BBMetaBlog v1.2 for download
Posted by Jason Hook at 1/7/2008 3:42 PM 
Categories: BBMetaBlog,Domino,Blackberry,Blogsphere,MetaWeblog
Categories: BBMetaBlog,Domino,Blackberry,Blogsphere,MetaWeblog
Dear all,
BBMetaBlog v1.2 is available for you to download! I'm reasonably pleased with it and the time has come to share it and make it better
Before you download it I want to draw your attention to a couple of things:
Being paranoid some unavoidable caveats:
How to get it:
To download BBMetaBlog to your BlackBerry OTA point your BlackBerry browser to http://www.opencod.org/opencod/ls2007party.nsf/bbMetablog.html.
To install using your desktop manager save the attached files to your computer and install using the Application Loader tool.
To run in a BlackBerry simulator you can drop the .cod file into your simulator directory e.g. C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Device Simulators 4.2.2\4.2.2.67 (8300-O2).
Once installed your BlackBerry may decide it needs to reboot. The same is true if you were to uninstall BBMetablog.
After installation you'll notice a new icon on your applications page:
BlogSphere Configuration:
You will need to confirm that your Blogsphere blog has a username and password for MetaWebLog blogging. So open the Blog configuration page and check the "interfaces" settings. You need to set "Blogger API username" and "Blogger API Passcode" values. Make a note of the "Blogger API Endpoint" value.
BBMetaBlog Configuration:
Run the application and choose "Open Config" by pressing the button or 'o' on the keyboard. Fill in the details for the Username, Password and Access URL fields.
Now click the "Get Categories" button. The device will prompt you to allow a connection to your server you should allow it or allow all. The status field will tell you the outcome. If that succeeds close the configuration screen otherwise act on the error message. Typical errors will be username/password or access url values.
Using BBMetaBlog:
Now go ahead and create a new post at a minimum you should create a story with a title and some content. You can add some html tags either by typing them or using the menu.
You can make the entry draft which means it's Blogsphere draft. Currently I'm not storing any story information in your device. We might want to change that after Lotusphere.
Anyway Post the story. If the status field reads success go to your blog with a web browser or Notes client and you should see it. If you want to continue editing the stories keep the "New Entry" screen open on your devices and keep editing and submitting.
You can edit other posts in your blog by selecting "Edit post" from the Main screen and clicking on the "Get Recent Posts" button. All being well it should pull down some recent posts and present you with a list, select one from the list and press 'e' or the "Enter" key or the "Edit Post" menu item. You can also delete the post from the menu.
That's pretty much it. You can also watch the little video I mentioned in an earlier post. I'd be interested in learning from you how to make it better but in the interim I have a couple of ideas:
In the meantime if you do happen to try BBMetaBlog - thank you very very much (and I mean that) for your interest and participation.
BBMetaBlog.alx
BBMetaBlog.cod
BBMetaBlog v1.2 is available for you to download! I'm reasonably pleased with it and the time has come to share it and make it better
Before you download it I want to draw your attention to a couple of things:
Being paranoid some unavoidable caveats:
- BBMetaBlog is supplied free of charge to you and you're downloading the software at your own risk. I'm taking the same risks as you as BBMetaBlog is running on my BlackBerry! I've installed and un-installed and updated a few times without a problem
- The software uploads and downloads information to and from your Blogsphere blog (normally small text files in XML format) this may incur a financial cost to you which is entirely yours. This is particularly true if you are roaming. I won't take responsibility for costs that you incur downloading and using BBMetaBlog.
- It looks to me like Blogsphere may not implement categories or tags in it's MetaWebLog implementation. This means that any stories you create or update will have a category of "None" when they are procesed by Blogsphere even if BBMetaBlog passes the categories to Blogsphere.
- Limitations of the device and the MetaWeblog API might generate some issues so I'd recommend you only edit stories with BBMetaBlog that you created with BBMetaBlog but it's entirely up to you.
- Avoid using the "ampersand" or "&" character in your stories use and or "&" instead
How to get it:
To download BBMetaBlog to your BlackBerry OTA point your BlackBerry browser to http://www.opencod.org/opencod/ls2007party.nsf/bbMetablog.html.
To install using your desktop manager save the attached files to your computer and install using the Application Loader tool.
To run in a BlackBerry simulator you can drop the .cod file into your simulator directory e.g. C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Device Simulators 4.2.2\4.2.2.67 (8300-O2).
Once installed your BlackBerry may decide it needs to reboot. The same is true if you were to uninstall BBMetablog.
After installation you'll notice a new icon on your applications page:
BlogSphere Configuration:
You will need to confirm that your Blogsphere blog has a username and password for MetaWebLog blogging. So open the Blog configuration page and check the "interfaces" settings. You need to set "Blogger API username" and "Blogger API Passcode" values. Make a note of the "Blogger API Endpoint" value.
BBMetaBlog Configuration:
Run the application and choose "Open Config" by pressing the button or 'o' on the keyboard. Fill in the details for the Username, Password and Access URL fields.
Now click the "Get Categories" button. The device will prompt you to allow a connection to your server you should allow it or allow all. The status field will tell you the outcome. If that succeeds close the configuration screen otherwise act on the error message. Typical errors will be username/password or access url values.
Using BBMetaBlog:
Now go ahead and create a new post at a minimum you should create a story with a title and some content. You can add some html tags either by typing them or using the menu.
You can make the entry draft which means it's Blogsphere draft. Currently I'm not storing any story information in your device. We might want to change that after Lotusphere.
Anyway Post the story. If the status field reads success go to your blog with a web browser or Notes client and you should see it. If you want to continue editing the stories keep the "New Entry" screen open on your devices and keep editing and submitting.
You can edit other posts in your blog by selecting "Edit post" from the Main screen and clicking on the "Get Recent Posts" button. All being well it should pull down some recent posts and present you with a list, select one from the list and press 'e' or the "Enter" key or the "Edit Post" menu item. You can also delete the post from the menu.
That's pretty much it. You can also watch the little video I mentioned in an earlier post. I'd be interested in learning from you how to make it better but in the interim I have a couple of ideas:
- Work with Declan to implement categories (unless I'm wrong about them), getPost() and MediaObjects (so you can take a pic and post it to your blog).
- Save as draft feature on the device
- Handle use of & characters better on the device (I made a start but it needs more work)
In the meantime if you do happen to try BBMetaBlog - thank you very very much (and I mean that) for your interest and participation.
BBMetaBlog.alx
BBMetaBlog.cod
Did you try to send Demo in the body of the post. If I recall correctly this is interpreted.
Hi Stephan,
Not exactly sure my overworked brain has correctly interpreted your point.
If you mean have I tried creating a blog story with the word "Demo" in the main part of the story (which is submitted via POST) then yes (see http://www.opencod.org/opencod/bbblog.nsf).
If not would you mind following up with more detail?