Can't Delete A Page Element?

In a Layouts template, the ability to add and delete page elements (gadgets) is one of the neatest tasks in maintaining your blog.

Sometimes, a page element added can't be deleted later. You can edit a page element either from the blog itself (if you have enabled Quick Edit), or from the Page Elements wizard. When you edit an element, it should have a button to "Remove Page Element".

The button isn't always there - and this generally happens when the gadget is locked.

To unlock the gadget, first use Edit HTML, and backup the template.

With the template backed up, find the entry for the problem gadget. Let's say that we need to remove the "Key Articles" gadget.

<div id='sidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='LinkList1' locked='true' title='Key Articles' type='LinkList'/>
<b:widget id='Label1' locked='false' title='Topics' type='Label'/>
</b:section>
</div>

Change that to "false", and save changes.

<div id='sidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='LinkList1' locked='false' title='Key Articles' type='LinkList'/>
<b:widget id='Label1' locked='false' title='Topics' type='Label'/>
</b:section>
</div>

Then go back to Page Elements, re edit the "Key Articles" page element, and you should have a "Remove" button.

As an alternative, the Template Editor "Revert widget templates to default" wizard may be useful.>