Download a PDF of these instructions with visual guides.

Logging in to the Akronist

If you completed citizen journalism workshops or were otherwise approved to be an Akronist contributor, you can upload videos, photos, articles and podcasts. You also have access to the Akronist social network. You can log in to the Akronist at the top of any page using the e-mail address you used to register for workshops. If you forgot your password, it can be reset. You must be logged in to upload and manage content.

Logging in to the Social Network

To start a blog, leave comments or join groups, you must be a member of the Akronist social network and you must be logged in. If you registered for citizen journalism workshops and are an Akronist contributor, your log-in information for the social network is the same as your login for the main Akronist site. You can log in under Members Login on the social network page. If you are not yet a full Akronist contributor, you can log in to the social network with your Facebook username and password, but your ability to interact will be limited to the options available through the social network. Either way, be sure to complete your profile.

Video Upload

Click the Video Upload button near the top of any main page.

Click Browse. Select the file from your computer you want to upload. Click Open.

The file name will appear in the Upload a Video box. Click Upload. The next box will show the upload progress.

When your video is finished uploading, you will be asked to provide details about your video. Include a title and description, then select categories. You may select multiple categories. Be sure to select your Akron neighborhood in the category list to feature it on the interactive map. Don’t forget to add tags (a.k.a. keywords) to make your video more searchable.

Click the Add Video button and look for a confirmation message on the next page. You can upload another video by clicking the link on the confirmation screen or the Video Upload button at the top of the screen.

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My Videos

Click the My Videos button near the top of any main page. This button only appears when you are logged in. If you do not see this button, log in at the top of any page.

All of your videos will appear. Click on the image of the video you want to view and edit.

The video will appear on a separate page with details about the video below it. If the video begins to play automatically, click the pause button on the lower left side of the video player. It will appear when you place your mouse cursor over the video player.

To edit information about the video, click Edit on the lower left side of the video information box. All information about your video will be editable on the next page. You can change the description, add or remove categories and tags, change the title, etc.

Click Save Changes. Click on My Videos near the top of the page if you want to return to your main video page and edit another video.

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Photo Upload

Click the Photo Upload button near the top of any main page.

You may be asked to allow an applet to access your computer before you are able to upload. On the next page, there are three tabs – Single Images, Batch Upload and Java Upload.

To upload single images, click the first Browse button. Choose a photo file from your computer to upload. Give it a title. Select a category from the drop-down menu. Write a brief description and click Upload. You may upload up to three images at a time, but the title, category and description fields will be the same for all photos uploaded at the same time.

When your upload is complete, you’ll be directed to a page with information about your image and options to either upload more images or view your photo gallery.

To perform a batch upload, click the Batch Upload tab. Click Browse next to the Image Package File (.zip) box. Select a .zip file containing all of the images you want to upload. Assign a category. Write a title and a description (optional). Click Begin Uploading. After you are finished uploading a batch of images, click on My Photos near the top of the page to view your photo gallery and edit each individual photo. Editing allows you to give photos unique names, descriptions, tags, etc.

When your upload is complete, you’ll be directed to a page with information about your image and options to either upload more images or view your photo gallery.

To perform a Java upload, click the Java Upload tab. To use the Java upload, your browser needs a Java plug-in of version 1.5 or higher for the applet to start. Assign a category to your photos and write a title and a description (optional). You can edit this information at a later time.

Click the Browse button. Locate a photo you want to upload. Click Choose. The file name, size and location on your computer will appear. Locate all other photos you want to upload and repeat the same step. If you want to remove a photo from the upload list, select the photo from the list and click Remove Selected. You can also change the orientation of a photo by selecting it from the list and clicking Rotate Right or Rotate Left.

Scroll to the bottom of the box where your photos waiting to be uploaded are listed. Click Upload. The bars next to the Upload button will show the progress of the upload. If you receive an error message that your photos exceed the file size limit, resize your photos and reload them.

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My Photos

Click the My Photos button near the top of any main page. This button only appears when you are logged in.

Find and click on the photo you want to edit. Make changes as indicated. Scroll to the bottom. Agree to the terms of service. Click Save.

If you experience problems uploading or editing your photos, your photos may be in a format that is not supported (this system prefers JPGs), or the file size may be too large. You may need to correct the problem and upload your photos again.

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Article Upload

NOTE: If you write your article in a Microsoft Word document, please copy and paste it into either TextEdit, Wordpad, or another plain text program before copying it onto the website. This eliminates extraneous HTML coding that is added to the text.

Click the Article Upload button near the top of any main page.

On the next screen, type a title for your article and then choose a category on the right. You do not need to enter a title alias. It will be generated automatically when you save your article.

Next, set tags for your article. First, scan the Available Tags list to find keywords that describe your article (they are not in alphabetical order). Click on a tag and then click Add to put it in your Selected Tags list. If you have more tags to add after you search the Available Tags list, type your tags in one at a time and click Add. Each tag will be added to the Available Tags list. Repeat this step until you have added all tags for your story. Then scroll to the bottom of the Available Tags list to find the tags you just added. Click on each of these tags and click the Add button to place them in the Selected Tags box. All of the tags in the Selected Tags box will be added to your article to make it more searchable.

Next, scroll down the page until you get to the first text box. This is where you insert the teaser text for your article. This usually consists of the first couple of sentences or the first paragraph of your article. It introduces readers to your article.

To add an image to your article, select the Image tab at the top of the Teaser Content box. The image you upload here will appear with both the teaser text and at the top of your full article.

Click Browse. Select the photo you want to upload from your computer and click Open. The path to the file will appear in the Item Image box. Add a caption and credits. Check the Terms of Service box and click Save. You must agree to the terms of service to save your image.

Next, scroll down to the Main Content box. It is directly below the Teaser Content box and looks exactly the same. Type your complete article in this text box.

As mentioned above, do not copy your story from Microsoft Word and paste it in the text box. If you do this, your story may not publish properly. It is best to either type your story directly into the text box, copy it from a plain text editor (like WordPad or TextEdit) or click the HTML button at the top of the editor (below the Format box) and paste your text directly into the HTML editor text box. Then you can add formatting before saving your article.

In both text boxes, you have limited text editing options. You can bold, italicize and underline your text; add hyperlinks; change the text style and format; add a bulleted or numbered list; add tables and more.

If you didn’t add an image when you typed your teaser text, you can still do so by selecting the Image tab at the top of the Teaser Content box.

If you have more images to upload, select the Image Gallery tab. Place all of the images you want to upload in a ZIP file (for help with this or to download free zip software, visit www.winzip.com). Click Browse. Select the ZIP file and click Open. The path to the file will appear in the box.

The Video, Extra Fields and Attachments tabs are not currently available. If you want to include an uploaded video with your story, they can be linked. This will be demonstrated in another section of this document.

After you are finished writing, formatting and adding photos to your article, you’re ready to save it. Scroll to the bottom of the screen. Check the Terms of Service box and click Save. You must agree to the terms of service to save your article and any subsequent changes.

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My Articles

Click the My Articles button near the top of any main page. This button only appears when you are logged in.

Choose an article that you want to edit. Click the Edit Item link in the upper right corner of the article.

You can then make changes to the information about your article, the article text or the accompanying photos.

Scroll to the bottom of the page. Check the Terms of Service box. Select Save. Your changes will be sent for review and approval before they appear live on the Akronist.

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Podcast Upload

Click the Podcast Upload button near the top of any main page.

On the left side of the next page is a list of uploaded podcasts. On the right side is a box for uploading your podcasts.

Click Browse. Select a podcast file from your computer. Click Open. Click Upload Podcast.

If your photo uploads correctly, it will appear in the list to the right. If your podcast does not upload correctly, an error message will be displayed.

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Podcasts

To manage your podcasts, click Upload Podcast. There is no My Podcast button, even when you are logged in.

Find your podcast in the list. Click the Edit button above the name of the podcast to make changes to the information about your podcast, but not to the actual podcast.

If you want to upload a newer version of your podcast, you will need to delete the existing podcast and upload your new version. You cannot add a new version to the existing file.

Click Save, just below the title, to save your edits. Your changes will be sent for review and approval before they appear live on the Akronist.

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