Quick tips for blogging

Sorta stroke related. If you're anything like me - and I have some use of my right side - you'll have a bit of bother with some of these. Sorry if I'm poaching on your territory Lauri (the blogging guru!).

Hooookay... Blog offline. There are a few ways to do this. I have used some really fancy (free) programs, and there are a lot of them gallivanting around in the wild, that will allow you to compose a blog, save off to your blog and to your hard drive. The idea is that you have a permanent record at home. Lots of fancy options, like adding fancy text or piccys and stuff, or to post multiple blogs/blog suppliers and/or web pages. Personally, the numerous options irritated after a bit. Can't remember the name of the one I used to use, but I got it from NoNags.

But the idea of keeping a permanent local record is darn useful - as I've had reinforced recently. If you ever re-read a blog you've posted (which, to my shame, I don't do often enough) and you think "Do what?" you can compare the local (saved on PC copy) and either blush, or think "Oh, sugar" I'll get to that one in a minute.

The simple, cheap way is to use Notepad, or Microsoft Write. Quick, no fancy graphics or anything. Both Windows and Linux have 'built in' text editors. Write the blog, don't bother about anything other than basic formatting. Save it into a folder called 'Blog' in My Documents.

Keep, say, Notepad open.

In Blogger, open up dashboard and go to 'Create'. Go back to Notepad (Alt-Tab) and then click anywhere in the window. Hold down Ctrl-A. That should outline all your text in blue in Windows. Now hold down Ctrl-C. This will copy the text into the 'Clipboard'. All this means is that the text in Notepad will be copied into the computer memory.

Alt-Tab back to blogger. Click anywhere in the window. Hold down Ctrl-V. This should 'paste' or copy the text into the 'Create' window. Fiddle around with it as need be to get the look right. Click Publish.


You might have noticed that that there's one big drawback to this method. Y'need to hold down one key while pressing another. Great if both hands and/or arms work. One way around that is to use Sticky-Keys in windows. You'll find it under Programs, Accessories, Accessibility. That will enable you to press one key at a time. I, however, find it slows me down. And annoying. I'm far too impatient

I prefer using the mouse. Whichever hand you use for the mouse - and if your not used to it, this takes a little practise, so make sure you've saved your work, 'cause work it is, to your folder.

If you've used Write or Notepad, click before the first letter of the text you've written. Hold down the left mouse button, and keeping the mouse button pressed, drag it across all your text. Let go of the mouse button, it should remain 'highlighted' in blue.

Being careful not to hit the left mouse button, (You'd lose the 'highliting' and have to do it all again) click and hold the right hand mouse button. In the 'menu' that appears, use the left hand mouse button to select 'Select All'. Click the right hand mouse button again, and select Copy.

Done. Your blog is now copied into computer (temporary) memory. Don't know anyway around this - I can do it with one hand - but Alt-Tab back to blogger 'Create'. Hit that left hand button again, (to select that window) then hit the right hand mouse key again. You should have a menu that says 'Paste' in it. Let go of the right hand mouse button, click 'Paste', and it should be pasted into 'Create'. Using Blogger Create, Format your text and click 'publish post'

My apologies to the computer veterans, but there are two ways that computers save information. One is to 'memory'. While a computer is switched on, anything saved to it, like copy and pasting between different things, is lost when the computer is switched off.

If you are using Microsoft Word, Open Office, Microsoft Write or Notepad, remember to save anything you write to 'Save' or 'Save as'. That'll save it to the hard-drive, which retains anything you save to a much more long lasting storage, which will be available when you switch your computer on.