Your smartsite will now be available for viewing using the url created in step 5.

Surveys

Surveys can be appended to any piece of content and are a great way to gather information on your local community and attract users to your site.

Viewing custom survey results

To view custom survey results follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Content Management link in the menu pane
3. Click the View Survey Results link in the content pane
4. Select the required survey by clicking on its Title

The results will be displayed in a html format for quick viewing.

Downloading custom survey results as a .csv file (RAW Data)

The CSV ("Comma Separated Value") file format is often used to exchange data between separate computer applications. The file format, as it is used in Microsoft Excel, has become a pseudo standard throughout the industry, even among non-Microsoft platforms.

To download custom survey results as a .csv file:

1. Follow the steps above to view your results in html
2. Click the Raw Data link in the content pane
3. Save the file to a folder of your choice
4. Start Microsoft Excel and open the downloaded file

The respondent result data will now be displayed in each cell which can be manipulated using Microsoft Excel functions.

Creating custom surveys

Custom surveys can be added to any content block through out the site.

To add a custom survey follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Create a new content block. See: Creating Content for directions.
3. Configure your survey:

   Custom Survey configuration option form fields

   Form Field Title	Description
   End Date	Choose whether to finish the survey on a particular date
   Survey Questions	Add survey questions by pressing the Add Question or preview the survey in its current state by pressing the Preview Survey button .
   Prize Draw	Check this box to allows respondents to be entered in a prize draw. The respondents email will be recorded and accessible by the franchisee.
   Finalise Survey	Check this box to finalise and display the survey Note: Once a survey has been finalise, you can no longer edit the questions and it becomes active in the content.

4. Save your content to publish your survey

Your survey has now been created and attached to your content block.

Creating survey questions

To add survey questions follow these simple steps:

1. Create a new survey following the directions above
2. Press the Add Question button to launch the Add Question Pop-Up Wizard.

   Add Question Pop-Up form fields

   Form Field Title	Description
   Question	Choose whether to finish the survey on a particular date
   Response Type	Choose one of the following options: Text: Renders a text box for users to type a free format text response. Note: Text based answers can only be viewed in the Raw Data download. Multiple Options: Renders a list of options where the user can only select one of the available options
   OptionsWill only be displayed if you selected Multiple Options under Response Type	Add a new option by adding the option value in the text box and pressing Add New Arrange the options by using the green slide up icon () and the blue slide down icon (). Note: Only available with 3 or more multiple options Delete an option by clicking the red cross icon ()
   This question requires the user to answer it	Check this box to nominate that this question requires a response Note: Once a survey has been finalise, you can no longer edit the questions and it becomes active in the content.

3. Press the OK button to finish creating custom survey questions and return to the creating content page containing custom survey configuration options

Search Engine Optimisiation

SEO seeks to increase your site's visibility in search engines such as Google and Yahoo. The words, phrases and editorial you use especially on your homepage will have an affect in you ranking naturally high in the search engines.

Backlinks

You may be surprised to hear that the major influence on your sites ranking is not correct formatting and headings, clean code and local content. Although these techniques have a positive affect on your sites positioning the most important influence on your sites ranking is the amount and quality of backlinks.

Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. Backlinks enable you to keep track of other pages on the web that link to your posts. The number of backlinks is an indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page. In basic link terminology, a backlink is any link received by a web node (web page, directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node. Backlinks are also called incoming links, inbound links, inlinks, and inward links.

So how do we get more backlinks?

The best way to obtain quality back links is to create quality content that other websites will happily link to (with out you even asking). Controversial local subjects such as a new shopping centre on the high street can draw attention to your site. If you have written a good article about the subject other websites will often link to your site as a reference source.

Secondly petition your local council, friends, local businesses, neighbours and anyone else that will listen to put a link to your site on their own website.

Thirdly create your own backlinks by posting comments on your favourite public chatrooms, blogs or photo sites (such as flickr.com). Also don't forget to register your site on as many community directory sites as you can find.

The more backlinks you can get the better. If your site is seen on other sites around the web, these sites will also generate traffic for your own site.

There is only one warning that is attached to this tip. AVOID LINK FARMS and any other websites that promise to rapidly raise your sites ranking through generated links.

Link Farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other page in the group. It is a type of spamming.

As a starting point for your backlinks submit your sites to the following directories in the applicable categories.

• http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/United_Kingdom/Cities_and_Towns/
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/United_Kingdom/England/Counties_and_Regions/
• http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/By_Region/Countries/United_Kingdom/England/Counties_and_Regions/

Take your time with the application forms and follow the instructions carefully. The directories above are the only the tip of the iceberg for gathering incoming links.

You should also try and have your site linked to from:

• Local council websites
• Local council members personal blogs
• Local community organisations websites
• Local library websites
• Local business websites
• Friends and families websites/blogs
• Community forums i.e. myspace
• Chat rooms

Other additional tips for gathering backlinks are:

• Leave comments on the above sites and add your website address where possible or ask the site editor to link to your site in exchange for a news story or write up (they will be roe likely to link to your site if they are mentioned on it).
• Anytime you leave a comment on someone's weblog be sure to fill in the URL box with your sites website address.

Content On Your Homepage

• When you design your homepages listing all the major features of your site using the styles available in the Rich Content Editor sparingly.
• See: http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/z97/SEO as an example of a page that uses correct headings to layout the page. Notice the use of links leading the reader deeper into the site. This also helps with SEO.
• Your sites homepage will be the first page that Google, Yahoo or any other search engine encounters as they index your sites content. That makes it one of the most important pages to focus on when trying to improve your sites Search Engine Rankings.
• Your homepages content should contain keywords relating to your geographical location (postcode, village names) and your sites content and services.

A well written homepage will contain the following:

• Well written content broken up with formatting (headings, lists, quotes etc)
• Headings containing KEYWORDS (see below)
• Links to deeper content deeper in your site using keywords as the link text

Formatting

• Break your content up using formatting rather than styles. Using headings and lists gives your content more structure and therefore is easier to read. Place keywords in your content headings, take the following heading, 'What's On' and add a keyword or two. You could end up with 'What's on in Birmingham B92' which has much more meaning to search engines and humans alike.

Linking

Say goodbye to 'For more information click here'.

• Rather than having numerous 'click here' links scattered through your content the text of a link should identify its target. This provides another great opportunity to add some keywords into your content.

Keywords

What are Keywords?

Keywords are phrases you want your website to be found under. Often corporate climates force people to refer to things using special phrases. Keywords are not about what you call your stuff. Keywords are what you think Joe average surfer (or your prospective site visitors) may type in a search box.

Focusing a Keyword:

When people tell you to target the word "free" they are out of their minds. The single word is too general and has too much competition. I just did a search on Yahoo! for "free" and it returned 749,000,000 results. That is over 10% of the web trying to use free as a sales pitch.

I am not saying that free should not be on your page, it is on most of mine. I am saying that keywords should define the product or idea. Free alone just does not get this done.

Keyword Phrases:

If free isn't a keyword, then what is? Keywords are typically two to five word phrases you expect people to search for to find your website. What would you expect people to type in the browser to find your site? If you were looking for your product, what would you type? What type of problems does your product or service solve? Those answers are likely good keyword phrases.

Keyword Length:

A longer search phrase is also associated with better targeting and increased consumer desire. Some people say shorter keyword searchers are shoppers and longer keyword searchers are buyers. As you add various copy to pages you are more likely to appear in search results similar to your keywords which do not exactly match your more general keywords. Most good keyword phrases are generally 2 to 5 words.

Keyword Density:

Keyword density analyzers end up focusing people on something that is not overtly important. This causes some people to write content that looks like a robot wrote it. That type of content will not inspire people to link at it and will not convert well.

In March of 2005 Dr. Garcia, an information retrieval scientist, wrote an article about keyword density.

His conclusion was "this overall ratio [keyword density] tells us nothing about:

• the relative distance between keywords in documents (proximity)
• where in a document the terms occur (distribution)
• the co-citation frequency between terms (co-occurrence)
• the main theme, topic, and sub-topics (on-topic issues) of the documents

Thus, KD is divorced from content quality, semantics and relevancy."

Later on in the ebook I will discuss how to structure page content, but it is important to know that exact keyword density is not an important or useful measure of quality.

Finding Keywords:

There are many different ways to find keywords for your website. Some good keyword ideas are:

• Words people would search for to find your product
• Problems your prospective customers may be trying to solve with your product or service (even if they do not know you exist)
• Keyword tags on competitors websites
• Visible page copy on competitors websites
• Related search suggestions on top search engines (such as Teoma or Yahoo!)
• Related term suggestion at smaller engines such as Gigablast and Vivisimo
• Keyword groupings via tools such as Google Sets
• Keyword suggestion tools (which are covered in the next section)

Keyword Selection Tips:

The goal of keywords is to choose terms that will bring well targeted traffic to your web site. Each page on your site can be targeted for a few different keyword phrases. Typically I like to just do about 1 to 2 primary and 2 to 3 secondary phrases.

Overlapping Keyword Phrases:

It makes sense to optimize the same page for keyword phrases that share some of the same keywords. A page that ranks well for search engine marketing should easily be able to rank well for professional search engine marketing or search engine marketing services.

Only Use a Few Keyword Phrases per Page:

A note of caution is that you can not optimize a page for 20 different keywords. As you add more keywords to the mix, you lessen the keyword density and change the focus of the page. The page can start to sound robot created if you are optimized or too many terms. Remember that converting eyeballs is what matters. People are not likely to link to or buy from a page that reads like rubbish.

Misspelled Keywords:

You usually do not want to use misspelled keywords in your body copy or page title as they will look somewhat unprofessional. It can however help you to add misspelled keywords to the meta keywords tag (which is explained in further detail in the meta keywords section).

Some sites use "Did you mean..." pages, focusing the page title and heading tag on the misspelled versions of the keyword and then underneath it say "often times internet searchers searching for xxx misspell the word as bla or bla." If you are looking for xxx you are in the right place. Learn more about our bla bla bla...

Search spelling correction will get more sophisticated over time. Search engines want to correct for misspellings in the search results pages before the users get to your site. I spoke with a search engine product manager who stated that misspellings can flag pages for relevancy reviews and usually misspellings for SEO are not recommended for most websites.

If you are using throw away domains then misspellings might help you get some targeted traffic without using as much effort. Also if you have a community driven site it will naturally include many misspellings from various bad spelling authors.

Plural Keyword Versions:

Some search engines do use stemming, but usually the search results for singular and plural search phrases are different. It is recommended that you optimize for common versions of your popular keywords.

Capitalized Keywords:

Most major search engines are not case sensitive. Cars are the same thing as cars.

Hyphenated Keywords:

Most search engines treat hyphens as a space. E-mail is different than email. If a word is split in half by a hyphen then you should check to see which version is used more frequently and optimize for whatever versions are commonly searched for. If a hyphen is sometimes placed between two words then using either version (with or without a hyphen) will cause your page to rank better for both versions.

Localized Keyword Research:

People use different terminology in different countries. In the US we want taxi cabs. In London they look for a car hire. Make sure if you are not from the country of your target market you know what common words they use to describe the products or services you are promoting there.

Common Keyword Problems:

There are a few common problems with keyword selection.

Some people use their internal corporate catch phrases versus focusing on what people actually search for.

Sometimes words have a more commonly used different meaning which elevates the estimated traffic and competition level without actually bringing in any more sales. This especially holds true for acronyms (examples: pics, cams).

Some people use really generic words that are not very relevant and are extremely competitive. Optimizing my site for "search engine" would be a good example of this. Lots of competition to attain traffic disinterested with my services.

Keyword Selection is a Balancing Act:

You want the words to be descriptive enough for you to qualify the person and describe your product. You also want the search term to be general enough to be something that is frequently searched for. The definition of frequently changes depending upon industry, but common sense should help guide you in finding what keywords are the right ones to target. Sales usually are far more important than just the quantity of traffic you get. The power of keywords is in their targeting.

Sure you can list well for a really long search term that is only present on your site, but you want it to be something your prospects are searching for. On the flip side of the coin it is also often rather hard to list for a single word such as "outsourcing." Selecting keywords is a balancing act. Most good keywords are between 2 to 5 words long.

Use your home page to target your primary keyword and use the other pages to target other keyword phrases.

Keyword Suggestion Tools:

There are a couple tools on the web which do a good job of helping you find which keywords get searched for and how frequently they are search for.

Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Free tool based on prior months Overture ad distribution. Please note the Overture tool combines singular and plural versions of a word and only can track those terms which already have ads in place. Since Overture makes money by selling ads and many automated bots search through their distribution network their results may run high (some highly competitive commercial terms are off by a factor greater than 10 fold).

Google Keyword Sandbox:

https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=KeywordSandbox

A free tool from Google AdWords. Offers likely synonyms to the word you type in, but does not approximate traffic. To approximate traffic you would need to set up a Google AdWords campaign and track the number of times your ad displays. Be careful in doing this because it can get rather expensive if you create random ads for the wrong words and / or bid highly for your keywords.

The Overture keyword tool can show high search volume due to automated bots. WordTracker also will be off on certain searches.

The free Digital Point tool shows both of their results side by side so you can see a couple different search volume "opinions."

Google Suggest results may also be organized in order of search volume.

Wikipedia to Increase Your Site Traffic

To increase incoming traffic to your website try adding a link to your page from one of the most popular sites around, wikipedia, you can find them at http://www.wikipedia.org/

Firstly search for your local area, e.g. Handworth Wood in the search box on the left hand side.

1. Review the page that appears, read the information take it in you may find out something you never knew about your area.
2. Every site is obviously different - next scan down to see if there is an External Links header, if there is great (if not go to 8). Click on the edit link next to it, and you should be taken to a page that looks like the one below.
3. Insert your cursor under the ==External Links== then click on the external links button (it?s the one with the globe on it).
   
4. You should get something that looks like [http://www.example.com link title] modify this text until it resemble [http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/B20 About My Area - Local Community Website for Handsworth Wood] but making sure the information is correct for your area.
   
5. Finally click on the save page button, and follow the on page instructions to complete the submission.
6. Well done you should now have a link to your site from the wikipedia.
7. (The following steps are only for those that need to create an External Links header) Click on the edit this page tab at the top of the page. You should see a page similar to the one above.
8. Place your cursor in an appropriate place towards the bottom of the page.
9. Now click on level 2 Headline button (that?s the one with the big A on it).
   
10. == Headline text == should appear change this to ==External Links== and follow the rest of the instructions 4 through to 7.

Advert Management

The term advert covers Business Directory Listings, Banner and graphical Sidebar adverts.

Advert Types

Adverts encompass both business directory listings and graphical adverts displayed on your AMA site. Advertising can be broken down into four distinct opportunities.

Banner Adverts

Banner adverts appear at the top of your site and are 800px wide X 65px high. You can nominate a default banner advert for your site and have specific banner adverts for specific pages.

Before you create a Banner Advert you must first upload the banner image to your image library. Banner adverts can be either .jpg, .gif or .png images.

Static and Rotating Sidebar Adverts

Your sites sidebar has 6 allocated advertising spaces on any single page and each space can contain a single, double or triple sized advert.

Static and Rotating adverts appear in the right side column of your site as graphical banners. You can have up to six adverts per page in any combination of the following sizes:

• Single Advert: 200px wide X 80px high
• Double Advert: 200px wide X 160px high
• Triple Advert: 200px wide X 240px high

What's the difference between static and rotating adverts?

Static Adverts will always appear in one of the six designated advertising spaces. Rotating Adverts will appear randomly to fill any of the remaining six designated advertising spaces.

Example: Your site has three static and ten rotating adverts attached to a single page. All three static adverts will appear every time the page is displayed to users. The remaining three advertising spaces will be filled up with 3 of the ten rotating adverts chosen randomly.

Static adverts are therefore more valuable than rotating adverts as the are guaranteed to be show every time a page loads.

Before you create a Static or Rotating advert you must first upload the banner image to your image library. Static and Rotating adverts can be either .jpg, .gif or .png images.

Static And Rotating ADVERTS vs Static and Animated Images

Rotating images and animated images are not the same and terminology can be easily confused. Animated images are images that change their

Content group sponsorship

Any advert can also be a content group sponsor. Content group sponsors appear as text links appear underneath group titles on your sites summary pages. Each content group can only have one sponsor at any one time.

Sponsored Link Adverts

Sponsored Link Adverts are Banner, Static or Rotating Adverts that link to piece of existing published content. Sponsored Link Adverts are created in the same way as Banner, Static or Rotating Adverts however Sponsored Link Advert must be selected under the Advert Title.

Viewing adverts

To view an existing advert follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Advert List link in the content pane
4. Select one of the following tabs that contains your advert:
   • Rotating
   • Static
   • Banner
5. Click on the Advert Name to view the advert

Your advert is now displayed as a form that you can now review or modify.

Creating Banner, static or rotating adverts

Before you create a Banner, Static or Rotating advert you must first upload the banner image to your image library.

Bannermaker pro

AMA recommended's BannerMaker Pro to all our franchisees due to its ease of use, small learning curve and image export quality. Keep in mind that BannerMaker Pro is a third party product which is not developed by AboutMyArea and it is unlikely that we can ever provide support for the product that is of a better quality than its original developers.

The team at BannerMaker Pro have created some excellent FAQ's, tutorials and hints and tips that will help all AMA franchisees. 

They can be found on the BannerMaker Pro site and I encourage all Franchisees to read them 'front to back'.

Faq's: http://bannermakerpro.com/faq.html
Hints and Tips: http://bannermakerpro.com/hints.html
Tutorials: http://www.bannermakerpro.com/tutorials.html
Other Resources: http://bannermakerpro.com/links.html

A free 30 day trial is available on the BannerMakerPro Website and a full license is available for £15.00.

Banner Maker Pro Video Tutorial

This video tutorial discussesand demonstrates the basics of BannerMakerPro

Watch the video tutorial

Creating a Basic Banner Advert

To create new basic banner advert follow these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Create Advert link in the content pane
4. Add the Advert Title
5. Add the full Advert URL including the 'http://www.'. When clicked the banner advert will direct primarily to this URL. Note: If NO URL is provided and the banner advert is also listed in the business directory the advert will automatically link the business listing. If NO URL is provided and the banner advert is NOT listed in the business directory the advert will automatically link to the business homepage. If you wish to link to an email address please see: Linking to an email address.
6. Click the Select Image link and choose the banner advert you wish to display
7. Select 'Banner' as the Advert Type
8. Check Make this the default Advert for the site if the Banner Advert should be the new default for the site
9. Check the Active checkbox to make this Banner Advert active
10. Press Add Advert

Your basic Banner Advert has now been created.

Remember to arrange your 'Banner' Advert after it has been created.

Creating basic static or rotating advert

To create new basic static or rotating advert follow these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Create Advert link in the content pane
4. Add the Advert Title
5. Add the full Advert URL' including the 'http://www.'. When clicked the banner advert will direct primarily to this URL. Note: If NO URL is provided and the banner advert is also listed in the business directory the advert will automatically link the business listing. If NO URL is provided and the banner advert is NOT listed in the business directory the advert will automatically link to the business homepage. If you wish to link to an email address please see: Linking to an email address.
6. Click the Select Image link and choose the static or rotating advert image you wish to display
7. Select 'Static Advert' or 'Rotating Advert' as the Advert Type
8. Select the Advert Depth based on the advert image selected
9. Check the Active checkbox to make this Static or Rotating Advert active
10. Press Add Advert

Your basic 'Static' or 'Rotating Advert' now has been created.

Remember to arrange your Static'' or 'Rotating' Advert after it has been created.

Creating an Advanced Banner, Static or Rotating Advert with an associated Business Listing

See: Creating an Advanced Business Listing with a Banner Advert

Advanced Advert Field Reference

Editing adverts

To edit an existing advert follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Advert List link in the content pane
4. Select one of the following tabs that contains your advert:
   • Rotating
   • Static
   • Banner
5. Click on the Advert Name to edit the advert
6. Edit your advert details
7. Press the Submit Changes button to confirm your edit. Note: Changes take effect immediately

Your advert is now updated.

Deleting adverts

To delete an existing advert follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click the Advert List in the content pane
4. Click on the parent tab that contains the advert you wish to delete
5. Delete the advert by clicking the red cross icon () next to the title
6. Confirm you wish to delete the advert by pressing the Yes button

Your advert has now been deleted.

Arranging Adverts

Sidebar a adverts can be arranged in a fixed order on a per section basis. Static adverts appear at the top of the sidebar in the order you specify. Rotating adverts will then fill any available advert places.

Category specific business listing adverts are displayed in the sidebar and replace the default business listing adverts.

Banner adverts can be applied across a section of the pages as well as the static ads

To arrange adverts on a per section basis follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click on the Arrange Advert link in the content pane
4. Select the site area you wish to have arranged averts displayed
5. Press the OK button
6. Select an advert from the Advert Library panel
7. Press the Add button to transfer the selected content to the Adverts on Page panel. Note: You can remove advert by pressing the Remove button and order its position by pressing either Move Up or Move Down buttons.
8. Press the OK button

Your adverts are now arranged in the order you have chosen.

Advert Management Video Tutorial

This video tutorial discussesand demonstrates the basics of advert management.

Watch the video tutorial

Business Zone Management

Business Listings are essentially adverts for a service or product which are all managed under Advert Management.

A basic business listing can include a name and minimal contact details although the functionality to create an advanced business listing is available. Advanced business listings are a combination of basic business listing and a banner, static or rotating advert.

Viewing Business Listings

To view an existing advert follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Advert List link in the content pane
4. Click the Business Directory tab.
5. Click on the Advert Name to view the business listing.

Your Business Listing is now displayed as a form that you can now review or modify.

Creating Business Listings

Creating a Basic Business Zone Listing

To create new basic business zone listing follow these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Create Advert link in the content pane
4. Enter the business name in the Advert Title field.
5. Enter the business phone, mobile and fax contact numbers if applicable
6. Enter the business email address if applicable
7. Enter the business address to the Address without a postcode Note: If you plan to display a map link with your business listing then do not enter your postcode in this box
8. Enter the business postcode in the Postcode field. Note: Adding a postcode in this box will display a map link for the business
9. Enter the business description in the Advert Text Rich Content Editor
10. Select 'Business Directory Listing' as the Advert Type
11. Select the appropriate business category from Business Directory select box
12. Check Make this the default Advert for the site if the Banner Advert should be the new default for the site
13. Check the Active checkbox to make this business listing active
14. Press Add Advert

Your basic business listing has now been created

Creating An Advanced Business Listing With an associated Banner Advert

An advanced business listing is classified as a 'Banner', Static'' or 'Rotating' Advert with associated business information that is displayed as a business zone listing. First and foremost an advanced business listing is a 'Banner', Static'' or 'Rotating' Advert which is why many of the steps are similar to creating a Static, Rotating or Banner Advert.

To create new advanced business zone listing with a banner advert follow these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Create Advert link in the content pane
4. Enter the business name in the Advert Title field.
5. Enter the businesses website in the Advert URL field. Note: If a URL is entered the banner advert will link directly to the businesses website.
   Note: If no URL is entered the banner advert will link to the newly created Business Zone listing.
   Hint: To send an email rather than launch a website when the banner is clicked enter the email address in the form of a mailto: URL
6. Enter the business phone, mobile and fax contact numbers in the appropriate fields if applicable
7. Enter the business email address if applicable
8. Enter the business address to the Address without a postcode Note: If you plan to display a map link with your business listing then do not enter your postcode in this box
9. Enter the business postcode in the Postcode field. Note: Adding a postcode in this box will display a map link for the business
10. Enter the business description in the Advert Text Rich Content Editor
11. Click the Select Image link and choose the single, double or triple size banner advert image you wish to display in the sidebar
12. Select either 'Static Advert', 'Rotating Advert' or 'Banner Advert' as the Advert Type Note: Do Not select 'Business Directory Listing'.
13. Select the appropriate business category from Business Directory select box
14. Check Display as Sidebar Ad in Selected Category to display the business listing as an additional text advert in the chosen business category.
15. Check 'Display as a Banner Ad in Selected Category' to display the associated advert as the default banner advert for this business zone category. Note: Only applies if 'Banner Advert' was selected as the Advert Type
16. Select the Advert Depth of the associated 'Static' or 'Rotating' advert Note: Only applies if 'Static Advert ' or 'Rotating Advert ' was selected as the Advert Type
17. Check Locality if the business is in your local postcode area
18. Enter a Community Club unique coupon code a site visitor can se to redeem a discount on products or services with this business Note: Community Club coupons must be confirmed with the participating business before entered in the business zone
19. Check Alert and enter a date if you would like to be reminded when this advert is due for renewal.
20. Check Make this the default advert for the site if the Banner Advert should be the new default for the site
21. Check the applicable Content Group Sponsorship boxes for your business. Note: Businesses that sponsor content groups appear as text links appear underneath group titles on your sites summary pages
    Note: Each content group can only have one sponsor at any one time
22. Check the Active checkbox to make this business listing active
23. Press Add Advert

Your advanced business listing with advert has now been created.

Remember to arrange your 'Banner', Static'' or 'Rotating' Advert after your business listing advert has been created..

Editing Business Listings

To view an existing business listing follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Advert List link in the content pane
4. Click the Business Directory tab.
5. Click on the Advert Name to view the business listing.
6. Edit your Business Listing details
7. Press the submit Changes button to confirm your edit. Note: Changes take effect immediately

Your business listing has now been updated.

Deleting Business Listings

To delete an existing business listing follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click Advert List in the content pane
4. The Business Directory Tab should be selected by default. If this is not the case click on the 'Business Directory' tab.
5. Delete the Business Listing by clicking the red cross icon () next to the Advert Title
6. Confirm you wish to delete the advert by pressing the Yes button

Your business listing has now been deleted.

Customising the business zone

To customise the introduction text of your Business Zone follow these simple steps.

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Advert Management link in the menu pane
3. Click on the Business Zone link in the content pane
4. Update the introduction text in the business zone by changing the text in the rich content editor
5. Optionally you can show the count for each category by checking the Category Counts'check box
6. Press the OK button

Your Business Zone customisiations are now complete.

Classifieds Management

Classifieds Manager

To configure the Classifieds section on your site, you will need to use the Classifieds Manager. You can reach this by following these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane

Classifieds Settings

To charge site users for placing listings, you will need to set up your classifieds section. The most important aspect is to create a PayPal account so you can accept payments.

The Classifieds Settings page is split up as follows:

1. Classifieds Payments - You will need to enter your PayPal email address in order for you to charge site visitors for listings. If this is blank all listings will be free.
2. General Settings - You can change the Expiry date of all listings from this option.
3. Discounts - As listings can be placed in up to 3 categories, you can apply discounts to the charges levvied. You have to choice to apply a individual discounts to the 2nd and 3rd categories and an overall discount which is applied afterwards.

Category Settings and Pay Scales

You can use the Categoru Settings page to apply options to each classifieds category as you see fit. To enter the settings form follow these steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane
3. Select the category you which to edit - it's background will turn red upon selection
4. Click on the Category Settings button to enter the form

There are the following areas to this form:

1. Message - Here you can provide a personalised message for each category, that is displayed when a site visitor browses to that category on your site.
2. Read Only - You can make a category read only (no-one can post listings in to it) by selecting this check box.
3. Pay Scales - See below.

Pay Scales

Pay Scales are used to determine how much you are going to charge a site visitor for placing a classified listing on your site. The default setting is to inherit the Pay Scale from the parent category, but you can customise this by unchecking the Inherit payscale from parent category checkbox and editing the settings below.

The Pay Scale for a category is split into segments. These are split according to how much a site user wished to charge someone for the item or service they are advertising in their listing. The options in the pay scale editor are as follows:

• Segment - An easy way to identify the segment in the editor.
• Start (£) - The starting price for a segment. The first segment's start price is always £0, with subsequent segments allowing you to edit the start value.
• End (£) - The ending price for the segment. This is calulated automatically by taking the following segment's start price and subtracting 1 pence (£0.01) from it.
• Charge (£) - The ammount you wish to charge users for a listing that falls into this segment.
• Free Images - The number of pictures a user can add to their listing without incurring an additional charge. Maximum of 3.
• Extra Image Cost (£) - How much an additional image will cost if it is not included in the price of a listing within this segment.
• Free Text - The numbers of characters a user can use in a listing without incurring an extra charge. Minimum of 1000 characters, maximum of 5000.
• Extra Text Cost (£) - The cost of an additional block of 1000 characters of text.
• Segments - Add or Delete segments using the links in this column.

Please note that any custom pay scales you set up will propogate to any sub categories of the current catagory unless the sub category overrides the settings with it's own pay scale.

Example Pay Scale

The above pay scale means:

• A listing priced between £0.00 and £49.99 will be free to place, unless they add any pictures to it (50p each) or include more than 1,000 characters of text (50p per extra 1,000 characters).
• A listing priced between £50.00 and £99.99 will cost £2.50 to place, and includes one image and 1,000 characters of text. Extra images are 50p each, and extra text is 50p per block of 1,000 characters.
• A listing priced between £100.00 and £199.99 will cost £4.50 to place, and includes 2 images and 2,000 characters of text. An extra image will be an additional 50p and extra text is 50p per block of 1,000 characters.
• A listing prices at £200.00 or more will cost £5.95 to place and includes all 3 images for free and 3,000 characters of text. Extra text will cost 25p per block of 1,000 characters.

For example:

• A listing priced at £40 with 2 images and 435 characters of text will cost £1.00 to place.
• A listing priced at £120 with 1 image and 2,126 characters of text will cost £5.00 to place.
• A listing priced at £95 with 3 images and 1,754 characters of text will cost £4.00 to place.

Pay Scale Considerations

An important thing to remember is that a listing can be placed in up to 3 categories. This means that there can be up to 3 different pay scales being used to calculate costs. The above examples only take into account a single pay scale. Below are listed some points regarding a listing placed within multiple categories.

• The primary category is the one that carries the highest base charge. Even if the user selects a free category as the first one, when it comes to calculating the listing price the most expensive will be used first. This is due to these reasons:
• You can apply discounts to the 2nd and 3rd categories.
• Image and Extra text costs are taken from the 1st category only, so this should be the most expensive.
• Discounts can be applied to the 2nd and 3rd categories (if selected) and an overall discount can also be applied. See 'Classifieds Settings'.

Viewing classifieds

To view the rendered version of a published classified navigate to the classifieds section in your site and view the classified as a user would see it.

Alternatively to see a list of existing classifieds in a summary view in your admin or view the details of an existing classified follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane
3. Click on a Category in the left pane to select it and expand it's subcategories. Keep repeating this step until you have reached the category you are looking for.
4. Listings within the current category are displayed in the pane on the right.

Editing classifieds

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane
3. Click on a Category in the left pane to select it and expand it's subcategories. Keep repeating this step until you have reached the category you are looking for.
4. Click on a listing in the pane on the right.

From this editor you can change the listing's title and content. You can also change the categories it appears in (Min: 1; Max: 3), apply a custom expiry date and remove pictures that have been attached to the listing.

Please note that you cannot add images to a listing.

Deleting classifieds

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane
3. Click on a Category in the left pane to select it and expand it's subcategories. Keep repeating this step until you have reached the category you are looking for.
4. The Listings within the current category are displayed in the pane on the right.
5. Click on the red cross next to a listing.
6. Click on OK to confirm the deletion of the listing.

Contacting the classified creator

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on the Classifieds Management link in the content pane
3. Click on a Category in the left pane to select it and expand it's subcategories. Keep repeating this step until you have reached the category you are looking for.
4. Click on the email address to the right of the listing's name to send them an email.

Image Library

The Image Library is the home for all your content, advert and banner images.

Important: The following issues will cause your upload or image insertion to fail:

1. The image library will only accept images with either, .jpg, .gif or .png file extensions
2. Microsoft Word documents or Portable Document Formats (PDF's) that contain images are NOT valid image formats. Upload these documents through the Document Library or extract the images from Microsoft Word before uploading
3. Image file names must only contain alpha-numeric characters (A-Z 0-9), underscores (_) or dashes (-). Other characters are not allowed
4. Uploaded images must be below 450px wide. If the image is wider than 450px it must be resized before upload.

Viewing images

To view an existing image follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Image Library link in the menu pane
3. Select one of the following tabs that contain your image type:
   • Advert & Content Images
   • Advert Images
   • Content Images
   • Other Images
4. Click the image title to preview the image

Uploading images

To upload an image into a content block follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Image Library link in the menu pane
3. Press the Add Image button in the content pane
4. Select your Image Type option most applicable to your image upload
5. Press the Browse button and select the image on your local computer
6. Press the Open button in the pop up file selector to confirm your image selection
7. Press the Save button

Your image has now been uploaded to the Image Library

Inserting images into a content block

To insert an image into a content block follow these simple steps:

1. Create a new content block
2. Insert the cursor where you would like the link to appear
3. Click on the insert image icon.( ) to launch the image viewer
4. Select the image you wish to insert
5. Click the General tab
6. Insert and Image Description and Title
7. Click the Appearance Tab
8. Update the image Dimensions if applicable. Your image should be no wider than 450px. Note: All image styling must be done with the Rich Content Editor styles. DO NOT use the alignment select box to style your image.
9. Press Insert to add your image to the Rich Content Editor

The selected image has now been inserted into the Rich Content Editor

Deleting images

To delete an existing image follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Image Library link in the menu pane
3. Select one of the following tabs that contain your image type:
   • Advert & Content Images
   • Advert Images
   • Content Images
   • Other Images
4. Delete the image by clicking the red cross icon () next to the title in the top right corner of the red container box
5. Press the Yes button to confirm the deletion

Your image has now been deleted.

Working with images

Resizing images using Microsoft Picture Manager 2003

This tutorial explains how to resize an image using Microsoft Picture Manager 2003.

This tutorial requires you have an installed version of Microsoft Picture Manager 2003 which come bundled as part of the Microsoft Office 2003 package.

Microsoft Picture Manager replaces Microsoft Photo Editor, which used to come with Microsoft Office (before the 2003 edition). Picture Manager is not a photo editor by any means, but it can perform a couple of quick actions that we'll discuss here.

Where is picture manager located on my computer?

Picture Manager is installed by default into the Microsoft Office Tools program menu that can be accessed from your Window's start bar.

1. Press the Start button
2. Select All Programs
3. Select Microsoft Office
4. Select Microsoft Office Tools
5. Select Microsoft Picture Manager

Opening Picture Manager in this way will display any pictures you have in your "My Pictures" (located in the "My Documents" folder).

Select the pictures you want to work with.

Make sure the folders that contain the pictures you want to work with are displayed in the Picture Shortcuts pane. If the folders aren't listed, add them to the pane.

1. In the Picture Shortcuts pane, under Picture Shortcuts, click Add Picture Shortcut
2. Browse to the folder that contains the pictures you want to work with
3. Click Add

Select the folders containing the pictures you want to work with.

Do one of the following in the Picture Shortcuts list:

• To work with pictures in one folder, select the folder
• To work with pictures in multiple folders that are next to each other, select the first folder in the group, hold down SHIFT, and then select the last folder in the group
• To work with pictures in multiple folders that are not next to each other, select one folder, hold down CTRL, and then select each additional folder you want to work with

When multiple folders are selected, all the pictures from the selected folders are displayed in their current sort order in the preview pane.

Select the pictures you want to work with.

Do one of the following in the preview pane:

• To select one picture, click the picture. In Thumbnail or Filmstrip view, click Next or Previous to change the picture selected. If you are working in Single Picture view, the current picture is selected by default
• To select multiple pictures that are next to each other, in Thumbnail or Filmstrip view, select the first picture in the group, hold down SHIFT, and then select the last picture in the group
• To select multiple pictures that are not next to each other, in Thumbnail or Filmstrip view, select one picture, hold down CTRL, and then select each additional picture you want to work with
• To select all the pictures, in Thumbnail or Filmstrip view, click Select All on the Edit menu

Resize the picture

1. Right click on the image(s) you wish to edit and select Edit Pictures
2. Click Resize (located under Change Picture Size) located in the Edit Pictures task pane
3. Select the options you want
4. Press the OK button

Export the image

1. Under the File menu select Export
2. Select an export location
3. Type in the preferred filename
4. Select the file format (It is recommended to use the Original File Format option if you are unsure)
5. Select the export file size (It is recommended to use the Original Size option if you are unsure)
6. Press the OK button

Extracting images from Microsoft Word 2003

This tutorial explains how to extract an embedded image from Microsoft Word 2003 and export it in a web friendly format using Microsoft Picture Manager 2003.

This tutorial requires you have an installed version of Microsoft Word 2003 and Microsoft Picture Manager 2003 which come bundled as part of the Microsoft Office 2003 package.

Microsoft Picture Manager replaces Microsoft Photo Editor, which used to come with Microsoft Office (before the 2003 edition). Picture Manager is not a photo editor by any means, but it can perform a couple of quick actions that we'll discuss here.

Where is picture manager located on my computer?

Picture Manager is installed by default into the Microsoft Office Tools program menu that can be accessed from your Window's start bar.

1. Press the Start button
2. Select All Programs
3. Select Microsoft Office
4. Select Microsoft Office Tools
5. Select Microsoft Picture Manager

Extracting the image from Microsoft Word 2003

1. Open the Microsoft Word 2003 document that contains the image you wish to extract
2. Right click on the image and select Format Picture. A new window will pop up with the images properties
3. Click on the Size tab
4. Click the Reset button in the bottom right hand of the window. This will reset the picture to its original size and ensure you have an original image to extract
5. Press the Ok button to close the window
6. Right click on the image and select Copy

The image is now copied to your clipboard and ready for processing in Microsoft Picture Manager 2003.

Making the image web friendly With Microsoft Picture Manager 2003

1. Open Microsoft Picture Manager
2. In the Picture Shortcuts pane, under My Picture Shortcuts, click Desktop
3. Right click in the Preview Pane and select Paste
4. Right click the newly pasted image and select Edit Picture
5. Make any changes you need to the image before exporting. Note: For resizing images see the tutorial titled "Resize Images - using Microsoft Picture MANAGER 2003".
6. Under the File menu select Export.
7. Select an export location
8. Type in the preferred filename
9. Select the file format (It is recommended to use the Original File Format option if you are unsure)
10. Select the export file size (It is recommended to use the Original Size option if you are unsure)
11. Press the OK button

Document Library

The Document Library is the home for all your Microsoft Word, Excel, Publisher and PDF documents.

Important: The following issues will cause your document upload to fail:

1. Image file names must only contain alpha-numeric characters (A-Z 0-9), underscores (_) or dashes (-). Other characters are not allowed
2. Large files such as Powerpoint Presentations or Word Documents should be optimised before upload.

Caution: Microsoft Documents may be editable by the user once downloaded. If you wish to secure the content of your document and restrict changes upload a .pdf version of the document.

Viewing documents

To view an existing document resource follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Document Library link in the menu pane

All your current uploaded documents will be listed in the content pane.

Viewing a documents content

To view the contents of an existing document resource follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Document Library link in the menu pane
3. Click the download icon ( ) to open or save the file to your local computer

Uploading documents

To upload a new document follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Document Library link in the menu pane
3. Click the Upload a file link in the content pane
4. Press the Browse button and select your file
5. Press OK to close the file browser window and return to the Admin. Note: You should always check any file you upload for viruses. If a file you upload onto the server has a virus, it will be removed by our Anti-Virus software and you will not be able to download the file, even if the link remains on any page.
6. Press OK to complete the upload process

Deleting documents

To delete an existing document follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click the Document Library link in the menu pane
3. Click the delete icon ( ) to delete the file
4. Confirm you wish to delete the selected file by pressing OK

Inserting documents into a content block

To insert a document into a content block follow these simple steps:

1. Create a new content block
2. Enter the phrase that will link to your document. Ex: 'Download my sample document'
3. Select the phrase that will become the link anchor
4. Press the Insert/Edit Link button ()
5. Select your document from the Link List drop down
6. Press Update

Publications

Publications are currently under re-development and may produce unpredictable results.

Creating Newsletters

To create a new newsletter follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Publications in the menu pane
3. Click on the Create Newsletter button in the content pane
4. Enter your newsletter Title
5. Enter the newsletter Edition
6. Enter a Newsletter Introductioniusing the Rich Content Editor
7. Select a piece of content from the Available Content select box
8. Press the Add button to add the content to the newsletter
9. Repeat steps 7-8 to add another piece of content if necessary.
10. Select a Banner Advert for the masthead of the newsletter if applicable
11. Select any optional Small Adverts for the newsletter from the Small Advert 1-6 select boxes.
12. To save and not publish press Save button.
13. To save and publish the newsletter press the Save & Publish button.

Your newsletter has now been created.

Editing unpublished newsletters

To edit your unpublished newsletters follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Publications in the menu pane
3. Click the Unpublished Newsletters option
4. Click the Newsletter Title to load the Editor window.

Your unpublished newsletter has now been updated

Previewing unpublished newsletters

To preview your unpublished newsletters follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Publications in the menu pane
3. Click Preview next to the newsletter title

Your previously published newsletter will now open in a new window

Deleting unpublished newsletters

To delete your unpublished newsletters follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Publications in the menu pane
3. Click the delete icon ( ) to delete the file Caution: This will delete your newsletter without confirmation.

Your unpublished newsletter has now been deleted.

View published newsletters

To view your previously published newsletters follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Publications in the menu pane
3. Click Preview next to the newsletter title

Your previously published newsletter will now open in a new window

How your Newsletter is published

When you click the Save & Publish option you newsletter is placed into a queue that is processed automatically separate to your website. This means that your are free to move on to another task, the queue is processed in batches and a batch is processed every 10 minutes.

Statistics

Change Password

For added security it is suggested you change your password every 1-2 months.

To change your password follow these simple steps:

1. Log into your areas Admin Panel
2. Click on Change Password in the menu pane
3. Enter your New Password
4. Confirm your new password
5. Press OK

Your password has now been updated

The Rich Content Editor

The Rich Content Editor allows franchisees to add formatting and styles to before publishing content.

Editor Reference

The Rich Content Editor is broken up into three main sections:

1. Actions Toolbar - Contains all the buttons, formatting and styling options
2. Content Area - Where your content will be entered and formatted
3. Path Status Bar - Displays the position of your cursor in relation to its parent elements

Entering Content

Entering information into the Rich Content Editor is quite a natural exercise if you have ever used any desktop document creation software such as Microsoft Word.

Although there are many similarities between using the Rich Content Editor and other traditional document creation applications such as Microsoft Word it is important to note that publishing on the web is not as feature rich or technically advanced as publishing using a desktop application. There are many limitations that cannot be implemented on the web due to technical restrictions, the most requested feature being the ability to use multiple fonts.

Entering content from Microsoft word

A standard scenario that many franchisees face is transferring content from a Microsoft Word (or similar) document on to the web. To ensure that content is pasted to your site as cleanly as possible while reducing possible maintenance issues and improving page load time, styles, links, images, tables and other formatting in your Word document are stripped before being pasted in to the content.

The 'cleanup' process allows you to easily and confidently format and style the pasted content using the provided options.As a result you can produce a uniformed visual identity reflected on your web site.

Copying the content from an external source

First copy the content you wish to paste into The Rich Content Editor using the steps below:

1. Open your Microsoft Word (or similar document)
2. Select the portion of text you wish to copy
3. Press CTRL+C to copy the text to the clip board.

Pasting Content INto The Rich Content Editor

Pasting content into the editor from an external source will remove all links, images, formatting and styles from the content. This ensures a clean canvas for content styling.

Images that have been removed from the content through this process will need to be extracted from the external document and uploaded through the Image Library so they are available in the Rich Content Editor. For more information regarding extracting images from Microsoft Word please visit the applicable FAQ.

Once your content has been copied from an external source follow these simple steps to insert it into the Rich Content Editor

1. Place the cursor where you wish the content to be pasted.
2. Press the the Paste as plain text button on the Actions Toolbar () .
3. In the popup window press CTRL+V to paste the plain text version of your content into the text area.
4. Remove or add any necessary line spacing's.
   • There should be only a one line gap between headings and paragraphs.
   • Addresses should have a single line break (new line without gaps) between address lines.
   • Lists should have a line break between list items and a one line gap above and below.
5. Press the Insert button.

The clean up process has now been run on your pasted content and it is ready for formatting and styling.

Adding Images

To insert an image into a content block follow these simple steps:

1. Create a new or edit an existing piece of content
2. Place the cursor where you would like the image to be inserted. Note: Placing the image in a new empty paragraph will force the image onto a new line. This is the best approach and allows for easy formatting.
3. Click on the insert image icon () to launch the image viewer
4. Select the image you wish to insert from the Image Library list by clicking the Image Name
5. Select the General tab
6. Enter an image description and title Note: Although these fields will not be displayed they are valuable for disabled users using assuasive technology such as screen readers.
7. Select the Appearance tab
8. If your image is wider than 485px it may not display properly. Check the Constrain proportions checkbox.
9. Adjust the image width to less than 485px if necessary.
10. DO NOT change any other options on the Appearance tab. Only change the image dimensions if needed. Note: Alignment of the image can be set using styles (See 'Using styles to modify image alignment' below). Visual sizing of the image can be completed in the content editor itself.
11. Press the Insert button.
12. Type a short description next to the image.

Using Styles to modify Image Alignment

Once an image has been inserted into the content editor in a new paragraph it can be styled so that the following text content flows around the image on the right or the left.

Fig 1: Before floating the paragraph that contains the image and caption the preceding and following content is forced above and below.

Fig 2: After floating the paragraph that contains the image and caption the following content is wrapped around the image. A border is applied to paragraph that contains the floated image and caption and the caption is forced under the image

To float an image to the right or left follow these simple instructions:

1. Add an image and caption using the directions above Content above the paragraph containing the image and caption will remain above the image and caption once it has been 'floated'. Content below the paragraph containing the image and caption will 'slide' up to fill the gap once the paragraph containing the image and caption has been floated.
2. Select the paragraph containing the image and caption using the Path Status Bar See: 'Selecting content using the path status bar' below
3. Select Image (Right) or Image (Left) from the styles drop down menu in the Actions Toolbar.

Creating hyperLinks

To create a hyperlink in the Rich Content Editor follow these simple instructions:

1. Place the cursor in the content editor where you would like the link to appear
2. Type in the word or phrase that will activate the link when clicked
3. Select the word or phrase
4. Press the Insert/Edit Link button () on the Actions Toolbar This will launch the Insert/Edit Link popup dialog box.
5. Linking to a web site: Enter the target web site address in the Link URL box. All web site addresses must include the 'http://' prefix.
6. Linking to an email addresses: Enter the email address into the Link URL box prefixed with the 'mailto:' identifier. For more information on constructing mailto links see: 'Linking to an email address'.
7. Linking to a document: Select the document you wish to link to from the Link list drop down box. Note: If the Link list select box does not appear double check all documents in your document library only contain alphanumeric characters (0-9 and A-Z) dashes and underscores. Any other characters may cause the Link list select box to not appear.
8. Select the target for the link
9. Add a link title in the Title box. The link title will be displayed when when the user hovers their mouse over the link.
10. DO NOT change the Class select box.
11. Press the Insert button.

The selected word or phrase will now activate the link when clicked.

Selecting content using the path status bar

The Status Bar is a powerful way of selecting your editors content. Using it correctly will reduce the chances of overlapping styles, formatting and links.

The basic concept to remember is that every piece of content (a letter, word, phrase, image etc) is a child of a parent element.

For example an emphasised (italic) word is actually a child of a paragraph. In turn the paragraph is a child of another parent element.

The goal is to select the correct element you wish to format. That's where the Path Status Bar comes into play.

Example of Selecting content using The Path Status Bar

This example demonstrates how to select two different elements from the one cursor position using the Path Status Bar.

1. The cursor is placed inside the emphasised (italic) word 'Heading' between the "i" and the "n". The Path Status Bar reflects that the cursors position is nested inside an emphasised element (em) which is nested inside a Heading 4 element.
   
   
2. To select all of the emphasised (italic) text click the em link in the Path Status Bar.
   
   
3. Clicking the H4 link in the Path Status Bar selects all the Heading 4 content (the parent of the emphasised text). The Heading 4 is the highest element you can select and has no parent element.
   

Selecting text and elements using the Path Status Bar is a far superior way of applying formatting and styles to a document.

Formatting and styling content

Applying styles and formatting to individual content elements is an easy and effective way to improve the visual rendering of your content. A consistent visual style increases the readability and attractiveness of the content that is presented to your sites visitors.

Before styling your content using the Style Chooser ( ) it should first be formatted correctly.

Choosing the right Formatting element for the job?

There are two types of elements that make up your page content; block elements and inline elements.

Block elements refer to headings, paragraphs, blockquotes and lists while inline elements include strong (bold), emphasised (italic) or strike through text. Using the correct block and inline elements is essential to increase the readability of your content and keeping visitors on your site longer.

Block or inline element?

Block-level elements typically contain inline elements and other block-level elements. When rendered visually, block-level elements begin on a new line.

Inline elements typically may only contain text and other inline elements. When rendered visually, inline elements do not usually begin on a new line.

Below is a summary of block and inline elements available in the Rich Content Editor

Why Use Heading Tags?

You may be wondering why heading tags are necessary at all. You could achieve the same effect by specifying a larger font, different colour or defining a style class.

Use heading tags and block elements to define your documents hierarchical structure. Well-written headings inform site visitors and helps them navigate through your page. Headings should contain keywords that appear within your content. This will even help increase your site ranking on some search engines.

People do not read content the same way online as they do in print. They're more likely to scan a document quickly and move on if it doesn't catch their interest. Web site visitors use document headings and subheadings to scan the page for interesting content.

Long pages full of continuous text looks uninteresting online, so use header tags to pique visitors' interest in your content sections. Heading content describes what's on your page, so make sure it's descriptive and compelling.

Key points:

• Correct formatting break up content making it easier for the the reader to identify important sections and follow the content.
• Heading tags are used by some search engines to identify words which are more important than the rest of the page text. The theory is that headings will sum up the topic of the page, so they are counted as important keywords.
• Applying formatting make it easy to make global changes to headings.
• Heading tags and formatting will be recognised by browsers which don't recognise style sheets (or use a user-defined style sheet)

Block Element Formatting Reference

Heading elements are not the only useful formatting element you have at your disposal.

Block Element Reference

Block Element	Icon	Description
Paragraph		Use paragraphs for all general content. Apply styles to the paragraph element to change its appearance.
Heading 4		Identifies a new section
Heading 5		A sub section heading
Heading 6		A sub-sub section heading
Blockquote		If you are quoting more than a few lines from a source, use a BLOCKQUOTE to indicate this. If you quote from someone else's work, don't forget to include a credit and/or copyright notice. Do not use BLOCKQUOTE simply to create indented text. This is not the intended use, so you will not achieve the effect you want on all browsers. It will also confuse search engines.
Unordered List		Use an unordered list to combine a list of associated elements in no particular order. The term "unordered list" may be a bit unfamiliar to you, but odds are you've heard of the "bullet list." That's exactly what an unordered list is. Unordered lists are rendered as a list of items, each one preceded by a red "bullet"
Ordered List		Use an ordered list to combine a list of associated elements in a particular order.

Visually styling block elements

Once you are confident that your page has all the required formatting there may be some content you wish to give a little extra special treatment. This is the appropriate time to apply a style.

When applied correctly styles should add additional focus to a previously formatted element. They must not be used as a substitute for correct formatting.

Applying styles to block elements will change the visual style of the element without changing its meaning adding visual interest to your content.

Adding a style to a block element example

1. Create a new block of content See: Creating Content for more information
2. Position the cursor inside the empty content block
3. Type in a phrase of example content
4. It is very important that your content is a block element. In this example we will apply paragraph formatting to the entered phrase. To achieve this firstly select the content inside the rich content editor.
5. Select 'Paragraph' from the drop down Block Element Chooser to apply the block formatting. Note: When entering the first line of text it may not be set as a block element.
6. The path status bar reflects that the phrase is now a paragraph and the style of the text has changed.
7. Select the whole block paragraph by clicking the 'p' in the path status bar. It is extremely important that when you apply styles you select the correct element by clicking on its corresponding element link in the status bar.
8. Select the information style from the styles drop down menu.
9. The content has now been styled with the pre-defined visual style. The block level element and the style downloads have been updated. The status bar has now displays the shorthand version of the style applied. The content is still a paragraph however it is now styled to represent a piece of emphasised information.
10. To remove the style select the paragraph by clicking on the element link in the status bar (See: Step 7) and choose '--Styles--' from the Style Chooser menu.

Style Reference

But I really need a table to align content

It is a widespread misconception that tables are the best way to horizontally and vertically align content in a document. Using tables for layout is an outdated view on current web design standards and techniques. Tables should only be used for representing tabular information not for visually layout. There is no rule that states that tables must not be used for layout however there are many more acceptable ways of representing content both structurally and visually.

Using tables for layout goes against the recommendations of the Web Accessibility Guidelines (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#gl-table-markup).

Tables used for layout can be inaccessible to a number of users, especially those using speech-based browsers, text only displays, or narrow displays (for example, on a PDA or mobile phone).

Misusing structural markup that applies to data tables can cause severe accessibility problems as the browser tries to interpret part of the layout as a header.

When a browser that does not support tables views a table, then the cells will be displayed from left to right, and then from top to bottom. If displaying the cells in this order does not make sense, then the site will be difficult to use in some browsers.

If you still require a table after taking the preceding points into consideration email support@aboutmyarea.co.uk and we can add the required content for you.

Actions toolbar reference

The Rich Content Editor provides many buttons to apply visual styles and more importantly semantics (semantics refers to the aspects of meaning that are expressed in a language) to your sites content.

Using the correct buttons to style your copy will increase semantic meaning of your content help increase your search engine ranking.

Button Reference

Button Name	Icon	Block Type	Usage
Strong		Inline	Strengthen the meaning or a word or phrase. Visually renders the word or phrases appearance to bold. Visual Result:
Emphasis		Inline	Emphasize the meaning or a word or phrase. Visually italicizes the word or phrases appearance. Visual Result:
Strike Through		Inline	Add visual trackable corrections to a word or phrase. Visually renders the selected text as corrected by striking it with a black line. Visual Result:
Subscript		Inline	A subscript is a number, figure, or indicator that appears below the normal line of type, typically used in a formula, mathematical expression, or description of a chemical compound. Typographically, subscripts are set using a lower baseline and a smaller size than the other text. For example, to set H2O correctly, the 2 would be about 2/3 the size of the H and the O.
Superscript		Inline	A superscript is a number, figure, or symbol that appears above baseline, at the right or left of another symbol or text. Typographically, superscripts are set using a higher baseline and a smaller size than the other text. For example, to set X2 correctly, the 2 would be about 2/3 the size of the X.
Justify Left			Justify's the selected content to the left. Recommended for all AboutMyArea web site content and is the default visual style.
Justify Center			Justify's the text to the center of the page
Justify Right			Justify's the selected content to the right of the page. NOT recommended for AboutMyArea web site content. Use the Style Chooser instead
Unordered List		Block	Creates a list of un-ordered items with red circular bullet points
Ordered List		Block	Semantic: Creates a list of ordered items prefixed with ordered numbers as bullet points Visual: Creates a list of
Outdent Block quote		Block	Removes the block quote style from a paragraph that already has a block quote style
Indent Block quote		Block	The block quote element defines a block quotation of text. It should not be used just to add indented text. Renders a paragraph inside an indented box with a quote in the top right corner
Style Chooser			Apply's visual styles to words, phrases, images and blocks of content. See the Rich Content Editor Style Reference for more information about applying styles.
Block Element Chooser		Block	Apply's headings and paragraphs to blocks of content. See the Rich Content Editor Element Reference for more information about applying styles.
Remove Formatting			Removes all formatting from the selected text
Cut			Removes the selected text and adds it to the clipboard
Copy			Copies the selected text to the clipboard
Paste as text			Pastes the clipboard content to the editor stripping all styles ready for AMA styling
Search			Search for a word or phrase in the content
Search and Replace			Search and replace a word or phrase in the content
Undo			Undo the last action
Redo			Redo a previously undone action
Create / Edit Link		Inline	Create a new or edit an existing hyperlink
Remove Link			Remove an existing hyperlink
Add Anchor		Inline	Create an anchor
Insert / Edit Image		Inline	Insert a new o edit an existing image
Cleanup Messy Code			Cleanup any messy code
Insert Date		Text	Inserts the current date as text
Insert Time		Text	Inserts the current time as text
Toggle Full Screen			Toggle full screen editing
Insert Special Character		Text	Insert a special character not available on a standard keyboard.
Insert / Edit Youtube movie		Inline	Insert a new or edit an existing embedded YouTube video.

Email

Setting Up Your Email in Microsoft Outlook 2007

This tutorial explains how to configure Microsoft Outlook 2007 to retrieve your AboutMyArea email.

This tutorial requires you have an installed version of Microsoft Outlook 2007 which comes bundled as part of the Microsoft Office 2007 package and an active connection to the internet.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook 2007. In the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. Select Email Tab. Press the New button.
3. Select Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP .
4. Press the Next button.
5. Check Manually configure server settings or additional server types
6. Press the Next button
7. Choose Internet Email as your Email Service
8. Press the Next button
9. Complete your User Information and Logon Information. You will find this information in your welcome email. Complete the Server Information fields using the following details:
   • Incoming mail server (POP3): pop.1and1.co.uk
   • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): auth.smtp.1and1.co.uk
10. Press the More Settings button.
11. Click the Outgoing Server tab and check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication. Choose Use same settings as my incoming mail server from the three options.
12. If you are an AOL user click the Advanced tab and change the Outgoing server (SMTP) to 587.
13. Press the OK button.
14. Press the Test Account Settings button.
15. Check that all Tasks have been completed successfully. If any fail please review the previous steps. If problems still occur please email support@aboutmyarea.co.uk including a list of which tasks failed and which succeeded.
16. Press the Close button.
17. Press the Next button to exit your email configuration.
18. Press the Finish button to complete the wizard.

Setting Up Your email in Microsoft Outlook 2003

This tutorial explains how to configure Microsoft Outlook 2003 to retrieve your AboutMyArea email.

This tutorial requires you have an installed version of Microsoft Outlook 2003 which comes bundled as part of the Microsoft Office 2003 package and an active connection to the internet.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook 2003 Start > Email Microsoft Office Outlook or Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
2. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
3. Select Add a new e-mail account.
4. Press the Next button.
5. Select POP3 as the server type.
6. Press the Next button.
7. Complete your User Information and Logon Information. You will find this information in your welcome email. Complete the Server Information fields using the following details:
   • Incoming mail server (POP3): pop.1and1.co.uk
   • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): auth.smtp.1and1.co.uk
   
8. Press the More Settings button.
9. Click the Outgoing Server tab and check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication. Choose Use same settings as my incoming mail server from the three options.
10. If your internet connection provider is AOL user click the Advanced tab and change the Outgoing server (SMTP) to 587.
11. Press the OK button.
12. Press the Test Account Settings button.
13. Check that all Tasks have been completed successfully. If any fail please review the previous steps. If problems still occur please email support@aboutmyarea.co.uk including a list of which tasks failed and which succeeded.
14. Press the Close button.
15. Press the Next button to exit your email configuration.
16. Press the Finish button to complete the wizard.

Linking to an email address

To add links to an advert you must first understand the mailto: hyperlink structure. The AMA admin makes it much easier to enter links as all you need to know is the links target (The “mailto:.......” bit). This will become clear when you follow the information below.

Setting up a Mailto Link

To write an email link just create an anchor link like you would normally, but instead of http:// write mailto: and then your email address. For example, to set up a link to email me, you would write: "mailto:support@aboutmyarea.co.uk"

If you want to send to multiple people, separate the email addresses with a comma:   mailto:email@address1.com,email@address2.com

But there is so much more that you can do with the mailto links.

Most current Web browsers and email clients support more than just the "To" line. You can specify the Subject, send carbon copies, and blind carbon copies.

Advanced Mailto Links

When you create an email link with extra features, you treat it similarly to a CGI script that uses a GET operation (attributes on the command line). Use a question mark after the final "To" email address to indicate you want more than just a "To" line. Then you specify what other elements you would like:

• cc - to send a carbon copy
• bcc - to send a blind carbon copy
• subject - for the subject line

You treat the elements as name=value pairs. The name is the element type listed above that you want to use, and the value is what you want to send. To send a letter to a sample address and cc support, you would type: "mailto:sample@aboutmyarea..co.uk?cc=support@aboutmyarea.co.uk"

To add multiple elements, separate the second and subsequent elements with an ampersand (&). Ex:  mailto:receipients_address?cc=cc address&bcc=bccaddress

Finally, when adding a subject, keep this in mind, while you can use spaces, they may not come to your email address as spaces. Well, technically they are, but they are sent as URL encoded spaces, so while your browser would know they are spaces, they look like code to you. It's better to separate your words with underlines rather than spaces, as this make it easy for you to read without worrying about how the browsers will interpret it:"mailto:support@aboutmyarea.co.uk?subject=mail_to_the_HTML_Guide". Alternatively you can replace all spaces with "%20" which will be translated into a space character.

Putting Mailtos Together

A full example of a mailto link which emails support@aboutmyarea.co.uk with the subject of: HELP, cc'ing sample@aboutmyarea.co.uk can be written as:
"mailto:support@aboutmyarea.co.uk?subject=HELP&cc=sample@aboutmyarea.co.uk"