Recovering From A Corrupt Template - The Next Step

There are three possible dashboard wizards, used to recover a blog with a corrupt template aka "500 Internal Server Error".

1. The Template Designer page.
2. The Template page.
3. The Template Editor ("Edit HTML") page.

With most blogs, one of the three can eventually be used, to install a clean, new template - and recover a blog that's offline because of the broken template.

Some blogs, unfortunately, cannot be recovered this way.

Some blogs have templates so badly broken, that no dashboard template wizard can be accessed - and used to restore the blog to operational status.

If there's no way to recover a broken blog by replacing the template, the next possibility is to recover the URL - and install a new blog at that URL.

1. Create a new blog - with a clean, working, Blogger supplied template.
2. Swap URLs between the old and new blogs.
3. Export content from the broken blog - and Import to the new blog.
4. Transfer / update Followers.
5. Rebuild the template, and add gadgets.
6. Provide notice to your Followers, readers, subscribers, and other viewers.

Create a new blog - with a clean, working template.

Use the dashboard "New Blog" button, and create a new blog. You'll only create the new blog, in this case, to recover the URL of the broken blog - so just use a random, non valued URL.

Choose a template similar to the one on the broken blog, from the dashboard Template page - and get your new blog online. Use a Blogger standard template, until you are satisfied that the problem won't continue.

Swap URLs between the old and new blogs.

Hoping that you can access the Settings - Basic ("basicsettings") page - first rename the URL Of the broken blog, to a second random, non valued URL. Then you can rename your new blog - created above - to the URL previously used by the broken blog.



Just Edit "Blog Address", twice, to swap URLs.

First, for the broken blog, to free up the current URL - then, for the new blog, to recover the current URL.


Now, your broken URL is back online, with a clean template - though without content.

Export content from the broken blog - and Import to the new blog.

Use the "Import & back up" wizard at the Settings - Basic ("othersettings") page for the broken blog, and export comments, pages, and posts. Then use the wizard for the new blog, and import the content just exported.

Transfer / update Followers.

If the broken blog uses Blogger Followers for community building, and you had a significant Followers community, the community will remain on the old, broken blog. This is the one down side of recovering a broken template using this technique.

Fortunately, the only specific problem is the effect upon the Followers community. The other half of Following - the blog feed - will be re established with the new blog, which will now have the desired URL being recovered. And the sooner you get the blog back online, the sooner you can rebuild / recover your Followers.

Rebuild the template, and add gadgets.

If you periodically back up the template, as you tweak it, this will be the easiest step in the recovery. Of course, since you are here because the template is broken, maybe you should rebuild the template, one step at a time. Try to not repeat the previous mistake.

Then add gadgets back, one at a time - and test carefully.

Provide notice to your Followers, readers, and viewers.

If you care about your community - Followers, readers, subscribers, and other viewers - a new post, briefly admitting to your mistake might be a good idea. You can even display your new post, as a Featured Post.

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Sometimes, it's not possible to recover a broken #Blogger blog, using any of the Template dashboard pages, with a blog sidelined by a "500 Internal Server Error" broken template. If the URL has any value to you - or your viewers - you can recover it, using a new blog.

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Blogger Magic - Backup The Template

It's always wise to backup the blog contents - and the template.

If you are publishing a blog, you may occasionally make a mistake. Being able to recover from a mistake, using backed up content, is always a good idea.

Blogger provides a dashboard wizard to backup the blog template - and a complementary wizard, to backup blog content - comments, pages, and posts.

Backing up a Blogger blog template is reasonably simple.

The template backup wizard is on the dashboard Template page.

Start from the dashboard Template page.

And click on "Backup / Restore".

Then click on "Download full template".

This will give you a standard file save wizard, that is used by your computer.



The file save wizard will depend upon the operating system.

On my computer, the file save window is "Save file as". Your computer operating system might have a similar wizard - or it may be different.

Other than choosing file and folder (your choice, on your computer) for backing up the template content, you just sit back and let the backup work. Don't wait too long though - a few seconds is all that it should take.

Understand how and why to backup.

Just don't backup blindly - or for the wrong reasons. To be useful, a backup needs to consider how to restore - and why you might restore.

Any backup is more useful, if you plan how and why you might need to restore.

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As you develop a #Blogger blog, making regular backups of the template is always a good idea. Everybody makes mistakes - and recovering from a template coding mistake is a lot easier, if you're able to restore a previous template copy.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/-7808eOAZ7c

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bX Codes, Diagnosing "Error 500", Being Reported

We're seeing a few reports from blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, with blogs being inaccessible.

My blog can't be seen at all, it just says error when I'm trying to open my blog. I also can't edit anything, like HTML or Template.

When the blog is viewed, it will issue one of several bX codes. So far, I've identified bX-3o92c2, bX-ppgc07, bX-tqn3zr, bX-v2vqfh, bX-vg1g6a. When the blog is viewed, using an HTTP trace, the trace will terminate, showing an old friend.

Error 500 Internal Server Error

What we appear to be seeing is multiple bX codes, being used to diagnose the various causes of the "Error 500", which has long plagued Blogger blog owners.

The "bX-v2vqfh" and other errors appear to be "500 Internal Server Error".

Here, we see a "bX-vg1g6a".

And an HTTP trace, for the same blog, shows the ubiquitous "Error 500 Internal Server Error".



So, the blog owner should get a new template - or restore from backup.

The simplest solution, to the "Error 500" has been to restore the template, from a recent backup - hoping that you have a usable backup. If a backup is not available - or if the blog, with the backup applied, also returns a bX code - you must get a new template.

The fortunate blog owner, able to login to Blogger with the right account, will have a relatively simple task.

1. Click on the "Design" link in the navbar.
2. Choose a new template - or restore from a previous backup.
3. Use "Edit HTML", and reset the post template.

If the blog has a custom template, that cannot (should not) be trashed, and the Template page can be accessed, a backup before getting a new Blogger template - and a restore after - may provide relief.

In either case, you will need to use the dashboard Template page - then reset the post template, using Template "Edit HTML".

In some cases, the dashboard can't be accessed. In this case, we must (with some effort) access the Template page, directly.

Possibly a little effort may be required.

1. Extract the BlogID, from the navbar "Design" or "New Post" link.
2. Build a Template page access URL.
3. Access the Template page, using the direct URL.
4. Choose a new template - or restore from a previous backup.
5. Use "Edit HTML", and reset the post template.

If the navbar link can't be used, a little more work is involved.

1. Find a cached copy of the blog, before the template broke.
2. Extract the BlogID, from the cache source code.
3. Build a Template page access URL.
4. Access the Template page, using the direct URL.
5. Choose a new template - or restore from a previous backup.
6. Use "Edit HTML", and reset the post template.

Finally, if possible, recall what changes you made, immediately before the problem was observed - and avoid repeating those changes.

Note that some blogs absolutely won't provide access to the Template page - but they may, to the Template Editor aka "Edit HTML".

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It appears that #Blogger Engineering, in an effort to diagnose the annoying "Error 500 Internal Server Error", has recently activated or added a series of bX codes - which are being reported by various blog owners.

We were some time ago advised to have the owner get a new template, when encountering the "Error 500".

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Unfold Widgets Selectively, Instead Of All At Once

The new Template HTML Editor has been with us for just under 2 weeks.

Not every blog owner sees the new editor as an improvement. Some folks don't understand how to find the code sections, where they need to apply changes - and would probably be happier if "Expand All Widgets" were an option.

Like the old saying goes, you just cannot please everybody.

Fortunately, with this change, it's not difficult to find the code sections that need changing - you just do a little bit of research, before using "Edit HTML".

With the old editor, finding a section that needed changing could be a bit frustrating - though simple, given enough time.

1. Hit "Expand Widget Templates".
2. Search for a recognisable section of code.
3. Try very carefully, to find the right section of code.
4. Be careful, and don't select the wrong section of code.

With the new editor, you have a bit more work to do - and what you have to do appears to be simply repetitive.

1. Find a folded code section.
2. Unfold the section that's folded.
3. Repeat, until everything is visible.
4. Search for a recognisable section of code.
5. Try very carefully, to find the right section of code.
6. Be careful, and don't select the wrong section of code.

Instead of spending so much time unfolding, searching, and rechecking everything, why not do some research? Figure out what needs changing. Look at the display on the dashboard Layout wizard (previously called "Page Elements"). Identify the widget to be changed, using both the relative position on the page, and the title.

Find the widget id, by looking at the widget to be changed, then at the URL behind the "Edit" link. If you're editing the post template, you'll be looking at "Blog Posts", which has the widgetID of "Blog1". Click here, for instructions on determining the widget id.

Once you have the widgetID, for the specific widget that you need to modify, go to the Template "Edit HTML" wizard, use the "Jump to widget" pull down list, select the widget by widgetID, and there it is. Now, unfold that widget, and do what you have to do.

Isn't that simpler, when you think about it?

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The Missing / Invisible Pages Index Gadget

Occasionally, a blog owner wants to add the Pages Index gadget to the blog, but just can't.

I go to add it - and I see "Already Added" - but where is it?

The first thing to check, when this happens, is the "Show pages as" option in the dashboard Pages display. Sometimes, you'll find "Don't show" selected. Other times, you'll find "Top tabs" - but the template may lack the code which houses the "Top tabs" gadget. This will be a problem for older templates, installed before the Pages index gadget was offered - as well as some third party templates.

Try selecting "Side links" (or change from "Side links", to "Top tabs", and back to "Side links") - and see if the gadget shows up, in the sidebar. Each time you change the setting, hit "Save arrangement".

After each change, view the blog, to verify success. Remember to clear cache, and restart the browser, each time you view the blog.

Once you get the gadget to show up in the sidebar - and if it matters - change the option to "Top tabs", and see if it shows up there. If not, you'll have several options.

• If the template came from a third party, change back to a standard Blogger template.
• Upgrade the template, to a newer version.
• Set the Pages Index back to "Side links".
• Reset the widget template.

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