WARNING - iWeb 2.x does not correctly update the Templates generated with jTemplate for iWeb 1.x. I’ll will look into it , but that takes time. As jTemplate stores the Templates in the home directory and not inside iWeb there might be a way to upgrade the Templates, but I’m not sure.

DESCRIPTION

jTemplate is a Helper Application for iWeb 1.1.2. Tired of always changing the layout of a new blog entry? This is what you need. You can create a new template from any page you created in iWeb. It can also rewrite the paths of your blog entries as well as reordering blogs to reflect a correct timeline.

DOWNLOAD jTemplate.1.00.(1532).dmg

WHAT'S NEW

Version 1.00 build 1532

•no expire date

KNOWN BETA ISSUES

•If you remove a theme and used that theme as blog no new blog entries of that blog can be created. This happens cause iWeb uses the theme to create new blog entries. Workaround: create a new theme from that blog in jTemplate. Then create a new blog page with that newly created theme in iWeb.

•In multiuser environments people might only be able to use their own themes due to file permission restrictions. The import feature in a later version of jTemplate will have a fix for this.

REQUIREMENTS

Mac OS X 10.4, iWeb 1.1.2

Help/FAQ

DESCRIPTION

jTemplate is a Helper Application for iWeb. Tired of always changing the layout of a new blog entry? This is what you need. You can create a new template from any page you created in iWeb. It can also rewrite the paths of your blog entries as well as reordering blogs to reflect a correct timeline.

How does it work (first steps) ?

First you need a copy of a theme to work on. Authorize (by clicking the padlock) and create a copy of a theme by duplicating an existing theme.

The newly created theme will be placed in the theme browser named something like jTemplate.2006.06.22. You can change the name of the theme by double clicking it's name.

Second: select a page from the iWeb pages popup button. Then select the template in the theme browser and click create template.

Third: Try out the new template in iWeb. Create a new page by selecting the template in iWeb.app.

What is a theme ? what's a template ?

A theme ( Gazette, Notebook,..) consists of multiple templates ( Welcome, About Me, Blog,.. ). Currently iWeb supports 7 templates within a theme.

Why does it need authorization to duplicate or rename themes ?

jTemplate does changes to the templates folder inside your iWeb.app application - that needs elevated rights.

Why does it not need authorization when changing templates ?

As templates are created inside your private folder you can change them without privileges.

Where does it store files ?

New templates are created in you ~/Library/Applications Support /iWeb folder. Links are created in appropriate iWeb.app folders for those templates. Do not remove them manually ! When you remove a theme beware that you might not be able to create new blog entries that use that theme.

Is jTemplate free ?

The current Beta version is free. If there is demand, I will polish the product. It took me a full week to write the initial version so it will cost something eventually.

Icon design

The icon represents a magnetic white board where you can change things you've put on. iWeb uses a relatively static pin-board as it's icon.

Something doesn't work any more

Have a look here to see if there is a new version.

I haven't had any problems with using jTemplate. Even during the development it didn't destroy any of my data. To be sure jTemplate creates backups of files it changes.

You can always get back to the original Templates from iWeb by replacing the modified iWeb Property list file with the original version. jTemplate creates a backup of the original version before performing the first modification. The backup is placed inside the iWeb.app folder search for TemplatesInfo.plist.before.jTemplate.original.

When changing the Domain.sites contents ( namely using the 'Blog Entries->Fix order' and 'Rename' menu items ) jTemplate creates a copy of the original iWeb data. It places it inside the Domain.sites folder named index.jTemplate.backup.xml.gz. iWeb will remove this backup as soon as you select 'save' in iWeb the next time you use iWeb. This way backups only need space on your disk as long as they are needed.

Keeping a backup of your Domain.sites directory is always a good idea.

ToDo

•import of themes

•final version

•get feedback

•remove all but one page from blogs when creating a template

•customizing renaming of blog entry paths

•change location of blog template on existing blogs