You must be a logged-in user and have set up your blog to make a post. If you have not done this yet, please read Getting Started - Setting Up Your Blog.

1) Navigate to your blog by clicking “My Blog” in the Header Navigation Menu.

2) Click on “Add Post” in the Admin menu.

3) Enter a Post Title in the text box provided.

4) Enter a URL-Friendly Name. Usually this is your title with the spaces removed. You can assign your blog a shortened name if your title is lengthy. For your convenience, you can have the URL-Friendly name automatically generated by clicking the Extract from Title button.

5) Select the Categories this blog post falls under. Assigning categories helps the viewer quickly navigate to the post content that interests them. If your Category list is empty or does not contain the appropriate Categories, you can add new Categories to the list by entering a Category in the text box and clicking the Add Category button.

Note: Selecting multiple Categories is possible by using Control+Click (PC) or Command+Click (Mac). Selected Categories will be highlighted.

Note: You can always come back and modify this list at a later time.

6) Enter a list of Tags separating each word with a comma. Tags can be keywords that are found in your post that help define the relevant content. Adding Tags will help your Tag Cloud be more effective.

7) Check the Published button when this post is ready to be made public. If this post is a draft, leave this unchecked.

8) Use the Editor Control to build your blog content. By default, the Editor is in Design mode which is a WYSISYG interface. For more specific control or customization you can edit in HTML mode.

Warning: Some experience working with HTML is needed for working in HTML mode. Breaking this code by using invalid HTML can cause your post to not render correctly.

Note: Further information on using the Editor Control can be found here [link coming soon].

9) Click the Save Post button to submit your post. You will be taken to the Home page of your blog. If the Published Checkbox was checked, you will see your newly created post in your blog.

Note: If you do not see your newly created post, chances are it remains unpublished. Navigate to the list of Unpublished Posts under the Admin menu. Select your new blog then check the Published Checkbox and click "Save Post" again.

Note: Your Blog Avatar is the same one used for the MyCopper Forums.

Warning: Changing the Avatar will change both the Blog Avatar and the Forum Avatar .

To add or change your avatar, you will need to be logged in.

1) Select Forum from the Site Navigation Menu.

2) Select the My Profile link from the Forum Submenu.

If you do not see the My Profile link in the Forum Submenu or you see the message “Welcome Guest”, you are not logged into the portal.  Log in and repeat step 2.

Note: The forum submenu is at the top of the forum content window and displays your log-in status along with several forum links.

3) Under Personal Profile, select Modify Avatar.

4) There are several options when selecting an avatar:

Option 1) Select your Avatar from our Collection

Select [ Click Here to Select an Avatar ]

Choose an image gallery folder of a category that interests you. Click on an avatar image to select it or click the “Up” folder to select another image gallery. Once an Avatar is selected, you will return to the Modify Avatar control panel. You should see your newly selected Avatar displayed under Current Avatar.

Option 2) Enter URL of Avatar on Remote Server to Use

Simply enter a URL for an image hosted elsewhere on the internet. Be sure to include the full address, ex. http://bestphotooftheday.net/qdig-files/converted-images/med_funny-cat.jpg.

Warning: Keep in mind that the full-sized image is loaded each time the page loads and is displayed at a maximum size of 100 x 100 pixels . Large images may greatly slow down the load time of your page. You may find it a better practice to save the file to your hard drive then upload the image using Option 3. This will ensure that the image will be resized for optimum performance.

Warning: If the image is moved or deleted, the link will be broken and a red “x” will appear where your avatar should be.

Note: MyCopper.net does not condone the use of copyrighted content and is not responsible for images and links chosen by it’s MyCopper portal users.

Option 3) Upload Avatar from Your Computer

Click on Browse and navigate to the location of the image in your directory that you would like to use as your avatar.

Select the file and click open. 

Click on Update and the file will be loaded to the MyCopper server.

Note: Images larger than 100 x 100 pixels will be resized by the forum engine. You will receive a notification popup if the uploaded image has been resized to fit.

5) That’s it! Return to My Blog and you will now see your avatar shown within the Navigation Menu Panel.

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