You can share a file in a blog post, provided the file is of a type that’s allowed on your blog.
See below for information on allowed file types, and then see further down for the steps to attach a file to a post. (These steps will also work on blog pages, if you have editor access to the blog.)
ALLOWED FILE TYPES
If the blog is hosted on WordPress.com, see this page for what types of files you can attach to blog posts: Accepted File Types If you’ve uploaded the file to a site that hosts files of that type (such as a presentation, video, or audio hosting site), you may be able to embed it rather than attaching it. See this list of embed codes for WordPress.com
If the blog is on one of Amy’s sites, you can attach these file types: mp3 pdf ppt pptx doc docx rtf txt xls xlsx (The list doesn’t include image formats such as jpg, png, and gif as those are embedded, not attached.) If the file is a presentation and you’d prefer to embed it rather than attach it, see this handout: How to embed a presentation in a blog post.
STEPS
(1) Create your new blog post, give it a subject line, and assign it to the appropriate category.
(2) Click inside the message window where you want the link to the attached file to appear.
(3) Click on the “insert media” button above the post editing toolbar.
(4) Click on the “Select Files” button and browse your computer for the appropriate file.
(5) After the file uploads, you’ll see a new entry in the media library with info about the file.
OPTIONAL: Change what appears in the Title box to the actual title of the document. Whatever appears in the Title box is what will show up in your entry as the hyperlink viewers will click on to download your file.
(6) + + IMPORTANT + + Click on the “File URL” button (as shown in the screenshot above).
You should only have to do this once and WordPress will remember your preference, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to click it every time. The reason for clicking this button is so that the hyperlink you create in your blog entry takes viewers directly to your attached file, rather than to a separate page for the file. In other words, when a viewer clicks on the link to your file, it will start downloading to the viewer’s computer.
(7) Click on “Insert into Post.” You should then see a link to your file appear in the message body.
(8) Publish or update your post, and then view it on the blog.
(9) Test out the link by clicking on it. If your file downloads and you can open it successfully in the correct app, then you’re all set! If it doesn’t, repeat the steps above more carefully.
