In this upgrade Textpattern tutorial, I’m going to show you the easiest way to update your files using cPanel and File Manager. It’s perhaps the least time-consuming process when compared to FTP applications such as FileZilla.

This tutorial is similar to when you installed Textpattern for the first time. Instead of copying all of the files, though, you’ll only be selecting a few of the core updates.

Let’s get started.

Upgrading Textpattern

Currently, there is no automatic update feature within Textpattern like there is with other content management systems. This means files need to be transfered manually. While you may be tempted to refrain from upgrading Textpattern, you want to for the simple reason of protecting the site from programming exploits.

Hackers love it when they have an easy target…even if your site is small.

Step 1: Download the Newest Textpattern Core

Take note of what version of the system you’re using by logging into your site. The version of Textpattern will be displayed in the bottom left.

Go to the Textpattern website and download the latest version.

Step 2: Create a Backup of Your Website

Any time you make adjustments to any website, you should always create a backup. This can save you from a great deal of frustration in the event something goes wrong when transferring files. If something gets corrupted during the updating process, you could lose all of your data.

These backups can be done from File Manager and phpMySQL. You can also use FileZilla to download all of your website’s files to keep them safe on your computer system.

Either way, it’s important that you create this copy before you continue.

Step 3: Upload New Version to Website

Go to your cPanel dashboard and click the “File Manager.”

Access your website’s public root folder. In most cases, it will be in the “public_html” directory.

Upload the ZIP file of the new version of Textpattern by clicking “Upload.”

Step 4: Unzip the Upgrade File

Right-click the ZIP file and select “Extract.” Those on Macs will use CMD+click.

Leave the default path as-is and select “Extract File(s).” Don’t worry, this will create a new folder within Textpattern with the version as part of its name. It won’t overwrite any data.

Step 5: Copy New Files to Textpattern

The new folder will appear with the same name as the zip file. Open the new folder created by unzipping the file into the directory. This can be done by double clicking the folder icon.

Highlight both index.php and .htaccess files by holding down CTRL and click.

Hold down your mouse click on the “index.php” file and drag both files over to the Textpattern folder for your website. You want to drop these files in the “public_html” directory.

NOTE: You need to drop these files in the precise root folder for your Textpattern website. This will automatically overwrite any files of the same name without giving you an “are you sure” message. Coincidentally, this is why you create backups – in case you drop a file in the wrong folder.

Do the same process with the “rpc” folder. Except, you want to open the folder and move its contents rather than the entire directory. That way, you don’t accidentally overwrite anything you’ve placed into the rpc folder while developing your site.

Access the “Textpattern” folder by double-clicking into it. Notice we are still working from within the upgraded Textpattern folder we unzipped earlier.

Here is where it may get a bit confusing for some. You need to copy everything from this Textpattern folder into your live Textpattern folder…not the public_html section.

Real quick, Textpattern will install its own folder in your root directory. While technically the site still operates from “public_html,” the primary data operates from the “Textpattern” folder itself.

Select all of the files by clicking “Select All” from the tool bar.

Right-click any of the highlighted files and select “Copy.” Mac users will do CMD+click.

In the file path, make sure you are copying the contents to your Textpattern folder. Remember, you are not putting this into the root folder. This will go in the actual “Textpattern” folder that is within the root. So, you may have a path such as “/public_html/textpattern“.

Change the file path to reflect your Textpattern directory.

Click the “Copy File(s)” button to continue.

After the files have all been copied, access your Textpattern website from the admin portal. The upgrade script will run automatically and finish the process.

It may not be a bad idea to run the diagnostic tool from the Admin panel after the upgrade just to make sure the site is functioning properly.

It’s imperative that you always remember to create a backup of your files before doing an upgrade. If you move something to the wrong folder, it can be a painstaking process to fix. This is a process that needs to be done if you want to keep your web hosting account safe from hackers and bots. Updates such as these often come with bug fixes and more efficient programming which improves site performance.

The post How to Upgrade Textpattern appeared first on GreenGeeks.

After installing your own version of Textpattern, you want to customize its functionality. In this Textpattern plugins installation tutorial, I’m going to go over how to add these elements to your site. Remember, this system is a bit more advanced and may require a bit of programming knowledge.

Don’t worry, though. You won’t need a college degree to use the system. In fact, a lot of these plugins need nothing more than a copy-and-paste procedure. Installing plugins on Textpattern is often easier than installing templates.

Downloading the Plugin

The first thing you’ll need to do is download the plugin you want. It’s best to get these add-ons from the Textpattern website. However, plugins are available in several other places on the Internet. Just be careful when installing code from a third party. You never know what you might be adding to your site.

For this tutorial, I am going to install the wet_plugout tool. This adds a batch enable/disable feature for plugins from a single button.

Go to the plugin and click the “Download File” link in the left navigation menu. It’ll be about in the middle of the screen.

This will be a text document. Essentially, it’s coding that you’ll be pasting into Textpattern. Save it somewhere you’ll be able to easily find the file. I like to save it to the desktop and then move or delete it when I’m done.

The browser may simply save the file automatically to your downloads folder.

Textpattern Plugins Installation

Adding a plugin to Textpattern is relatively straightforward depending on the add-on. There may be additional files or codes you’ll have to use to get a plugin to work right, but many of the more advanced additions will come with instructions to help you.

In Textpattern, click the “Admin” tab at the top and select “Plugins.”

Open the text file plugin you downloaded and copy the contents into the text window. A text file uses your basic default editor. For instance, PC users may open this file in Notepad. In any case, you need to copy and paste all of the content from that file and place it into the plugin text field.

The string of characters may look like a jumble, but this is the plugin as it appears encrypted. It’s supposed to look like a mess of letters. Textpattern will properly parse it for you and install the coding correctly.

Once the code is copied, click the “Upload” button.

In the preview pane of the plugin, you’ll see the code in its entirety. Under it will be a help screen that will have more information regarding the plugin itself. From here, you can make custom edits or leave it as-is. The plugin I am using requires no additional changes, so it’s ready out-of-the-box.

Click the “Install” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

The plugin will be installed but not activated by default. Click the “No” link in the Active column of the plugin to turn it on.

After the activate link is clicked, the plugin becomes live. In this example, it’s the batch tool for Plugout. This particular feature is listed under Extensions will is not visible from the Admin tab. Other plugins may be located in various areas depending on the functionality.

While Textpattern may look intimidating and advanced, a lot of what you’ll do for modifications in the system is nothing more than copy and paste. That is, until you learn a bit of coding to customize your hosted website.

If you want to learn a bit about what can be done in PHP, HTML or CSS, visit the W3 Schools website. It is full of useful information for free and you can learn at your own pace.

The post How to Install Textpattern Plugins appeared first on GreenGeeks.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you perhaps one of the easiest ways to backup your Textpattern website. It will be in two parts: files and database. You will need both if you want to truly keep your site protected from lost data.

You should create a backup of your site before adding plugins or installing templates. That way, you can restore Textpattern quickly from the copy in the event the site breaks from incorrect coding.

Backing Up Your Textpattern Files

In this backup Textpattern tutorial, I’m going to demonstrate how to create a ZIP archive of your entire site in cPanel. This makes data transfer incredibly easy and will help in a speedy restore of Textpattern.

Click the “File Manager” from the cPanel dashboard.

Go to the “public_html” directory for your website.

Select all of the files and folders for your website. You can do this by clicking the “Select All” tool above the file window.

Right-click on any of the highlighted files and select “Compress.” Mac users will use CMD+click.

Choose a compression type from the available list. For this tutorial, I am keeping it easy and selecting “Zip Archive.”

Give the archive a filename ending in “.zip.” Since I am creating a backup, I’m going to name this one: “SiteBackup04242017.zip“.

Verify that all the files and folders are present in the compression window. When you are ready, click the “Compress File(s)” button to create the archive.

The Compression Results window will show how much each file has been compressed and added to the .zip file. Click the “Close” button on the bottom right corner.

Select the backup .zip file you created and click “Download” from the tool bar.

Save the file to a location you can easily find it. I would suggest placing it in a Cloud storage platform like Dropbox. That way, you’ll have a copy on your computer as well as online.

After you’ve downloaded the archive, you should delete the file from your website. With the file still selected, click “Delete” from the tool bar.

If you want an exact copy of your site without compressing the data into a zip file, you can always use an FTP program like FileZilla to download the files and directories. However, this won’t help you get the database. You will still need to follow the next part of this tutorial.

Backing Up the Database

Backing up the database is a bit different than the files and directories. In some ways, it’s a bit easier.

First, you will need to know the name of the database you’re using. If you only have Textpattern installed, this is quite easy. It will be the only one listed in phpMyAdmin.

But if you need to know the name of your database and didn’t write it down when you installed Textpattern, you can see the name in the config.php file. This can be done from the File Manager in cPanel. Highlight config.php and click “Edit” from the tool bar.

In the editor, you will see how Textpattern accesses the database. You are looking for the name followed by the ‘db’ section of code. This is the name of the database you will need to access.

Once you have the database name, you can close out of this screen. Make sure you don’t save any changes by accident.

From the cPanel dashboard, click phpMyAdmin to open your databases.

Click on the database for your Textpattern website in the left panel.

Click the “Export” option along the top of the database tables.

Keep the Method set to “Quick” and the format as “SQL” and click “Go.”

You will then save the SQL file onto your computer. Again, I suggest saving it somewhere easy to remember or putting the file into something like Dropbox.

Once you save the file, you can exit phpMySQL.

Keeping a backup of Textpattern is ideal for many reasons. It’s an excellent way to protecting your hosted website from a myriad of problems. Whether it’s restoring from a hack or fixing coding issues on the site, backup files are extremely useful. Never assume that your site is always safe from corruption. Make it a habit to routinely backup Textpattern.

The post How to Backup Textpattern appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You’ve touched base a bit with this when you manually install Textpattern as you have to copy and paste the configuration coding into config.php.

In a way, you don’t really install Textpattern templates. It’s more like you have an editor that allows you to enter code manually. If you don’t know much about CSS, HTML or PHP, you many have issues trying to get that perfect look and feel for the site.

On the upside, some template developers will include detailed instructions within the ZIP file of their packages. Others will simply give you the coding to copy and paste directly into your site.

Let me try to clear some of the elements you’ll need to know.

1. Always Back Up Your Website

Regardless of what CMS you use, whether it’s Textpattern or WordPress, always have a backup ready in the event of a problem. This can prevent you from losing important site programming data as well as a quick recovery so your users are not turned away by a problematic webpage.

Backups can be done by using FTP tools like FileZilla which will allow you to download the entire website onto your computer system. Depending on your Internet speed, this can take a bit of time. However, it’s better than losing all of your important files and website traffic should something happen.

You can also use a plugin for Textpattern. It may take you a bit of time to find one that covers your needs, but it may be possible to shave off the time to create a backup.

2. Extracting Template Files from ZIP

Most template downloads you’ll come across are contained within ZIP files. These will need to be extracted to your computer. Depending on the design of the template, there may be an incredible number of files or perhaps just a few.

In either case, you’ll need these to either copy and paste the code to your side or to create a new file in Textpattern.

3. Accessing the Textpattern Editor

Once you have your template files, it’s time to access the Textpattern editor.

The editor system built into Textpattern is essentially a workspace for editing code. Unfortunately, you don’t have a visual editor in this area and will have to rely on testing your environment by visiting the actual site.

Sections

When you first log into your website, Textpattern shows you the “Write” screen immediately.

Click on the “Presentation” tool at the top and click “Sections.”

Some templates will require the use of new sections for it to work properly. It is from this screen where you can make those adjustments or add new files directly.

Pages

Click on “Presentation” and select the tool for “Pages.”

This area controls how your webpages are delivered onto the website. You’ll have options for error pages, archives and the default coding. Like most other elements of Textpattern, all of these are editable to suit your needs. You can also create new pages and duplicate those that exist depending on the requirements for the template.

However, most templates you may come across only alter the primary three pages.

It may be wise to duplicate a page you plan to edit so you have a backup copy of it in case something goes wrong.

Forms

Click “Presentation” from the top and select “Forms.”

The Forms area is quite extensive compared to the others. It is here where a large bulk of the work is done for your website. These forms control aspects ranging from how articles are listed to the way links behave.

Each of these will need to be changed per the templates requirements. For the most part, you may be able to simply copy and paste the code directly into any of the forms. However, you can also create new ones from the link at the top right.

Styles

Click the link for “Presentation” and select “Styles” at the bottom.

The Styles section is where you will edit the Cascading Style Sheet, or CSS. Here is where a large portion of the layout and visual adjustments will be made. The CSS is responsible for assigning classes, changing typography, adjusting headings and so much more.

For example, the default CSS file is where you would go if you wanted to change the color and typography of your links.

3. Be Aware of Plugins

Some templates may require the use of specific plugins before they will function correctly. While some templates may have these additions wrapped up within the ZIP file, you may have to visit Textpattern’s website to find the one that makes it work.

When you find a template you like, take the time to research it and make sure you have all the files necessary to make it operate on your website.

4. Uploading Images

If you have a template that uses default images, those will need to be uploaded directly to your web hosted account. This can be done by either using cPanel’s File Manager or through using FTP programs such as FileZilla. Either way, you need to upload those elements if you want to use them in your site.

You don’t really install Textpattern templates per se. It’s more like using code snippets from others and pasting them into your website. Although this is a bit more time consuming than it is on many other content management systems, it can be as easy as copy and paste. Just make sure you get the entire code and always create duplicates of the files you’re editing.

The post How to Install Textpattern Templates appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Whether you’re setting up a website to make money or simply want to give customers a method for contacting you, Textpattern is a good system to use. Once you get the hang of what this content management system can handle, everything else falls into place.

In this Textpattern installation tutorial, you’ll learn how to set up the package directly from your website. This is an easy process that shouldn’t take you very long to master.

Step 1: Add Textpattern to Your Website

In this tutorial, I am assuming that you have a web hosting account with access to cPanel or your root directory. This is because you’ll need to upload some files to your empty domain.

Download Textpattern

Go to the Textpattern website and click the download button. The newest version should be available from the homepage.

You may be prompted to save the file into a specific location. However, some computer systems are set up to save the file automatically to the “Downloads” folder.

I prefer to install things like this to the desktop as it makes it easier to find. Then, I move them to either an archive folder or delete them outright. It all depends on what the file is.

In reality, you won’t need this file again once you’re down installing Textpattern.

Upload Textpattern to Your Host

In this tutorial, I’m going to use cPanel’s File Manager to upload the package. You can also use FTP programs like FileZilla if you want to go that direction. If you do use FileZilla, you may have to unzip the Textpattern package to upload all of the files for the installation.

Go to your cPanel dashboard and click on “File Manager.”

You’re going to use File Manager to unzip the archive into your website. This is a much faster method than trying to upload Textpattern’s files one by one.

Access the root directory of your website by clicking “public_html.”

Click the “Upload” control from the top task bar in File Manager.

Click the “Select File” button and upload the file you previously downloaded.

Click the “Go Back to” link at the bottom once your download is complete.

Unzip and Move the Textpattern Files

Right-click the Textpattern ZIP file and click the “Extract” option. Mac users will need to use CMD+click.

Leave the default path as-is and click “Extract File(s).”

Once the extraction is done, click the “Close” button in the bottom corner.

Now, you will have a folder with the Textpattern version similar to the ZIP file.

Double-click this new folder to open it and access the files.

Select all the files and click the “Move” control from the tool bar. You can do this by clicking the “Select All” tool just above the list of files in the directory.

Change the file path to your root directory and click “Move File(s).” Most people will just use the “/public_html/” folder.

Click the “Up One Level” button to go back to your site’s root directory.

Now, you will see the beginnings of a website. Delete the Textpattern ZIP file as you will no longer need it. The same can be done with the Empty folder you just moved everything out of.

Step 2: Creating the Database for Textpattern

Textpattern will not create the database on its own. You will need to set this up for the Textpattern installation. However, it’s not a very difficult process.

Go to cPanel and click the “MySQL Database Wizard.” This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to set up the database especially for those who have never done it before.

Give your database a name and click the “Next Step” button. This will be used when first installing Textpattern and will govern over all of your site’s data. For this example, I’m simply setting up “textpattern.”

Enter the information for the website to access the database and click “Create User.” You’ll need a username and password for your Textpattern website. Without this, the site will not be able to access data.

Give the user access to the entire database by clicking “All Privileges.”

Scroll down and click the “Next Step” button.

Now, you have a new user ready for the Textpattern website.

Step 3: Running the Site to Install Textpattern

OK, now it’s time to access the website and start the installation script.

Go to your domain’s web address from your browser. You will immediately see an error message:
[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” ” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]”config.php is missing or corrupt. To install Textpattern, visit textpattern/setup/”[/ht_message]
This is normal. Click the “textpattern/setup/” link from this page.

Choose your preferred language and click the “Submit” button. Textpattern is available in about 40 or so languages if English is not your native tongue.

Input the credentials for your database that you created above in Step 2 and click “Next.”

The system will give you a block of code to input into a config.php file. You will have to create this file yourself within your public_html directory.

Go back to your File Manager in cPanel and click the “+ File” button. Make sure you’re in the Textpattern directory within your website before creating this file.

Add a new file name config.php and click “Create New File.”

Right-click the config.php file and select “Edit.” Mac users will use CMD+click.

Copy the code from the Textpattern screen and paste it into the config.php file.

After pasting the code, click the “Save Changes” button. This will be in the top right-hand corner of the editor screen for config.php.

Once you’ve saved the file, go back to Textpattern and click “I did it.”

Input your credentials for the site and click “Next.” This will be your personal information including your username and email address. When creating the admin account, it’s advisable not to use “admin” as the username. This is a common name and essentially gives hackers one-half of the ability to access your website.

Choose a username that is more unique to you.

You can now access your website by click the “Log in now” button.

Textpattern is a good way to accentuate your web hosted platform. It makes it easier to create quality content when you don’t have to worry about knowing advanced HTML to create a site. Install Textpattern for yourself and see if it’s a good fit for your needs. It’s a free app and you lose nothing but a few moments of time to see if it’s right for you.

The post How to Install Textpattern appeared first on GreenGeeks.