The Real Blogger Status

The XML based Layout template has been a Blogger feature for almost 4 years now . Occasionally, we get a strange problem report in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . My Profile gadget disappeared from my blog. I went to "Page Elements" to add it back, and the error says that it's already added, even though it isn't. Where did the Profile gadget go?

Sometimes, when we're working on a problem that requires editing the HTML in a layout template, we need to understand the need to expand (or not expand) the widget templates. This month, for instance, we have hundreds of blogs containing malicious code , unknowingly installed by the blog owners. The malicious code must be removed, but the installed code aggressively prevents use of the "Page Elements" wizard , and the "Remove" button. Note: The selection to "Expand Widget Templates" has been replaced, by folded lines of code , which are now expanded selectively. When the "Page Elements" wizard can't be used to remove code, you have to use the "Edit HTML" wizard , and remove the individual gadget entries, one by one. Here's what the unexpanded line entry for one problem gadget looks like <div class='widget Gadget' id='Gadget1' /> That's easy enough to find - and to delete. Here's what...

For Christmas (End Of Year) 2009, I went back to Virginia again, for a brief visit. What I found, besides the snow (and there was too much of that) were some positive notes. The State Of Virginia USA really is moving into the future . For us Californians (Yes, I consider myself a Californian) they now have a Frys Electronics, a Trader Joes (2 of them in the Richmond area!), and an In-N-Out Burger (No, they don't have that yet!). OK, I'll settle for 2 out of 3. The point is, Virginia really is moving ahead, into the future. And this month, some bloggers are feeling the need to do that. Two changes in Blogger - Auto Pagination , and the approaching end to FTP Publishing , will both hasten the end to classic templates, and make the move to layout templates more natural. Owners of blogs with classic templates have, for a long time, been asking about how to get "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts" links for their blogs. That's not a feature that can be provid...

As a savvy consumer, you likely love to hear about offers for 2 for the price of 1, of something that you buy frequently. That's a great deal, normally. It's not for blog posts, though. When you start to see double in your blog, chances are that you duplicated the Blog Posts entry in the template. It's not hard to fix, fortunately. Edit the blog template , using the dashboard Template - "Edit HTML" wizard. Do not expand or unfold any widgets . If you unfold either 'Blog1' or 'Blog2', you will have to find the end of the unfolded gadget section, which could be hundreds of lines later. If you delete 1 too many, or 1 too few, unfolded lines, you will get a syntax error. Error parsing XML: ... The element type "b:section" ... Deleting just one line (see below) is way easier, believe me. Look for two lines, in the Body of the template, which may or may not be immediately next to each other in sequence: <b:widget id='Blog1...

I'm a great believer in cyberspace, and it's use in everyday life. I browse, I chat in online forums, and I chat using Instant Messengers (3 of those). I couldn't do without cyberspace, ever. But sometimes, I like to go places physically, maybe to a restaurant, so I can taste some of the food that I read about during my online activities. And so it is with Following, which is a sort of cyber-cyberspace community. You can setup relationships with other folks blogs, and theirs with yours (backlinked through your profile), and you can view their blogs using Google Reader. But I like to use my browser occasionally, to view a blog as it's designed to be viewed - through a browser, not through a newsfeed reader.

Not everybody who produces a blog, and not even everybody who produces a blog and provides a feed, likes the caption / link at the bottom of the posts column Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) or Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Some folks think this feature makes the bottom of the posts look cluttered. Maybe they're right.

One of the neatest things about Layouts templates (OK, I know that I say that a lot) is the expanded main page. Those of you who don't remember the Classic blogs, the short main page, and then the need to find the Archives links again, won't have the same feelings. OK, your loss. Those of you that still have a blog with a Classic template can stop reading here, as the Newer Post - Home - Older Posts Links require dynamic HTML, and Layouts templates.