Using Radio for Userland's Scripting Tutorial

Userland's web site development and scripting tutorial is end-user approved and most excellently safe for Mom, not to mention you and me.

Alas, the tutorial is somewhat out-of-date. It knows nothing of Radio nor the (thankfully minor) site development differences between Frontier-Manila and Radio (see my Frontier, Manila or Radio for an introduction to these three products).

You do not need this topic to use Radio's browser-centered weblog user interface ... not even a little bit. However, the tutorial will give you a glimpse under the hood of Radio's engine and especially into Userland's use of macros.

To work through the tutorial:

1. Open two browser windows.

2. Launch Radio if it is not already open. This will, as always, open Radio in a browser window.

3. Find Userland's online tutorial (located here) and be prepared to read the tutorial in one of your browser windows.

4. Right-click the radio icon in your Windows status bar and select Open Radio.

5. Select StaticSites ---> New Website from Radio's Tools menu. (Remember you are now within the core Radio application; not your weblog's browser user interface).

6. Enter a name for your website in the dialog box and click 'Okay'.

7. Radio will automatically create the needed framework for your website and display the following table:

8. What the heck is all the stuff in this table (you ask ... or at least I imagine you asking)? That is why you need to read the tutorial, no? If you simply can't wait, go ahead and double-click on the 'index' line. This will open the default home page (empty and waiting for your brilliant content. A default title of 'Home' has been supplied but you can enter your own in place of 'Home'). 

9. Now, go back to the browser window that contains the tutorial and start reading. When the tutorial suggests you experiment within your website, do that within the Radio website you have just created.

(Editing a Page in the Userland tutorial matches up more closely with my step 8. above than do the first few tutorial sections. Where you find differences in the tutorial between Frontier and Radio, don't despair. Take your time, make the most reasonable possible deduction about what to do in Radio and give it a shot. I won't pretend this is desirable for a tutorial. However, you may be surprised to find how much you learn as a result.)

Helpful encouragement: you cannot (I repeat 'cannot') wreck your weblog or ruin Radio in any way by messing with the My Tutorial Website table you have created. At the absolute worst, you might crash Radio and have to restart it and/or restart your machine. When you return from the wars, your weblog will still be safe.

Friendly warning: if you mess around with other portions of the core Radio application besides the My Tutorial Website you have created, you're on your own.

Caveat: Userland cannot warrant that the tutorial will work exactly the same in Radio as it does in Frontier. However, so far as I know, the only differences relate to the user interface distinctions between Frontier and Radio. Even these are minor.  If you run into problems, email me. I will try to take a look and/or correct the documentation here. Certainly, I want to make this as easy as possible for you and others.

Remember, it's only software.