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3/31/2010 |
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This site
This is a basic Office Live "lab" site we use for testing. We installed Beta Blogger Basic on it so you could experience it on a working site. 
You've landed on the "recent posts" page which we recommend as the first page of your blog. It contains the 5 most recent posts. If your visitors want to explore other posts, the integrated blog navigation offers a variety of options.
Navigation
Recent posts index:links to the 10 most recent posts.
Archive index:all your posts organized by month
Category index:all your posts organized by categories as defined by the blogger.
Visiting the archive page will give your blog visitors access to ALL your posts, with a summary linked to the actual post.
As you can see, the site has a top/left navigation configuration. The secondary navigation is turned on in the left column for demonstration purposes but since the blog has it's own integrated navigation, you could also turn it off and use the space for ads or other content.
We made all the blog pages "children" of this page, so the blog navigation is duplicated in the left nav bar-which looks a little odd-but obviously you could include any pages you want there by making them children of the "recent posts" page.
So click around and test things out-you'll see Beta Blogger works here just as well as it did on the webbrewers site. If you want to go back to webbrewers.com, click here.
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3/28/2010 |
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This solution article provides information on how to setup Hotmail account in Microsoft Outlook. It was copied and pasted directly into Beta Blogger's rich text editor and retained all it's formatting-with no user input required. It took 5 minutes to create.
If you use Outlook to access your Hotmail Inbox, depending on the version of Outlook installed on your computer you can download the free Microsoft Office Outlook Connector program or you can change your Outlook settings to use the POP3 (POP3, or Post Office Protocol 3, is a protocol that's used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server.)
To determine which version of Outlook you are using, on the Help menu, click About. The 'About' dialog shows details about the program including the program name and version. Get your latest copy of Microsoft Outlook 2007 today!
For Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007
To access your Hotmail account, we recommend installing the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector. Outlook Connector is a free add-on that lets you view your e-mail messages and your Windows Live Calendar, so you can use Outlook to keep track of all your e-mail accounts and schedules in one place.
Add a Hotmail POP3 account in Outlook 2003/2007:
NOTE: If you are moving from DAV to POP3, there are a few important differences. With POP3, there is no synchronizing. For example, if you read an e-mail message in Outlook the message will be unread if you view your Hotmail account on the web. Also, only messages in your Hotmail Inbox will display in Outlook. Other folders, and any messages in them, will not be displayed.
1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Account Settings
2. Under E-mail tab, click New.
3. Choose Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP and click Next.
4. Click Manually configure server settings or additional server types and click Next.
5. Choose Internet E-mail and click Next.
6. Under User Information type your name and email address.
7. Under Server Information:
* Choose POP3 as account type.
* In the Incoming mail server (POP3) field, type pop3.live.com.
* In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field, type smtp.live.com.
8. Under Logon Information, type your Username as the email address and your password.
9. Click More Settings
10. On the Outgoing Server tab, select My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box.
11. On the Advanced tab, type the following information, and then click OK.
Under Incoming Server (POP3):
Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
In the Incoming Server (POP3) field, the number 995 should display. If not, select the number and type 995.
Under Outgoing Server (SMTP):
In the Outgoing Server (SMTP) field, type 25 or 587 for the port number (If port 25 has been blocked in your network or by your ISP, you can set SMTP port to 587)
Under Use the following type of encrypted connection choose AUTO (in Outlook 2007). If you are using Outlook 2003, choose SSL.
Select the Leave a copy of messages on the server check box if you want to see your messages when you use Hotmail in a web browser, your mobile phone, or other e-mail programs. If you want to delete your messages from the Hotmail server after you read them, clear this check box. Click OK.
12. Click Test Account Settings.
If the test is successful, click Next. If the test fails, check the values you typed in the previous steps.
13. Click Next and then Finish.
14. Take a look at the account settings by going to Tools in the menu and clicking Account Settings. If you see your Hotmail account with Type 'HTTP', select the account and click the Remove button (NOTE: this should apply if you are moving from the DAV protocol to the POP protocol - you've added an account with POP through the above instructions and now need to delete the previous account accessed through DAV).
For Outlook 2002 or earlier
You can set up POP3 or upgrade to a more recent version of Outlook.
Add a Hotmail POP3 account in Outlook:
NOTE: If you are moving from DAV to POP3, there are a few important differences. With POP3, there is no synchronizing. For example, if you read an e-mail message in Outlook the message will be unread if you view your Hotmail account on the web. Also, only messages in your Hotmail Inbox will display in Outlook. Other folders, and any messages in them, will not be displayed.
1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. Choose Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next.
3. In the Server Type box, select POP3.
4. In the Internet E-mail Settings (POP3) box, type the following Hotmail account information
Under User Information:
· In the Your Name field, type your name.
· In the E-Mail Address field, type your Windows Live ID (for example: name@hotmail.com).
Under Server Information:
· In the Incoming mail server (POP3) field, type pop3.live.com.
· In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field, type smtp.live.com.
Under Logon Information:
· In the User Name field, type your Windows Live ID (for example: name@hotmail.com).
· In the Password field, type the password you use with your Windows Live ID.
5. On the Outgoing Server tab, select the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box.
6. Click on the More Settings button in the lower right corner
On the Advanced tab tab, change the following information:
Under Incoming Server (POP3):
· Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
· In the Incoming Server (POP3) field, the number 995 should display. If not, select the number and type 995.
Under Outgoing Server (SMTP):
· Select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
· In the Outgoing Server (SMTP) field, type 25 or 587 for the port number.
· Select the Leave a copy of messages on the server check box if you want to see your messages when you use Hotmail in a web browser, your mobile phone, or other e-mail programs. If you want to delete your messages from the Hotmail server after you read them, clear this check box.
Click OK
7. Click Test Account Settings.
If the test is successful, click Next. If the test fails, check the values you typed in step 4.
8. Click Finish.
9. Take a look at the account settings by going to Tools menu and clicking E-Mail Accounts. Select View or change existing e-mail accounts and then click Next. If you see any accounts listed as Hotmail or MSN with Type 'HTTP', select the account and click the Remove button and then click Yes (NOTE: this will only apply if you are moving from the DAV protocol to the POP protocol - you've added an account with POP through the above instructions and now need to delete the previous account accessed through DAV). |
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3/18/2010 |
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Search 101It seems to be conventional wisdom these days that blogs are good for websites because of the site relevant, rich content they add. Search engines LOVE content.
And with Google processing an estimated 200 million search requests a day (that's over 2300 a second!), it obviously makes sense to try and make your site as appealing as possible to the search engines and all the potential traffic they provide.
 Saturate your site!So how does a blog help you do that? The truth is there's no way for an OL site owner to predict what keywords a searcher is going to use. And chances are your competition is using the same meta tags as you-besides which for years Google has said they don't pay much attention to meta tags. So it's really a crap shoot-a numbers game. One proven way to increase the odds in your favor is to saturate your site with content relevant to the site's purpose. That's where blogs come in.
Let's say for example, you sell widgets on your site and you are a widget expert. You publish blog posts about your experience with widgets, the history of widgets, how to use a widget etc.You'll increase the chances of a search engine's algorithms computing that your site is more relevant to the person searching for "widgets, history, experience, how to". than a competitor that is lacking in this type of content-because returning relevance is the name of the game in search. You probably won't shoot up to the first page overnight-but overtime, it's been proven that search engines reward relevance above all else.
The friendly, fresh and fun factorsAn additional benefit of adding a blog is that you can build confidence in your site by communicating your expertise in it's subject. A useful and informational site is more user friendly and engaging-and more likely to attract repeat visitors.
And let's not forget the "fresh factor". By periodically adding blog posts to your site, your content is automatically freshened up- something both visitors and search engines appreciate. And last but not least-the "fun factor". You may find you enjoy expressing yourself about a subject you're expert in and getting some interaction from visitors to your site. |
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2/28/2010 |
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...is easier than you might think!Do you want to add a form to your Office Live site so people can register for an event online or let you know what they think about your site or even upload an image to you? One of the most powerful tools in the Office Live Small Business suite is it's form creation capability. And yet it also seems to be one of the least known and understood features. True to their "nerdy" heritage, Microsoft has managed to shroud one of Office Live's major strengths-the form-building process- in technical and often downright obtuse language. To the average person this can make the business applications area unintuitive at best, intimidating at worst. Let's blow away some of that Redmond fog, and try to clarify just how simple data capture can be on an OL site. Making a list!The first step in building a form is creating a "list". If you're familiar with the Access database program, you already get the connection between lists and forms. If not, think of an OL list as a spreadsheet, with columns, rows and cells. The name or title of each column is the header. The rows will be filled in under the appropriate header by your users when they enter data in the form. So each "cell" corresponds to a data entry point in the form. In Team Workspace, click add to create a new list. You can choose from a variety of predefined options, each with a different set of "questions" that will make up your form. The "Custom List" option is a blank slate that you can add anything you like to. Among the available options you can add are text boxes, drop downs, radio buttons, calculated values and more. Once you've configured each column by selecting the format you want for the data to be entered, you can save the list and it will appear in the tabs at the top. The foundation of your form is already done-so far, so good. 
Forming a form!
To get the form to show up on a page, place a form designer module on the desired page. Choose the form from the drop down.
The headers from your list. will appear and the text that accompanies them can be edited. You can also elect not to have certain headers/form elements show up in the published form.
[Mouseover the image to enlarge]
 Save the module and the page and voila!-your form will now appear on your page. Test it by entering some data. Go back to the list in business applications and you'll see what you entered as a "new" item in your list. There, you can: ~ edit it or delete it. ~ select "print view" and easily copy and paste the data over to a spreadsheet. ~ set an alert so you're emailed when you get a new submission. You can try out a working test example of this form here. Feel free to enter a fake email address and you'll see how it works. ReviewSo to review--all you have to do really is decide what information you want to capture and create a list. OL takes care of converting your list to a form and saving any data that's entered to the list. Think of it as your own personal database, without the need for any programming or complicated coding. That's the power of OLSB forms! |
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2/28/2010 |
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The custom footer module is truly one of the saviors of Office Live. It provides a way to add pure code to an OL page without the javascript/iframe shenanigans of the html module which often causes problems.
But it has some quirks which are worth understanding. One of them may be surfacing more recently as a result of sites reverting to a 4th level domain, after the recent spate of custom domain expirations. I ran into this quirk while installing an application on a site I manage. For some reason, the custom footers on page templates installed fine but couldn't be edited. The arcane error message referenced an "unexpected = when a ; was expected on line 1 position 410". No idea what that meant, so did a quick search on the OL community, and came up with this thread by SamsBook (aka OL Sam). He had the same problem and discovered it was due to an ampersand in his site footer element which was throwing an error in the custom footer.
I knew there were originally no ampersands in the footer links on the site I was working on, but when I checked the links there, I noticed one of them had been replaced by a long OL url which sure enough included an ampersand.
Evidently, when we allowed this particular site's custom domain to expire, OL automatically replaced the page links to reflect the new 4th level domain. The footers install and work fine until you try to edit them when I guess they trip over the ampersand. Sam couldn't make the connection with expired domains and link replacement because his situation was different, but just like him, as soon as we removed the OL supplied link, the footers all worked again as they should.
So the moral of the story is-if your domain expires, and your custom footers throw an error that references an unexpected character, take a look at the links in your footer area. Thanks to Sam, another MS mystery solved! |
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