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City Blogs student guide

This guide explains how to use City Blogs

How do I set up a personal blog?

  1. Please log your request using the CampusPress blog request form on the IT Self Service Portal.
  2. Provide your username, email, the site URL and the site title.
    • By default all blogs are set with the privacy setting: Only registered users of this site can have access - anyone found under Users > All Users can have access.
  3. If you want to change these settings, go to your blog Dashboard and select Privacy which is under the This site tile.
  4. From this screen select the appropriate privacy setting and select Save changes.

Do I need a page or a post?

Posts appear in reverse chronological order with the newest post on top. Pages tend to used for static content that does not need to be regularly updated. 

How do I write my first blog post?

  1. From your blog Dashboard or blog view, select + New tab to open the drop-down menu.
  2. Select Post.
  3. Add a title for the post.
  4. Add your post text into the input field.
  5. The edit toolbar enables you to spellcheck, format your text and insert images and files. Use the WordPress handbook to help make your blog content accessible.
  6. Enter keywords known as Tags to help others to search for posts that are relevant to them in the Post Tags input field on the right of the screen. Tags need to be separated by a comma. Select Add to add the tags to your post.
  7. Once you have completed your post, preview it to ensure it is correctly formatted.
  8. From your Dashboard, select Publish to make the post visible on your blog and to all Users on your blog.
  9. If you are not ready to post to your blog, select Save Draft to save your post for further editing

See further guidance on writing your first blog post.

How do I add an image to my post?

From the post text editor, select the add media icon which is located at the top of the editor. Hover over an icon for information on its function.

  • Drag and drop an image from your computer into the uploader or select and browse to the image. The maximum upload file size is 50MB.
  • In the media options fields,  add a title, description, caption, resize or change the placement of the image.
  • Select Insert into Post.

Please note: You cannot re-use just any image in your blog. You must make sure you are not in breach of copyright when using images. City Library has produced a list of sites where you can re-use images in particular circumstances. Check the individual sites for terms of use as these vary. 

How do I edit a post?

You can edit from Dashboard screen and View screen:

From View

  • Select Edit alongside or underneath the post you want to change.
  • Select Update to save.

From Dashboard

  • From the Posts menu select ALL Posts.
  • Select Edit underneath the post you want to edit.
  • Select Update to save.

How do I add an audio file to my post?

From the CityBlogs toolbar at the top of the page, select the +New icon and select Media. Hover over an icon for information on its function.

  1. Drag and drop an audio file from your computer into the uploader, or select Choose file and browse to the audio file. The maximum upload file size is 50MB.
  2. Return to the toolbar at the top of the page and select the +New icon then select Post.
  3. Select Add Media, above the post's text editor and select your newly-uploaded file.
  4. Select Insert into Post in the bottom right hand corner.

Please note: You cannot re-use just any audio file in your blog. You must make sure you are not in breach of copyright when using recordings. If you are not the original creator of the audio file, ensure you check with the author/individual music sites for terms of use as these vary. 

How do I embed video into a post?

Find the YouTube or Vimeo video that you want to embed:

  1. Select the YouTube/Vimeo embed code.
  2. Select Share under the video.
  3. Select Embed.
  4. Copy the code that appears.
  5. Go to your blog and select + New tab to open the drop-down menu.
  6. Select Post.
  7. Add a title for the post.
  8. Add your text to the input field.
  9. Select the HTML tab on the top right of the post.
  10. Paste the YouTube embed code into the input field.
  11. Select the Visual tab on the top right of the post.
  12. Select Publish.
  13. Select View Post to view and play the video.

Please note: You need to ensure that you have permission to embed the video. If you are unsure of the permissions, then you can simply create a link to the video.

How do I add an external file to my post?

  1. From your blog Dashboard or blog view, select + New tab to open the drop-down menu.
  2. Select Post.
  3. Add a title for the post.
  4. Add your post to the input field.
  5. Go to the section of the post where you want your external file to appear and select Upload/Insert icon above the text editor.
  6. Browse for a file you have saved on your computer or drag and drop a file. To browse for a file, select Select Files on the Add Media window that opens.
  7. Browse to the drive on your computer where the file(s) are saved.
  8. Select the file(s).
  9. Select Open.
  10. Select Insert into Post.
  11. Select Save Changes.

How do I create a page?

Pages are not part of the chronological blog stream and are more suited to static content that doesn’t need to be updated regularly.

  1. From your blog Dashboard or View screen select + New
  2. Select Page
  3. Give your page a Title
  4. You can add content (e.g. text, images, links) into the input field
  5. Once you have finished adding your content, select Publish.

Note : You can nest pages under other pages by making one the parent of the other. You can do this from the Page Attributes section of the Add Page/Edit screen by selecting the appropriate Parent page from the drop-down menu.

How do I embed a Kaltura video into a Post?

  1. From your blog Dashboard or blog view, select + New tab to open the drop-down menu.
  2. Select Post.
  3. Add a title to the post.
  4. Add the text for the post to the input field.
  5. Login to Kaltura MediaSpace.
  6. In Kaltura MediaSpace, select My Media.
  7. Navigate to the video you want to embed.
  8. Select the title of the video to open it.
  9. Select the Share tab.
  10. Select the Embed tab.

    Share tab selected and Embed tab selected.

  11. Copy the code from the Embed field.
  12. Return to the post on CampusPress.
  13. Select the Text tab on the top right of the post to change to HTML view.
  14. Paste the Embed code from the video.

    Text tab highlighted above post

  15. Select Preview to confirm that the Player is displaying properly.

    Welcome to Moodle video displaying in new Player

  16. Publish your Post when finished.
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