Help & Support

If you require assistance, please do not hesitate to email webmaster@artsblogs.com. Below is a window to the Help System which is constantly displayed in the Administration Interface when you are managing your Blog. And further below are some questions people have asked before.

• I'm a First Timer, what should I do first?
• What's my Blog's Web Address?
• How can I 'Blog This'?
• How Can I Email Entries?
• What are the Blog Codes used in the Templates?
• How can I add an Image to my Blog? NEW!
• I've got a Blogger template, can I use this?
• Do you provide support for any other templates?
• How do I stop my real name displaying?
• I submitted a comment, but it doesn't appear?

I'm a First Timer, what should I do first?

If you've just registered for artsblogs.com and created an account, we'd suggest you log in, then:

1. Check your Blog Name, URL and Description (under Blog Preferences > General Settings)
2. Adjust Formatting options - dates etc (under Blog Preferences > Formatting)
3. Change from the default Template, if you'd prefer a different style (Under Blog Preferences > New Template)
4. Create an Email Address so you can submit Entries via email (Under Blog Services > Email)

If all this is done, you'll have all the basics in place, and can happily blog away!

What's my Blog's Web Address?

Every Blog has its very own web address. You create the address by setting the 'Blog URL' (Blog Preferences > General Settings). This then becomes the web address you give out. For example, if you enter 'deedle' in the Blog URL box, your web address will be 'http://deedle.artsblogs.com/'.

When you are logged into the Administration Interface, you can view your Blog at any time by clicking the green View Blog button at the top left.

How can I 'Blog This'?

'Blog This' is a special feature which allows you to submit Entries to your Blog while reading other web pages. To enable 'Blog This' please follow these steps:

1) Ensure you have Javascript enabled in your browser (it usually is by default)

2) Place your mouse pointer on this text link:

Blog This

3) Click the left mouse button, hold down, and drag the link to your browser's Links bar, then release.

A new link, entitled Blog This, should be automatically created.

Browse to a web page, perhaps a newspaper story. Click the Blog This link, a new popup window should open for artsblogs.com. You may need to log in. The details of the web page you are viewing should be automatically inserted. Tip: If you highlight some text on the web page, then click Blog This, the selected text will be placed into the Blog Entry page automatically.

Please note: The Blog This link may not work with some current versions of Internet Explorer, due to security enhancements introduced by Microsoft.

How Can I Email Entries?

Emailing Entries to your Blog makes blogging quick and easy - you don't even have to come to the artsblogs.com web site. Just follow these steps:

1) Log into the Administration Interface, and click Blog Services

2) Make sure the option Enable Email Submission is set to 'Yes'

3) Make sure you have created an email address by selecting a secret four digit code as part of the email address

4) Finally, check that the email address you will be sending emails from, is the same as is set in your User Profile.

5) Send an email to the special email address. The email Subject will become the title of your Entry. The new Entry should appear within a few minutes, depending on how quickly your email travels across the Internet.

What are the Blog Codes used in the Templates?

The Blog Codes are instructions, hidden in the Templates, which tell the artsblogs.com web site where to insert your Blog Entries and information. They're a bit like merge codes, which you might use, for example, when merging form letters in a word processing program. Blog Codes can also be used to issue commands, for example, to only display a piece of information under certain circumstances. For a list of the Blog Codes please click here. You can add and modify your Blog Template however you like.

How can I add an Image to my Blog?

At this time artsblogs.com does not permit uploading of your images to our web servers.

However, there are two ways around this. The first one is the one we reckon is the neatest. The second is kind of the fall back.

Use Flickr.com

Flickr.com is a brilliant way to store and manage your photos and images. And you can use Flickr.com to post images to your artsblogs.com Blog.. Here's how:

1. Go to Flickr.com and sign up for an account - it's free
2. Once you are signed up, log in to Flickr. Click the 'Your Account' link at the top right of the page.
3. You should get a long list of options. Lower left is a group titled 'Blogging'.
4. Click the 'Your Blogs' option
5. Click 'Set Up a New Blog'
6. It will ask what type of weblog you have. Select 'BloggerAPI Enabled' and click Next
7. It will ask for the 'API Endpoint'. Enter this URL:

http://www.artsblogs.com/blog/api/blogger.asp

8. Enter your artsblogs.com User Name and Password and click Next
9. Flickr should come back and confirm the name of the blog, your URL etc. Click All Done

Now, whenever your are viewing your images on Flickr, you'll have the Blog This icon displayed. Click it, select your blog from the list, enter your blog entry, and off you go! After you submit, you'll find your new blog entry, with the image, displayed on your artsblogs.com Blog.

A small point, at the moment there's no support for the Title of your Blog entry, they'll all automatically be 'A Post from Flickr.com'. You will need to log into artsblogs.com and manually set the Title.

Second small point. Flickr.com offers a number of templates for posting the entries. Depending on which artsblogs.com template you are using, you may need to experiment with the Flickr posting templates a little. You can select the Flickr templates on their site on the Your Account > Your Blogs page, click the 'Layout' link next to your Blog name.

Step by Step Instructions for Flickr

The Fall Back

You can display images in your Blog Entries, if the image is already present on a web server somewhere else. You will need to know the full web address of the image. When editing a Blog Entry, simply place your cursor where you wish the image to appear; click the Insert Image button; and enter (or paste) the image's web address.

I've got a Blogger template, can I use this?

Yes, in general artsblogs.com is designed to be compatible with templates from Blogger.com. You should be able to copy the template text from Blogger, and paste it into your artsblogs.com Template (Blog Preferences > Edit Template).

You may find small anomalies when the new template is displayed. Please contact us if you require assistance.

Do you provide support for any other templates?

Well no, not at this stage. However, artsblogs.com is new, and we'll keep an ongoing eye across functions and features our members might want implemented.

How do I stop my real name displaying?

The standard templates by default use the BlogDescription tag, usually in the right hand column. The tag amalgamates your First Name, Last Name, location and About Me text into one block. However, you might not want your name displaying. There's two ways to deal with this:

1. Easiest is to go to Your Profile and change the First Name and Last Name. These are the ones which combine to display your name on your Blog.
2. The other is to edit your template. Go to Blog Preferences > Edit Template. Scroll through and find the tag <$BlogDescription$>. If you are familar with basic HTML, you can drop the <$BlogDescription$> tag, and replace with your own text. Alternatively, you could also include some of the other tags - there's a full list here.

I submitted a comment, but it doesn't appear

Blog owners have the choice to moderate their comments, or not. If they have turned on Moderation, then they must approve new comments before they are displayed on the Blog.