Chapter 3: Publish Today with Quikonnex ! I told you I wouldn't waste a lot of time. If you're still interested, I'm ready to get you started. Below are the basic steps for a Quikonnex non-member to sign up, upgrade, and start publishing. Visit the QuikSteps signup page and follow the instructions there. The main thing you must watch for is to signup for QuikView with the appropriate internet browser package - Internet Explorer, Mozilla, etc. The rest is simple stuff. I recommend using QuikView as your viewer because it is accessible anywhere on the internet. Once you have completed the steps in the QuikStep document, you will need to go to QuikView. You should have a bookmark or an entry in your browser Links area by now. If not, try performing the QuikView signup again or you can go directly to the QuikView page by typing your personal QuikView address into your browser address field: http://www.quikonnex.com/quikview/qname/quikview.php, (replacing qname with the id you used to sign up for Quikonnex) On the QuikView panel, choose Q Members/Publishers Area from the dropdown list and logon using your qname and password. Once logged in, you will see a link titled "Upgrade to Publisher"(top left below big QMembersArea graphic). Click that link and follow the instructions to start your Quikonnex publisher subscription using the term that is best for you. Once you receive confirmation back from QSupport that your publisher account has been established, you can immediately begin publishing. Logon to the QMember/Publisher area again from the QuikView panel. The first thing you will need to do is setup your channel, click the link titled Channel Manager and then select Your Channels. This will oen the channel manager page. Unless you have other channels already, only one line should appear under Your Channels. Click the Settings link and complete the fields listed below. Note that the definition or intent of each field can be viewed by hovering your cursor over the question mark icon: Channel Name Channel Description Your Home Site URL Link to Logo to Use on Publisher Page Link to Icon to use in Channel Viewers Choose Your Skin (use View Skins & Info link to choose color scheme for your channel) Convert line breaks? (if you'll be using html, set this to No) Allow posting to the past? Yes Enable comments? (recommend yes to allow interactivity with readers...no if you don't want that) Allow Comments by Non-Members? (up to you again, whether you want to interact or not) Channel Vieweremail address (recommend including one so non-Q members will not hesitate to contact you for Q information) Ping Weblogs on Update? (Yes if this is a public channel and you WANT traffic) Default category? Time offset? For now, you should skip URL for Sidebar and Frame Height for Sidebar. We'll get to that in the advanced topics. This is nice to have, but not required to start publising. Once you have completed the form, click the CHANGE SETTINGS button to save your choices. Your channel will now be setup to the color and link specifications you just provided. You can check this by clicking the channel name link under the Your Channels column of the Channel Manager page you were referred back to after updating your channel settings. Now you're ready to post your first item to your channel. You can do this in one of two ways - using the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) Editor or by copy/pasting or typing HTML code into the Create New Item Panel. First, from the Channel Manager page, click the Add Item link for your channel. This will bring you to the Create New Item panel. Type in the Title for your article or message, perhaps a "Welcome to my channel" message. Then create the content for the page: WYSIWYG: To create a page using the WYSIWYG Editor, click on the WYSIWYG HTML Builder link. From that point, you enter and format the text and background much the same as you would use MSWord, WordPro or most other common word processors. Type in the text. I recommend typing in for line breaks instead of hitting return unless you set the "Convert Line Breaks" option to yes in the channel setup step. You will most likely want to start publishing with html as you grow and learn. It will give you more control over your page format, so this small incovenience up front will pay out in the long run. In the mean time, inserting that one html tag will ensure that line breaks go where you want them. Here's a quick explanation of the icons on the two rows of the WYSIWYG toolbar: Row 1: Text Size and Font: Use the three dropdown fields to choose your text size and font face. Icons for Text Emphasis: B = Bold, I = Italics, U = Underline and S = Strikethrough, X2 will subscript the text and the second X2 will superscript or footnote your text. Row 2: Text Positioning: The first four icons are used to left-justify, center, right justify, or justify (spread evenly across lines), respectively (or in that order). Bullets: Bullets are commonly used to make a list of items, points or steps easy to read. In the WYSIWYG editor, use a return key return to insert a bullet. The 123 button will number each line and the one with a bullet (or dot) at the front of each line will insert simple bullets. Indentation: The left arrow outdents and right arrow indents the text. Just remember the text moves in the direction of the arrow. Color Selections: The T with the color blocks is what you click to choose text color for the block of text you highlight. The paintcan with the color blocks lets you choose the background color. Page format/separation: The icon with the horizontal line inserts a horizontal line where you indicated. The chain allows you to enter a link (another website oremail). The picture frame button allows you to insert images. The grid allows you to define a table to visually organize text in columns and rows. WYSIWYG window size: The diagonal arrow maximizes and minimizes the WYSIWYG editor panel. HTML vs Text: The View Source button lets you see what the HTML code for the features and text you just entered will look like. When you're happy with the way the page looks in the WYSIWYG editor, select then copy/paste the entire contents of the editor window, switch over to the Create New Item panel and paste the code into the third entry field (first large box). HTML: Type or copy/paste your HTML code into the third entry field (first big text box) in the Create New Item panel. A couple words of caution. First, the main area you will be populating with the Create New Item panel has a max width of 450 pixels. That's because the skin and sidebar (area to the right of the page you post) takes 200 pixels. When entering your HTML, DO NOT use the html, body, title or head tags or any associated tags typically used in those areas. (Note: META tags can be used in the sidebar, so hold that thought!) When using html tags that require end-tags, please, please, please check your work and ensure that the end tags are in place and are correct. Otherwise, you blow the formatting of the entire channel and any future posts. Tables incorrectly closed can really make your channel ugly! If you need help verifying your work, check the Quikonnex Recommended Software in the forum. Once you're done entering the results of your WYSIWYG entry or your own HTML code into the Create New Item panel, it's time to save your work. In that same (Create New Item) panel, scroll down beyond the last large text entry field and choose the desired post options. Accept the General category for now. We'll discuss other category options later. Choose the Add Now option, then click the ADD ITEM button to make your first post. Drum Roll Please...... CONGRATULATIONS!! You have just published your first item! This FREE eBook is Brought to you by: To contact me, please CLICK HERE. Join Quikonnex Now ! CLICK HERE. and follow the simple QuikSteps to get started! Cartoon graphics herein are produced by Cartoonist Ron Leishman at: ToonADay.com