csBlog Use Instructions

Login Process

Log into csBlog management at http://www.yourdomain.com/csBlog/csBlog.cgi?command=login

Manage Blogs

Once logged in you will come to the management screen.

Adding a Blog

Click the 'Add Blog' button and you are taken to the Add/Edit Blog Configuration Settings window.

• Enter a name to identify your blog.
• Check whether or not you want the author name and/or email address required when posting to the blog.
• Other optional settings are:
  • Delete entries after XX days of being posted.
  • Limit the number of characters allowed in any given post.
  • The order of the entries (newest first/newest last).
  • The number of entries to display per page.
    • Note: If more entries have been posted than the number listed in the entries per page option, then pagination links will be available at the bottom of the blog to navigate through the different pages.
  • You can also specify users that are able to post to the blog. The users can be configured on the main management screen by clicking the user management button. You can add users to this blog at any time by clicking configure button for the blog.

Click 'Save Settings' and you will be redirected back to the main management screen.

Using the Links Wizard™

Once your blog has been created, click the 'Links Wizard™' button at the top of the main management page.

With the desired blog selected in the top dropdown. Use the Grab button to select all the text in the textarea, then use the copy option to add the code to your clipboard. You can select from one or the 4 specific code types:

• JavaScript Code
• Server Side Include Code (SSI)
• PHP Code
• Direct Link

Applying the Links Wizard™ Code

Now all you need to do is open the webpage where you would like the blog to appear and paste the command into the HTML code.  For example, if you create a page called myblog.htm, you would post the JavaScript display code anywhere on the page where you would like the blog to appear. To use the server side include display code, your hosting service might require you to have the page named with the extension shtml (i.e. myblog.shtml). For the PHP display code, the page would have to be named accordingly i.e. myblog.php).

Here is an HTML page before the Links Wizard™ code has been added:

 Here is what the page looks like after the Links Wizard™ code h as been added and the page viewed:

Adding Blog Entries

Now you are ready to start adding entries to your blog. From the main management screen, click on the 'Edit' button adjacent to the blog that you would like to add an entry to. This will give you a preview of the current blog. At the top of the screen, click the 'Add Entry Button'.

Enter the title for your posting. Your name, email address (optional as specified in the configuration of the blog settings), an optional image or icon that will appear next to your name (for example, a small portrait of your face or an small image that adds detail to the blog entry), and the blog text entry itself. 

In the entry textbox, you are allowed to enter rudimentary HTML code (bold, italics, font face, etc.), link code, and image calls. However you are not able to add any JavaScript or META tags. Click the 'Save Changes' button to save your entry. You now see the blog entry as the public will see it, with the exception of having some management commands visible.

Hide/Modify/Delete Blogs

You can modify, hide, or delete any entry by clicking the appropriate links underneath the posting. Hide will keep the entry from being visible in the blog, Modify will allow you to edit the entry, and Delete will delete the entry (permanently).

Once you are done adding entries to this particular blog click the 'Back to management' button to return to the main management screen. Once back at the main management screen you can Edit, Configure, Delete, or Preview the blogs already created.

User Management

You can Add, Modify, and Delete users from the user management screen. Different users can have varying levels of control, they can be given the ability to add entries to one or more blogs. 

Creating/Modifying a User

Click the ' Add User' button to add a new user. Click 'Modify' to re-enter the add screen to change options.

 After clicking the 'Add User' button this screen appears:

Enter the user's name (Full name, nickname, etc.), email address, and username and password. Click 'Submit' and you will be redirected back to the main user management screen. Click 'Back to Management' to go back to the csBlog main management window.

Assign Users

Assuming you already entered users in to the system, click the 'Configure' button adjacent the blog in which you would like to manage users.

On the left hand side you see a list of All Users. On the right hand side you see a list of Users With Access.

• To add access for a user, select the username on the left side and click the 'Add ->' button.
• To remove a users access, select the username on the right side and click the 'Remove ->' button.

You will see that the names will switch from one list to the other. That is all that is required to grant or deny blog editing permissions.

Click the 'Save Settings' button to return to the management page. Now the user you granted permission to can access the application using the same login screen the administrator does. However, they will only see blogs they have been granted permission to manage.