Change the Theme

The default theme (i.e., appearance) for WordPress is rather dull:



























It is very easy to change the theme to something more exciting. To do this:

(1) Log in as the administrator. The "Dashboard," the menu that allows you to manage the blog, will appear.

(a) In the left column of the Dashboard, left click on the down arrow to the right of "Appearance" to show the options available to you.















(2) In the options list that appears, left click on "Themes."


















(3) When the "Manage Themes" page appears, you will see that the default WordPress theme is the current theme. To choose a new theme, first left click on "Add New" at the top of the page.


















(4) WordPress has a large library of themes to choose from. If you don't want to browse through all of them, check some qualifying features to limit your search. Then, left click on "Find Themes."

















(5) When you find a theme you think you might like, left click on "Preview" to see a full-sized preview.
















(6) When you are done with the preview, left click on "Close" to return to the themes page.
















(7) If you decide to use that theme for your blog, left click on "Install."
















(8) Then left click on "Install Now" to complete the installation.

















(9) Finally, left click on "Activate" to make the new theme the current theme for the blog.

















(10) You will now see that the new theme is the current theme.















(11) To see what your blog looks like with the new theme, left click on "Visit Site." This show the blog in the current tab, so you will have to use your browser's back button to return to the Manage Themes page.
















(12) Optionally, you can right click on "Visit Site" and left click on either "Open link in new tab" or "Open link in new window." This will allow you to toggle between your current page and the preview.


















(13) Here is what the blog looks like with the new theme:

















(14) To return to the Dashboard and continue setting up the blog, left click on "Dashboard."

Add Additional Security

Sometimes you may wish to add an additional layer of security, to prevent people who know the URL of the blog from accessing this. You can do this by password protecting the folder on the web hosting service's server that contains the blog. Then, only authorized users, who know the password, can access it.

To password protect a blog:

(1) When cPanel appears after you log in to your web hosting service:

(a) Scroll down to "Security" and

(b) Left click on "Password Protect Directories."




























(2) In the menu that appears:

(a) Choose the directory that contains your blog and

(b) Left click on "Go."



























(3) A list of the folders in that directory will appear.



















(4) Left click on the name of the folder containing the blog you wish to password protect.




















(5) A menu will appear, which will allow you to assign user names and passwords to the people who are authorized to access the blog.






















(6) First, indicate that you wish the blog to be password protected by:

(a) Checking the box for "Password protect this directory,"

(b) Giving the directory a name and

(c) Left clicking on "Save."

















(7) When the screen telling you the action was successful appears, left click on "Go Back" to begin authorizing users.















(8) First, add yourself as an authorized user:

(a) Enter a Username and Password for yourself,

(b) Note that an indicator shows how strong (i.e., how good) your password is and

(c) Left click on "Add/Modify authorized user."

















(9) A screen verifying the new user will appear. Left click on "Go Back" to add a student to the list of authorized users.


















(10) Add the student in the same way you added yourself:

(a) Enter a Username and Password and


(b) Left click on "Add/Modify authorized user."
























(11) The verification screen will again appear.









(12) Both you and the student are listed as authorized users. At a later time, students can be added or deleted and passwords changed.





















(13) Now, whenever anyone tries to view or edit the blog, they will first have to enter a User Name and Password before they can proceed:

Use cPanel to Install the Blog

These instructions are for installing WordPress through a web hosting service that uses cPanel and Simple Scripts.

(1) When you sign in to the web hosting service, cPanel -- a menu for all the services available to you -- will appear.

(2) Scroll Down to "Software/Services" and Left Click on "Simple Scripts"



























(3) Scroll Down to the "Script List"




























(4) Left Click on "Wordpress" under "Blogs"






























(5) Left Click on "Install" in the next Menu



















(6) Prepare for Installation:

(a) Select the version of WordPress you wish to install. This will usually be the default.

(b) Create a subdirectory for your blog. This is important. If you don't do this, you will lose all other blogs, etc. you've installed on the web hosting service.

(c) Left click on "Click here to display" under "Advanced Options" to assign a Username and Password for the blog's administrator when the blog is installed. Otherewise, you'll have to go back later to change the default ones that will be automatically assigned.

















(7) Finish the Preparations:

(a) Give the blog a name.

(b) Assign a Username and Password for the Administrator.

(c) Check "Automatically create a new database."

(d) Check the box to show you've read all the legal information.

(e) Left click on "Complete" to begin installing the blog.
















(8) A screen will appear, showing the progress of the install process. Normally, this takes only a few moments.










(9) When the installation is complete, the information you need to login to the blog will appear.

(a) To log in as administrator, type the URL ending in "/wp-admin" into your browser and then enter the administrator's Username and Password when the menu asking for them appears.

(b) To simply view the blog, use the address that DOES NOT end in "/wp-admin." This will take you directly to the blog.

(10) Here is an example of the menu that will appear when you want to log in as the blog's administrator:















Simply left click on "Log In" after you've entered the administrator's Username and Password.


(11) To protect a learner's privacy, it's a good idea to set an option that will prevent third parties from accidentally or intentionally finding the blog through a search engine such as Google.

When you log in as Administrator, the "Dashboard" appears, which allows the Administrator to manage the blog.

To block a search engine:

(a) Left click on the down arrow next to "Settings" to show the available choices.

(b) Left click on "Privacy."

















(12) Then, on the next screen:

(a) Activate "I would like to block search engines, but allow normal visitors.

(b) Left click on "Save Changes."




















Now, only people who know the URL of the blog will be able to view it.

WordPress Blogs (Tutorials)

This set of tutorials shows how to install a WordPress blog using a web hosting service.

Step 1: Use cPanel to Install the Blog.

Step 2: Add Additional Security

Step 3: Change the Theme (Optional)

Other Tutorials:

Installing WordPress Locally on a Windows Desktop or Laptop

Converting a WordPress Blog into a Private, Facebook-like Social Network

Additional Impress Tutorials

Table of Contents

Converting an Impress Presentation to a Video

Crop an Image from Within Impress

"Photographing" an Impress Slide

Using Windows Live Movie Maker Beta to Recreate an Impress Presentation

Crop an Image from Within Impress

Sometimes you may want to use a detail from a picture or other image in a presentation slide. Rather than going through the extra step of using a photo editing program such as Gimp to crop the photo, you can do this within Impress at the same time you are inserting it into the slide you are building.

(1) Insert the image into the slide by (a) left clicking on "Insert" in the Main Toolbar, (b) left clicking on "Picture" in the first menu to appear and (c) left clicking on "From File . . ." in the second menu.























(2) Navigate to the location of the image on your computer and left click on "Open."























Note: The image could be stored on your hard drive, a CD, a flash drive, etc.

(3) A thumbnail of the image will appear in the "Slides" panel and "full size" in the Workspace, for you to edit.



















(4) Right click from anywhere within the image in the Workspace and left click on "Crop Picture . . ." in the menu that appears.




















(5) In the next menu, make sure that "Keep scale" is checked. This will automatically maintain the proportions of the image as you edit it.



















(6) To crop the left side of the image: (a) left click on the up arrow for the left side until the vertical bar for the left margin in the thumbnail moves to where you would like it to be.





















(7) Ditto for the right side of the image.




















(8) Ditto for the top of the image.

(9) And ditto for the bottom of the image.





















(10) You can readjust the size of the detail by using the up and down arrows next to "Left," "Right," "Top" and "Bottom."

Left click on "OK" when you are done.


















(11) Only the portion of the image you selected will appear in the slide.