| How do I set the thumbnail picture for my Member Photos Album? |
Click on "My Photos"
Click on the "pencil" icon to the left of the photo that you wish to set as your thumbnail.
- A page will come up with details about this photo.
Click on "Send as album thumb" at the bottom of the page. Yep, it's a typo in the photo module. |
| How can I insert a hyperlink into my posts? |
1. Find a page you want to link
2. Copy the page url by highlighting, right clicking and choosing 'copy'
3. Type a short, simple description of the link in your NWOS post, like HOW TO LINK
4. Highlight the description you typed
5. Click on the little "globe with chain" icon above
6. In the dialog box that opens, paste your copied url in the URL field and click OK.
Bingo! You've created a link we can all follow. |
| How do I control e-mail notification when a new post is made to the Discussion Forum? |
There are three areas to manage this: 1. unsubscribing from existing threads, 2. preventing new threads in specific forums from being autosubscribed, 3. signing up to get notified about posts made to threads that you started. I personally have no subscriptions except my own threads and have found that to be a pretty good compromise that still provides me with the info I really care about.
To unsubscribe from threads you are already subscribed to:
1. Go to the Discussion Forum section of the website
2. Click on "My Profile" in the upper right hand corner
3. Click on the "Subscriptions" tab
4. Delete any subscriptions you don't want to have
The next thing you need to do is to manage what sort of notifications you do get:
1. Go to the Discussion Forums
2. Click on the "Destinations" forum and make sure the box at the top of the page next to the text that reads, "Email me when someone posts to this forum." is unchecked.
3. Repeat for all of the other forums
Finally, if you want to subscribe to threads that you start
1. Go to the Discussion Forums
2. Click on "My Profile" at the top of the page
3. Click on "Edit Profile"
4. Make sure the box is checked next to the words, "Subscribe to Topics:" |
| How do I upload photos to the photo galleries? |
1. Decide what photos you want to upload
2. If you know how to do it, resize them to be no greater than 1600 pixels wide or tall. If you don't know how, don't worry about it. The website will do it automatically. If your resizing tool strips off EXIF data, don't do it. The photos are sorted by the EXIF "Taken Date" and if this information is stripped off the photos get out of order.
3. If you have more than one photo, put them all inside of a Zip file. Make sure the zip file doesn't contain any folders or directories. Only photos.
3. Go to Photos->Trips and Activities
4. Press the "Add New" button
5. Fill out the form:
- Select the Album you want to upload to. E.g. 2008->Perseids Expedition
- Give your photo a title if there is only one, or skip this field if you are uploading a zip file.
- Give your photo a description if there is only one photo, or skip this field if you are uploading a zip file.
- Skip the Link field
- In the photo field, browse for your single photo, or zip file.
- Skip the rest of the fields
6. Press Save & Exit -- the photos will upload to the website.
7. If you uploaded a zip file, you can "bulk edit" the titles and descriptions by:
- Pressing the "Manage" button at the top of the page.
- Clicking on the album you want to manage
- Pressing "Bulk Edit" at the bottom of that page
- Edit the photo titles, descriptions, etc
- Press "Update" on the bottom of the page when you are finished. |
What organizations can I join or get involved with to help preserve trails and make sure that they stay open?
|
In the PNW the PNW Four Wheel Drive Association is the most active. You can learn more about them and what they do at www.pnw4da.org.
You also might want to take a look into:
- The Blue Ribbon Coalition @ www.blueribboncoalition.org
- Tread Lightly @ www.treadlightly.org
|
What sort of permits, passes, etc might I need to use trails in the PNW?
|
This information is not exhaustive. If you have additional information please e-mail admin@soggyoval.org
Washington State:
USFS
Their aren't any permits that are unique to OHV driving, but the Northwest Forest Pass available from the USFS
is required to camp on Forest Service land, or park at hiking trailheads.
Most of the good trails in Washington State are on USFS land such as Evan's creek, Twin
sisters, Manastash, Liberty, Naches, Rimrock, etc.
Note that in order to drive on USFS 4x4 Trails you need a valid drivers license, insurance, and licensed vehicle.
You can buy a day pass or an annual NW Forest Pass for $5 or $30 respectively. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/nwfp.shtml
National Parks
If you want to go to National Parks (E.g. Mount Rainier)
you need to either pay for the week long National Park pass for $15 or for the $65 year long pass.
Combo: USFS & National Parks
The final option that combines both is the
combination annual pass
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/worp.shtml that allows you access
to both the National Parks and National Forests in Washington as well
as some Oregon State parks and army corp of engineer campgrounds. not
bad for $85.
You can view all the pass options here at this decision table: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/question-which-pass.shtml
or you can view a table in .pdf here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/worp/pct.pdf
Washington State Parks
Washington State Parks are free once again.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Washington State DNR doesn't require a permit (Walker Valley ORV, Tahuya State Forest, etc)
Washington State Department of Fish and Widlife
The Dept
of Fish and wildlife requires a permit and has a program similar to the USFS but there doesn't appear to be any trails on on DoFW land.
Sno Park
If you cross-country ski, snowmobile, or snowshoe you will want
to buy a Sno-park permit. This allows you to park at designated Sno-parks. These permits are recognized as valid with similar programs in Idaho and Oregon.
|
| How do I add a trip I took to the Trip Photos section? |
| Send a Private Message to the administrator that includes the date and location of the trip and the album will be created for you. Once the album is created you can submit photos to it. They will appear as soon as a moderator has approved them. |
How do I create a personal blog
|
- Go to the Blogs page of the website.
- Click on Create My Blog in the upper right hand
corner
- Enter your name as the blog title
- Enter a description of what you intend to use your
blog for.
- Set the following “Blog Options”.
- Set the following “Syndication Options”
Note that I only put the users first name and not a complete e-mail
address.
- Set the following “Date and Time Options”
- You can ignore the Child Blogs section entirely. This allows you to have secondary
blogs. E.g. you could have “Tech”, “Trips”,
“Favorite Rovers”, “Rover Jokes” etc as child blogs of your blog where you
record each of these sub-categories.
You don’t need to set this up now though. You can add them later if you decide you
want to, and even move old posts into the appropriate category. Let’s just skip it now and get your
primary blog working.
- Click on
Update at the bottom of the page.
If you forget to do this, you will lose everything you just entered
in.
At this point
your blog has been created. You can now
create your first blog entry. See the
related FAQ on this if you have any trouble.
|
How do I set a picture, location, etc next to my posts in the Discussion Group?
|
You can set your avatar (the picture), your location, provide a bio, a picture of you and your truck, etc by clicking on "My Profile" in the right hand corner of the
forums. Then clicking on "Edit Profile" near the bottom of the profile page.
Once set, it will show up next to your post along with your name, avatar, etc. |
How do I setup a member photo album?
|
An album should have already been created for you. It won't show up in the list of albums until it has at least one approved photo in it though. In order to add a photo to your gallery...
- Go to Member Photos
- Click on Add Photo
- Select your name in the Album List (dropdown menu)
- Give you photo a title and description (you can ignore the link and order fields)
- Click the browse button and find the photo on your computer that you want to add to your album (or a zip file with no directories if you want to upload multiple photos).
- Choose Save and Exit
- You will be taken to the My Photos page, and your new photo should show up in the list.
- You can add another photo by clicking on Add Photo again and repeating the process.
The photos should show up immediately. If they don't, please contact a moderator so they can make sure your album is setup correctly.
The only other reason they won't appear immediately is if you have abused your photo album privilidges by posting innapropriate content. If this is the case, your album will be moderated and photos won't appear until a moderator has approved the submission. To date, this has never happened. :-)
|
How do I create a blog entry?
|
Assuming that you've already created your blog (see related FAQ on "How do I create a blog") you create a blog entry as follows:
1. Click on "Add Blog Entry" in the upper right hand corner of the blogs page.
2. A form will appear for you to enter your blog entry into. You will always be able to come back and edit this form, so if you later find that you made a mistake, want to add, remove, or change anything you will be able to.
3. Enter the title of your entry.
4. Enter a 1-2 sentence summary of your entry.
5. Enter the text for your blog entry.
- Make sure you periodically hit "Update" at the bottom of the page while editing. If you don't do this, after 20 minutes your session will time out and you will lose all of your work. Don't ask me how I know.
- If you need to include photos in your article please resize them to 640x480 or smaller before uploading them to the ArticleContent folder. (See the related FAQ on "How do I upload an image for use in the editor")
6. When you are ready to publish the article so people other than you can see it, make sure the "Published" box is checked. Note, you still need to select update before this setting takes effect, but do this in Step 9 after you've set all the options.
7. If you want to let people make comments about your article make sure you set that option as well.
8. Dheck/uncheck the Copyright notice option.
9. Press "Update". If you forget this step, you will lose all of your work.
|
How do I add an event to the Events Calendar?
|
Go to the Events page of the website.
Place your mouse over the "Events" menu on the upper left corner of the Calendar and select "Add Events" from the dropdown menu.
A form will appear. Fill in the details of your event.
Note the advanced options to permit enrollment. This is one way to get people to RSVP. You can manage enrollments later by selecting the My Enrollments option in the same menu as the Add Events feature was found.
Select Update and your event will be submitted for approval to a moderator. Once approved, your event will appear in the Calendar.
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| How do I insert a photo into a discussion group post, blog entry, tech article, etc? |
I'd prefer that you don't link to images not hosted on the NW Overland Society website. They tend to go dead in a couple of years so here is how you
Attaching or inserting photos is easy. There are two methods that work in the discussion group, and one that works everywhere (blogs, tech articles, trip reports, etc). I'll describe both of them here.
To put a photo at the end of your discussion forum post. E.g. Write some text, followed by some pictures:
Hit the "Add Reply" button (don't use the Quick Reply box at the bottom of the page.
Type your text.
Browse for attachements and attach up to 3 pictures per post.
Submit the post.
To insert a photo inline anywhere on the website that the advanced editor is used OR to insert them inline w/ text around them in the discussion forums.
Hit the "Add Reply" button (don't use the Quick Reply box at the bottom of the page). This will take you to the advanced editor.
Type some text.
Click on the Picture Icon in the toolbar (mountain w/sun icon on the button).
Click on the Browse Server button
If you don't have a personal folder already, Type your name (with an underscore instead of a space. E.g. Craig_Miller) into the Create Directory field and press the "Create Directory" button. Photos in the root directory will be deleted.as they massively slow down access to personal folders.
Double Click on your folder to take you into it.
Click the "Browse" button at the top of the page and find the photo you want to upload
Click the Upload Photo link next to the browse button.
Note that you can upload multiple photos at once and then just browse for them later when you want to use them.
you will be flipped back to the main image insert dialogue where you can set the image width and have the height resized automatically. I'd reccomend using a max width of 800 pixels.
Click on OK and it will be inserted. |