The Real Blogger Status

The Theme Designer rocks. There are GUI adjustment / selection wizards, for dozens of theme objects, in any given blog. You can make font and color changes, using various GUI wizards - and see results, in real time. And the wizards are logically grouped, by function. If you know what objects you need to change, you can tweak your blog theme, without worrying about CSS coding. But depending upon the browser zoom level, some of the available wizards may not be immediately visible, on some "Advanced" submenus.

One of the more challenging limitations of Classic (HTML based) templates involved the template packaging. Each template provided a combination of background, colours, fonts, and layout. If you wanted any different combination - a different background, for a set of colours and fonts, you would have to compromise on the layout. Or a specific layout meant a compromise on the colours and fonts. Surely, somebody remembers the "Minima" vs "Minima Black" choice? And settling for the serif fonts, to get the right layout? With the Layout class templates (XML based), Blogger introduced the "Fonts and Colours" wizard - and a beginning to making the packaging more modular.

Some people are particular about the colors used, in their blogs. They may spend hours - or days - choosing the right shade of gray, to complement the text in the posts. Later, they look at the blog, and discover a glaring discrepancy. Why are the post titles so nasty looking? The titles clash with the posts! These owners may just be discovering the reality of Blogger blogs, and the ever changing title colors .

Some blog owners like to publish blogs that use custom colours, in the titles. Carefully coordinated colours are important, in some blogs. Both the blog title, and the individual post titles, in many blogs, are clickable link captions. The blog title links to the blog home page, and / or the post titles link to the individual post pages. Some blog owners get confused, when they try to set the colour of the titles, to a custom colour - and see link colours (which vary according to status) , instead of the selected custom colours.

Not everybody likes to be known, everywhere. Some folks prefer to publish a blog, without their name appearing. Anonymity is a goal, for many blog owners. Blogs using both Dynamic and non Dynamic (Layout, Designer) templates can be made anonymous - but different tasks are involved. Fortunately, both tasks are simple.

One of the neatest magic tricks is to make something disappear, with just a flick of the wrist (whether or not holding a "magic" wand). We see occasional requests to make template components disappear. Many times, we end up recommending editing the blog template . Sometimes, unwanted components are part of the post template - and we have to explain why editing the post template is not a good idea . Some template components, when properly identified, can be made to disappear with the proper CSS rule. CSS rules can be added, using the Template Designer - and do not require editing the template. Even better news, CSS rules added using "Add CSS" are persistent. Even changing the blog template - or resetting the post template - does not erase CSS rules, added using the Template Designer.

Not all blog owners appreciate the differences between using the various template wizards, and what they will actually see, once the blog is published. The confusion about the various template wizards, and what is actually seen, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , is numerous. Why aren't my changes to the template being saved? This question is expressed in a number of ways - and has a number of causes.

Using the term "mobile computer" is an example of the challenges involved, in using this variety of computer. Even identifying this device, which is present in so many different manifestations, is confusing. Mobile Computer. Mobile WiFi device. Personal Digital Assistant. Pocket phone. Smart Phone. Tablet. As the use of mobile computers becomes more common, we're seeing more and more problem reports and questions, from people unable to use Blogger. Some folks would like to maintain and publish their own blog. Others would like to post comments to their friends blogs. And still others don't understand why all of the various gadgets on their blog don't work for their friends, who are also using their own mobile computers. One of the challenges of mobile computers involves the use of smaller displays, and the need to simplify the content displayed. This requires the use of special browsers and templates, which are designed to accommodate the limitations. The n...

For several weeks, we're been seeing various reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , mentioning problems with template updates, being made using the Template Designer wizard. The reports are not so widespread to indicate a complete malfunction - but neither can we dismiss the problem, as being unique to one browser, one template type, or one particular update pattern. It's likely that we are looking at a number of problems, aggregated and compounded, into one common symptom. I cannot Save changes in Template Designer. With a problem report like this, some examining of the details may be appropriate.

This week, we're seeing a small flood of problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken about problems with the Template Designer. Every time I change something, I have to refresh the page in order for it to show up. It won't "Save" when I try to save the layout changes. It just says "Saving..." at the top of the page and fades away, but doesn't actually save any changes. Many problems involve changes made to the template, using the Designer, which aren't being saved - or are broken when saved. Most of the people reporting these problems have made changes to the template, previously - some are so experienced at making changes, they can't believe that their latest changes could ever have problems. Interestingly, this history of changes is not a coincidence - and it's likely that some of the changes helps to cause these problems.

Recently, we've seen people who want to use a dynamic template on their blog - but are unwilling to put up with the limitations. Why can't Google make its Dynamic View Template easy to customize? and Why can't I choose who I want reading my blog, and let my readers use a dynamic view? and Why should I publish my blog to a "Dynamic Template" - which appears to be Google speak for "It doesn't work at all."? Not every Blogger blog owner realises why the dynamic templates work as they do, yet offer as few options.

This blog started out using a Layout template, name "Minima". When I applied a Designer template, I selected the Designer equivalent of "Minima", name "Simple". Long ago, I picked a template background - which looked slightly better than boring - for this blog. The blog looked fairly decent with the content text floating over the background, when viewed using a high resolution, full colour ("32 bit" palette) display. Unfortunately, not everybody who views this blog uses a high resolution, 32 bit colour palette. During the past couple years, I have observed various comments published here, from people who did not find it easy reading the text, floating over the naked blog background.

For over a year , I've been suggesting that the time for using Classic (HTML Based) templates has become a thing of the past. This month, we are hearing suggestions that we are truly nearing the end of support for the Classic templates. As many blog owners found out about the end to FTP Publishing , you do not benefit by waiting until the last minute.

One of the most exciting features of the Template Designer is the Live Preview. As you change any blog template setting using the Designer wizard, in the upper pane, you immediately see the effect of the change in the lower pane. That is the intended effect, when the wizard works. The Template Designer, as most Blogger blog maintenance wizards, runs in "Blogger.com". The live preview window, however, runs in the domain where the blog is published. This requires that both "blogger.com" and the blog domain have trusted status, and causes a vulnerability called cross-site scripting .

The Designer templates have been part of production Blogger for since 2010 , now. Occasionally, we see odd queries about loss of gadgets, and visitor counts. Where did my (custom accessory) go? and My SiteMeter counts dropped to zero. In many cases, the problem here comes from not planning and watching the template move closely enough.

The new Designer templates are now a part of Production Blogger - and new blogs, created by "Create a blog", will have a Designer template. Unfortunately, the Designer templates are not 100% usable , on all blogs. Some extra effort will be required to publish a new blog, using a Layout template. Here's the new reality - right after I solve the CAPTCHA, on the first page of "Create a blog". So, I select "Simple", and now I have a new blog. I bet I can use "Simple", as I used to use "Minima". Here's where I have a choice. Move forward, and use "Simple" as a Designer equivalent of "Minima". The choices of backgrounds, layouts, and styles certainly makes Designer look pretty good. Or, revert my new blog to Layout , and to the original Minima. Our old friend - Minima - back again. This gives me some breathing room. I can upgrade to a Designer template later, when it's more convenient...

There were months in 2010, when the Template Designer was a Draft Blogger feature . During 2010, we saw a few reports from bloggers who tried to use the "Fonts and Colors" wizard to make changes to a blog with a Designer template - or tried to use the Template Designer to make changes to a blog with a Layouts template. Since the CSS rules used in Designer templates are significantly different from those in Layout templates, this was a source of a few problems.

As I noted in an earlier article, the Template Designer is now a part of Production (Orange) Blogger - and now, merely a day after having noted the fact, inconsistencies in the design of the displays are becoming visible. A very lamentable omission from the Template Designer screen itself is the lack of the Blogger "B" logo, which should link to the dashboard . Such a basic feature, and now it's gone. The schizophrenic nature of the "Design" link is also disturbing. From the dashboard, the "Design" link leads to the "Page Elements" display. You click on "Template Designer" to get to the Template Designer. From the navbar, the "Design" link leads to the Template Designer. You click on "Back to Blogger" to get to "Page Elements". The " Page Elements " GUI appears to be where we will add and rearrange the gadgets on the screen. A former "Layout" component is thus necessary f...

The new Template Designer, previously a Draft Blogger feature, was added to Production Blogger this week. And just as some bloggers are discovering how exciting they are, others are discovering that the Designer templates have downsides . Fortunately, even though the Template Designer wizard is part of Production (Orange) Blogger, you can revert your blog and recover the Layout template, if you decide that the Designer template isn't to your taste. Just go to the " Edit Template " wizard, and look at the bottom section "Old Templates". If your blog has a Designer template, you should have a link to "Select Layout Template". Under "Old Templates", find "Select Layout Template". Next, pick a new Layout template. Hopefully, you remember how to do this. Now that the blog has a Layout template again, and hoping that you backed up the Layout template before you setup the Designer template earlier, just restore your backed...

The "Template Designer" wizard is now part of Production (Orange) Blogger. Where you used to see "Layout", you'll now see "Design" or "Designer". From your Blogger dashboard , click on "Template", then "Customize". You'll get the "Page Elements" wizard, with a link to the " Template Designer ".