Guest Book Manager Help


The Guest Book Manager is a tool in the Host Control Panel that helps Web Baby Shower hosts manage the various aspects of their Web Baby Shower Guest Book. This help page is meant to help Web Baby Shower hosts use the Guest Book Manager in the Host Control Panel. At this time, there is no documentation on using the Guest Book itself (as it should be pretty self-explanatory).

The Guest Book Manager allows you to control the following features of the Guest Book:



Guest Book Message Sort Order

You can choose to have the messages in your Guest Book displayed in chronological order (first to last) or to have the most recent messages appear first. The default is to have the most recent message appear at the top of the page. You can change the order of the messages in your Guest Book as follows:

  1. Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
  2. Log into your Host Control Panel
  3. Click "Guest List Manager" (abc / 123 icon)
  4. Under "What would you like to do?" choose "Change the sort order of the messages in the Guest Book"
  5. Click "Go!"
  6. The next page will describe your current setting and there will be a button for switching the sort order:

    • If your Guest Book is currently in Descending Order (meaning that the most recent message is shown at the top of the page), the button will say "Switch to Ascending Order". Clicking that button will change your Guest Book so that the very first message is at the top and proceeds in chronological order.

    • If your Guest Book is currently in Ascending Order (chronological with first message at the top), the button will say "Switch to Descending Order". Clicking that button will change your Guest Book so that the most recent message is at the top.

You can switch the sort order of your Guest Book messages very easily, as many times as you need till you decide which order you like best!





Paginate Your Guest Book

If your Guest Book is getting a little unruly, you can add pagination to divide it up into several smaller pages. The current Web Baby Shower default is for 5 messages per page. You can set the default pagination for your shower, from 5 to "show all", in increments of 5 for your Web Baby Shower. Five is the default because it is the average number of messages that most web users can view without having to scroll down the page. If you choose a higher default, including "Show All", it will make for more scrolling in your Guest Book.

  1. Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
  2. Log into your Host Control Panel
  3. Click "Guest List Manager" (abc / 123 icon)
  4. Under "What would you like to do?" choose "Paginate Your Guest Book"
  5. Click "Go!"
  6. In the "Show" drop down form that appears on the next page, choose the number of messages you would like to appear on each page in your Guest Book:
    • If you do not want your Guest Book to be paginated, select "Show All". This means that all messages will be displayed in one long, scrolling page in your Guest Book.
    • The pagination options will start at 5 up to "Show All", in increments of 5.
    • Your guests will have the option to set their own pagination when they visit your Web Baby Shower. This is in accordance with US Federal Website Accessibility regulations. You can set the default for your shower, but your guests will be able to override it in order to accomodate their own individual accessibility needs and web browsing preferences.
  7. Click "go!"


Editing Messages In Your Guest Book

If one of your guests makes an error or if there is something that you would just like to edit in your Guest Book, you can do so as follows:

  1. Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
  2. Log into your Host Control Panel
  3. Click "Guest List Manager" (abc / 123 icon)
  4. Under "What would you like to do?" choose "Edit messages, Remove messages, Report abuse"
  5. Click "Go!"
  6. Instructions for using the Editor will appear, along with a list of all the messages in your Guest Book with the most recent one at the top. To keep this list short, only the first 50 characters of each message will appear on this page.
    • If there are more than 10 messages in your Guest Book, you can click "click here to search" to help find the message you are looking for. You can search for a specific message by the guest's first name, last name, a phrase in their message, and/or by the date it was posted.
  7. Once you have found the message you wish to edit, click the Pencil icon next to it
  8. A form will appear that has all of the parts of the message, including the date, name, relationship, location, and message. You can make the edits you desire to each part of the message and then click "Submit Changes".
    • You cannot edit the date the message was posted
    • Your edits will still be subject to the Web Baby Shower acceptable use guidelines
    • You cannot delete required fields (name & message). You can edit these fields, but they are still required.
  9. If you change your mind, you can click "Cancel" and the message will be left unchanged and you will be returned to the list of messages for editing or removing
  10. If you decide you would rather remove the message completely, you can click "Remove". You will also have an opportunity to report the message as abusive (see below).


Removing Messages From Your Guest Book

If you need to completely remove a message or messages from your Guest Book you can do so as follows:

  1. Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
  2. Log into your Host Control Panel
  3. Click "Guest List Manager" (abc / 123 icon)
  4. Under "What would you like to do?" choose "Edit messages, Remove messages, Report abuse"
  5. Click "Go!"
  6. Instructions for using the Guest Book Editor will appear, along with a list of all the messages in your Guest Book with the most recent one at the top. To keep this list short, only the first 50 characters of each message will appear on this page.
    • If there are more than 10 messages in your Guest Book, you can click "click here to search" to help find the message you are looking for. You can search for a specific message by the guest's first name, last name, a phrase in their message, and/or by the date it was posted.
  7. Once you have found the message(s) you wish to remove click the box in the "Remove" column next to the message. You can remove as many messages as you need to at once
  8. Once you have selected the message(s) you wish to remove, click any of the "Remove" buttons on the page
  9. A confirmation page will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to remove the messages. Please be certain that you wish to remove the message(s) because at this time there is not an "undelete" function.
    • At this point, you can un-check any messages you do not wish to remove
    • You can also choose to report a message as abusive or inappropriate by checking the box "Ban" column next to the message. See below for more information
  10. If you wish to remove the message(s) from your Guest Book permanently, leave the Remove box(es) checked and click "Confirm Removal"
  11. If you change your mind, click "Cancel" and you will be returned to the complete list of messages for editing/removing


Reporting Any Abusive / Inappropriate Messages In Your Guest Book

It doesn't happen very often here at Web Baby Shower, but occasionally either someone's guest will get a little unruly, or someone uninvited may post an unwanted message. Web Baby Shower has a built-in system to prevent these individuals from making further abusive comments. To remove any unwanted messages from your Guest Book and report the abuse to Web Baby Shower, please:

  1. Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
  2. Log into your Host Control Panel
  3. Click "Guest List Manager" (abc / 123 icon)
  4. Under "What would you like to do?" choose "Edit messages, Remove messages, Report abuse"
  5. Click "Go!"
  6. Instructions for using the Guest Book Editor will appear, along with a list of all the messages in your Guest Book with the most recent one at the top. To keep this list short, only the first 50 characters of each message will appear on this page.
    • If there are more than 10 messages in your Guest Book, you can click "click here to search" to help find the message you are looking for. You can search for a specific message by the guest's first name, last name, a phrase in their message, and/or by the date it was posted.
  7. Once you have found the message(s) you wish to remove click the box in the "Remove" column next to the message. You can remove as many messages as you need to at once
  8. Once you have selected the message(s) you wish to remove, click any of the "Remove" buttons on the page.
  9. A confirmation page will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to remove the messages.
    • At this point, you can report a message as abusive, inappropriate or unwanted by checking the box "Ban" column next to the message.
    • Please be responsible with this feature. Blocking someone from using Web Baby Shower is a serious matter and should be reserved for true cases of abuse or uninvited guests. Abusing the "Ban" feature can be reason for terminating your Web Baby Shower services without notice or refund.
  10. If you wish to remove the message(s) from your Guest Book permanently, and report the message(s) as abusive, leave the Remove and Ban box(es) checked and click "Confirm Removal"
  11. If you change your mind, click "Cancel" and you will be returned to the complete list of messages for editing/removing

Once you have reported a message as abusive, Web Baby Shower will review the message and act accordingly. You will receive an email confirmation of the action taken.

You may also wish to choose a different privacy or password protection level for your Web Baby Shower. Please see the Passwords and Privacy Help Page for more information



Updated April 27, 2007



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