed in the evening time. Most of us desire far less. Here, therefore, are the brain-dead simple instructions for those in need. Please note: this is only one way to do this. It is a simple way to do it. It has limitations. It only gets you so far. You may have to re-do this if you update your templates (this is less likely than I prevoiously thought, but still, fair warning). There is probably a way to avoid that. But it works to get up a simple banner image that is more than ugly default text. Movable Type Geniuses (who live on an island called Movable Land and wear fancy mumus) will surely scowl at the crude nature of these instructions. These people can kiss my ass. Click the link below for the full steps.
- In the administrative interface, go to manage > blog and choose the blog you want to customize.
- Go to Design > Style and choose one of the styles with the word "minimalist" in the name. I used Minimalist green because I wanted to use that color as a background for my banner image.
- Go to Design > Templates.
- Under the heading "Template Modules" click "Banner Header".
- This is the little thingy that controls your banner header. You didn't know that, did you! Well now you do. Your life is complete. Well not quite, you have a couple more steps.
- There is all sorts of crap in the Banner Header window. You don't know what this crap does. But this crap is important, so just in case, copy that crap into a text file and save it neatly away before you do anything else.
- Pare down the crap in the window to what you see below. You could keep those items marked "H2" if you want - that's your title and description - but it's up to you. I added spaces to get this to display in this post well enough for you to read.
< div id="header" > < div id="header-inner" > < A HREF = "http://yourbloghomepage.com" >< img src="http://yourblogname.com/yourimageaddress.gif" title="Your blog title" /> < /A>< div > < /div >- I find that images over 1000 pixels don't work very well in the minimalist templates.
- Now, if you want to keep the dynamic name and description that was in the original crap in the window, go to your text file and fish them out - they're behind the "H2" tags and are fairly easy to find - and paste those back in where you like.
- Save the darned thing. Upload your image
- Publish your site. Your banner is now customized.
- You can do almost anything you want, HTML-wise, in that Banner Header. But hang on to that original crap. You might need it if things go badly. Also create a copy of your new crap. That might be handy as well if you upgrade.
If anyone has a suggestion for making this even simpler, please leave a comment. Really, this is just an easy way to do it. End of story.
Hello,
Thanks very much for this great tip! Oh yeah, nice blog you got here. ;)
I am weeping with joy. Thank you! After visiting 412 sites trying to find this answer, and installing the CustomerHeader plugin to no avail, this is exactly what I was looking for. If only all instructions called a spade a spade and used the technical term "crap." Sweet relief!
Thank you thank you thank you! I suppose you know just how frustrating and difficult it is to find anything on this on MT's forums? They seem to have forgotten about us plebs who just need this sort of stuff explained in plain, non techy language.
Susan, you are a legend.
And thank goodness for Google.