FAQ's about Using the Professional Website Template in Blogs

Switch a Classic Blog to the Professional Website Template

If you have Classic Blog, i.e. a blog with no tabs on top, you can switch to the portoflio (or "Professional Web Site") layout by refreshing and switching templates.

1. Log in to http://blogs.psu.edu and enter your blog by selecting it from the upper left menu.
2. Go to the design Design menu then select Templates (Design » Templates).
   
3. In the right menu, click the link Refresh Blog Templates in the Actions section.
   
4. A new window Refresh Template Set window opens.
5. Check option for Apply a new template set.
6. Select Professional Website in the template set menu.
7. Click Continue button then Confirm. System will process action.
8. Click the circlular arrow Publish button to post the changes. Click the View Site button to see the revised site.

Change the Look and Color of your Page with Styles

By default, the top bar on your new site is black and your banner is an image of the Lion Shrine. You can change the color by selecting a new Style.

1. Log on to http://blogs.psu.edu and enter your blog.
2. Once you enter the blog click the Design link then Styles.
   Note: if the Design link is not visible, then click the white System Overview tab, then the name of your blog
3. You should see a list of available pre-formatted styles. Click the option for Professional Website styles to see styles designed for the portfolio layout.
   
4. Highlight a style image to select it (it should be in the right Selected Design column.)
5. Click the Apply Design button at the bottom of the second column to select the design.
   
6. To view the public version of the blog, click the View button (page icon) in the top set of tool links.
7. Press Shift+Control+R (Windows) or Command+Shift+R (Mac) to load the new style into your browser.

Add New Page Tabs to the Top Navigation

Each tab corresponds to a page within your blog/portfolio. To add new pages with corresponding tabs:

1. Login and enter your blog.
2. Click Create in the top links then select Page. A page editing form will appear.
   
3. The Title of your page is the name of the tab; therefore shorter titles are recommended.
4. Enter in the content of the page as desired.
5. Enter @topnav in the Tags field,
6. Set the Status to Published, then click Save to create and publish the page.
7. Click the View Page link to view the page. The page will open in a new tab or window in your browser.
8. You will need to republish your blog for tabs to be visible on all pages.
   

A new tab should appear to the right of the Blog tab. If this tab does not appear, then close the page to return to edit mode and make sure @topnav is in the Tags field.

Hide a Default Tab

1. Click Manage » Pages in the upper set of links to view a list of all pages in your portfolio.
2. Check each page which corresponds to a tab you wish to hide.
3. In the More Actions menu at the top of the list, select Unpublish Pages then click the Go button.
4. The page will display a pencil icon meaning it is in draft mode and not published.

Control the Tab Order

The tab order is set (from left to right) for Home, Blog, and pages you add, then About and Contact. 

The order of the new tabs is set by original publication date with the earliest date to the left and the latest date to the right. If the tabs are not in the ordered desired, adjust the publication dates of each page to an appropriate sequence.

1. Click Manage » Pages in the upper set of links then click the page you wish to edit.
2. Change Publish Date to an earlier or later date as needed. The format is year-month-date.
3. Click Save to publish the page with the revised published date.
4. Re-Publish all the pages by going to Manage » Pages and clicking the Publish link at the top of the list of pages.