Plugin: Installing Better File Uploader


Before installing you’ll need to purchase a Better File Uploader Personal or Commercial license.

BFU2 requires Movable Type 4.x, 3.3, or 3.2. ImageMagick or NetPBM are required to create thumbnail images, though BFU2 will otherwise function fine without them. Contact your host or administrator about installing ImageMagick for you; be sure the ImageMagick application and Image::Magick Perl module are installed. You can install NetPBM yourself, though it’s outside the scope of this document.

If you’re not sure if you have ImageMagick or NetPBM installed, or which version you have, the Image Handling Check page. ImageMagick is the preferred tool to create thumbnails, and is required for watermarking. I recommend referring to the Image Handling Check page before purchasing Better File Uploader to make a reasonable attempt to ensure it will work as you require.

For Movable Type 4.x

  1. Purchase and download BFU2.
  2. Extract the .zip file.
  3. Upload the plugins/ folder to your Movable Type installation. The result should look like the illustration below.
    MT_DIR/
     |_ plugins/
         |_ BetterFileUploader/
             |_ BetterFileUploader.pl
             |_ lib/
             |   |_ BetterFileUploader/
             |       |_ L10N/
             |       |   |_ en_us.pm
             |       |_ CMS.pm
             |       |_ L10N.pm
             |       |_ Settings.pm
             |_ tmpl/
                 |_ bfu_title.tmpl
                 |_ file_exists.tmpl
                 |_ new_entry.tmpl
                 |_ processing.tmpl
                 |_ show_html.tmpl
                 |_ speeddemon_close.tmpl
                 |_ speeddemon_options.tmpl
                 |_ upload.tmpl
  4. Upload the mt-static/ folder to your Movable Type installation. The result should look like the illustration below.
    MT_STATIC_DIR/
     |_ plugins/
         |_ BetterFileUploader/
             |_ bfu-icon.png

After installing, pop over to the plugin’s Settings—at either the system- or blog-level—to configure Better File Uploader.

For Movable Type 3.3

  1. Purchase BFU2. The purchase e-mail provides a link to the latest version of BFU2—compatible with MT4 only. Please e-mail Dan to get a copy of 2.1.2; include your PayPal purchase reference number.
  2. Extract the .zip file.
  3. Upload the plugins/ folder to your Movable Type installation. The result should look like the illustration below.
    MT_DIR/
     |_ plugins/
         |_ BetterFileUploader/
             |_ BetterFileUploader.pl
             |_ BetterFileUploader.cgi
             |_ lib/
             |   |_ BFU/
             |       |_ L10N/
             |       |   |_ en_us.pm
             |       |_ BetterFileUploader.pm
             |       |_ L10N.pm
             |       |_ Settings.pm
             |_ tmpl/
                 |_ bfu_title.tmpl
                 |_ file_exists.tmpl
                 |_ new_entry.tmpl
                 |_ processing.tmpl
                 |_ show_html.tmpl
                 |_ upload.tmpl
  4. chmod plugins/BetterFileUploader/BetterFileUploader.cgi to 755.

If you’re upgrading to version 2.1.2, note that the folder/file structure has changed considerably since 2.0. You can simply delete the existing files and upload 2.1.2—your settings will be retained.

After installing, pop over to the plugin’s Settings—at either the system- or blog-level—to configure Better File Uploader.

For Movable Type 3.2

  1. Follow the instructions for version 3.3, above.
  2. In the For 3.2/ folder you’ll find BigPAPI.pl. Upload BigPAPI.pl to your installation’s plugins/ folder.

Problems?

If the installation didn’t run smoothly be sure to refer to the Troubleshooting Tips.