3.4. Journal

The Journal is a tool with which you can record your thoughts and experiences online. By adding your journal or individual posts of it to a page you can allow other users to place feedback and comments on it. Thus, you can create a dialogue with your audience.

Per default, every user has one journal available.

Tip

If you wish to use more journals, e.g. to put your writing into categories so that you can make all posts from one category available in a page without having to select each journal entry, you can go to your Settings and select Enable multiple journals.

3.4.1. Change your journal settings

You can change the title of your default journal (and all others if you have enabled multiple journals) and add a description as well as tags.

1. Click on the Settings button for your journal.
2. Change the title.
3. Add a description for your journal. You can format it as you wish.
4. Add tags to your journal for easier searching later on. Tags that you have already used elsewhere are available to you under Show my tags.
5. Click Save Settings.

3.4.2. Add a journal entry

All journal entries you make are private to you until you put them into a page. Thus, the publishing of a journal / journal entry is a three-step process:

1. You write your entry and save it.
2. In a page, you choose either the block for making the entire journal visible or just one post from a journal.
3. You give those who shall see that page access to it.

When you are ready to post your journal entry:

1. In your journal, click on New Entry.
2. Provide a title for your journal entry.
3. You must also write something in the Body. The visual editor helps you format your journal entry.
4. Add tags to your entry to find it more easily later on. You can choose from tags that you have already used and / or enter new ones. Separate each tag with a comma. You may also choose tags from the ones that you have created previously.
5. Add an attachment or more to your journal entry, e.g. pdf files associated with it or images. You can add files either from your files area or upload new ones directly onto your journal entry.
6. Mark your entry as draft if you have not yet finished it. This is especially helpful if you have published your journal in a page, but do not want anybody to read this particular entry (yet). It is always visible to you, but not others.
7. Allow comments if you want to receive them on the journal entry.
8. Save your entry.

3.4.3. Add a file as attachment to a journal entry

1. Click on the Add a file button and then Select the file(s) from your Files area that you wish to attach.
2. Alternatively, you can Upload additional files.
3. If you attached a file that you do not wish to attach anymore, you can Remove it.
4. Once you are done, you can click the Close button.

Attachments for journal entries

3.4.4. Add an image to a journal entry

You can add images to your journal entry in two ways:

1. Link to the image that is available elsewhere online.
2. Use an image that you have on Mahara.

3.4.4.1. Link to an image online

Images that are freely accessible online are easy to add to a journal entry. However, make sure that you have the permission to use this image in your portfolio.

1. Go to the visual editor and click on the Image button .
2. Paste or type the image URL into the Image URL field. It must start with http:// or https://.
3. Provide a brief description for your image.
4. Select the alignment to the text for your image.
5. Change the dimensions of your image if they are too large. If the image is recognised correctly, you have the image’s dimensions displayed.
6. Add a border to your image if you wish to do so.
7. Add more space around the image by adding a number in Vertical space and / or Horizontal space.
8. Click the Insert button.

Link an external image in a journal post

Note

The dimensions are given in pixel. The first value is for the width and the second one for the height. Only change one of the dimensions and delete the value from the second to retain the original proportions of the image.

If you are not happy with how the image looks in your journal entry, select it (it will get little square handles) and click on the Image button again to make adjustments.

3.4.4.2. Add an image from Mahara

1. Attach the image to your journal entry.
2. Go to the visual editor and click on the Image button .
3. Choose the image from the drop-down list Attached image.
4. Provide a description for your image.
5. Select the alignment to the text for your image.
6. Change the dimensions of your image if they are too large. IF the image is recognised correctly, you have the image’s dimensions displayed.
7. Add a border to your image if you wish to do so.
8. Add more space around the image by adding a number in Vertical space and / or Horizontal space.
9. Click on the Insert button.

If you are not happy with the alignment or the dimensions of the image in your journal entry, select it and click on the Image button again to make adjustments.