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1. zebathome
   Member
   Jul 12, 2011, 8:30 PM

   Dear Support
   I didn't realise that if I do a slideshow, all the pics go out in the email notification to the people who subscribe to my blog. I would rather they came and clicked on the link and looked at the slideshow. I don't want them to have the pics in their email box, otherwise what's the point of having a blog? They don't get the whole text if I write content, only the first line or if I put something in the excerpt box they get that instead. Or is the code for the slideshow, being the first line, treated as a whole object? In which case I should have put something in the excerpt box? Is that the solution? I guess this shows the importance of subscribing to your own blog, so that you can see what other people see...

   Joanna

   The blog I need help with is zebbakes.com.

2. 1tess
   Moderator
   Jul 15, 2011, 2:04 AM

   "if I put something in the excerpt box they get that instead"

   Use the custom excerpt function. For at least some (all??) email programs, your readers will get a summary you create instead of the first few lines of your post.

   With a custom excerpt you can include a thumbnail image of your choice plus text you want to entice readers to click to read your whole post on your blog… I do it all the time! Plus category and archive views use the custom excerpt so readers can check out older posts without a lot of scrolling.

   You can compose what you want in the visual editor, then switch to the html editor. Cut the code for your custom excerpt to send out, then paste it into the excerpt module. Finally, publish your post.

3. 1tess
   Moderator
   Jul 15, 2011, 2:06 AM

   Oh, here is a great article about themes which include a functional excerpt function:
   http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/the-excerpt-function/

4. zebathome
   Member
   Jul 15, 2011, 7:35 AM

   Thank you tess! I think I will make this a routine part of writing posts now. I have done it occasionally and a bit randomly and I didn't realise you could include a thumbnail image. I like the sound of that :) best wishes, Joanna

5. zebathome
   Member
   Jul 15, 2011, 9:31 AM

   Tess, can I bother you with a supplementary question here...

   If I want to create a page with an index of all my posts, so far I have only managed to do this using the code [index]. Can I somehow do this using the excerpts so that when I have put thumbnails and excerpts people see those instead of just a list of post titles? Filing is not my strong point, but I would love for it to be easier for people to browse through old posts. I find it very frustrating on some blogs when the blogger hasn't put a search button in their sidebar or some sort of way of finding their old content, particularly when you know it's in there somewhere.... I know the emphasis is on 'new content' all the time, but 'old content' is good too!

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