Remember, whatever you post to the blog is seen by everyone, not just Scouting, EVERYONE, will see your posting. Postings are never removed, you’re writing for posterity. Do not use profane language, correct spelling is a bonus, and opinions should NOT be controversial.
Some basic hints:
- The address https://blog.scouter.ca takes you to the blog. You can read it in sequential order, or choose one of the categories at the right. This allows filtering just info posted under that topic.
- All Areas and the Council website itself are listed if you’re looking for a shortcut to get to them. In addition you’ll see ‘Scouting Links’. If you have a suggestion as to what to add here, send an email to blog@scouter.ca
Under ‘Meta’ you’ll see the ‘Log In’ prompt. After clicking here, you’ll need the logon userid and password that were emailed to you. You will then see the ‘Dashboard’ screen that looks like this:
You’ll notice the following:
- The action menu is down the left side. At the upper right is the ‘Log Out’ option when you’re done. You can just close the window, not a problem. You will also notice your userid at the upper right. If you’re always using this machine for your posts you can click on the ‘Turbo’ button and portions of the software will install directly on your computer to make working on your posts faster. Do NOT choose this option if the computer is not YOURS.
- If you click on any item, it will expand to show you the options within it. For instance, if you click on ‘Posts’ it will automatically select the ‘Edit’ sub item showing you all posts. If you hover your mouse over any specific entry, you’ll see ‘View’ as an option, or ‘Edit/Delete’ if this is your own post. This allows you to change your own postings
- You’ll notice that each entry has an author, and that each is put into at least 1 category. You’ll need that to do your own postings. Every entry should be in at least 1 category. If you forget, I will be reviewing entries regularly and making sure they are categorized.
- To add a new entry, just click on ‘Add New’ under ‘Posts’. You’ll see the following screen:
- To add a new entry, make sure you enter the following (everything else is optional):
- ‘Put Your Title Here’ – make certain EVERY post has a title, that it’s short and to the point, and accurately reflects the content.
- ‘Add your text here’ – a paragraph or more that make up your post. If you’re trying to post a LOT of stuff you may be better sending this to blog@scouter.ca and it will be posted as a separate page that anyone viewing can click on.
- At the bottom right you’ll see ‘Categories’. Click on every category appropriate for this post. If for instance you’re posting about a Moot in Brampton, it would be quite appropriate to check ‘Brampton’, ‘Rovers’ and ‘Events’. It is NOT appropriate to check off every area as that defeats the purpose of categorization (every post could be of interest to every Area).
- Make sure you click on the ‘Publish’ button, otherwise it will NOT appear on the blog.
- In the blog text area you can link to other web pages. The basic steps are:
- In another Internet Explorer window, browse to the page you wish to link to. In the URL address a the top you’ll see the full address starting with ‘http://’. Hightlight the full address, then right-click on it and choose ‘Copy’ from the drop-down context menu. You have now captured the address you’re linking to.
- In the blog entry you are editing, highlight the text you wish to have clicked. You’ll notice existing entries will say something line ‘Click –HERE- for the page’. In this case highlight the word ‘HERE’. You’ll see the little ‘chain’ icon above the text will no longer be grayed out. The linked chain creates the link, the ‘broken’ link removes it. Click on the ‘chain’ icon.
- You will then see the ‘Insert/edit link’ window. Delete theexiting ‘http://’, then right-click in the field & choose Paste. Your copied address will be inserted. Click on the down-arrow for the select list beside target. Choose ‘Open Link in New Window’. Then click on the Insert button
- Beside the ‘Add Media’ label is a little ‘sun’ icon. Use this to select pictures or other items to be inserted into your post. Remember they will be resized to fit, but still, they shouldn’t be REAL large. If in doubt, put up your post, then send the picture to blog@scouter.cato be added later. You’ll then be shown the ‘Add media files from your computer’. Click on the ‘Select Files’ button, and browse to the proper file. It will then immediately be uploaded and you’ll have the option of a title as well as a ‘Description’ which will show as a ‘bubble’ if you hover your cursor over the picture. Couple more points:
- You can choose to link to a URL (ie. address in a similar manner to the link above)
- You SHOULD choose how the picture will be aligned in your post. ‘Left’ is conventional. Choose a size, and the default is ‘Full Size’. Probably not a good idea if you’ve uploaded a huge picture. You’re better off choosing ‘Thumbnail’ or at most ‘Medium’.
- Make sure you click the ‘Insert into Post’ button or it will not be inserted. Click ‘Save all changes’ as well.
- You’ll then see your final post which you can publish.
- One final note, you’ll see in the resulting post above, the ‘kitchen’ sink icon. When clicked, you’ll get a second row of icons which allow some interesting changes to formatting, different abilities when you paste (from text or from Word) for example. Experiment, just don’t post ‘till you get to your final version. There is also a spell-check icon. Click it ‘on’ and your text will be spell checked as you type.
These are very basic. For complete instructions and to see what all of the other options do you can use the WordPress help.