For additional help with iWeb, please visit our Forums and post your questions in the iWeb section. A member of the Maciverse.com Community will do their best to assist you.

iWeb, Apple’s website creation application that comes with each new Apple computer is designed to allow users to quickly create websites and blogs. While the process is quick and simple it also lacks some of the more complicated features that you see in many blog sites today.

If you’ve created an iWeb blog but want to add features and a bit of complexity to your site, moving to Wordpress may be just what you’re looking for.

Wordpress is one of the most popular free website and blogging software options that allows you to create custom blogs with all the features you like. Additionally, setting up Wordpress so that it is easily indexed by Google and other search engines is easy, something that iWeb has never done well.

The rest of this article will walk you through the process of moving your blog from iWeb to a new Wordpress install.

SETTING UP WORDPRESS

Before you move your site to Wordpress you need to get it installed on web server. You can download the files you need to then upload and customize to your webserver at wordpress.org.

After you’ve downloaded the file you can follow the 5 minute install instructions :

“Here’s the quick version of the instructions, for those that are already comfortable with performing such installations. More detailed instructions follow.

1. Download and unzip the WordPress package, if you haven’t already.
2. Create a database for WordPress on your web server, as well as a MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it.
3. Rename the wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php.
4. Open wp-config.php in your favorite text editor and fill in your database details.
5. Place the WordPress files in the desired location on your web server:
   • If you want to integrate WordPress into the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/), move or upload all contents of the unzipped WordPress directory (but excluding the directory itself) into the root directory of your web server.
   • If you want to have your WordPress installation in its own subdirectory on your web site (e.g. http://example.com/blog/), rename the directory wordpress to the name you’d like the subdirectory to have and move or upload it to your web server. For example if you want the WordPress installation in a subdirectory called “blog”, you should rename the directory called “wordpress” to “blog” and upload it to the root directory of your web server. Hint: If your FTP transfer is too slow read how to avoid FTPing at : Step 1: Download and Extract.
6. Run the WordPress installation script by accessing wp-admin/install.php in your favorite web browser.
   • If you installed WordPress in the root directory, you should visit: http://example.com/wp-admin/install.php
   • If you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you should visit: http://example.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php

That’s it! WordPress should now be installed.”

The most difficult process of the installation is setting up the database that will store all your blog data for you, but your webhosting provider should be able to assist you if following the guide linked to above is not enough information.

Once you’ve finished installing Wordpress you’ll need to get ready to to import your iWeb Blog entries.

PREPARE WORDPRESS FOR AN iWEB IMPORT

Now that you’ve finished installing wordpress you’ll need to navigate to the wordpress login page and login with the admin account created for you during setup. Once you’ve logged in, I suggest creating another account with your “Posting” name so that articles you publish in the future will be listed as something you created.

On the Wordpress Management page, navigate to Manage and then click import. You’ll see that there are a number of other blogging software tools that wordpress lists as options for imports but that iWeb is not included.

Fear not, one option that is listed will allow you to import all of the articles you’ve previously created in iWeb. But before we do that we need to make sure that we have the iWeb files ready for import into Wordpress.

PREPARING iWEB FILES TO IMPORT TO WORDPRESS

Since you’ve been using iWeb for your previous blogging efforts you you’ve already created a number of posts for your blog. To prepare those posts to be imported into Wordpress you need to export your iWeb site to a folder.

1. Open iWeb
2. Select the Blog Site you plan to import into Wordpress
3. Click File and then Publish to a Folder
4. Save the folder to your desktop so that you can access it easily.

Like most new website applications, iWeb has built in RSS support. We’ll use the RSS file that is created in iWeb to import your blog into Wordpress. Since we published to a folder on the desktop we can find the RSS feed for the blog in that folder.

IMPORT YOUR iWEB BLOG TO WORDPRESS

Navigate back to the admin page for your new Wordpress Install and follow these steps:

1. click again on Manage and then Import.
2. Select RSS
3. Click Browse next to choose a file
4. Select your desktop and then the folder you exported your iWeb Blog to
5. Open the folder, and then the Blog Folder inside it.
6. Locate the rss.xml file, select it, and click open
7. select upload file and import

At this point wordpress shall import the posts 1 at a time and show the results with “1. Importing Post… Done” for each post in the rss feed file you have for your blog. When this has finished click the View Site link on the Wordpress Admin site and you’ll see the results of your import from iWeb into Wordpress.

NOTE: Not all formatting and image link structure always imports correctly. You may have to adjust the format of some of your posts to make them look the way you like. Additionally some picture images or links may not have transfered over completely and you’ll have to update their internet linkage.

CONCLUSION

Even though everything doesn’t import across with the same formatting that you set in iWeb, this is a way to import your iWeb blog to Wordpress so that you can make your site more Search Engine (SEO) friendly and have additional customizable features. Be prepared to make adjustments to links and images in addition to restructuring the format of some of your posts. These adjustments are often just a few clicks from the Wordpress Admin page.

To see our example of an iWeb page before check out our iWeb to Wordpress page and then view it in Wordpress.

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One of the great features about Safari is the ability to adjust the toolbar to fit more with how you use a web browser.

I know one of the buttons that I use often when using Firefox or Internet Explorer while at work is the Home button. I often find myself looking for it after opening a new tab in Safari and when its not there I just don’t know what to do.

Add the Home Button To Safari

To add the Home button to Safari’s tool bar I just need to follow the steps below:

1. Open Safari and click View on the menu bar.
2. Select Customize Tool Bar
3. A list of items you can insert onto your tool bar appears
4. Click and drag the Home button to Safari’s tool bar and drop it in the location of your choice.
5. Click Done

Never worry about typing in your Home address again, its now just a click away.

You can follow the steps listed above to add autofill or other buttons to Safari’s menu. Rearranging the menu bar is that easy also.

Check out Safari Hints and Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

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One of the additions to Apple’s new Operating System OS X 10.5 Leopard is the ability to quickly share your computer screen with people in your network (home or office) and with any of your iChat contacts (this works with both .Mac accounts and AOL (AIM) accounts).

Doing so allows you to see or share the screen of the computer you’re connecting to and then take control of the mouse and keyboard as if you were sitting in front of the computer yourself. Additionally, the connection between the computers opens a microphone connection so that you can discuss over the network the work you’re doing on the other computer.

Below is a quick tutorial on two different ways that you can enable and take advantage of Screen Sharing on your New Mac.

SCREEN SHARING OVER YOUR HOME NETWORK

To enable screen sharing with a computer on your network you first need to make sure that you’ve enabled screen sharing in system preferences:

1. Click the Apple on the menu bar
2. Select System Preferences
3. Click Sharing under Internet and Networking Section
4. Be sure the Screen Sharing Box is checked
5. Follow these steps on all computers you’d like to share screens with
6. If you would like to limit who can access your systems screen you can by limiting screen sharing rights to only the users you select

After you’ve enabled screen sharing, open Finder and select the computer on your network under Shared on the left. You should see in the main window now any shared folders you have access to on that computer and to the top right a Share Screen button.

Click the button and enter a name and password with rights created on the computer you’re connecting to. When you’ve finished click ok and a window should appear showing you the screen of the computer you’ve just connected to.

At this point you should have complete control of the computer over the network.

SCREEN SHARING OVER iCHAT

Another way to take advantage of screen sharing is through iChat. Connect to iChat with either your AIM or .Mac account and find a friend that is also connected with Apple OS X 10.5 and using iChat. When you select their screen name you should see the screen sharing button enable on iChat.

Click the button and select either “Share my screen with this contact” or “Ask to share this contacts screen”. After you’ve done this the friend/contact will receive a prompt to either accept the screen sharing request or deny it.

If the user accepts, then a window will display with other computers screen and a microphone connection will be enabled so that you can discuss over the internet what ever you’re doing when you’ve connected to the other computer. Either user can control the mouse and keyboard at this point.

WRAP UP

The addition to share screens quick and easily is one the best new features in OS X 10.5 Leopard. If you have multiple Macs in your home you should quickly learn how to use this feature as it will save you the time of having to wonder around the house to change things or access files on different computers.

The only features that this new addition is really missing is the ability to share screens on old versions of OS X or with Windows or Linux computers. Maybe that capability will be in future releases.

We’ve discussed in previous articles about how we wanted a little more from AppleTV and mentioned how to create a more powerful media center. One item that adds some additional enjoyment to your media center is the Nintendo Wii.

We also mentioned ways to sync up your wiimote to your Mac and use it as a mouse. If you combine these two ideas and add in an HDTV you get one impressive media center that you can control with point and click technology. Lets face it, although bigger, the wiimote is just a lot more impressive than the mac remotes.

PREPARING THE MAC FOR YOUR HDTV

While the Macmini is the cheapest Mac you can buy to sync up to your HDTV, any Apple notebook would work great for this situation. I personally hooked up my Macbook Air to my HDTV using the microDV to VGA converter that came with it.

You may need to find a converter from the miniDV or microDV video out from your Mac to what ever video inputs your HDTV receives. I know many will HDTVs have either a VGA in or a DV connector. The Macbook Air comes with converters for both.

After you connect your computer to the TV with the cable and correct converters, just tune your television into that video input and power up your mac.

SETUP YOUR WII

While you don’t have to actually connect your Wii to your TV, be sure to place the IR Sensor bar is above your TV and connected to your Nintendo Wii. The next steps include connected your Wii to your Mac.

To do this you’ll need to download Darwiinremote. Its a free application still in beta that allows you to use your bluetooth technology on your Mac to connect the wiiremote to the computer. After downloading the file to your Mac connected to your HDTV, launch darwiinremote and follow these steps:

1. Be sure that Bluetooth on your Mac is turned on and in discovery mode.
2. Click the Find Wiimote button
3. The system will prompt you to click the 1 & 2 buttons on your wiimote, click them simultaneously.
4. Darwiinremote should find your Wiimote and sync it to your mac.
5. Click the IR Sensor Button
6. Power up your Wii so that the IR bar receives power.
7. Select Mouse Mode On on Darwiinremote
8. Minimize Darwiinremote

USING YOUR MacWiiTV MEDIA CENTER

You should now be able to point your wiimote around the HDTV and the pointer on your Mac will follow your movements. Click the home button to pull up front row and start accessing your media content. Download movies to rent through iTunes or stick in a DVD and enjoy it on your HDTV.

You can customize the various button functions on your wiimote through the preferences on darwiinremote to differen’t mouse clicks, or keyboard shortcuts.

BROWSE THE WEB & MORE

One great advantage of your MacWiiTV is that you can still enjoy all the functionality that you get from a normal Mac computer in addition to custom mouse controls using the Wiimote. If you want to browse the web you can pull up Safari and use a bluetooth keyboard to help navigate to different websites or pull up the onscreen keyboard.

SHOW THE ON SCREEN KEYBOARD ON YOUR MAC

1. Click the apple icon on the menu bar
2. Select System Preferences
3. Select International
4. Click The Input Menu Tab
5. Select Keyboard Viewer
6. Click the Flag on the Menu Bar
7. Click Show Keyboard viewer
8. Click the maximize button to increase the size of the keyboard.

CONCLUSION

The addition of the Wiimote to your new home media center adds some unique ways to interact with your television without the need for a mouse and keyboard. Additionally it allows you to take full advantage of your Mac media center and still use the complete features of OS X while sitting on your couch.

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If you were planning on using your Macbook Air to watch DVDs by using the shared DVD feature with another computer in your home, think again. Because of DVD encryption technology DVD Player on OSX does not allow for streaming video over a network. This eliminates the ability to insert your DVD into your iMac or other computer and share that DVD with your Air.We’ll be looking at some different ways to approach this problem, but if you have a solution please let us know!