Blogger Magic - Update The Post Template, To Enable Many Post Related Features

Blogger is continually adding new features to the Blogger platform. Some features, which are specific to individual posts, don't always work as well as they should - or in some cases, don't work at all. Other features may stop working, after the blog is changed to use a third party template, or after the template code is tweaked using "Edit HTML".

In many cases, failure of a post related feature to work consistently, or at all, is caused by the lack of supporting code in the post template. Generally, when someone reports such a problem in BHF: Something Is Broken, the advice to refresh the gadgets, or the post template, will be given. Some forum helpers may grow to see the advice, now given as

From Template - "Edit HTML", select "Revert widget templates to default", and select "Blog1".

as a magic wand, to be waved over any blog with a problem.

There is no magic in the post or widget templates - and many problems with the posts can be resolved in several different ways.

Each different resolution will differ in how much technical expertise may be required, contrasting with how much incidental damage that it can do, to your blog and its current settings.

• Revert the widget templates.
• Reset the post template.
• Add or tweak specific template code.

Reverting the widget templates is the simplest solution to apply, as almost every helper knows how to advise "Revert widget templates to default". Selecting "Revert widget templates to default", you will now get a menu, to selectively revert specific widgets.

Select which widgets to revert to their default values.

In this case, you select "Blog1", which is the post template widget name.

Resetting the post template may be best for problems which are specific to the individual posts. This solution requires a small amount of comfort with editing the template HTML. When this solution works, it will affect only settings and tweaks previously made to "Blog Posts" / the post template.

For blogs which have been extensively customised using "Edit HTML" with "Expand Widget Templates" selected, specific code snippets may be provided, to be inserted into the post template. You may sometimes have to manually edit the post template, to rearrange code in changes that are not supported by the "Blog Posts" GUI object rearrangement process.

Manually editing the post template, which is recommended when "Jump Break" does not work for some blogs, is a technically complex solution - yet if executed properly, it will have far less side effects then the previous two solutions. If executed improperly, however, it may cause template corruption - and may necessitate the later advice to "Revert widget templates to default".

Pick your solution intelligently, based upon how widespread the problem may be, how deeply into "Edit HTML" you are willing to go, and how many incidental changes you are willing to deal with afterwards. And which ever solution you choose, please please please backup the blog template - before and after resetting the post template. And of course, after doing this, always clear browser cache, and restart the browser.

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