{"id":56269,"date":"2025-03-18T14:44:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T21:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/?p=56269"},"modified":"2025-03-18T14:44:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T21:44:45","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-gingerscraps-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/2025\/03\/tutorial-tuesday-gingerscraps-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday (GingerScraps)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Users’ Guide to the New Forum and Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

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[Link to PDF version will go here when Ginger<\/strong><\/span> has time to convert.]<\/p>\n

Have you had a chance to take the new Forum<\/strong><\/span> and Gallery<\/strong><\/span> for a spin yet? The Store<\/strong><\/span> and the Blog<\/strong><\/span> are unchanged, so they should feel pretty comfortable. But the new Forum<\/strong><\/span> and Gallery<\/strong><\/span> are REALLY awesome! The look is so clean and shiny! But some things have different names and some processes are a little different, so here’s a quick User’s Guide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the Forum<\/strong><\/span>‘s home page. This screenshot is pretty busy, but it needed to be. Across the upper right side of the screen there are 7 icons that are direct links; I’ve labeled them in case they’re not familiar to you. From left to right, the link to the GingerScraps Store<\/strong><\/span>, the GingerScraps Blog<\/strong><\/span>, GingerScraps<\/strong><\/span> on Facebook<\/strong><\/span>, Pinterest<\/strong><\/span> and YouTube<\/span><\/strong>, a Contact Us<\/strong><\/span> button and a link to the GingerScraps Newsletter<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Right below them at #1<\/strong>, there’s a box where your Forum<\/strong><\/span> user name will appear (so you’ll know you’re logged in), with a Direct Messages<\/strong> (renamed from Private Messages<\/strong>) button and a Notifications<\/strong> button so you can quickly check what’s specifically yours. Direct Messages<\/strong> are only viewable by you and the sender, and Notifications<\/strong> lets you know when someone has Liked<\/strong>, Thanked<\/strong> or replied\/commented<\/strong> to something you posted.<\/p>\n

At #2<\/strong>, you’ll find the Forum<\/strong><\/span> access buttons. The New Posts<\/strong> button takes you to all the most recent posts to any Thread<\/strong>; you can click on the thread to see the comments and to make your own. If you’re a self-starter, you can start a new Thread<\/strong> by clicking the red New Thread<\/strong> button and you’ll see a list of all the topic SubForums<\/strong>, which are unchanged from our old Forum<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Featured Content<\/strong> #3 shows the top 3 pinned posts<\/strong> – those our Admins<\/strong><\/span> want to make readily visible and available; click on the coloured text and you’ll zip into the Thread<\/strong> without having to look for it. This is where you’d look for info on special events, like the St Patrick’s Day contest.<\/p>\n

#4<\/strong> is where you’ll find all the SubForums<\/strong>. For example the Welcome Wagon Forum<\/strong><\/span> contains multiple threads started by our GingerBread Ladies<\/strong><\/span> where they share links to little freebies they’ve created for us. As you scroll down the home page, you’ll see all of the SubForums<\/strong> listed.<\/p>\n

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Just below the Featured Content<\/strong> you’ll find #5<\/strong>, Trending Content<\/strong>. Here’s where you can see at a glance what’s catching other GingerScrappers<\/strong><\/span>‘ eyes.<\/p>\n

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Right at the bottom of the screen you’ll see #6, a list of all members currently online. This might be helpful if you’re wanting to message somebody with a time-sensitive message, or if you just want to know who’s up as late as you are. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

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I dipped into the Home>Forums>GingerScraps Cookbook>Tutorials<\/strong> just to see what’s been happening there and discovered Grace<\/strong><\/span> has whipped up a couple of tutorials: How to LINK products from the Gallery to the Store<\/strong> and…<\/p>\n

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How to LINK images from the Gallery<\/strong> to threads. These two quick tutorials are important, especially to Creative Team<\/strong> members, so if you need to know how to handle these tasks, they’re right there for you.<\/p>\n

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I scrolled down to the Challenge Yourself SubForum<\/strong><\/span> and opened up the Cookie Jar<\/strong><\/span>. It’s laid out really nicely!<\/p>\n

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Go into the March 2025 Cookie Jar<\/strong><\/span> and read Missi<\/strong><\/span>‘s post about how the February Challenges<\/span><\/strong> will be managed. Right below it is information about Gallery<\/strong><\/span> posting to multiple albums, which isn’t currently possible.<\/p>\n

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While I was there, I figured I’d start my own Cookie Jar<\/strong><\/span> post so I could later add the layouts I (might) complete this month. I always Copy<\/strong> Missi<\/strong><\/span>‘s text and Paste<\/strong> it into my post. In the old Forum<\/strong><\/span>, the colours also Copied<\/strong>, but here they don’t so I changed the number in brackets to my usual red. Oh, and before I forget, look at all the places we can share our posts!!\u00a0Facebook<\/strong>,\u00a0X<\/strong>, Bluesky<\/strong>, LinkedIn<\/strong>, Reddit<\/strong>, Tumblr<\/strong>, WhatsApp<\/strong>, email and a direct link are all there.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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These icons in the top centre of the post box are going to be crazy helpful! To add a LINK<\/strong> to your post, click the little side-lying figure 8<\/strong>. Ooh, and there’s a keyboard shortcut, as if they knew I was coming. [Another thing to note: This new laptop of mine doesn’t disappear the descriptors seen when the cursor is hovered over an icon when I make a screenshot! I did a Snoopy happy dance when I saw that!]<\/p>\n

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Add an IMAGE, <\/strong>click the photo icon.<\/p>\n

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There’s even a SMILIES<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n

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I didn’t expect to see this! Sometimes a GIF<\/strong> speaks far more eloquently than words do.<\/p>\n

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This is a formatting icon that sets your Quoted<\/strong> text apart from the rest of the text. It’s very handy.<\/p>\n

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Let’s take a quick peek at the What’s New<\/strong> tab. Clicking on the little upside down tent symbol opens a drop-down menu. This Forum<\/strong> server has multiple ways to do almost anything.<\/p>\n

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The Media<\/strong> tab is where you’ll find what we used to call the Gallery<\/strong><\/span>. The drop-down lets you access a variety of Media related options. We have our own ALBUMS now!!<\/p>\n

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Have you ever wondered who posts the most? Or who has the most layouts in the Gallery<\/strong><\/span>? Or just how active you<\/strong><\/span> are here? Members<\/strong> has got you!<\/p>\n

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So, back to the Media<\/strong> tab. If you click on the tab itself, rather than the upside-down tent, the left side of the screen will have a list of all the Albums<\/strong> there are in the Gallery<\/strong><\/span>. I clicked on Member Galleries<\/strong><\/span>, but could have chosen any of the Designers<\/strong><\/span> or Challenges<\/strong><\/span> just by clicking on the inverted triangle to the left of the album title. That makes navigation really easy.<\/p>\n

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I opened up the Challenge Layouts Album<\/strong><\/span> and you can see the list is right there. Clickclickclick!<\/p>\n

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If you click on the Add Media<\/strong> subtab on the blue strip<\/strong> at the top of the Media<\/strong> screen, this menu opens. You can scroll down through the Albums<\/strong> list until you find the one you’re looking for. Remember, for now, add your Challenge layouts ONLY in the Challenge Album<\/span>. Don’t upload your layout more than once. Wait for the add-on extension that Ginger and the tech team are working on.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I’m going to add a layout to the Template #3 J Conlon and Sons Challenge Album<\/strong><\/span> for February.<\/p>\n

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This is the upload screen. I totally missed the change in allowable image size when I was doing this. I only saw it when I was editing my screenshots. We can go up to 1000×1000 pixels<\/strong> and 1MB<\/strong> now!!<\/p>\n

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Clicking on the Upload File<\/strong> box took me to the last folder of mine that I used. I found the correct folder and the version I saved for the Gallery<\/strong><\/span>. I could click<\/strong> on it then the Open<\/strong> button, or just double-click on the image. Notice all the ways I can verify I’m putting my layout where I want it to go.<\/p>\n

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When the Upload<\/strong> screen reappears, there’s a thumbnail of the layout but it shows the file name I gave it, which is a version of my title. I’ll change the entry so it’s exactly the title. Then I typed all my credits into the Description<\/strong> box. [Please don’t forget to include your credits. Our Designers<\/strong><\/span> deserve to be given credit for their work.] When everything I needed to include was there, I clicked Save<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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And that’s it! My layout is posted. The title is correct, the credits are there. Fabulous!<\/p>\n

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There are still tasks I need to do before I’m finished. SO let’s update my Cookie Jar<\/strong><\/span>. I always have at least 2<\/span> GingerScraps<\/strong> tabs<\/strong><\/span> open on my desktop so I can move back and forth between them quickly and easily. I added the Challenge<\/strong><\/span> to my list on the Forum tab<\/strong><\/span>, then highlighted the name of my layout by click-dragging the cursor over it. I flipped back to the Media<\/span> tab<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span> Copied<\/strong> the Universal Resource Locator<\/strong> for my layout then back on the Forum tab<\/strong><\/span>, clicked on the Link<\/strong> icon as shown. Next, I Pasted<\/strong> the URL<\/strong> into the appropriately labeled box. Then I clicked Insert<\/strong>, and Save.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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To add a Copy<\/strong> of my layout to the Challenge<\/strong><\/span> thread, I navigated my way to it in the Forum<\/strong><\/span>; the Media tab<\/strong> is still open to my layout. I right-clicked my mouse INSIDE<\/span> the image in the Media tab<\/strong> and chose Copy Image Link<\/strong> from the pop-up menu. Next, I flipped back to the Forum tab<\/strong><\/span>, where I’ve got the correct Challenge<\/span> thread<\/strong> open and waiting. This time I clicked on the photo icon as shown.<\/p>\n

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I usually don’t Drag and Drop<\/strong>, so I used the Link<\/strong> icon to add my Image Link URL<\/strong>. Feel free to do you, \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

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Once the URL<\/strong> appeared in the box, I clicked Insert<\/strong> then Post Reply<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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And that’s how you add your Layouts<\/strong> to the new Gallery<\/strong>, top up your Cookie Jar<\/strong> and make sure your layout joins the proper thread.<\/p>\n

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I actually haven’t done any scrapping since I finished this layout back in February. I sprained the ring finger on my left hand… buddy-taped fingers really get in the way! Finger’s almost back to normal; although the knuckle is still swollen the pain is pretty much gone. As for the laptop setup, I still have a lot of MIA fonts, and I may end up not worrying about them. I’m finding out all the good things the machine does and getting comfortable with the keyboard. Those kinds of things I can do with just one hand! We have company coming for the weekend and I’m hoping to have a TON of great photos to work with afterward.<\/p>\n

Next week, now that I know how the Media tab<\/strong> is laid out, I’ll bring you a Challenge Spotlight<\/strong>. Get ready to shine!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Users’ Guide to the New Forum and Gallery [Link to PDF version will go here when Ginger has time to convert.] Have you had a chance to take the new Forum and Gallery for a spin yet? The Store and the Blog are unchanged, so they should feel pretty comfortable. But the new Forum and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[229,102,92,293,62],"tags":[373],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 18:17:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"private","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56269"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56301,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56269\/revisions\/56301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}