------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Movable Type => Drupal Conversion README Revised by Morbus Iff, 2004-05-25. Email morbus@disobey.com. Love. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This import script was created so that converting from Movable Type to Drupal wouldn't be as difficult as these things normally are: * Movable Type authors are imported and given a random password (for them to login, have them "Request new password" - they'll receive it at the email address associated with their MT author). * All Movable Type entries are imported into Drupal nodes. * Your Movable Type categories are imported as a Drupal taxonomy. * All comments are imported as anonymous user comments (ie. no user accounts are created for your commenters; as such, comments they've left before signing up for an account in your Drupal installation will not be associated with their user). * Trackback data is imported (though, by default, Drupal doesn't come with trackback support outta the box. similarly, I've not tested this feature heavily, as I don't use trackbacks myself). * Your MT permalinks are aliases to Drupal nodes, such that no linkrot should exist when you delete MT and enact Drupal (see below for usage instructions). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before you can run this script, you'll need to: * create the first Drupal account (the "root" account). this happens the first time you login to your Drupal. * enable the "path" module. to do so, go to administrator > configuration > modules. check the "path" module checkbox; save. to make the transition as smooth as possible, you should also turn on Drupal's "clean URLs" within the configuration menu. * if you want Drupal to send and receive NEW trackbacks (after the import), download and install the user-contributed trackback module: http://drupal.org/project/trackback/. ############################################################################## ############################################################################## The approach of the import script is to have you generate a giant PHP file via the MT template system. This is quick and dirty, BUT the size of the generated files can be QUITE large (my test data was 13 megs). Running 13 megs of PHP code can cause page timeouts, segfaults, and rather angry webhosts. AS SUCH, the import script will only import 100 entries (including comments, trackbacks, etc.) AT A TIME. ############################################################################## ############################################################################## To start the import process: * create an MT template file that contains the entire import script. * output location should be the Drupal directory (e.g. /drupal/import.php). * rebuild the newly-created template file (creating /drupal/import.php). * load drupal/import.php in your browser; you'll be informed of progress. When the drupal/import.php script is finished, you'll want to modify the MT template file to move on to the next 100 entries to import. To do so, look for the following bit of text: // if you're running this script multiple // times for large imports, [MTEntries] is // where you'd set "lastn" and "offset". see // your movable type manual for more info. and add an offset of 100: Save your change, rebuild the template file again, and then run drupal/ import.php again. Repeat, increasing the offset by 100 each time, until all your entries have been imported. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------