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Dressing Up Your Blog.... Nirvana Recipe

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408

If you are a PC owner, then it is for you. Mac crowd in computer terms is already in paradise (LOL)

This is for those who are not in Paradise yet, and who are still alive and fighting with not so perfect PCs. Here’s how to achieve the nirvana the way I do…

Open Microsoft Word and just type you post.
First advantage is that you are Microsoft Word Iconnot going to lose your work if you accidentally clicked the Back button in AR, or the Proxy Server Error raises its ugly head again. Microsoft Word “remembers” what you have and you can easily restore the text by clicking “Undo”.

The other is that you do not need to use any HTML program like Kompozer, do Dressing up the blog - Jon Zolskynot need to switch from IE to Firefox to use Scribefire, which is not great...

I set the font to Calibri because this was the first font besides Courier that I tried, which did not give me trouble. It sometimes allows me to use Verdana, but it is a hit and miss, and I am quite content with Calibri, so that’s what I use by default.

I usually choose font size 14 like in this post. You can adjust the size depending on how good your eyes are. You can underline it, and/or italicize it in Word, but if you want to “Strike thorough”, you can do it after you have saved it in AR.

Do not format in Word beyond just typing. Use Calibri (any size) font type, italicized or underlined and set the colors. No fancy stuff. Do not add images in Word. I will tell you how to do it later.

Do not create links in Word. Do it in AR, but not in Word. It should be just text, or it would not work. 

Colors - jon zolsky blogAfter your thoughts are set on “paper”, you can highlight it (Control + A) and set the color of the font like you normally do. You can then decide that you would like to make each new paragraph, or a few words from this paragraph in bold like I did in this post. You can highlight any part of the text and set the color for it.

You can also opt for the background color. Again, just highlight the portion of the text, go to the icon “Text Highlight Color” on Microsoft Word menu and apply the color you like (very limited choices, though) like I did it here.

When you are done with the text, fonts and colors go to your AR and We can blog it - jon Zolsky blogclick “New Blog Entry” button. You should have both of them on your screen, the AR page and the Word page. Highlight the post you have in Word and drag (not copy and paste, but drag) it into AR page. It will be gone from your Word page but you will see it in your AR window. Type the title, choose “Draft” mode and submit. Now you will not lose the information.

The key here is dragging. If you copy and paste, it would look great, all the colors there, but when you press submit, it will come out as plain, as if you did it in AR blog window.

After you already have saved it in draft mode, you are not going to lose your work, but I still keep the word page open, until I finally publish it Members Only or Public. What’s left are some minor details. At this stage I add a photo or clip art the way you would normally do it in AR, and do “Strike Through” if I want to...this is it.

If you want to use a link to another post like when you are referring to another post (Jon Zolsky just posted Dressing Up.... Blogging Nirvana Recipe) you can either drag it from another post right into yours (in Edit mode, of course), but then it will be blogging - jon zolsky blogin much bigger font, so I drag it to Word, change the font to Calibri, set the size (usually the same 14 pt), and then highlight in Word and drag into AR. This way it will have the right size, and it will be already a link. All other links you do the way you always do in AR.

What if for some reason it is not showing with font and colors when you dragged into AR and submitted it? Easy fix. Open it again in Word, highlight the text, find and click “Clear Formatting” icon to remove the formatting. Then change the font, size, add color and you are done in less than a minute. This is a very easy and quick fix. Remember, you can drag anything from Word to AR window. But it is so much easier to work in Word.

If you did it the way I do, you will see it exactly the way you see mine here as this is how I did it. Is it a nirvana? Well, for blogging purposes it is the closest thing for me.

*  Images courtesy: Dressing up the Blog Brianna McCarthy, Color pencils david.nikonvscanon, and two last images by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. All via Flickr.com

Comments(208)

Debi Braulik
www.roundrealestate.com - Maple Valley, WA
Selling Maple Valley to Fife WA Homes For Sale

Great information! Thank you for taking the time to post!!

Oct 28, 2010 05:18 PM
Tammy Pearce
Haute Realty 214-994-6474 - Dallas, TX
Tammy Pearce

Thanks Jon!  I'm trying it too :)

Oct 28, 2010 05:19 PM
Sharon Alters
Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL
Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

Well, I'm a little late to the party but this is a great tip for those times when I'm not working on my Mac. Have a great weekend, Jon!

Oct 29, 2010 02:29 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Lori - do it. I hope it works.

Oct 29, 2010 01:47 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Don - congrats, you did it, my friend

Oct 29, 2010 01:48 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Kimberly - my pleasure. And I hope it works for you

Oct 29, 2010 01:49 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Debi - as long as it works for you. Thanks

Oct 29, 2010 01:50 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Hhi Tammy. Does it work?

Oct 29, 2010 01:51 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Sharon - oh, you are a proud MAC user? Then you would not understand us (LOL)

Oct 29, 2010 01:53 PM
Tracy Santrock
Santrock Realty Group Inc. , - Cary, NC
Raleigh - Cary Broker

I wish I knew it was so easy years ago when I started blogging!  Great post and worthy of a reblog!

Oct 30, 2010 02:11 AM
Tracy Santrock
Santrock Realty Group Inc. , - Cary, NC
Raleigh - Cary Broker

Oh, and I have a MAC but I still need to learn how to use it so I will be in paradise with the rest of the MAC useers!

Oct 30, 2010 02:11 AM
Pat Fenn
Marketing Specialist for CJ Realty Group/Cindy Jones Broker - Springfield, VA

Gosh I just use NVU on the PC (free program) do everything I want and then copy the HTML to AR.  On the MAC I just write it, make the font & size and color changes and then save as HTML and copy to AR.    Easy!

 

Oct 30, 2010 02:17 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Tracy – years ago I did not know it. I am not sure that it worked the same way 3 years ago, AR has changed a lot, and there were problems with HTML codes, and that’s the reason some of the programs that converted to HTML worked poorly in AR

Oct 30, 2010 02:58 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Pat – I never tried NVU. A few that I tried were not rendering it the way I wanted. Also, when you do it in HTML, and then decide to add a hyperlink, you either have to go to the code, and do all that “href” thing, or would have to convert to WYSIWYG, make a hyperlink, and then convert back.

The way I do seems faster and easier

Oct 30, 2010 03:02 AM
Kathleen Frawley
Keller Williams 916 730-4404 Elk Grove, Wilton, Folsom, Sacramento - Wilton, CA
South County Sacramento, 916 730 4404

You make it sound so easy!  I've been trying all morning, but it drags over into regular small print? I would LOVE to figure it out, because it would make it so much better.

Nov 22, 2010 07:39 AM
Michael A. Caruso
Surterre Properties - Laguna Niguel, CA

Jon, Thanks for the great information. I will try some of your tips and see how it goes. Great Post! 

Jan 28, 2011 09:23 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Michael - as long as you do not deviate - should work.

If not, let me know, maybe I could help.

Thanks

Jan 28, 2011 02:50 PM
Lee Alley
Pro Mobile Photo - Snohomish, WA
DIY Your Own Expert Smartphone Photography

Hey, Jon.  A GREAT BIG THANK YOU !!!   Yesterday I wasted about an hour trying to get scribefire to work for me, with the AR editor.  I finally gave up and went home discouraged.  Then, out for a walk in the woods I searched AR for ideas, your post showed up, and I was EXCITED to get back and try your ideas.  You're a genius.  Because genius is not understanding the complex.  It is making a simple solution to a complex need.  Sure glad you took the time to develop this routine and also your time to share it.  Whoopeeeeee.  Now I can go blog myself silly.  (A-hem.  Sorry. )

Apr 23, 2012 11:57 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Lee - this is the best comment I can get. For me it is also a way not to lose posts to AR hiccups. In Word I am safe, as all I need is to go back and the post is there. Since then I bought a Mac, and I was not hyped by the way I could work with AR, but I have Office for Mac, so I tried the same thing, and it works for Mac with some tiny nuances.

Since I wrote it, there is something that changed when I do it on PC. When I drag, I have to have the cursor high in this empty window and find where it changes from a circle, meaning that there is nothing to an cursor showing that it has someting to upload. Before it was that this cursor was anywhere in that empty fiels. Now on my computer I have to find this place when the cursor changes, but it is easy

Apr 24, 2012 12:16 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

How did I miss this? Great post, Jon. Different from your usual. I never saw you do a How To before.

Aug 19, 2012 11:22 AM