Onlinediary has been created to be as intuitive as possible, with an 'in-line' help system that should guide you safely on your way around the site. However, if you are having trouble, please consult the list of questions below; click on a question to reveal the answer. If none of the below can help you, please contact us by completing the online contact form on our 'contact' page.
Signing Up
Why does my password have to be at least 7 characters long?
By using a long password, the security of your onlinediary is increased by a large factor. We recommend you use as long a password as possible, but only if you can remember it!
Why do you need to know my name?
This is entirely to administer your online diary and will not be used for any purposes other than those detailed in our
privacy policy.
Why do you need to know my correct email address?
Your correct email address is vitally important and plays a crucial role in administering a few features at onlinediary.net (like group weblogs and alarms).
Can I change my email address at a future date?
You can change your email address as often as you like, please follow the instructions on your Account Control page to do this.
Why do you need to know a password hint question / answer?
If you lose your login details, you will be asked the question you personally provide here and invited to answer. If you answer correctly, you will be sent a new password to your email address.
How much does it cost to sign up?
Our basic service is absolutely free with limited access to almost all functions available to Gold users, so you can 'try before you buy' (if you need to buy at all, of course!).
Where's the catch? Why the free service?
Our free service is provided with two things in mind. Firstly, we aim to keep running onlinediary.net with the same ethos that it was created, and this involves free access to all at the basic text-entry level as we've always had. However, we genuinely believe that our premium service offers a great deal more and is fairly priced, we hope to encourage free users to sign up by giving them limited access to premium functions so they can 'try before they buy'; there really are no catches! We're sorry if our free users find the limited functions frustrating but we hope you find the price for our premium service to be fair too.
Logging in
How do I log in?
Please enter your username in the specified box at the top right hand corner of the index page, your password in the box below and hit the 'login' button.
How do I log out?
Once logged in, the log in box will change to show your username and a link to log out. Follow this link!
How do I enable automatic login?
Selecting the checkbox before clicking 'submit' will enable the website to automatically log you in every time you visit Onlinediary. It does this by saving an encrypted login reference in a 'cookie' (very small text file) in your temporary internet folder on your hard drive. It refers to this every time you visit onlinediary.net. Once enabled, you can cancel it in your 'Account Control' or by simply logging out (to keep it active, please close your browser without logging out).
How do I cancel automatic login
To cancel your automatic login, simply logout! You can also go to your 'Account Control' page. If you have enabled automatic login, an option will appear to cancel it.
What do I do if I forget my login details?
Don't panic! Go to the 'forgotten password' link (even if you've forgotten your username) and follow the instructions.
Can I change my username or password?
Yes you can. You change all your signup details from your 'Account Control' page.
General Queries
Is Onlinediary private?
All users are able to save their entries as 'Private' or 'Draft' by not uploading to a weblog. These entries will only be accessible to the user and no-one else. Some users may not wish to create a weblog � in this case, ALL entries will be saved as Private/Draft entries. Some users may actually wish to create their own password protected weblog to which they can post entries. Although this will be classified as a 'weblog' at Onlinediary, it will only be viewable to those with the correct username and password (defined by the user) to log into that weblog.
Is Onlinediary Secure?
Your information is stored on a database that is not accessible via the web directly. The only way to get this information is through instructions given by you to our scripts on our server. These scripts are not accessible directly through the web either and ONLY ACCEPT VALID (ie. expected) REQUESTS FROM YOUR WEB BROWSER AS WRITTEN IN OUR SITE. Due to the above, only people using a genuine username and password are allowed to log in, and even then, they are only permitted access to their own diaries and no-one else's. All passwords are stored in a one-way encryption algorithm only (therefore making it impossible to determine your actual password from encrypted format alone). When you log in, the password you give is encrypted and matched against the one on the server - if it doesn't match, access is denied. Therefore only you know your login password, and not even our administrators can access your diary through onlinediary.net.
What will you do with my personal information?
Your personal information is only used by Onlinediary to administer the site. We will not pass this information on to any third parties unless we are required to do so by law (ie. in case of illegal misuse of the site). Please see our
Privacy Policy for more information.
How do I navigate around my online diary?
Use the calendar to navigate around your onlinediary. Click on a day to take you to your entry page for that day, click on a week link '>' on the left side of your calendar to take you to the organiser for that week, and click on the month link 'X' at the top left of your calendar to take you to the monthly organiser. Follow the links below your calendar to navigate to different months and years.
How do I add an entry?
Use the calendar to navigate to the desired month and click on the appropriate date. You will then be taken to your entry page for that date. Use the text field to add your text, then click on the options button below to add options to your entry. You can also specify a title for your entry - this will help you find old entries.
How do I add a private entry?
If you haven't created a weblog and do not belong to a group weblog, you will only be able to add private entries. Otherwise, follow the above instructions and make sure the 'post to a weblog' option is shown as 'none'.
How do I add an entry to my weblog?
Follow the instructions above for adding an entry and make sure the 'post to a weblog' option is shown as the weblog name you want to post to. If you have not yet created a weblog, then you will need to do this first (help on that is listed below).
How do I view old entries?
Old entries will be listed below the text field on the appropriate date. You just need to navigate to the date the entry was intended for using the calendar; you will then find your entry.
How do I browse old entries?
The quickest way to find an entry (if you know which month you posted it on) is to click on the monthly organiser 'X' on your calendar. You can then scan the resulting page which will show the titles of all your entries for that month. Clicking on a title will take you to the corresponding weekly view and the entry will be viewable.
How do I search for old entries if I don't remember when they were posted?
If you really can't find an old entry, you can use the search function shown on the top menu (once logged in). Type in a keyword you know is in the entry you are looking for (try to make it as specific as possible) and all matches will be shown below.
How do I insert an image?
You can either upload an image to a post or attach a previously uploaded image using the 'options' field below your text box You can also link to existing images on the web by using the 'Insert/Modify Image' button on your text editor.
How do I insert more than one image?
You can only upload one image per post, and free users are only able to upload one image maximum. Please upgrade to our 'Gold' service to take advantage of uploading multiple images!
How do I edit the text appearance of my entry?
Please use the text editor feature above your post to do this.
Why does my computer not respond when I try to save an entry?
Onlinediary is a fairly complex site, if your internet connection is too slow then you may experience problems saving entries. We recommend the use of a broadband connection, if this is not possible then you may experience less difficulty by using our '
classic' interface.
Weblogs
What is a weblog?
An online diary (or weblog) can be understood in many ways and take many forms. Whilst it is generally accepted among experienced internet users to be a chronological log of somebody's personal journal, online diaries are used as technical journals, public notice boards, publishing media in their own right, teaching tools for study groups, contact points for traveling professionals, writing tools for aspiring playwrights and even just for a good old moan!
How do I create a weblog?
Please go to your 'Weblog Control' page to add new Weblogs.
Where is my weblog?
When you create a weblog, you will specify a 'URL' (Universal Resource Locator) which is essentially your subdomain address at onlinediary.net. Once the creation process is completed, you will find your weblog at www.yourweblogname.onlinediary.net.
How do I create more than one weblog?
You will have to upgrade your account to '
Gold' member status to do this, please go to our
upgrade page to do this.
How do I delete a weblog?
Please go to your 'Weblog Control' page to delete your Weblogs.
Can I remove a weblog without deleting all its entries?
Yes! Go to your 'Weblog Control' page and follow the instructions. Your entries in this weblog will be moved to wherever you desire!
How do I view my weblog?
The simplest way to view your weblog is to open a browser window and go directly to your weblog URL (http://www.yourweblogname.onlinediary.net). However, there is a shortcut if you have already logged into onlinediary - the 'Weblogs' menu on the right hand side of the screen will list your weblogs, please click on the name of the weblog to open its own submenu and then go to 'Open in a new window'.
How do I add a group member to my weblog?
Once logged in, the 'Weblogs' menu on the right hand side of the screen will list your weblogs, please click on the name of the weblog to open its own submenu and then go to 'Set Up Users'.
How do I add links to my weblog?
Once logged in, the 'Weblogs' menu on the right hand side of the screen will list your weblogs, please click on the name of the weblog to open its own submenu and then go to 'Organise Links'.
How do I change the template for my weblog?
Once logged in, the 'Weblogs' menu on the right hand side of the screen will list your weblogs, please click on the name of the weblog to open its own submenu and then go to 'Choose a template'.
Can I alter my template?
Only Gold users can alter their templates. If you are a Gold user, you have full access to changing the way your weblog looks, you can change layouts, colours, background images, fonts, remove items etc etc.
How do I add a group member to my weblog?
Once logged in, the 'Weblogs' menu on the right hand side of the screen will list your weblogs, please click on the name of the weblog to open its own submenu and then go to 'Set Up Users'.
How do I change the title for my weblog?
By going to your weblog 'Settings' page on your weblog submenu (accessed by clicking on your weblog name on the weblogs menu to the right of your page once logged in), and following the instructions.
How do I change the URL (web address) for my weblog?
By going to your weblog 'Settings' page on your weblog submenu (accessed by clicking on your weblog name on the weblogs menu to the right of your page once logged in), and following the instructions.
Can I change the time formats on my weblog?
Yes - by going to your weblog 'Settings' page on your weblog submenu (accessed by clicking on your weblog name on the weblogs menu to the right of your page once logged in), and following the instructions.
Can I disable entry comments?
Yes - by going to your weblog 'Settings' page on your weblog submenu (accessed by clicking on your weblog name on the weblogs menu to the right of your page once logged in), and following the instructions.
How do I password protect my weblog?
By going to your weblog 'Settings' page on your weblog submenu (accessed by clicking on your weblog name on the weblogs menu to the right of your page once logged in), and following the instructions.
Upgrading your account
How do I upgrade my account?
By going to the '
upgrade' page, accessed through the main menu at the top of this page.
Why should I upgrade my account?
Gold users have unlimited access and are allowed to create multiple weblogs, upload multiple images, create their own templates and much more. Please visit our '
features' page to see the benefits of subscribing to our service.
How much will it cost to Upgrade my account?
Please visit the
upgrade page to find out how much it costs to upgrade to a
Gold account.
What if I don't renew my subscription?
You will be sent timely email reminders on renewing your annual subscription, if you fail to renew by the due date (one year from initial payment), all your images will be permanently deleted and all weblogs will be permanently removed. All your entries from those weblogs will be moved to 'private' status and your status will be changed from 'Gold' user to 'free' user.
Unsubscribing
How do I unsubscribe?
By going to your 'Account Control' page and following the instructions at the foot of the page.
What will be removed from Onlinediary if I unsubscribe?
The short and long answer of this question is 'everything'. All your entries, images, weblogs, stylesheets, personal information and access to any password-protected weblogs will be removed.
What will happen to my weblogs if I unsubscribe
Everything you have uploaded to the site, including all weblogs, entries, images and personal information will be PERMANENTLY removed from onlinediary.net
What will happen to my personal information if I unsubscribe?
Everything you have uploaded to the site, including all weblogs, entries, images and personal information will be PERMANENTLY removed from onlinediary.net
What happens if I don't access my account for a long time?
If you are a free user and you do not access your account for a period longer than 6 months, we will send you an email to warn you that your account will be closed unless you follow the instructions enclosed.
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