Blog | Side Block

Step 1 - Settings > Blog > The 'Side Blocks' section >

Blog | Side Block

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The Side Block window opens from the Add and Edit commands in the Blog | Side Blocks window, and you can start defining the blocks, that contain useful tools for visitors, in the column on the right of every page in the blog.

This window has the following sections:

General
Style
Click to expand/collapseReference: Commands in the General section

Use the commands in this section to create the list of blocks that complete your blog page.

There are different kinds of blocks to choose from:

Recent Posts: This block displays all the recent posts that have been published in the blog. A visitor clicks on a title to go to the post.

Categories: This block contains a list of the categories in which you have organized your posts. A visitor clicks on a category to display the list of posts in it.

Monthly Posts: This block contains the list of posts that have been published each month.

Author: This is the block in which all the Posts' Authors are listed. By clicking on an Author, you can see all the Articles they've published in the Blog.

Clouds: This block contains the list of categories or tags associated with the published posts. The names of the categories and tags are written in different font sizes, depending on how many posts are associated with them: the bigger the font, the more posts there are. A visitor clicks on a category or tag to see the list of posts associated with it.

Blogroll: This block displays the list of websites or blogs that you think may be of interest to your visitors.

Image: This block displays an image to which you can add a link. It can be used to create a banner, for example.

Facebook: This block uses Facebook's "Like" plug-in. Visitors can:

see how many people and/or their friends like the proposed Facebook page;
read the posts published recently on the proposed Facebook page;
say they like the proposed Facebook page without actually having to visit it.

Google AdSense Adverts: This block is for displaying adverts that are part of the Google AdSense™ circuit.

HTML Code: This block is free for you to customize as you like. You can add any feature that the Program does not add automatically.

The available options depend on the type of block. The following options are available for all types:

Title: you can specify the title of the block.
Width: you can specify the width in pixels of the block.

In addition to these common options, each block type has some specific options.

Recent Posts / Categories / Monthly Posts / Author:

Max Items Number: you can specify the maximum number of items that can be displayed in the block.

Clouds:

Show Categories in a Cloud / Show Tags in a Cloud: you can specify whether the Clouds block shows the categories or the tags for the posts that have already been published.

Blogroll:

Blogroll List: you can compile the list of friendly websites with these commands:
Add / Remove: to add a new friendly website, or delete the selected one.
Move up / Move down: you can change the order of the list, moving the selected item up or down to a different position.
Edit: you can edit the selected item. You can also click twice on an item to edit it.

To enter a friendly website correctly, write the name of the website followed by its URL between the < > characters (for example "WebSite X5 <http://www.websitex5.com>"): the text will be displayed as the friendly website  source and the URL will be used to create a link to it.

Image:

Image File: indicates the image file (.JPG, .GIF, .PNG.) for the picture to use as the background. You can search the image on the File Selection window by clicking on the   button.
Link: Add a link to the image. Clicking on the button calls up the Link window, through which you can choose the type of action as well as related options.

Facebook:

Facebook URL: you can specify the URL of the Facebook page you want to propose.
Color: you can give the block a light or dark background.
Height: you can set the block's height in pixels.
Show Connections: select this option if you want friends' profile photos to be displayed (these are links to their Facebook page).
Show Stream: select this option to display the latest Posts published on the wall of the proposed Facebook page in the block.
Show FaceBook Header: select this option to display a Facebook header in the block.

Google AdSense Adverts:

Google AdSense HTML Code: copy the HTML code from Google AdSense™ to display adverts in this block.

HTML Code:

HTML Code: write or copy HTML code to create your own contents in this block.
Click to expand/collapseReference: Commands in the Style section

You can use the commands in this section to define the appearance of the blocks in your blog page..

The options for the Text are:

Font Type: specifies the font, style and size to use for the text.
Text Color: specifies the color to use for the text.
Margin: sets the width of the margin in pixels (the space between the block's border and the text).

The options for the Background are:

Color: indicates the color to use for the background.
Image File: indicates the image file (.JPG, .GIF, .PNG.) for the picture to use as the background.
Repeat: indicates whether the page background image is to be repeated, or not. It can be repeated horizontally, vertically or in both directions so that it occupies all the available space. The background image can also be resized so that it adapts to the available space.
Alignment: specifies how the background image is to be aligned in the block.

The options for the Border are:

Thickness: the thickness of the borders (each one may be defined separately).
Color: the color of the borders (again, each border can be colored separately).
Rounded corners: how rounded the corners are (each one can be defined separately).
Shadow: a shadow, specifying its color, position, diffusion and size.