Adding a blog to your home page

By Anne Krishnan | September 2, 2007 at 2:00a.m.

By ANNE KRISHNAN

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. I’m trying to figure out how to embed a blog in an already-created home page. People have said to pull the content from the blog using an RSS feed, but that seems too technical for an average computer user like me. Is there an easier answer?

A. The people suggesting an RSS reader on your home page are right, said Jon Jordan, president of Atlantic Business Technologies, a Raleigh Web services firm. RSS, which stands for “really simple syndication,” is the easiest way to automatically pull information out of your blog and onto your home page, he said.

First, a couple of definitions. RSS feeds convert articles or blogs into a format for easy syndication. RSS readers allow RSS feeds from one Web site to be embedded and displayed on other Web sites.

Though most RSS readers require some level of high-tech knowledge and access, JavaScript readers can be inserted right into regular HTML code, Jordan said. You just have to add the URL for the correct RSS feed.

Most blogs have an available RSS feed, so you’re probably in good shape there, Jordan said. To display the feed on your home page, you must paste code for a JavaScript reader into your site, then configure it with the correct RSS URL from your blog.

Even that might not be as hard as it sounds. Some kind soul has developed a one-step online tool for generating JavaScript code and configuring it for a feed, and Jordan gives it a good review. Find it at landmark-project.com/feed2js/build.php.

Q. How can I make the text larger in my Outlook 2003 inbox, navigation pane folders, documents and reading pane? Increasing font size for each individual message is really frustrating — is there any way I can do it globally?

A. Unfortunately, there’s no one button you can click to increase the font size throughout Outlook, but John Brantly, senior engineer with Raleigh information technology services firm Batchnet, suggests a several-step process to get the results you’re seeking.

To change the text size in the navigation pane, right-click on your desktop, then click on “properties.” From there, you have two options, both of which will also change the font size for other Windows icons.

First, you can click on the “appearance” tab, then change the font size to large or extra large. Alternatively, you can select the “settings” tab, then click the “advanced” button. On the “general” tab, you’ll see an option for DPI setting. Try changing this from the default — 96 dots per inch — to 120. You might have to reboot to see this change take effect.

To increase the font size in your inbox and other folders, right-click on the message list in your inbox, then scroll down to “customize current view.” When you click “other settings,” you’ll see the option to change the fonts in column headings, rows and AutoPreview. Set the font size you want and click OK. You must go through this same process for every folder.

Finally, the font sizes in individual messages are often set by the sender, Brantly said. However, you can easily adjust the font size within an e-mail message by holding the control key while rolling the scroll wheel on your mouse.

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