Feb 19

BlogEngine.NET just keeps getting cooler and cooler the more I use it.  I added an extension today to the site that allows me to administrate what disclaimer text, if any, to apply to different parts of the site.  If you’d like to use it, you can download it below.  Just open the zip file, and drop the Disclaimer.cs file in to your App_Code\Extensions directory.

By default, there are no disclaimers specified.  If you log in to your blog, and go to the Extensions administrator, you’ll see the following:

SettingsShot

Here, you can specify which ever disclaimers you wish to apply.  For instance, the Feed Disclaimer will be added to all posts that are served via RSS.  Click Save, and you’re in business.  Any future servings from your blog that have a disclaimer specified will get one appended to the end.

Download: Disclaimer.zip

Feb 15

Turns out that it’s really easy to create add-ins for BlogEngine.NET!  I’ve created a new widget for the site that loads the latest image from ICanHasCheezburger.com, and if you click on the image, it loads the actual page for that entry in to a new window.  You can check it out by locating the bottom widget on the right side of the site. More...

Jan 12
I'm currently playing around with a bunch of various themes on my local dev box, hoping to find that one that jumps out at me as "Cool!".  In the mean time, I'll stick with this one, as I like how it separates the categories from the rest of the post.  Whatever theme I use permanently will do the same.  I've got a couple that I'm converting to BlogEngine.NET themes as I find time.  We'll see how it goes, but they look nice!
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Jun 28

If you see this post it means that BlogEngine.NET 1.4.5 is running and the hard part of creating your own blog is done. There is only a few things left to do.

Write Permissions

To be able to log in to the blog and writing posts, you need to enable write permissions on the App_Data folder. If you’re blog is hosted at a hosting provider, you can either log into your account’s admin page or call the support. You need write permissions on the App_Data folder because all posts, comments, and blog attachments are saved as XML files and placed in the App_Data folder. 

If you wish to use a database to to store your blog data, we still encourage you to enable this write access for an images you may wish to store for your blog posts.  If you are interested in using Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, VistaDB, or other databases, please see the BlogEngine wiki to get started.

Security

When you've got write permissions to the App_Data folder, you need to change the username and password. Find the sign-in link located either at the bottom or top of the page depending on your current theme and click it. Now enter "admin" in both the username and password fields and click the button. You will now see an admin menu appear. It has a link to the "Users" admin page. From there you can change the username and password.  Passwords are hashed by default so if you lose your password, please see the BlogEngine wiki for information on recovery.

Configuration and Profile

Now that you have your blog secured, take a look through the settings and give your new blog a title.  BlogEngine.NET 1.4 is set up to take full advantage of of many semantic formats and technologies such as FOAF, SIOC and APML. It means that the content stored in your BlogEngine.NET installation will be fully portable and auto-discoverable.  Be sure to fill in your author profile to take better advantage of this.

Themes and Widgets

One last thing to consider is customizing the look of your blog.  We have a few themes available right out of the box including two fully setup to use our new widget framework.  The widget framework allows drop and drag placement on your side bar as well as editing and configuration right in the widget while you are logged in.  Be sure to check out our home page for more theme choices and downloadable widgets to add to your blog.

On the web

You can find BlogEngine.NET on the official website. Here you'll find tutorials, documentation, tips and tricks and much more. The ongoing development of BlogEngine.NET can be followed at CodePlex where the daily builds will be published for anyone to download.

Good luck and happy writing.

The BlogEngine.NET team

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