Press This is a browser add-on that allows you to grab bits of the web as you’re browsing.  You can clip text, images, and videos from any web page, edit the content, add more content, and then publish the content as a post on your blog.

To install Press This, do the following:

  • From with your Dashboard, click on Tools. The Tools screen will appear with the Press This tool listed.
  • Right click on the provided Press This link.  This will bring a little menu up.
  • Select Bookmark This Link from the little menu.  This will bring a bookmark dialog box up.  Select where you would like to store your bookmark and then click the Save button.

To use Press This, do the following:

  • If you are browsing the web and discover something that you want to save, just click on your Bookmarks and select Press This.
  • A large dialog-box will open with the title of the web page you are browsing.
  • To add your own text, just type in the text editor.
  • To add images to your post from the web page you’re browsing, click the Add Image button.  A box with all of the available images from that particular page will open.  Click on an image to add it.  This process works the same way for Video.
  • When you’re done, click the Publish button.
  • A post will appear on your site with a link to the page you visited.  Any images or video you linked to will show in your post, as well as any text you added.

Gears is a browser add-on, provided by Google, that will transfer files from your blog site to your computer.  Storing a copy of your blogs’ files on your computer helps to speed up your browsers’ page load time.

You can find out more about Gears by clicking on the provided More information… link on the Tools page.

Note: Gears should not be installed on a public or shared computer.

To install Gears, do the following:

  • From within your Dashboard, click on Tools.  The Tools screen will appear with the Gears tool listed.
  • Click the Install Now button
  • You will be redirected to the Gears download web page.
  • Click on the Install Gears button.
  • You will be redirected to a Terms of Service page.  Read the terms and then click the Agree and Download button.
  • A download dialog box will appear.  Click the Save File button.  The Gears setup file will be saved to wherever your computer normally saves files.
  • Locate the Gears setup file and click on it to open and run it.  You will then be informed that your browser needs to be restarted.  Click the Restart Browser Now button.
  • Your browser will reopen.  Now Gears needs to be enabled.

To enable Gears, do the following:

  • Return to your blog Dashboard and go to Site Admin > Tools.
  • Click the Enable Gears button.
  • A dialog box will appear, informing you that WordPress wants to store information on your computer using Gears.  Click the I trust this site… checkbox.
  • Click the Allow button.
  • Your blogs’ files will be stored on your computer and Gears will now be enabled.

WordPress offers links to a couple of different browser tools that can be installed on your browser – Gears and Press This.

Different browsers may operate differently.  The instructions provided here use Mozilla FireFox version 3.5.2.

Note: If you do not possess adequate permissions to install software on your computer, please contact your DCA or Department’s IT unit for assistance.