BLOGGER USER GUIDE: Tips and Tricks for Web Publishers You should have confirmed your creds and be able to login to BLOGGER to access your campus blog account. www.blogger.com You will see a screen that looks similar to the one below ONE EXCEPTION you should only see your campus listed there. I have access to many more blogs so my list is longer. For the example I am using I will be using Northbook High Schools blog for example purposes. Again, you will only see your blog, not this full listing. The easiest way to post a story, photo or link is to simply click on the pencil icon. See arrow above. You can also view other edit options by clicking on the icon that looks like a document listing. Other functions will appear in the drop listing. This same set of functions is also accessible by clicking on the blog name. When you click on your blog name a new page will open.
If you click on your blog name, this is what your screen will look like: You will only really need to access a few things on this screen. NEW POST and STATS. The NEW POSTS option is an orange button at the top. See arrow above. Do not attempt to update the TEMPLATE or make other changes to your account without first contacting the SBISD Webmaster. POSTING TO YOUR BLOG You can log into BLOGGER and CLICK ON THE ORANGE PENCIL located next to your campus name. Or, you can click on your campus name and then choose the NEW POST button (orange as well indicated above). Both options will open up a dialogue box in which you can post your content. These icons also are quick ways to access your posting and blog options: They appear on your MY BLOGs admin page so you may see them while you are looking around in the site. Basically there are a number of ways to get to your posting page. Use the one you like most and are comfortable navigating to. The pencil is always going to get you to your posting page. VIEW BLOG will display your current blog and the DOCUMENT ICON will display additional functionality. Again, beyond STATS and postings I don't think you will need to worry about the rest of the functional parts of the editor.
So, you clicked on your PENCIL icon. You're ready to post content! A dialogue box similar to the one above will open. Notice there are tools running horizontally on the top of the box. These tools allow you to cut and paste your content in the COMPOSE or HTML mode. I recommend using the HTML view to paste your copy into the editor. Then turning the COMPOSE mode back on. This will ensure you remove any and all formatting that may cause issues when displaying on the web. Mouse or click on the tools in the menu to see what they do...from font size to style...to inserting a photo...the tools are pretty straightforward.
Other than cutting and pasting your copy which again I would recommend using the HTML mode to do so to strip formatting I would guess you'll be using the PHOTO, LINKS and SPELL CHECKER the most in the editor. I typed some copy into my dialogue box above. Note this is what it looks like in COMPOSE mode. If you have copy that looks like it's code or contains markup make sure you have your COMPOSE mode on and not your HTML mode. Again, I highly suggest you copy text over from WORD or other formats in HTML and then turn on the COMPOSE view. To add a link in your copy highlight the text you want to link from and click on LINK:
A dialogue box will open up from which you can add your link information. You can add an email link OR a web address. To assign web address you can simply paste the desired URL in the field indicated. Or, click on email and then paste or type in your desired email address. Define How Your Link Will Open I usually set links to OPEN in a NEW WINDOW. Click the small box to assign that function to your new link. Then click 'OK'. When your links is added it will look something similar to what appears screen here. You have copy, you added a link...now to add a photo. The icon that looks like a landscape of PHOTO is your INSERT IMAGE tool. Click on it. A dialogue box like below will appear:
There are several ways to load or select your image. Most of the time you will probably be loading your image from your computer. To do so, click on BROWSE. NOTE the approved file type. If your image is not an approved file type (jpg, gif or PNG it will not load. When you browse, a window will open that will let you search for you image file. I usually save my images to a folder on my desktop ready and sized prior to loading so they are easy to find when posting stories. What is the best size and resolution when posting images to my BLOGGER page? We've found the best size to optimize your images is 600 wide by 450 deep. Always set your files to 72 DPI when saving them to post online. This is a setting in your photo editor. Most print images are 300 DPI. Web quality images should be 72 DPI. Don't load files that are not optimized for use online. Why? If you're loading huge images that are high resolution you're going to take up valuable storage space, slow down the website and result in a less than great user experience. If you have the need to post hi res images use a photo sharing site like SMUGMUG. Don't post print quality content on your blog site. Below I've browsed to your image and selected it. Now I click on OPEN to load it to BLOGGER. On the next page you will see an example of what the dialogue box looks like when your image is loaded.
Click on your loaded image, then hit ADD SELECTED. Make sure to click your image...if you don't it won't load to your page. If you are loading multiple images during a session they will appear in your UPLOAD box. If you start a new session your photo UPLOAD box will be cleared. Now that you added your photo, you can format or move it on your page. Click on it and a menu will appear with formatting options:
Once you have completed formatting your photo and are ready to post your entire blog entry, you can click on the PUBLISH button. If you don't want to immediately publish your story, you can click SAVE. This will save a draft format. Or, you can click PREVIEW to see a preview of what your story will look like once it is posted to your blog. When you hit PUBLISH your blogger will ask if you want to share your posting with GOOGLE. If you elect to do so your posting will go out to anyone who is part of SBISD's Google + Circle. I recommend selecting CANCEL.
If you CANCEL the share your story will still post on your campus blog. If you elect to share it will go out to all SBISD Google + subscribers. Just note that when posting and sharing content. If you have a posting you want to remove, you can simply click on DELETE. See below: Those are the basics of posting copy, photos and adding a link your blogger. If you need additional help, please contact Melissa Wiland or Cody Wallace for assistance. Melissa Wiland, SBISD Web and Digital Media Specialist melissa.wiland@springbranchisd.com Cody Wallace, SBISD Trainer cody.wallace@springbranchisd.com