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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Wed, 01/16/2008 - 14:13 — Blog Team

These pages contain common questions about Penn State Blogs with answers. You can also view additional help resources at http://blogger.psu.edu/gethelp

If you have a more specific question, you can post a message to the Blog Forum, fill in the Help Form or contact blogs@psu.edu.

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About the Project

Who can create for a Penn State blog?

Anyone with a Penn State Access Account may begin a blog by logging in to http://blogs.psu.edu. New users will be asked to activate their Penn State Personal Web space if they have not already done so.

Can users with Friends of Penn State (FPS) accounts create a blog?

This service is not available to these users. Only users who can activate Penn State Personal Web space can create a blog. For security reasons, this policy will not likely change.

Which system is Penn State using?

Penn State is using Movable Type, also known as Typepad. As of January 2008, Penn State has migrated to Movable Type 4 (from the older 3.5 system).

I created a blog in the old system. Where can I get help?

A Migration Guide and a link to the old system is available at http://blogger.psu.edu/gethelp. Note that the old system will likely be phased out in Summer 2008 (after the Spring 2008 semester).

Which topics may I blog about?

The Penn State blogs are tied to your personal space, so you can blog on any topic so long as it does not violate policy AD-20. Policy AD-20 prohibits commercial activity, obscene material, harrassing materials, copyright violations, deliberate misrepresentations and other inappropriate material.

How does the TEACH Act (copyright for courses) apply?

Because the blogs are not password protected space, the TEACH Act provisions are generally NOT APPLICABLE. It is recommended that instructors obtain permission for images or text used in a course blog (links are legal). Once password protection for courses is implemented, the blogs will be able to utilize the TEACH Act provisions.

When will Department or student Club Blogs be available?

This has been a very common request, so ITS is working to develop the best solution. There is no scheduled release date at this time?

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Basic Features

What are the recommended platforms and browsers?

The Blogs are compatible with Windows or Mac and works best with Firefox (Win/Mac). You can use other browsers such as Internet Explorer or Safari, but not all features may be available.

How do I log in?

There are two ways to login. You can 1) go to the Blogs at Penn State Home page at http://blogs.psu.edu and click the Login to New Blog System link to the right.

Why are there two login options?

The first option, Login to New Blog System, goes to the current blog system. The second option, Access Old Blogs from December 2007 or before, is only available for users who created a blog in the older system and still need to access it.

How do I create my first blog?

After you log in to http://blogs.psu.edu for the first time, click the Create link in the top links then select Blog. Fill in a Blog Name, then click Create Blog. To write an entry, click the white Write Entry tab on the top, fill in the form and save.

See Create a Blog for more details.

Can I create multiple blogs?

Yes, you can create as many blogs as you need. To create a second blog, click the white tab and select Create a New Blog, then follow the same procedure as with your other blogs.

Use the menu in white tab in the upper left to switch between blogs. See Manage Multiple Blogs for more details.

How do I add an entry?

After you create a blog, click the Write Entry tab on the top, fill in the form and save.

See the Writing a Blog Entry documentation for more details.

What Web address (URL) to I send to my friends?

Log in and enter your blog. Click the View Blog button (page icon) at top. Your blog will open in a new window.

Note that all blog URLs are tied to your personal Web space and is structured as follows:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/<Userid>/blogs/<Site URL name>

For instance, if user xyz123 had a blog with the Site URL name “worknotes”, the URL would be
http://www.personal.psu.edu/xyz123/blogs/worknotes

See the Find Blog URL documentation for more details.

How do I add a link in my blog entry?

When you’re adding a new entry, highlight the text you want to make into a link, then click the chain icon. Enter the URL in the pop-up window. You will see HTML code for the link. See the Writing a Blog Entry documentation for more details.

Can I upload images into the blog?

Yes. While you are writing a blog entry, click the tree Insert Image button (tree icon) then the Upload New Image link. Browse your local drive for the image, then complete the upload.

See the Uploading Images documentation for more details.

What other media can I upload into my blog?

You can upload any type of file 50 MB or smaller including audio, PDF, Word Files, spreadsheets, Flash animations and other file types.. The File upload tool creates a link to that file within the blog entry.

For larger files such as a video, you may need to upload the files via PASS Explorer, then manually create a link within your blog.

See the information on uploading podcast and other files for more details.

If I write a long blog entry, can I hide it until it is ready to be viewed?

Yes. To hide an entry from the public, set the Status menu to Unpublished. When it is ready for the public, set the entry to Published.

If I write a long blog entry, can I split it up into two parts

Yes. To split an entry, click the Extended tab and write your complete entry there. Next, copy and paste the second part of the entry into the Body tab - this will be your intro.

Can I create static pages connected to my blog?

Yes with the Pages tool which is similar to the blog entries tool. Read the Pages documentation for more details.

Can I edit previous blog entries?

Yes - Log in to Blogs at Penn State and enter your blog. Click Manage in the top links, then Entries to see a list of entries. Click the link for the specific entry to edit it. Read more details in the Edit and Delete Entries documentation

Can I delete previous blog entries?

Yes -Log in to Blogs at Penn State and enter your blog. Click Manage in the top links, then Entries to see a list of entries. Check an entry then click the delete button. Click the Publish link to delete the entry in your public blog. Read more details in the Edit and Delete Entries documentation.

Are my blogs automatically archived?

Yes. The default setting is archiving by the month and by category.

Can I import entries from another blog into a Penn State blog?

Yes as of the January 2008 upgrade. Read the Importing Blogs documentation for more details.

Can I export my blog?

Penn State blogs allows you to export the text of your entries into a text file. You can also save files in your /blogs/ directory. See the Export Blogs documentation. Note that expprt does not work in Internet Explorer.

Can I use SFTP or PASS Explorer to put other files into the /blogs/ directory?

Yes, but be sure not to remove files posted by Moveable Type!
If you do, you can recover it by rebuilding your blog. You can do it via SFTP or with the Penn State Portal.

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Sharing Blogs

Can I control who submits comments to my blogs?

Yes. Read Comments Settings and Moderating Comments for more details

Can I moderate or disable TrackBacks

Yes. Read Trackbacks Settings and Moderating Comments for more details

Can I allow others to post to my blog?

There is limited capability to add additional editors to your blog, and the feature is in Beta stage. If you are interested, please read Adding Editors to a Blog

Can I password protect my blog?

Not at this time, although the Blogs Team are working on that functionality.

Can I send e-mail messages users when I post a new entry?

Yes. Read the Address Book documentation for details.

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Change Colors/Fonts in Themes

Can I change the colors and fonts on the blog?

Yes. Read the Styles documentation for details on changing the blog theme.

Can I manually adjust the CSS of the blog?

Yes, in the Stylesheet template. It is recommended you begin with a Moveable Type theme, then modify the styles as needed.

Read the Advanced Custom Theme documentation for more details.

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Categories and Tags

Can I add categories or tags to the blog?

The Blogs at Penn State lets you enter both tags and categories. Categories are a fixed list configured by the blog creator, while free tags are a set of words manually added to each entry. 

Both tags ans categories are displayed in diffferent areas in the sidebar, so users should be sure to use them consistently.

See Categories and Tags for more details.

Can I add subcategories?

Yes. See Categories for more details.

I added new categorie and tags, but I don’t see them in the right sidebar on my blog.

Click the Publish button (circle arrows) in the toplinks after you create new categories.

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Podcasts and Newsfeeds

Can I subscribe to a newsfeed for the blog?

Yes. Look for the Subscribe to this blog's feed link in the sidebar. See Subscribe to Newsfeeds for more information.

Can I create a podcast feed?

Yes. If you include a link to an MP3 file within the Entry Body field of a blog entry, the news feed will include podcast feed information. See Create a Podcast for more information.

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Sidebar Widgets

What are sidebar widgets

Widgets are pieces of code for content which you can display in the sidebar. See the documentation on the Widget Manager for some details.

Can I add headlines from other blogs in the sidebar?

Yes with the Feed Widget plugin.

I added a Feed link in the blog, but it does not appear in the sidebar

You need to enable the Feed widget in the Widget Manager. See the Feed Link documentation for more details.

Can I add external links in the sidebar?

Yes with a custom widget. See the Create a Custom Widget document.
Note: The Blogroll plugin from the older blog system is not currently available.

Can I create widgets like an "About Me" sidebar section?

Yes. See Create an About Me widget for an example of a widget with static code only. Other widgets are possible, but widgets outside Penn State blogs are not guaranteed to function.

Can I import widgets from other sources?

In some case yes. You would create a new widget and cut and paste widget code. Please follow these recommended guidelines. 1) Make sure your widget is compatible with Movable Type 4 2) Follow import instructions given on the page. 3) Test widgets…widgets outside Penn State blogs are not guaranteed to function.

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Blog Glossary

What is a Permalink?

In a blog, this is the link that goes to a specific individual entry and it includes the month and year posted as well as the title. An example permalink is
http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/blogs/tlt/2008/03/book-review-blogs-wikis-podcas.html

What are tags?

Tags are a set of topic words or keywords added to each blog entry. Many users prefer to sort and view blogs by tags. See Categories and Tags for more information.

What is a Tag Cloud?

A tag cloud is a list of all the tags across all entries within a single blog displayed in the sidebar. The larger the word, the more frequently used that tag is.

What's the difference between tags and categories?

Categories are a fixed list of items set within a category menu, while free tags are a set of words manually added to each entry. See Tags vs. Categories for more information.

What is a Trackback?

A track back is a mechanism which allows a blog to automatically notify another Web site whenever a new entry is added. See Trackback Settings for more information.

What is a RSS Blog newsfeed?

A news feed is a text file which lists the headlines for new blog headlines. The Newsfeed can be viewed in new browsers such as Internet Explorer 7, Safari 2 or Firefox 2.

News feed applications such as Blogines.com (Web), Thunderbird (Win/Mac), Feed Reader (Win) or NetNewsWire Lite (Mac) allow you to subscribe to favorite feeds and organize them into folders by topic. See Using RSS Newsfeeds and Subscribe to the Blog Feed for more information.

What are Movable Type 3 and Movable Type 4

Movable Type is the blog software used at the Blogs at Penn State. We are currently running version 4, but had previously run version 3.5 until January 2008.

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Common Problems

I deleted an entry, but it still appears when I open View Blog.

You may need to click the Publish (circle arrow) link to complete the deletion.

I imported entries from another blog, but they are not visible when I open View Blog.

You may need to click the Publish (circle arrow) link to complete the deletion. Unlike other operations, you are not prompted to Publish, but it is a necessary step.

If you still do not see the entries, check the archives for the month that you originally wrote the entry. Entries are usually imported with their original published date.

Someone told me that they have create a blog before they can leave a comment. Is that true?

By default, new blogs are set to WebAccess comments meaning only Penn State users who have created a blog could leave comments. You can change this to Anonymous (moderated) meaning anyone can post a comment. See the Comments Settings documentation for details.

I created a static page, but I don't see the Pages menu in the sidebar.

You need to enable the Pages sidebar widget in the Widget Manager.

I created a static page and I see the Pages menu in the sidebar, but not a link for that page.

Return to editing the Psge and make sure the Status menu is set to Published. See the Pages documentation for detail.

I made a change in my blog, but the changes don’t appear when I open View Blog.

Try one of the following
• Log in and enter your blog, then click the Publish button (circle arrows) in the top links.
• If you are viewing the public version of your blog, try reloading your page, especially if you have changed your styles.

I deleted my blog, but users can still get to my pages? What do I do?

Delete your files in the /blogs/ directory of your Personal Web space. See discontinuing a blog.

What happens if I accidentally delete the wrong blog files in my personal Web space via SFTP or through the Portal?

If you delete a blog file, you can recover it by rebuilding your blog.
1.            Login at http://blogs.psu.edu and click on the name of your blog.
2.            Click Rebuild Site in the lower left menu.