A Quick Guide to Adding Entries to the NIWeekBlog

Thank you for your interest in publishing your thoughts on the NIWeekBlog. This guide contains everything you need to know on how to use Movable Type, the engine that makes the NIWeekBlog possible.

Logging in

To login to the NIWeekBlog click here or go to the main page and click on the Add an Entry link. You will be brought to the main Movable Type login page. Please enter the username and password assigned to you. This can be changed after you login. If you click on the Remember me? checkbox, you won't need to login every time you come to this page. This is not a good idea if you are on a public computer terminal.

Main Welcome Page

Once logged in you will see the main welcome page. From here you can create a new entry, edit your profile or go to the Manage Blog link to upload a file or image. Click on the New Entry link.

Create New Entry

From the welcome page click on the New Entry link. Another page will show up. Here is where you enter your message, commentary etc.  First you need to give a Title. This will be displayed at the top of your message. You can optionally select a specific category that you feel applies to your post. These are used to organize posts on the main page. If you cannot find an appropriate category then do not select any category.

Entry Body and Extended Entry

Collectively these two fields make up the body of your entry. You can use the two fields however you like: you could split up your entry over the two fields, or you could completely ignore the Extended Entry text and enter only the Entry Body text. Movable Type allows you to split up your entry for more flexibility in the display of that entry; for example, if you write very long entries, you may not want your entire entry on the main page. If the reader chooses to see your entire entry, they can click on the "more>>" link to expand the entry.

Post Status

For post status you have two options Publish and Draft from the pull-down list. If you select Draft and then Save, the entry will be saved to the server but will not be published on the main website and will not be visible. When you are ready to publish your work you must select Publish for Post Status. If you now click save, your work will be visible by all who read the niweekblog. You can always change the status of a post back to draft at any time and then click save. This will remove the post from the main site so it is not visible to the public but it is still available for editing. This method of using Draft is convenient for long posts that cannot be completed in one sitting.

Text Formatting

At the top-right corner of the text box is a formatting bar. This allows for simple formatting of your entry so that it can look nicer. Just highlight the text of interest and then click "B" for bold. This will add formatting to your text and when you save your entry, this formatting will appear on the main niweekblog page.

You can use the URL button to add a hyperlink to your posts. When using the URL button, make sure you first highlight any text you want to use as a link text in the entry fields. If you want to create a link to an existing image or file on the NIWeekBlog then use the upload file button to upload and generate HTML for you (see below).

Uploading Files or Images

From the main menu click on Manage Blog this will get you to the editing menu. Once there you will see the navigation window on the left. Click on the Upload File button as seen below.

You will be presented with the file upload window. Click the Browse. button to locate a file on your hard drive. Everything else should be left as default. The file should be stored in the <local archive path>. Click the UPLOAD button.

The upload may take some time depending on the size of the file or image. Once the file is uploaded, you will be presented with a dialog to choose how you want the link to your file displayed. If the upload is an image, the dialog will look like below.

If your upload is not an image then your dialog will look like below.

Once you have made your selections, click the popup image or link buttons on the bottom to generate the html code that will reference your file. If you have not yet started creating an entry for this file, you have the ability to create a new entry for it by selecting that option at the top: create a new entry using the uploaded file. This will create a new entry AND embed the HTML code at the same time. You can then continue typing your entry text after the link. Reminder, always enter a Title for your entry.

If you already have a new entry saved and you want to embed a link to an uploaded image or file, then you might want to select the show me the HTML option. This will allow you to copy the HTML and paste it into an existing entry. You can also upload more images and copy paste them as you go along.

In the above example, notice where it says "View image"? This is the text that is used for the link to your image. You can replace this text with a better description of your image if you like. Also, if you have uploaded multiple images then you might want to rename it to View image 1, View image 2 etc.

Well, that's all you really need to know. Don't worry if you make a mistake or you don't like the look of a certain post. You can always go back and edit your previous posts by clicking on the edit entries button.