Entry Title: Use this field for the headline. You should never save an entry without a title since it becomes part of the URL and helps search engines index the post.

Body: Use this area of the Create Entry screen to compose the body of your entry. By default, all new entries will use Rich Text Editor (a what-you-see-is-what-you-get format) that shows you the formatting. The HTML coding is hidden, though it can be accessed through the “<A>” button.

Extended: Don’t use this. The excerpt field is now displayed on the blog index.

Excerpt: Use this field to enter an excerpt for your entry that will appear on the blog index. It should not be cut directly from the story. Use it to get all the sides of your story into display type. It is limited to 60 words.

Featured: This moves the entry to the top of the blog’s home page. Do not use this in a story post; featured posts should be managed in the blog tool.

Tags: Use this field to enter tags for your entry. Tags are all lower-case (even proper nouns) and should be separated by commas. Never use titles or middle initials with names. Tags are now used to direct blog posts to other blogs. These are called directional tags and begin with a “@”.

Category: We no longer use, except in limited situations (primarily on Foodday page).

Status: Use this option to select the entry’s status, either “Published” or “Unpublished.” You can also set an entry to “Scheduled” and adjust the publish time and date if you want it to publish in the future.

Publish Date: Use this field to set the publish date for your entry. If you set the publish date for the future and set the status to “Scheduled,” Movable Type will publish the entry at that time and date.

Change user with impostor: Use this option to change the byline on an entry to another user. This option only is available after you have saved an entry. Begin typing the name of the user you want to assign to the entry and a list of names with matching characters will appear. You cannot impostor yourself. Most freelance writers are not in our system; for them, use “Special to The Oregonian.”

Basename: Movable Type will automatically populate this field with a file basename for your entry using the title. The basename is the permalink, or permanent URL, of the entry. You should never edit the basename after the entry has been published.

Accept Comments/TrackBacks: The default for new entries is to accept comments and trackbacks. All posts should be set to accept comments. Discuss with Susan Gage or Jerry Casey if you want to consider turning off comments.

Formatting body copy

Use the toolbar above the body text to improve the copy. If the “Rich Text” format is selected and the WYSIWYG (A button) is selected, the changes will appear within the post with no coding visible. The toolbar looks like this:

At — Decrease font size (Please don’t use)
As — Increase font size (Please don’t use)
B — Bold
I — Italic
U — Underline
S — Strikethrough
Chain link — Create a link to another Web address (URL or hyperlink) — Highlight copy you want the link to connect to and click the blue chainlink button. Paste the correct URL into the box.
Envelope — Create an e-mail link — Highlight copy you want the e-mail link to connect to and click the envelope button. Paste the correct e-mail address into the box.
Begin blockquote — Sets aside copy with an indent from right and left.
End blockquote
Unordered list (bullets)
Ordered list (numbers)
Left align (default)
Center align (Please don’t use)
Right align (Please don’t use)
Insert story package — (Future use) Will control infoboxes completed within Movable Type.
Clapboard — Insert existing video (only for videos already uploaded to OregonLive).
Landscape — Insert photo.
Stacked landscape – Insert slideshow.
Text with arrow — Upload a standalone file (PDF, DOC, XLS, MP3)
Map point — Creating map locations (Please don’t use)
A — View file in WYSIWYG coding
<A> — View file in HTML coding
Briefcase with W — Paste in Word documents (Please don’t use)
Briefcase with T — Paste in clean text. Strips out most invisible coding.
Briefcase with <> — Put your cursor where you want the infobox or video or other HTML item (before the first letter of the first word of a paragraph is best). Click the suitcase with <> in front. Paste in the HTML coding.

Assign a byline to an entry (impostor)

Movable Type does not feature a byline field for stories. Instead, it uses the author’s display name (the user who created the entry) as the byline. If you are posting content that was written by another user, you must use impostor to assign the story to the user.

1. Save an entry (or open an entry if it already exists in MT).

2. On the right-hand side of the screen, a new option will appear labeled “Change user with impostor.”

3. Click on “Change user with Impostor”; a text box should now appear. Begin typing the name of the user you would like to assign to a blog. As you type, a list of names should appear that contain the characters you have inputted. Once you have found the user you are looking for, select their name and save the entry.

4. Once you have saved the entry, a box will appear on top of the entry confirming that the impostor setting has saved. You can transfer ownership of an entry over and over again. You cannot use impostor to transfer an entry to yourself. You must save the post for it to render on the website.

Generic accounts for newspapers and wire services were created. These accounts work the same way as user accounts. Here’s a list of what we have created:

* The Oregonian (for briefs, teez posts)
* The Associated Press (taglines just read “The Associated Press”)
* Guest Opinion (op-ed features)
* The Oregonian Editorial Board (editorials)
* Letters to the editor (letters to the editor)
* Syndicated columnist (syndicated columnists; taglines should include name)
* Caption contest (Ohman caption contest)
* Special to The Oregonian (all freelance stories and columns; taglines should include specific names)
* The Oregonian staff and wire reports (combined reports)
* Syndicated cartoonist (syndicated editorial cartoonists)
* Special to MIX (features in MIX magazine)
* Contributors to The Oregonian (Previously posted Opinion material)
* Marketwatch (news from the Marketwatch business wire)
* Bloomber News (news from the Bloomberg News business wire)
* Washington County Reader Contributor (weekly news contributors)
* Clackamas County Reader Contributor (weekly news contributors)
* Multnomah County Reader Contributor (weekly news contributors)