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How do I make Tweet This show on posts, but NOT on pages?

Go to Settings > Tweet This, click "Advanced Options," check "Hide Tweet This on pages," and click "Save Options."

How does automatic tweeting work?

It works exactly the same as Alex King's Twitter Tools. You enter your Twitter username and password in the options, they are stored in your WP database, and when you make a new post, your Twitter status is updated through the Twitter API using the Snoopy class and the PEAR JSON class. However, Tweet This has more options. You can change the format of the tweet text (not just the prefix), and you can change a tweet's post on the write post screen before publishing. You can also tweet old posts if they have not been tweeted before.

Is Tweet This compatible with Twitter Tools?

Yes! You can have them both active at once, and you can use either (or both!) for the automated tweeting of new blog posts. Twitter Tools has these features which Tweet This lacks: tweet archival, digest posts, and a sidebar widget. The focus of Tweet This is to allow your readers to share your material, which Twitter Tools provides no features for. Together they are a complete solution.

How does the cache work?

Cached short URLs are saved to the postmeta table when a visitor views posts. For any future pageloads, those URLs are loaded, instead of pinging the Th8.us API (or bit.ly, TinyURL, etc.). As long as the post's permalink doesn't change, the short URL from the third-party service doesn't change.

The cache is invalidated by setting the existing short URLs in the postmeta table to "getnew" as needed. By reusing the old fields instead of replacing them, I don't bump up the meta_id counter needlessly. When the next person visits that post, the get_tweet_this_short_url function in Tweet This sees this and gets a new short URL.

What triggers a cached URL as invalid? When you save a post (including editing and publishing), the cache is invalidated in case you changed the permalink. Secondly, when you change URL services under Settings > Tweet This or change permalink structures under Options > Permalinks, all the cached URLs are set to "getnew". Finally, if you change "Use 'www.' instead of 'http://' in shortened URLs" or "Don't shorten URLs under 30 characters," or import new settings, the cache is invalidated. If you move your blog to a different directory or domain name, just change URL services and then change back to trigger a refresh of the cache.

When you deactivate the plugin, all the cached URLs are deleted.

How does importing and exporting options work?

In the options menu, there is a section titled "Import / Export Options." This is as simple as can be: the export is a raw dump of the tweet_this_settings row from the wp_options table, and to import, you just paste that dump in the import text area. Click "Import Options," and your current options will be replaced. Your Twitter password is NOT included in the exported options.

How does setting a custom short URL service work?

You enter the API's path with [LONGURL] as the long URL. For TinyURL, for example, you would enter "http://tinyurl.com/api-create.php?url=[LONGURL]". Then Tweet This uses that service for all its short URLs. The API must accept HTTP GET requests (not POST), and it must output a plain-text short URL (no HTML, XML, or arrays) with the http prefix.

How does the editable Tweet This text box work?

One of the options for the Twitter icon in the Tweet This Options is "Editable text box." This gives your readers a text box with character counter so they can change the tweet on your site before going to Twitter. When you click the submit button, an interstitial is loaded which parses and sends the new tweet text, forwarding the reader to Twitter. Then it is the same as the regular options: the reader can edit the tweet further on Twitter, or submit.

How does the tt-config.php file work?

Tweet This ships with the file named as tt-config-sample.php. This way, if you rename it to tt-config.php to use it, you can still upload future versions of Tweet This right over the old directory, because your customized tt-config.php file will not be overwritten. Once you rename it, there are several options you can set in it that are too advanced or cannot be included in the regular options menu.

Can I use the Tweet This functions in my theme?

Yes. Within the loop, these functions are available:

tweet_this($service, $tweet_text, $link_text, $title_text, $icon_file,
$a_class, $img_class, $img_alt) : Echoes a Tweet This link. This is only
useful if you disable automatic insertion in the settings.  You can leave
the arguments blank like '' to use your settings from the options page.
These values are permitted for the $services argument: 'twitter', 'plurk',
'buzz', 'delicious', 'digg', 'facebook', 'myspace', 'ping', 'reddit', 'su'.
The $icon_file argument is for the filename of an image from the
/tweet-this/icons/ folder. Example: tweet_this('twitter',
'@richardxthripp [TITLE] [URL]', '[BLANK]', 'Share on Twitter [[URL]]',
'de/tt-twitter-big3-de.png', 'tweet-this', 'tt-image', 'Post to Twitter').
$icon_file can be set to "noicon" for a text-only link.

tweet_this_url($tweet_text, $service) : Echoes the Tweet This URL, which is
like http://twitter.com/home/?status=Tweet+This+http://37258.th8.us by
default. Optional tweet_text argument overrides "Tweet Text" from the
options menu. $service can be 'twitter' or 'plurk', or omitted for Twitter.
Sample usage: tweet_this_url('@richardxthripp [TITLE] [URL]', 'twitter').

tweet_this_short_url() : Just echoes the short URL for the post
(Th8.us, TinyURL, etc.), cached if possible.

tweet_this_trim_title() : URL-encodes get_the_title(), truncates it at the
nearest word if it's overly long, and echoes.

You can prefix these functions with get_ to return the data without echoing, for further manipulation by PHP.

Also available:

tt_option($key) : like get_option(), but specifically for Tweet This
settings. Useful for retrieving settings from the database.
Example: tt_option('tt_url_service').

Can I disable Tweet This on a specific post or page?

Yes: add a custom field titled tweet_this_hide with the value of "true".

Why doesn't Tweet This show when I preview a draft post?

Because I'd have to fetch a short URL if it did, and the permalink for the post isn't set yet. It would be something like /?p=1, which would just waste an entry in TinyURL or another service's database.

Which short URL service do you recommend?

Th8.us because I created it. It is now simple and reliable, and it uses cool virtual subdomains. is.gd and bit.ly are good and short, but they both produce case-sensitive URLs. TinyURL is the de facto and probably most reliable choice.

Can I just use the Tweet This functions without it adding icons to my blog?

Sure! Activate the plugin, go to Settings > Tweet This, uncheck "Insert Tweet This," and click "Save Options."

If I change URL services, will the old URLs continue to work?

Yes. The short URLs are on third-party servers (Th8.us, bit.ly, TinyURL, etc.), and they should never delete them.

Why can't Tweetburner URLs have the "www." prefix?

Because Tweetburner does not work with the www subdomain; use it and your URLs just redirect to the Tweetburner home page.