Movable Type.org

Up until the general release of MT 4.3, we are publishing details on the features of 4.3. Today we'll focus on blog cloning.

For quite some time, blog cloning has been built into Movable Type. It was created to help add a new blog without having to recreate templates, categories or anything else. The problem was that most often there was never the need to clone everything in a blog.

Movable Type 4.3 has added some new features to the cloning process:

• Ability to omit specific content from the cloning process.

  The following content can be omitted:

  • Entries/Pages
  • Categories/Folders
  • Comments
  • Trackbacks

  It may seem like a minor addition, but it can save precious time while developing a site.

• Ability to specify critical blog settings for the new blog before cloning to prevent accidentally overwriting existing content.

  The following fields may be set before cloning:

  • blog name
  • path
  • URL

Several more checks (e.g., a confirmation page, better defaults) have been added to make this process rock solid.

Personally, it has already made testing and setting up a few new installations much easier and faster. I hope this feature will scratch an itch for many of the Movable Type consultants out there.