Category Archives: Widgets

Global Site Tags Widget

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The Global Site Tags widget is available as soon as a blogsite is created.  This widget will display more popular global blogsite tags with a larger font and less popular tags with a smaller font.  Tags that are between the the two sizes will be appropriately sized within the sizing range that you determine for the largest and smallest tags.

To Use the Global Site Tags Widget

  1. From within your Dashboard, go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Locate the Global Site Tags widget in the Available Widgets group at the top of the page. Click on the widget and drag it into an available region such as Sidebar 1, Sidebar 2, etc.
  3. Once the widget has been positioned, click on its arrow to open up the widget control panel
    1. Title: this is optional. If you don’t enter a title it will show the default widget title.
    2. Tag Cloud Order: This will determine what order your tags show, choose either Tag Count or Most Recent
    3. Number of Tags: Select a value here.  Numbers are available in one digit increments from 1 to 100.
    4. Largest Font Size: This will show the most popular tags as the largest font in the cloud. Sizes, in pixels, are available in one digit increments from 1 to 100.  It’s recommended that this font be larger than the Smallest Font Size you select (see next step).
    5. Smallest Font Size: This will show the newer or least popular tags as the smallest font in the cloud. Sizes, in pixels, are available in one digit increments from 1 to 100.  It’s recommended that this font be smaller than the Largest Font Size you select.
    6. Click the Save button when completed
  4. Click on the Visit Site link to see your new widget in action.

Polls Widget

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The Polls widget is available as soon as a blogsite is created.

To Use the Polls Widget

  1. From within your Dashboard, go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Locate the Polls widget in the Available Widgets group at the top of the page. Click on the widget and drag it into an available region such as Sidebar 1, Sidebar 2, etc.
  3. Once the widget has been positioned, click on its arrow to open up the widget control panel
    1. Title: this is optional. If you don’t enter a title it will show the default widget title.
    2. Display Polls Archive Link Below Poll?: This will provide links to your poll archives, beneath your active poll.  Select yes or no.
    3. Poll to Display: enter a value here.  Keep in mind that this will show as a list on your site.
    4. Exclude pages: choose one of the following:
      1. Do Not Display Poll
      2. Display Random Poll
      3. Display Latest Poll
      4. Specific poll title from list of all available polls on blog site
  4. Click the Save button when completed
  5. Click on the Visit Site link to see your new widget in action.

To view help instructions on the Polls plugin or settings, just click on the following provided links:

Popularity Contest Widget

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The Popularity Contest widget will only be viewed if the Popularity Contest plugin has been enabled. For information on how to enable a plugin, visit the Installed Plugins help post.

To Use the Popularity Contest Widget

  1. From within your Dashboard, go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Locate the Popularity Contest widget in the Available Widgets group at the top of the page. Click on the widget and drag it into an available region such as Sidebar 1, Sidebar 2, etc.
  3. Once the widget has been positioned, click on its arrow to open up the widget control panel
    1. Widget Title: this is optional. If you don’t enter a title it will show the default widget title.
    2. Report Type: select one – there are many different options
    3. Number of posts to display: enter a value here.  Keep in mind that this will show as a list on your site.
    4. Exclude pages: if you are using Pages on your site you can choose to exclude them here
  4. Click the Save button when completed
  5. Click on the Visit Site link to see your new widget in action.

Widgets

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Widgets are small add-on features that can help make your site more enjoyable or efficient.  You may choose to use any or all of the available Widgets, or none, if you prefer.

The Available Widgets on blogs.oregonstate.edu are:

  • Akismet: Shows the number of spam entries blocked.
  • Archives: A monthly archive of your blog’s posts
  • Calendar: A calendar of your blog’s posts.
  • Categories: A list of the categories used on your site.
  • Links: External links managed through your blogroll.
  • Meta: Log in / log out, Admin, Feed, and WordPress links.
  • Pages: The pages within your blog.
  • Recent Comments: The most recent comments left on your blog.
  • Recent Posts: The most recent posts on your blog.
  • RSS: Entries from an RSS or Atom feed.
  • Search: A search form for your blog.
  • Tag Cloud: Your most used tags in a cloud format.
  • Text: Arbitrary text or HTML that you create for whatever purpose you need.

Enable a Widget

To enable a Widget, do the following:

  • From within your Dashboard, click on Appearance > Widgets.
  • Choose a Widget from either the Available Widgets or Inactive Widgets list by clicking on it.
    • Available Widgets: These Widgets are “fresh”, they have had no configurations performed on them.
    • Inactive Widgets: These Widgets are ones that may have been in use previously and have been configured in some manner.
  • Drag the Widget to the right and place it in a Sidebar region.
  • Most Widgets have some small configurations that can be made, such as changing the name of the title.  If there is an arrow to the right of the Widget block, click it to open up the Widget’s configuration panel.
  • Make any configurations that you desire.
  • Click the Save button.

Disable a Widget

To disable a Widget, do the following:

  • From within your Dashboard, click on Appearance > Widgets.
  • Drag the Widget to be removed from the Sidebar region and place it in either the Available Widgets group or the Inactive Widgets group.
    • Available Widgets: Dragging Widgets back to this area will erase all configurations that have been made.
    • Inactive Widgets: Dragging Widgets to this area will remove them from the sidebar but will retain their configurations.
  • Click the Save button.