How to Delete a Post

1. Log on to Blogger.
2. Enter User name and Password.
3. Click on the blog that you want to delete a post from.
4. Click on the "Posting" tab.
5. Click on the name of the post that you want to delete.
6.Click on "Delete".
7. Click on "Delete It" (or "Cancel" if you change your mind).

How to Delete a Comment

The Help feature explaining how to delete a comment is at http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1081&topic=23

Step 1. Log in to your blog account.
Step 2. Go to the blog with the comment (either to your own blog where someone else wrote a comment or to any blog where you left a comment.)
Step 3. Find the comment.
Step 4. Click on the trash icon at the end of the comment. (I had to use a magnifying glass to see it.)
Step 5. On the confirmation page, click on "Delete Comment".
Step 6. If you want to remove any trace that the comment was ever there, also check the "Remove Forever" option.
If you don't check this option, a message saying "This comment has been removed" will replace the comment. I find that seeing this message always makes me imagine all sorts of things that the author of the comment might have written that would appall decent people.

This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes.
A psychiatrist was giving a Rohrshach (sp?) test (the test where he shows ink blot images to a patient) and the patient saw a dirty picture in every ink blot. At the end of the session, the doctor said, "My gosh, you have a dirty mind." The patient replied, "Me? They're your dirty pictures!"

It is not possible to edit comments.
If you want to edit your own comment, you can simply delete it (use Ctrl/C to copy the original first) and then re-enter it (use Ctrl/V to paste in the original) and make the changes. (However, the timestamp will be modified to reflect the time of the new comment.)

How to Edit a Comment

You can't edit an old comment.
You can copy the old comment (use Ctrl/C) and then write a new comment by pasting the old comment into a new Comment window (use Ctrl/V) and editing the new comment before you publish it.
The timestamp will be modified to reflect the time of the new comment.
Then you can delete the old comment. (See the post on "How to Delete a Comment".)

How to Add a Comment

1. Log on to Blogger. http://www.blogger.com or click on "Blogger" up in the left-hand corner
2. Fill in User name and Password.
3. Go to your own blog or to any other blog.
4. Click on "Comments" under any post.
5. Write your comment in the "Leave your comment" window.
6. Click "Preview".
7. Proof-read the comment carefully as there is no way to edit a comment after it has been published. One can only delete it and type it over if there is an error.
8. Copy your comment (Ctrl/C) before you publish it so if anything goes wrong, you can paste it into a new comment window and try again.
9 Click either "Edit comment" or "Publish this comment".
10. Don't click on "Publish this comment" more than once until you look at the blog and see if the comment is there. It is really easy to publish the same comment over and over.
11. If you don't see the comment when you return to the blog, click on "View" and "Refresh".
12. If it still isn't there, repeat steps 4-9, pasting in the comment you saved in step 8. (Use Ctrl/V)

How to Edit a Post

1. Log in to Blogger. (Click on "Blogger" up in the left-hand corner of the screen.)
2. Enter your user name and password.
3. You will be on the Dashboard with a list of your blogs. (Some people have more than one.)
4. Click the name of the blog that you want to edit a post on.
5. You will on the blog's Options Page.
6. Click on the "Posting" tab.
7. Click on "Edit Posts".
8. Click on the name of the post you want to edit.
9. Make your changes or additions.
10. If you want to see how it will look when published, click on "Preview".
11. To go back to editing, click on "Hide Preview".
12. Make any changes.
13. I make a copy of the text before I publish, in case something goes wrong. (Select the text and then Ctrl/C)
14. Click on "Publish Post" to replace the old copy.
15. Look for the message at the top of the screen that will tell you if it has been successful.
16. Click on "View Blog".
17. If you do not see the new post, click on "View" and then "Refresh".

How to Publish a Post

1. Log in to Blogger. (Click on "Blogger" up in the left-hand corner of the screen.)
2. Enter your user name and password.
3. You will be on the Dashboard with a list of your blogs. (Some people have more than one.)
4. Click the name of the blog that you want to publish a post on.
5. You will on the blog's Options Page.
6. Click on the "Posting" tab.
7. Click on "Create" or "Create New Post".
8. Type the Title and the text.
9. If you want to see how it will look when published, click on "Preview".
10. To go back to editing, click on "Hide Preview".
11. Make any changes. (You can also make changes to a post after you have published it.)
12. I make a copy of the text before I publish, in case something goes wrong. (Select the text and then Ctrl/C)
13. Click on "Save as Draft" if you want to work on it later before you publish or click on "Publish Post" to publish immediately.
14. Look for the message at the top of the screen that will tell you if it has been successful.
15. Click on "View Blog".
16. If you do not see the new post, click on "View" and then "Refresh".

How to See Your Blog

You have to have published at least one post in order to see your blog.

(You have to create a blog in order to leave comments on other people's blogs because that links your comments to your email account and makes you accountable for whatever you write, but you can leave comments without publishing your own blog.)

If you have published a post,

you can type the "http://" name of your blog in the Address box at the top of your internet server page and click "Go"
(This will let you view your blog and read any comments, but will not let you make any changes.)

or

open blogger http://blogger.com/ and type in your user name and password.
(This will take you to your account's Dashboard which lists all of your blogs.)
Click on the blog's name that you want to see.
(This will take you to that blog's options page.)
Click on the "View Blog" tab.

If you didn't publish a post yet, read and follow the directions in the post "How to Publish a Post" and then come back to this post if you need to.

Changing Your Template

To choose a template other than the default one that you get if you didn't select one of the choices you were offered, I suggest looking at some of the ones that other people are using. I kept clicking on the "Next Blog" button up in the right-hand corner to see what was out there. I found that I had trouble seeing text on the blogs with a black background. Some colors didn't appeal to me. All of my blogs use different templates so you could just click on each of them to see some choices. (This one has the default template that I really find a little dull, but I use it because it's the "default" example.)

I just changed my template and got a pretty green one, but I will change it back again after I write this post so that I will again have the default template.

Steps:
1. Click the "Blogger" button up at the top left of the blogger window.
2. Click "Change Settings".
3. Click on the "Template" tab.
4. Click "Pick One".
5. Click on the picture of the template you like if you want to see a larger version. Close this window to go back to the choices.
6. Click on "Use This Template" to change your template.
7. Click "OK" on the warning message. (We beginners don't do customizations.)
8. You will get the message that the settings were successfully saved.
9. Important! You must click on the "Republish" button.
10. Beginners can choose "Republish Entire Blog" because we don't usually have enough entries to make this a very long procedure. This "Publish Index" can be learned later when we have lots more experience.
11. Important again! When you go back to your blog and nothing looks different, remember to click on the menu item "View" at the top of the screen, and click on "Refresh" so that your computer reloads the new blog.

Learning about Blogspot

I will be posting directions on this blog to help beginners learn some of the basics of blogspot. I am a beginner with blogspot and a teacher who can usually explain simply that which I can understand. The first step to my understanding what to do starts by reading the Help features on http://help.blogger.com/ . The best way for me to learn something is to try to do it and then write down in my own words what the steps were. Maybe my directions will help other beginners. Good luck to all of us.

Steps to Creating Your Own Blog

You can comment on a blog only if you create your own blog account because this is the way they hold each writer accountable for what he writes.
It's free. Just go to http://www.blogger.com/start and follow the directions. Be sure to write down a copy of your user name and your password as that is how you gain access to your account. (Or do Edit/Select All and Edit/Copy to copy the form after you fill it out and before you continue to the next form. Be sure you paste the copy into Word or some text editor before you copy something else.)

Look through the following steps so you will know what to expect.

Step 1:Create an account
For a user name, you have to choose something no other person has chosen. (This and the URL address you choose on the next form are the hardest things to decide.)
For a password, any 6 character or longer password will do. (I think 18 characters are max.)

You will fill in the following items on the first form:
Choose a user name (Write this somewhere in case it gets accepted. You may have to try different user names and you may forget which one finally gets accepted.)
You'll use this to sign in for future visits.
Enter a password
Must be at least 6 characters long.
Retype password
Enter it again just to be sure.
Display name
The name used to sign your blog posts.
Email address
We will never share your address with third parties without your permission.Acceptance of TermsI accept the Terms of ServiceIndicate that you have read and understand Blogger's Terms of Service

(As soon as a user name and a password are accepted, you should write them down so you don't forget them!)

Step 2:Name your blog
This is the second form you will fill out. The blog title can be changed later so it’s no big deal. The blog address may take you several tries to choose as you have to pick an address that no one else has. It took me 3 tries to get my CrazyOldCatLady address as someone had CatLady and someone else had CrazyCatLady.The only information that you need to write down for your records is the address, but I write down everything when I am new and don’t know what will be important later.Write down the whole URL. It starts with “http” and ends with “.com”.
Disregard the Advanced Setup.

You will fill in the following items on the second form:
Blog title
Enter a title for your blog.
Blog address ( URL )
http://_________________________.blogspot.com
You and others will use this to read and link to your blog.
Word Verification
Type the characters you see in the picture below.
OR
(Connie doesn't know anything about Advanced Setup so I can't help you here. Just type the characters you see in their picture.)
Advanced Setup
Want to host your blog somewhere else? Try Advanced Blog Setup. This will allow you to host your blog somewhere other than Blogspot.

Step 3: Choose your template:
Click on the option button of the template you want. If you don’t click on one before you click on “Continue”, you will get the default template. Your template can be changed at any time very easily so this is no big deal.

Step 4: This next window offers you a chance to type a “post” for your blog. You do not ever have to do this if you created a blog only so that you can write comments on other people’s blogs, but you will not be able to see your blog page until you publish one post.
Go ahead and type the post title and some little article. After you are through typing, you can click on “Preview” and then click on “Publish Post” or you can skip the preview part. After it has been published, click on the “View Blog” tab. (Except for this first post, if you don’t see your new additions, click on the “Refresh” icon.)
Whenever I type a post or a comment, I copy it and save it until I see that it appears on the blog. I select the text and use Ctrl C to copy it and Ctrl V to paste it.