About YouReport.com

Beta Version .1073
About YouReport.com details the history and current feature set of YouReport.com.
History
As the amount of information and the number of files in our digital world continue to rapidly increase, it has become more and more difficult to keep track of it all. The amount of news, photos, videos, music, widgets, searches, notes, websites, documents, favorite clips and friends that make up our digital world continue to grow every day. Having a way to view, manage and share all of this information has become quite a challenge for everyone. Additionally, as keeping up with all of our digital information has become more challenging, it has made it even harder to discover and track new types of information like blogs, podcasts and online videos. Many of us may have heard of new technologies like RSS Feeds, Ajax, and Cloud computing - that can be used to help organize and manage all of our information, but the idea of figuring them out and learning how to use them seems quite daunting.
About YouReport.com
That’s why we created YouReport.com. We wanted to create the absolute easiest way in the world to gather, view, organize and share all of the information in your digital world. In addition, we wanted to develop a site that was very powerful, providing a unique set of features and functionality not available anywhere else. Behind the scenes, YouReport utilizes some of the latest technologies including Ajax, RSS, Cloud computing, and object oriented Block technologies to provide an experience like no other. As a user, all you have to do is point and click to get access to a world of knowledge!
YouReport.com provides an integrated set of very powerful tools, including News Feeds, Photos, Videos, Music, Widgets, Searches, Websites, Notes, Documents, Favorite Clips, and Friends – all seamlessly integrated into an object oriented block interface that can be fully experienced and customized with just a few mouse clicks. By allowing large amounts of information from multiple sources to be combined within blocks on a single page, YouReport.com provides an extremely powerful interface for viewing, organizing and sharing all of the information in your digital world.
Differentiators
There are a variety of innovations and unique features built into YouReport.com, including:
1. Ability to easily create custom pages containing all types of digital information including News Feeds, Photos, Videos, Music, Widgets, Searches, Notes, Websites, Documents, Favorite Clips and Friends, each of which can be added with only 1 click
2. Drag and Drop your digital information blocks (news feeds, photos, videos, widgets, etc.) within a column-snap page interface containing up to 10 columns
3. Ability to view your digital content and your current YouReport Page layout on the same screen for seamlessly adding any type of digital content to your Page
4. Automatically saves all historical digital content (photos, videos, widgets, news feeds, etc.) added your YouReport account, and allows that content to be added to any page
5. Ability to share any of your pages with friends
6. Ability to create an unlimited number of pages
7. Ability to create an unlimited number of content blocks per page
8. Ability to upload an unlimited number of content files (photos, videos etc.) for storing and using on your pages
Current Feature Set
The following features are active in this version of YouReport.com:
Top Menu Bar
1. Welcome - Adds the "Welcome to YouReport.com" text block to your current page
2. Getting Started - Adds the "Getting Started" text block to your current page
3. About YouReport.com - Adds the "About YouReport.com" text block to your current page
4. What's New - Adds the "What's New" text block to your current page (not yet active)
5. FAQs - Adds the "FAQs" text block to your current page (not yet active)
6. Show/Hide Quick Start - Toggles on and off the Quick Start instructions at the top of the YouReport.com screen
7. Search News - Allows you to add a new Search Block to your page by entering a search term into the Search Box and clicking the Search News button. This will open a new Search Block on your YouReport page containing matching news headline results from across all of the YouReport feeds. Additionally, a new node is created and checked within the My Searches folder of the Searches Tool Tree. This allows all of your historical searches to be saved and easily accessed by opening the Searches Tool.
8. User: [CurrentUser] - Displays the current user logged into YouReport.com
9. Login - Logs you into your account within to the YouReport system
10. Register - Allows you to register for a new YouReport account
11. Logout - Logs you out of the YouReport system
12. Change Password - Allows you to change your YouReport password
Report Menu Bar (dark blue menu bar)
1. Show/Hide Tool Panel - Toggle button which hides the Tools in the left panel if they are currently being displayed, or displays the tools in the left panel if they are currently hidden
2. Set Columns Per Page - Allows you to set the number of columns (from 1 to 10) for the current page
3. Set Items Per Block - Allows you to set the number of items displayed (from 1 to 100) in each of the Feed blocks and Search blocks on the current page
4. Refresh Page - Refreshes all of the Feed blocks and Search blocks on the current page
5. Share Page - Allows you to share the current YouReport page with your friends by emailing them a unique link which will load a copy of your current page into their YouReport account
6. Help - Displays a menu showing a list of available help topics
Tool Bar
1. Feeds Tool - Opens the Feeds Tool in the left panel which allows you to add News Feed Blocks to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Feeds Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Feeds Tool
2. Photos Tool - Opens the Photos Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Photos to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Photos Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Photos Tool
3. Videos Tool - Opens the Videos Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Videos to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Videos Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Videos Tool
4. Widgets Tool - Opens the Widgets Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Widgets to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Widgets Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Widgets Tool
5. Searches Tool - Opens the Searches Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Search Blocks to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Searches Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Searches Tool
6. Clips Tool - Opens the Clips Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Clip Blocks to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Clips Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Clips Tool
7. Music Tool - Opens the Music Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Music to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Music Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Music Tool
8. Notes Tool - Opens the Notes Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Notes to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Notes Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Notes Tool
9. Websites Tool - Opens the Websites Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Websites to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Websites Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Websites Tool
10. Documents Tool - Opens the Documents Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Documents to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Documents Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Documents Tool
11. Friends Tool - Opens the Friends Tool in the left panel which allows you to add Friends to any of your YouReport pages. Click it once to show the Friends Tool on the left side of the screen, click it again to hide the Friends Tool
Using the Feeds Tool to add a News Feed Block to your Page
1. Adding a Feed Block to your Page - In order to add a Feed Block to your page, simply click on any of the Feed Checkboxes within the Feeds Tool. This will open a Feeds Block within your YouReport page, and will also check the checkbox for that Feed within the Feeds Tool.
2. Removing a Feed Block from your Page - To remove a Feed Block from your page, simply uncheck the desired Checkbox on the Feeds Tool, and the Feed Block will be closed. Additionaly, you can also click the [X] close button in the upper right corner of the Block that you would like to close. That Block will be closed, and the corresponding checkbox in the Feeds Tool will be automatically unchecked.
3. Selecting a Feeds Category - There are two ways to select a Category within the Feeds Tool. You can select a Feeds Category by clicking on a category button on the left side of the Feeds Tool, or by using the scroll bar on the right side of the tool to scroll to the desired category in the Feeds Tree.
4. Adding a New Feed - To add a new Feed to YouReport, enter the web address (URL) for the feed into the text box at the top of the Feeds Tool (in the form of http://site.com/rss) and click the Add New Feed button. This will open a Feeds Block within your YouReport page, it will create a new node for that feed in the My Feeds folder of the Feeds Tool, and it will also create a new node in the New Feeds folder of the Feeds Tool. A detailed explanation of adding a New Feed to YouReport is included in the Getting Started documentation block within Step #23.
5. Deleting a Feed Node from the My Feeds Folder of the Feeds Tool Tree - Any of your newly added Feed Nodes may be deleted from within the My Feeds folder of the Feeds Tool Tree. To remove a Feed Node from the Feeds Tool Tree, simply left mouse click on the desired Feed node that you would like to delete, a menu will then appear that displays a Delete Node option. Left click on the Delete Node option within the menu and that Feed node will be deleted.
Using the Searches Tool to add a Search Block to your Page
1. Adding an Existing Search Block to your Page - In order to add an existing Search Block to your page, simply click on any of the Search Checkboxes within the Searches Tool. This will open a Search Block within your YouReport page, and will also check that Search within the Searches Tool.
2. Adding a New Search Block to your Page - In order to add a new Search Block to your page, enter a search term into the Search Box at the top of the Searches Tool and click the Add New Search button. This will open a new Search Block on your YouReport page containing matching news headline results from across all of the YouReport feeds. Additionally, a new node is created and checked within the My Searches folder of the Searches Tool Tree. This allows all of your historical searches to be saved and easily accessed by opening the Searches Tool.
2. Removing a Search Block from your Page - To remove a Search Block from your page, simply uncheck the desired Checkbox on the Searches Tool, and the Search Block with be closed. Additionaly, you can also click the [X] close button in the upper right corner of the Block that you would like to close. That Block will be closed, and the corresponding checkbox in the Searches Tool will be automatically unchecked.
3. Deleting a Search Node from the Search Tools Tree - Any of your historical Search Nodes may be deleted from within the My Searches folder of the Searches Tool Tree. To remove a Search Node from the Search Tree, simply left mouse click on the desired Search node that you would like to delete, a menu will then appear that displays a Delete Node option. Left click on the Delete Node option within the menu and that Search node will be deleted.
4. Selecting a Searches Category - There are two ways to select a Category within the Searches Tool. You can select a Search Category by clicking on a category button on the left side of the Searches Tool, or by using the scroll bar on the right side of the tool to scroll to the desired category in the Searches Tree.
Using the Clips Tool to add a Clip Block to your Page
1. Adding an Existing Clip Block to your Page - In order to add an existing Clip Block to your page, simply click on any of the Clip Block Checkboxes within the Clips Tool. This will open a Clip Block within your YouReport page, and will also check that Clip block within the Clips Tool. Clips from the current page can now be added into this Clip Block.
2. Adding a New Clip Block to your Page - In order to add a new Clip Block to your page, enter a unique name for your Clip Block into the text box at the top of the Clips Tool and click the Add New Clip Block button. This will open a new Clip Block on your YouReport page. Additionally, a new node is created and checked within the My Clips folder of the Clips Tool Tree. This allows all of your historical Clip Blocks to be saved and easily accessed by opening the Clips Tool. Clips from the current page can now be added into this Clip Block.
2. Removing a Clip Block from your Page - To remove a Clip Block from your page, simply uncheck the desired Checkbox on the Clips Tool, and the Clip Block with be closed. Additionaly, you can also click the [X] close button in the upper right corner of the Block that you would like to close. That Block will be closed, and the corresponding checkbox in the Clips Tool will be automatically unchecked.
3. Deleting a Clip Node from the Clips Tool Tree - Any of your historical Clip Nodes may be deleted from within the My Clips folder of the Clips Tool Tree. To remove a Clip Node from the Search Tree, simply left mouse click on the desired Clip node that you would like to delete, a menu will then appear that displays a Delete Node option. Left click on the Delete Node option within the menu and that Clip node will be deleted.
4. Selecting a Clips Category - There are two ways to select a Category within the Clips Tool. You can select a Clip Category by clicking on a category button on the left side of the Searches Tool, or by using the scroll bar on the right side of the tool to scroll to the desired category in the Clips Tree.
How to interact with a Feeds Block on your Page
Once a Feeds Block has been added to a page, the following functionality is active within a Feeds Block:
1. Moving the Block - Click and Drag anywhere in the header to move the block to another position on the page
2. Seeing additional headlines - Click the Next or Prev links at the bottom of the block to see older or newer headlines
3. Hovering over the headline to see the story description - Mouse over a headline to see a popup-menu showing a description of the story
4. Expanding the headline to see the story description - Click the small right pointing triangle to the left any headline to expand the headline within the block and see a description of the story
5. Collapsing the story description - Once a headline has been expanded, click the small down pointing triangle to collapse the description and see only the headline
6. Link to the original story - Click on the headline itself to link to the original story. This will launch in a new browser window.
7. Save the headline as a Clip to a Clip Block - YouReport allows you to save your favorite articles as Clips within a Clip block. Articles can be “clipped” from a News Feed block or from a Search block. To clip an article, simply click on the paperclip icon that appears to the right of any article within a block – and a small menu will appear – then click on the “Clip to NEW CLIP BLOCK” option within that menu. A new Clip Block will be created on your page, containing a clip of your saved article.
8. Minimize/Maximize the Block - Click on the Minimize button in the block's header to quickly minimize the block, leaving only the block's header visible, and hiding its body. To once again view the body of the block, simply click on the same button on the block's header (which has now turned into a Maximize button), and the body of the block will re-appear.
9. View the Options Menu for the Block - To view the Options Menu for a block, click on the button containing the downward triangle located within the block header. When you click on this button, the Options Menu for that block will appear showing a variety of settings that can be updated for that block.
10. Set the number of items displayed in the Block - From within the Options Menu, select the option "Set Number of Items Displayed in this Block". A dialog window will appear allowing you to set the number of items displayed within the block to any number from 1 to 100. Once as new number of items is set for that block, then that number of items will also appear on a new page whenever you select the Next or Prev links on that block to scroll to a new page of headlines.
11. Set header color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
12. Set header text color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Text Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header text. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
13. Link to the website associated with the Feed - Click on the name of the Feed in the title header of the Feed Block to link to the website associated with the Feed. This will launch in a new browser window.
14. Closing the Block - Click the [X] in the upper right corner of the Feeds Block to close it
How to interact with a Search Block on your Page
Once a Search Block has been added to a page, the following functionality is active within a Search Block:
1. Moving the Block - Click and Drag anywhere in the header to move the block to another position on the page
2. Seeing additional headlines - Click the Next or Prev links at the bottom of the block to see older or newer headlines
3. Hovering over the headline to see the story description - Mouse over a headline to see a popup-menu showing a description of the story
4. Expanding the headline to see the story description - Click the small right pointing triangle to the left any headline to expand the headline within the block and see a description of the story
5. Collapsing the story description - Once a headline has been expanded, click the small down pointing triangle to collapse the description and see only the headline
6. Link to the original story - Click on the headline itself to link to the original story. This will launch in a new browser window.
7. Save the headline as a Clip to a Clip Block - YouReport allows you to save your favorite articles as Clips within a Clip block. Articles can be “clipped” from a News Feed block or from a Search block. To clip an article, simply click on the paperclip icon that appears to the right of any article within a block – and a small menu will appear – then click on the “Clip to NEW CLIP BLOCK” option within that menu. A new Clip Block will be created on your page, containing a clip of your saved article.
8. Minimize/Maximize the Block - Click on the Minimize button in the block's header to quickly minimize the block, leaving only the block's header visible, and hiding its body. To once again view the body of the block, simply click on the same button on the block's header (which has now turned into a Maximize button), and the body of the block will re-appear.
9. View the Options Menu for the Block - To view the Options Menu for a block, click on the button containing the downward triangle located within the block header. When you click on this button, the Options Menu for that block will appear showing a variety of settings that can be updated for that block.
10. Set the number of items displayed in the Block - From within the Options Menu, select the option "Set Number of Items Displayed in this Block". A dialog window will appear allowing you to set the number of items displayed within the block to any number from 1 to 100. Once as new number of items is set for that block, then that number of items will also appear on a new page whenever you select the Next or Prev links on that block to scroll to a new page of headlines.
11. Set header color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
12. Set header text color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Text Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header text. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
13. Closing the Block - Click the [X] in the upper right corner of the Search Block to close it
How to interact with a Clip Block on your Page
Once a Clip Block has been added to a page, the following functionality is active within a Clip Block:
1. Moving the Block on the Page - Click and Drag anywhere in the header to move the block to another position on the page
2. Moving Clips within the Block - Click and Drag on the left side panel of a clip, and position it to a new location within the clip block. Each clip is smart, and will automatically snap into place within the block - and the other clips around it will automatically move down to make room for it. Additionally, you can also drag and drop clips across different Clip blocks!
3. Hovering over the headline to see the story description - Mouse over a Clip's headline to see a popup-menu showing a description of the story
4. Expanding the headline to see the story description - Click the small right pointing triangle to the left any clip's headline to expand the headline within the clip and see a description of the story
5. Collapsing the story description - Once a headline has been expanded, click the small down pointing triangle to collapse the description and see only the headline
6. Link to the original story - Click on the headline itself to link to the original story. This will launch in a new browser window.
7. Minimize/Maximize the Block - Click on the Minimize button in the block's header to quickly minimize the block, leaving only the block's header visible, and hiding its body. To once again view the body of the block, simply click on the same button on the block's header (which has now turned into a Maximize button), and the body of the block will re-appear.
8. View the Options Menu for the Block - To view the Options Menu for a block, click on the button containing the downward triangle located within the block header. When you click on this button, the Options Menu for that block will appear showing a variety of settings that can be updated for that block.
9. Set header color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
10. Set header text color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Text Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header text. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
11. Closing the Block - Click the [X] in the upper right corner of the Clip Block to close it
How to interact with a Text Block on your Page
Once a Text Block has been added to a page (like the "Welcome to YouReport.com" block or the "About YouReport.com" block), you can manipulate a text block in the following ways:
1. Scrolling the Block Drag the Scroll bar on the right side of the text block to see more of the text within the Block
2. Moving the Block Click and Drag anywhere in the header to move the block to another position on the page
3. Minimize/Maximize the Block - Click on the Minimize button in the block's header to quickly minimize the block, leaving only the block's header visible, and hiding its body. To once again view the body of the block, simply click on the same button on the block's header (which has now turned into a Maximize button), and the body of the block will re-appear.
4. View the Options Menu for the Block - To view the Options Menu for a block, click on the button containing the downward triangle located within the block header. When you click on this button, the Options Menu for that block will appear showing a variety of settings that can be updated for that block.
5. Set header color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
6. Set header text color for the Block - From within the Options menu, select “Set Header Text Color for this Block”. A dialog window will appear which will allow you to choose the new color for the block header text. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
7. Closing the Block Click the [X] in the upper right corner of the Text Block to close it
How to interact with your YouReport Page
1. Adding a new Page - YouReport.com allows you to have an unlimited number of pages, with an unlimited number of blocks on each page. With this multiple page architecture, you can create many YouReport pages, each dedicated to a specific category, subject, or news source. When you first login to YouReport.com, you will have one page labeled as your Home Page. In order to add a new page, click on the dimmed tab labeled (add page). You’ll then see a dialog window prompting you to enter a unique name for your new page. You can add as many pages as you like (i.e one for Entertainment, one for Politics, one for Sports, etc.).
2. Switching Between YouReport Pages - Switching between pages is easily done by simply clicking on the tab for that page.
3. View the Options Menu for the Page - Every YouReport Page that you add can be customized to look however you like. Many of these customization settings are available through the Options Menu for each Page. The Page Options Menu may be accessed for your currently active Page by clicking on the button containing the downward triangle located within the tab for that page. When you click on this button, the Options Menu for that Page will appear showing a variety of settings that can be updated.
4. Edit the Page Name - From within the Page Options Menu, select the option "Edit Page Name". A dialog window will appear allowing you to enter the new name for the page.
5. Set Number of Columns on a Page - From within the Page Options Menu, select the option "Set Number of Columns on this Page". A dialog window will appear allowing you to set the number of columns (from 1 to 10) for the current page
6. Set Number of Items for all Blocks on a Page -From within the Page Options Menu, select the option "Set Number of Items for all Blocks on this Page". A dialog window will appear allowing you to set the number of items displayed (from 1 to 100) in each of the Feed blocks and Search blocks on the current page
7. Set Header Color for all Blocks on a Page - From within the Page Options Menu, select the option "Set Header Color for all Blocks on this Page". A dialog window will appear allowing you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
8. Set Header Text Color for all Blocks on a Page - From within the Page Options Menu, select the option "Set Header Text Color for all Blocks on this Page". A dialog window will appear allowing you to choose the new color for the block header. To select a color, first click a main color on the right vertical color bar, then click a gradient of that color on the left gradient panel. In this way you can select any possible color/gradient. Alternatively, you can enter a numeric color value directly into the bottom right text box. The currently selected color will appear in the lower left preview box. To restore the color to the original default color, simply click on the button “Set to Original Default Color”. Once you have selected the desired color, click on “Ok”.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at info@youreport.com