Edward Unveils Mystique

In the early hours of this morning Edward finally released his eagerly awaited update to the Bear’s Blog which is based on the Mystique theme designed by digitalnature. It is a big improvement in terms of design and functionality over its predecesor. Some of its features include a Multi-function Widget, page templates for different layout styles and an advanced interface for the theme settings.

Edward's New Blog Design

To begin with it is not always obvious exactly how to navigate around the blog as some things have changed drastically. This inclusion of the Multi-function Widget means we can include all kinds of functionality but without taking up too much space in the sidebar. So how does it work?

The Multi-function Widget

If you look at the top of the Multi-function Widgetyou will notice there are icons to represent functions. The first icon looks like a file and this is used to display blog entry Categories. For example, if you wanted to display all the Musical Sunday Videos from previous weeks then you could click on the File Icon, then in the list underneath if you click on the Musical category. The blog will then display all the Musical Sunday posts which is great because you can now view previous posts from any Category on a single page.

The second icon is a Tag. This works in the same way as the Categories but works on Tags instead. For example, if you want to display all articles about Razzi then you could click on Tag icon then click on Razzi in the cloud underneath and the blog will automatically show all articles that are about Razzi.

The third tag is a Clock icon and this is for the Blog Archives listed in month order. If you want to view posts from previous months then you simply click on the Clock icon, then on the month you desire to have the blog display all the posts from that month. The figures in brackets next to the months are the number of posts from that month.

The Star icon will display a list of the blogs most popular posts since the blog began back in January 2007. At the moment the highest rating post is Prom Night from July 2008 with 109 comments. To see the list you can click on the Star icon, to view any of the top posts then simply click on its title.

Finally, the Speech Bubble icon on the end is to display the latest comments left on the blog from any post. Clicking this item will list the latest comments that people have left on the blog.

Blog Sign-in

Underneath the Multi-function Widget is a Sign-in box to enable Registered Friends Of The Bears to sign in and if you leave the tick box enabled it means you will automatically be logged in the next time you visit the blog. The new blog will also remember your log-in details when you leave a comment which means you will not have to fill them in every time. We have also automated the forgotten password procedure now, so if you click on the Lost your Password? link it will ask for your email address and send you a new password. If you then sign-in using this password and go to your Profile Page you can then reset the password yourself to something that is easy for you to remember.

We all agree Edward has done an excellent job with the blog but like everything new it can take a bit of getting used to. If you have any suggestions to make concerning the new design or functionality then please let us know either in the comments or by email. Or, if you have a particular problem with using the blog then just simply ask us… we don’t bite, well ok maybe Razzi does, but we promise to keep him under control.

We hope you enjoy your new Bear blog experience!