Comment/Trackback Management, and IE Keyboard Shortcuts

Internet Explorer users will be happy to hear this handy little tip: many of the same keyboard shortcuts you take for granted in Microsoft Word, also work when editing a post in TypePad. For example, use Ctrl-b while you are typing to toggle bold font face on and off; and the same is true for Ctrl-i (italics), and Ctrl-u (underline).

For those of you who have really active and talkative audiences visiting your blogs, you can always view a list of comments and trackbacks on a post-by-post basis by navigating to the "Edit Post" page. However, for those of you looking for an easier way to see all the comments and trackbacks coming into your blog, navigate to Weblogs > Manage > List Comments or List Trackbacks. From those screens you can more easily manage all of the comments and trackbacks coming into a blog you administer.

Using a Nickname on Your Site

If you’d rather not display your full name, to preserve your anonymity or for any other reason, you can choose to display a Nickname on your TypePad site instead of your first and last name.

First, while Editing Your Author Profile, fill in the Nickname you would like to use and save your profile.

Then, in the setup for Customizing Your About Page, check the box to display your Nickname (uncheck the box for Name) and click the “Save and Publish” button.

This will update your About Page to use your Nickname as the title of the page and also sets it so the rest of your site will display your Nickname wherever your author information is displayed.

After changing the Nickname setting, you can use the Publish button on the Design tab for the weblog to update your pages and feeds to use your Nickname.

Domain Mapping FAQ

Domain mapping is a popular feature in TypePad, available with a Plus or Pro subscription.  It can seem confusing if you do not have experience with setting up a domain name.  We’ve gathered the frequently asked questions about domain mapping to help with this.

What is domain mapping?

Domain Mapping is the process of pointing a registered domain name to a TypePad site, weblog or photo album.

Domain mapping is more than domain forwarding, because your permalinks and URL contain the address of your domain (www.example.com), and not your TypePad sub-domain (example.typepad.com).

What are the requirements for setting up domain mapping?

You can map a domain to your TypePad site with the Plus and Pro levels of TypePad.

Domains are set up with a registrar separately from TypePad.  In order to use domain mapping, your registrar--the company where you register your domain name--must support “custom DNS services”.  This means that your registrar must give you control over the DNS records that describe your domain, and that you must have the ability to create and modify A, MX, and CNAME records.

If you’re not sure if your registrar supports custom DNS services, you can send them this email message:

Hi,

I’m using TypePad (http://www.typepad.com/) to host my weblog.  TypePad supports a feature called domain mapping, where my domain can be pointed at their servers.  In order to use this feature, my registrar must support custom DNS services--I need control over the DNS records that describe my domain, and I must have the ability to create and modify A, MX, and CNAME records.  Do you offer such a service? Please send me more details on how it works and how I can turn it on for my account.

Thank you.

If you do not have a domain registered already, here are details for four popular registrars:

pairNIC  http://www.pairnic.com/

pairNIC calls its custom DNS services “Custom DNS”.  Custom DNS is included with every domain registration for no additional charge.  Instructions on enabling Custom DNS are available on the pairNIC site.  pairNIC also provides some tips and suggestions for using custom DNS.

dotster  http://www.dotster.com/

dotster calls its custom DNS services “DNS Management”.  DNS Management is available if you use dotster’s name servers for an additional yearly fee.  dotster offers instructions for setting up DNS Management services for your domain.

GoDaddy  http://www.godaddy.com/

GoDaddy’s “Total DNS Control” is included with domain registration and gives you control over custom DNS services for your domain.  Instructions on setting up Total DNS Control are available at GoDaddy’s site.

Network Solutions  http://www.networksolutions.com/

Network Solutions calls its custom DNS services “Advanced DNS”.  Advanced DNS is available for an additional yearly fee.  Instructions on setting up Advanced DNS are available at the Network Solutions site. If You Are Registering a New Domain

You can choose from any of the above registrars or from another registrar that you know to support custom DNS services.

Will you handle email to my domain?

We don't support handling email addresses or aliases for TypePad sites. Most services which register your domain name will let you forward email from your domain's email address to your current email address.

Can I map a sub-domain such as blog.example.com?

Yes.  If you have a domain www.example.com, you can set up a sub-domain with your registrar (such as blog.example.com) and map that to your TypePad site, weblog or photo album.

This is also useful if you would like to host part of your domain at TypePad and part at another location.

Enter the sub-domain that you set up with your domain at your registrar (blog.example.com) for the first step in the TypePad mapping setup and this will set up your site, weblog, or album with the sub-domain of your registered domain.

What do I configure at my registrar for the domain mapping?

The domain mapping for TypePad is set with the CNAME in the records for your domain name at your registrar.  The CNAME will always be your main TypePad URL: example.typepad.com (or example.blogs.com)

You will have the opportunity to select a specific weblog or photo album to map to (if not mapping your entire site) when you complete the final step of the mapping setup in TypePad.

Use the “Begin Here: Map a Domain Name” button in your Control Panel > Site Access > Domain Mapping to open the TypePad mapping setup popup window.  Also see Setting Up Domain Mapping for more information.

The A and MX records will continue to point to your server, not at TypePad’s servers.   The reason for this is so that services like email (if you’re using it) will continue to work even after your domain has been mapped to your TypePad site.

Domain forwarding or masking is not used with the domain mapping.  The CNAME setting will do the pointing you need for the mapping.

If done incorrectly, changing your DNS settings could adversely impact your email or other services that you rely upon. If you're not sure what you're doing, contact your registrar and ask them for support.

What do I do after making the change at my registrar?

Once you’ve updated your DNS settings, you're ready to finalize the configuration by associating the domain with your TypePad site, weblog, or photo album.

Click the Complete Final Step button in the TypePad mapping setup popup window.  Select where you would like to map the domain to:

- My main site (example.typepad.com)
- My weblog: [select the weblog]
- My photo album: [select the photo album]

If you select to map your main site, then all weblogs and photo albums on your account will be mapped with the domain name.  Or, you can select only a certain weblog or photo album.

Choose where you would like to map the domain and press Add Domain to add the domain your list of mapped domains.

When you can type in http://www.example.com (the domain name you mapped) and see your TypePad site, you can set the mapping as active in TypePad by checking the box under “Active” for the domain in your mapped domains list and click the Set button.

While the process on TypePad's end takes about two hours to complete, the process on your registrar's end can take 24-48 hours.

If your DNS record has not yet been updated, be sure to leave the checkbox unchecked. Failing to do so will result in display errors in your TypePad weblog or photo album.

Why doesn't the style show on my pages after setting up my domain?

This happens when the stylesheet is not found because your domain isn't ready to be set as active.  Go to the mapping setup page in your TypePad Control Panel > Site Access > Domain Mapping and uncheck the box to set the domain as disabled.  Press the Set button to apply the setting.

Then, go to the Design tab for your weblog and click the Publish button to publish your pages again. That will put your style back on your pages until the domain is ready.

When you can type in http://www.example.com and see your TypePad site you would set the mapping as active in TypePad.

What does setting a domain as “active” do?

The permalinks and archive links (and stylesheet links) on your mapped pages will use the name of your domain in the URLs instead of the .typepad.com address when the domain is set as active.

After activating the domain in the TypePad mapping setup, publish the weblog or album that was mapped or publish each if you mapped your entire site.  You will find a Publish button on the Design tab for the weblog or photo album.

How do I set up my domain to work without typing the www?

The mapping sets up your http://www.example.com address.  To enable the http://example.com address (without the www) to work with your site, you would use a redirect from http://example.com to http://www.example.com.  How this is set exactly depends on your registrar.

Once my domain is set up, does the old URL still work?

You will be able to type in the domain name you mapped and see your TypePad site after the domain mapping is complete.  The permalinks and archive links on your pages will use the domain name, and the .typepad.com address will not show on the templates.

The .typepad.com address still works if you type it into the browser.  If you had incoming links using the .typepad.com address they will not be broken.

How do I map my About Page to use my domain?

The About Page is part of your main site.  It is separate and unique and doesn’t “belong” to any of your specific weblogs.

On the final step in the TypePad mapping setup, choose “My main site” (example.typepad.com) when selecting where to map the domain.  This will map all of your pages, including your About Page, to use your domain.

Setting up my domain was easy! Can I do it again?

Yes.  If you have multiple weblogs (and/or photo albums) and domain names that you would like to map, each of your weblogs and photo albums can have a different domain name (such as www.example.com).

For the configuration at your registrar, the CNAME for all the domains mapped on your account would be your main TypePad address (example.typepad.com).  Then on the final step in the TypePad mapping setup you will have the opportunity to select the specific weblog or photo album to map to for that domain name.

What if I have a question?

If you are setting up a domain with your TypePad site and your question is not answered above, please open a help ticket in your Control Panel > Help, with the New Ticket link there. (Or, click to Open a New Help Ticket.)

Adding a Banner Image

With TypePad's template builder you can easily display custom content on your weblog. Additionally, Plus and Pro members have the ability to create custom template styles to change the columns, individual fonts and colors, and add a banner image.

Custom styles are configured on the Design > Style page for the template set. Using the Page Banner Element there, you can upload the image to use for your banner. Check the box to "Use this banner image instead of a text title" and use the image uploader to upload your banner image. Your banner should a .jpg, .gif, or .png file.

Before this, when creating your banner, you'll need to decide the size that you should use for the image.

First, take in account what type of layout you are using. A "fluid" layout (such as the "Dew" or "System" default template) stretches across the entire screen so the width of the banner doesn't matter, really. It might be a good idea to keep it under 800 pixels wide, because that is a popular screen setting for browsing and that way it will fit on the screen for most people.

A "fixed" layout (such as the default layout "Earth" when you create a new weblog, or the "Stripes" layout) is set to a certain width and the banner would be created accordingly to fit in the allotted space.

To find the width of your layout, open the General Page Settings element on the Design > Style page for the set.

Look at the width setting for your Main Content Center Column and your Right/Left Columns (your layout may have two columns or three). Add up these widths for all of your columns to get the total width for the container of your layout.

The "Earth" default template uses a 400 pixel main content column, and the right column is set at 200 pixels. This makes a container that has a fixed width of 600 pixels. See the banner border example for a visual display of this.

A banner image automatically has a 15 pixel border in a basic template, this is the green area that you see around the banner. The color of the border is set on the Design > Style page for the template, in the Page Banner element with the "Background" color.

To create a banner that fits perfect, you would subtract the 15 pixels for each side border (30 pixels total) from the width of the layout, creating a banner that is 570 pixels wide. The height will adjust automatically.

So, for example, if you are using a layout that is 700 pixels wide total instead, you would create a banner at 670 pixels wide to fit.

A banner is great way to add some extra personality to your site!

Using Categories to Organize Posts

Categories are useful for grouping weblog posts that have similar topics. In TypePad a post can be assigned to a single category or multiple categories. Using a basic template set, you can configure your template to display the categories for your posts and list the categories in your weblog sidebar.

Setting up category names

Set up categories on the Configure -> Categories page for your weblog. There you'll find the listing of the default category names and a place to create new categories.

TypePad comes with default categories to use for your posts, you can enable or disable these using the Enable checkbox and saving the changes. Categories that are disabled will not list in the category dropdown selector when creating or editing an entry.

To add a custom category, type the new name in one of the blank fields in the "Custom Categories" section and press the save button.

Assigning a post to categories

When composing or editing a post, pull down the category list dropdown menu on the post screen to choose categories:

Assign the post to a single category by selecting the category and saving the post.

Assign the post to more than one category by choosing Assign Multiple Categories from the dropdown. This will open the category list where you can select multiple categories:

Click "set" after choosing the categories and save the changes to the post.

You can see the categories that a post is assigned to on the "List All Posts" management screen and view posts by category using the filter options.

Displaying categories on your site

Show the category or categories that a post is assigned to by selecting a post footer that displays the category name. This is on the Design -> Content page for your weblog, in the Weblog Post Footer dropdown.

Choose a footer that has Category showing in it and save the change. This will display the category name after each post, and with category archiving enabled the category name will turn into a link to that category page. You can turn on category archiving on the Configure -> Archiving page for your weblog if it isn't already.

For the sidebar of your page, you can check the "Categories" box in the Your Sidebar Content section of Design -> Content save the change. This will list your categories that have posts and each will link to the archive page for the category if category archiving is enabled for the weblog.

A list of your categories is also displayed on the master archive page for your weblog if you have category archiving enabled.

Adding Google Search to your TypePad weblog

Matt Haughey of PVRblog writes in a great tip about adding a Google search to your TypePad weblog. Once you add the search to your weblog, your readers will be able to search your site for specific keywords.

How to add Google Search to your TypePad site

1. Create a new Typelist, one for links, I called mine "Google search"

2. Create a new item, with no title and no URL. In the note section add the following code:

<!-- SiteSearch Google -->
<form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/search">
<input type="text" name="q" size="5" maxlength="255" style="width:95px;" />
<input type="submit" name="btnG" value="»" style="width:25px" />
<input type="hidden" name="domains" value="pvr.blogs.com" />
<input type="hidden" name="sitesearch" value="pvr.blogs.com" />
</form>
<!-- SiteSearch Google -->

3. Then, change the domains and sitesearch hidden form values to your Typepad URL.

4. Next click the "Configure" tab on your search Typelist and under advanced configuration, change the Display Notes option to "As text".

5. Save Changes, add the list to your blog, and you'll end up with your own search box that will show visitors everything google knows about your blog.

Advanced users: you can add a style tag to the Form element, and modify the margins in css to get a layout you want (e.g. style="margin-top:4px; margin-bottom:20px;") and also play with the widths of the textbox and button (the supplied size worked on my typepad layout but other layouts could require larger or smaller widths).

To see it in action, check out Matt's sidebar.

Thanks Matt!

Using QuickPost with Media TypeLists

Did you know that if you're visiting Amazon.com and you want to quickly post a Reading or Music TypeList item, all you have to do is use QuickPost and the ASIN will automatically be filled in on the QuickPost bookmarklet? Just click on the QuickPost bookmarklet link when you're on the product's page, click to either the Reading or Music TypeList tab, and then click the add button next to the field with the ASIN number.

Adding a TypeList to your Weblog

If you create TypeLists often, you're probably a bit wary of going back to your weblog's design section to add the list.

Here's a tip on how to add a TypeList to your weblogs after its initial creation.

After you create the list for the first time, you'll see a link that prompts you to add the TypeList to your weblog:

Click on it, select the weblogs you wish to add your TypeList to and then save. Your TypeLists automatically appear in your weblog.

Note that if you want to change the order of your sidebar (and where the TypeList appears), you'll have to go into the Weblog's design and edit the "Order."

TypePad Buttons and TypeList trick

We've had two frequently-asked requests from our users. One, do we have any TypePad buttons that they can add to their sidebar (or replace the "powered by" text). And two, what's the easiest way to add a button or badge to their TypePad sidebar.

As a response to the button question, we've created a number of buttons for you to download and add to your own site. In this tip, we walk you through the process of adding a button to your TypeList and you will then be able to apply this trick to additional buttons, badges and small images you'd like to add to your site.

And because we've seen the demand for images in sidebar, we're working on creating an Image TypeList so that you can add graphics to your sidebar even more easily.

You can add a button to your sidebar without editing your templates:

Download the TypePad buttons file

Add the button using a Link TypeList

If you're an pro user and you are comfortable editing the HTML of your templates, just upload and insert the link into your templates.