Add A Simple "Recent Comments" / "Recent Posts" Gadget To Your Blog

The recently observed problems with some third party gadgets, previously added by many blog owners to their blogs, leaves these blogs lacking various accessories.

One of the gadgets identified is the "Recent Comments" / "Recent Posts" gadget pair. For many blog owners, this gadget is not impossible to replace.

Blogger provides us with a native accessory, called a "Blog Feed" gadget, which will provide acceptable "Recent Comments" and "Recent Posts" functionality, for many blog owners.

Look at the sidebar of this blog, for "The Real Blogger Status - Comments", and "The Real Blogger Status - Posts". Those are "Recent Comments" and "Recent Posts" gadgets, which are based on the Blogger supplied "Feed" gadget - which is not a third party accessory, and is not subject to future third party peccadilloes.

To make your new gadget, start with the URL of the blog feed desired.

Add a Blogger supplied Feed gadget, using the "Add a gadget" wizard, in the dashboard Layout display.

This is the URL of this blog.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net

This is the URL of the blog comments feed.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/comments/default

This is the URL of the blog posts feed.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default

Setting up a "Blog Feed" gadget is simple enough.

1. Add a "Feed" gadget (Only select the "Feed" gadget, "By Blogger"!!!), using the "Add a gadget" wizard.
2. Plug in the Feed URL (see my examples above), and Continue.
3. Review / change the options offered, and Save.
4. Test your new blog accessory - provided by Blogger - with no future hacking activity anticipated.

Avoid any similarly named gadget not "By Blogger" - distributed from "Add a Gadget", or from a private blog or non Google website.

And, you're done. Wasn't that simple?