OrderSomeWhereChaos

An Easy To Activate 'Ping' Button for GreyMatter

Step by Step Instructions

The Weblog aggregator at Weblogs.com changed it's method of polling RSS files for updates in October, 2001. In order to quickly patch Greymatter to notify the Weblogs.com system, I took Aaron's Bookmarklet for notification and tossed it into GreyMatter's main script 'gm.cgi'. The end result is that after I've added a new entry, I have a button I can use to notify Weblogs.com to come see my RSS file.

The JavaScript works in Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows and Internet Explorer 5.0 and Opera 5.0 for Macintosh. If you run into problems, please let me know and I'll update the code.

Please note that in order for this to work, your weblog must already be registered with weblogs.com.

And now, on with the show.

1) Register with weblogs.com so that it will be ready to accept your entry. You may wish to use the manual Weblogs.com Ping form first to make sure you're ready to go.

2) Create a backup file of gm.cgi. Rename it gm-original.cgi.

3) Open up the gm.cgi file and scoll down to line 8305 and find this string of text:

$statusnote = qq(<B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Your new entry has been added.</FONT></B>);

4) Now replace that line with the lines in the text box below:

5) There's a couple of places you can customize the JavaScript. I've marked them with '**'. This includes the following:

• Weblog Name Goes Here should be replaced with the name of your registered Weblog.
• http://url-of.myweb.log should be replaced with the URL of your registered Weblog.

6) You can save the gm.cgi file and upload it, over the top of your old gm.cgi.

7) Now when you go in and add a new entry you will see the following message on the screen once you hit the 'Add This Entry' button:

When you click on the "Notify Weblogs.com" link, a new window will open and confirm your action.

This technique may be helpful for other people wishing to add additional capabilities to GreyMatter.

See also: The Postings in Graymatter's Discussion board, Weblogs.com Changes, and Aaron's article. (All links will open in a new window.)