Here are some helpful tips for inserting an image into blog post that is wider than the post column will allow. Typically, this will cause the image to become cut off because it is wider than the blog layout will allow.

1) When you place an image, scale it smaller then make the image a hyperlink to the original URL source.

I made this post as an example:  http://mybasicisp.net/blogs/basicblog/2010/01/27/Lifes-a-Bear!/

To do this, insert the image to your post using the Insert Image control.

Select your image then drag the corner image control to scale your image smaller.

With your image still selected, choose the Create Link control. Paste in the URL for the original image. You may want to select "New Window (_blank)" under the Target drop-down-list to launch the picture link in a new window.

2) Leave image large and add scroll bars.

Insert image using Insert Image or Insert Image from Editor. Do not scale.

Click on the HTML tab of the post editor and look for the IMG tag for the image that needs scroll bars. Place the <IMG /> element within a <DIV> element like this:

<DIV style="OVERFLOW-X: auto; WIDTH: 100%;"><IMG border=0 alt=burritocat.jpg src="http://www.mybasicisp.net/files/Kurticus/Cats/burritocat.jpg" width=960 height=730></DIV>

The style applied to the DIV element is the key. WIDTH:100% will make sure the DIV element is as wide as the parent element allows it to be. OVERFLOW-X:auto will add the horizontal scroll bar if the contents are wider than the DIV container.

I noticed the horizontal scrollbar caused a vertical scroll bar as well so in my example, I also added OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; to the style so the vertical scroll bar would not show.

See http://mybasicisp.net/blogs/basicblog/2010/01/27/Is-This-a-Cute-Bear-or-What/ for an example.

3) Try writing your blog posts using Windows Live Writer.

This tool has some nice advanced image control utilities such as the ability to place a small sized preview in the blog that links to a larger version.

This bear image was dragged to the Live Writer editor from a web page. Then the corner was dragged to scale it smaller. That’s it – Live Writer does the rest.  http://download.live.com/writer

A concern has been brought to my attention that dial-up users have limited monthly connection time and may not want to remain connected to BasicISP.net while drafting their blogs.

But perhaps a more pressing reason to draft blogs offline is the inactivity cutoff. For dialup users this happens after 4-minutes which goes by fast while developing thought and writing (at least for me). When you Add a Post using the online editor, there are no postbacks to refresh the page unless you remember to make frequent document saves.  BasicISP.net will see this as inactivity and the countdown timer starts. You may find your connection dropping while in the midst of drafting your blog and losing everything since the last save.

Well, I have a solution. You can draft your blog entries on your computer while unconnected. When you are ready to publish your blog posts, you can connect and upload your posts.

Though I’m always connected to the internet, I have been using Windows Live Writer to edit and publish my blog posts for several reasons:

• I like the idea of editing and saving post files locally then publishing when ready.
• I can maintain and post to several blogs from one interface.
• Local resources such as images are easier to insert. The Live Writer interface handles the uploading for me.
• During the beta testing phase, I may lose my post – I want a local copy to republish if this should happen.

Windows Live Writer is a free download from Microsoft and works well with MyBasicISP blog as well as the following blog services: Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint Blog, Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, etc.

File size is 1.08MB.

Once installed, launch the Live Writer application found in the Windows Live folder on your Windows Start menu. Follow these simple steps to set up a blog account for Writer to post to. The automatic initial setup may take you directly to step 2.

1) Choose "Add blog account..." from the Blogs menu.

2) Select "Other blog service" then click Next

3) Enter Web address for your blog, this is found by logging on to the MyBasicISP portal and selecting MyBlog from the main navigation menu. You will need to enter you login Username and Password for Windows Live Writer to access your blog.

Important: Select “Remember my password” unless you want to enter your login information each time you make a post.

4) Writer will attempt to connect to your blog. You may be prompted to allow Writer to detect the theme of your blog. If you select Yes it will post a temporary post on your blog.

5) You may receive an alert that Writer could not delete the temporary post which you will need to do manually. Press OK.

6) Enter a Blog Nickname for your blog. This is used by Writer and will appear in the Blogs menu.

7) Your are now ready to begin blogging using Windows LiveWriter. Simply enter your blog in the LiveWriter editor and click Publish when you are ready to post it to your MyBasicISP blog. Note: You will need to be connected to upload your blog.

8) If LiveWriter left a test post on your blog to detect your blog theme you can delete that at any time.

While logged in to the MyBasicISP portal Click Delete on the test post.

Note: You will need to be logged in to delete or edit a post on your blog. Publishing from LiveWriter does not require you to be logged into the portal.

More support on Windows Live Writer.

RSS is a great way to link to blog content with a feed reader such as Microsoft Outlook, Google Reader, MyYahoo, NetNewsWire, SharpReader, or even the customizable feed panels on the MyBasicISP portal home page. 

Definition: RSS means “Really Simple Syndication”

Setting up Microsoft Outlook to receive RSS feeds:

1) Select menu item Tools > Account Options…

2) Select the RSS Feeds tab. Click New…

3) Enter the URL for the blog feed you want to receive. Click the Add button.

4) In the RSS Feed Options screen, the Feed Name should auto-populate with information Outlook receives when it connects to the feed. You can change the Feed Name if you desire. This will be the name of the feed folder under the Outlook directory: Mail Folders > RSS Feeds.

Click the OK button.

Setting up Google Reader to receive feeds:

1) Log in to Google Reader  with your Google account or select Create an Account. You can log in using your Gmail account if you have one.

2) Click Add a Subscription and enter the RSS feed URL in the textbox and click Add.

Note: Further help can be found at http://www.google.com/support/reader/?hl=en.

See BasicBlog article “Customizing your MyBasicISP Feed Panel”

Note: When adding the URL for an RSS feed, be sure you are viewing the XML document. Your browser will recognize this as a feed and display a yellow feed panel at the top of the page. MyBasicISP blog feeds will end with “?feed=rss2” example:http://www.myBasicISP.net/blogs/BasicBlog/?feed=rss2.

Ping Services, also known as Update Services, are a way for you to let other people know when you have updated your blog. Each time you submit a blog post, MyBasicISP will submit a notification to any of the Ping Services listed in this interface. This can help your search engine ranking by having multiple sites referencing your blog. People browsing a Ping Service site like Technorati or Sphere will be able to find your most recent blog posts.

To add a Ping Service, simply enter the service URL in the text box and click “Add Service”. Once added, a ping service can be updated or deleted.

Note: Each Ping Service will need to be added individually.

There are many Ping Services available. Here is a list of some of the most common or widely used XML-RPC Ping Services:

http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping

Navigation:

This contains basic link information for your blog to help viewers return to your blog’s Home page or to link to your blog using an RSS reader. This is also where your Avatar is shown.

Admin:

Add Post – Use this link when you want to add a blog post.
Unpublished Posts – This displays a count of unpublished posts. This occurs as you write posts and save them without having the "publish" checkbox checked.
Categories – this is a link to a page that displays the Categories you have set up for your blogs. Here you are able to add, update, and delete categories.
Blog Settings – This link takes you to an administrative settings page for your blog where you are able to edit settings such as Blog Name, URL-Friendly name, Description, Theme, Contact Email, how to handle Comments, and Pingbacks.
Ping Services – This link takes you to an Administrative Services page where you can add, update, and delete Ping services that should receive notifications when you add new posts to your blog.
Unapproved Comments – If your blog allows for comments and you have moderation set, you will see a count here as you receive comments on your posts. Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can review comments that are cued for moderation where it can approved or deleted.

Blog Search:

This search box allows you to do a word search for the blog you are currently viewing.

Tag Cloud:

As you apply tags to your blog posts, the tag cloud will be populated with all of the tag words your blog uses. Tags that occur more frequently will stand out more by being a larger size. Clicking on a tag word will display posts that are tagged with this tag.

Categories:

When you create a blog post, you assign it to one or several Categories. These categories appear as a list in this view with a count of the number of blog posts in that category. Clicking one of these Categories will open all of the posts within that Category. Usually a blog belongs to a few number Categories but have multiple Tags.

Archives:

This is a listing of your posting activity by date. The number of posts published by month will be displayed here. This gives viewers of your blog a useful way to see what blogs are recent or to go back in history to view earlier blogs.