In this post, I am only going to show how to add trackbacks. Please see these posts by my good buddy Greg for information about what trackbacks are and how to use them:

• 10/28/2009 To be continued...
• 1/9/2009 What’s all this, then?

In a nutshell, you use a trackback to add a link to your post at the bottom of a related post.

First off, I want to explain that I’m the dummy that this blog post is for. I wanted to add trackbacks to some of my blog entries this morning, but I had only put in one trackback in my life, and that was long ago. I couldn’t quite understand Greg’s excellent post (my fault, not his).

The last time I did a trackback, Greg held my hand, figuratively speaking, and walked me through it step by step. Unfortunately, I find it a difficult topic to understand for some reason.

While I did my trackbacks this time, I documented each step with profuse screen captures for the next time I want to do one. While I’m at it, I might as well share it with you.

First, go to the blog where you want a link to your blog entry to show, and copy the trackback url from the very bottom of the page:

Next, go to your own Space. In edit mode, click “Summary” at the top left corner of your blog:

In Summary mode, use the “Date” feature or the “Category” feature (click arrow next to “Date”) to find the blog entry you want to link to that other blog entry:

Once you find your blog entry, click “Edit” and then scroll down a little and click “Add Trackbacks”, and a text entry field will open:

Paste in the trackback url from the blog where you want your blog entry’s link to show:

Click Publish entry to save your trackback:

Now, go back to the original blog entry (refresh the screen if it was still open) and you will see the link to your blog entry (I went through this process with each of nine blog entries, to link them to each other - As you can see, I’ve been documenting a temporary situation in Windows Live)

If you wish, you can set it up so that only fellow Windows Live members, and not people wishing to leave spam advertisements for their websites, can leave trackbacks. Go to Options/Blog:

That will take you to this page:

Scroll down the page to the “Trackbacks” section. Click: “Allow trackbacks only from other Windows Live services to my blog”

You can also click to not allow trackbacks at all. Click “Save” once you’ve made your choice.

So now we both know how to add trackbacks!

Have fun!

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