Revert A Page / Post To Draft Status

Sometimes, we need to remove a page or post from a blog - but prefer to not delete it.

There are various reasons for not wanting to delete a page / post immediately or permanently - maybe when removing a post for problem diagnosis, or to change the URL to match the publish date. Reverting to draft status is easily reversed, and has no permanent side effects.

When you want to quickly - but not permanently - remove a page or post, you can revert to draft status.

Reverting to draft status is convenient, safe, and simple.

You can revert a page or post using Page / Post Editor, or the Pages / Posts dashboard page.

• Revert, using the Pages / Posts dashboard pages.
• Revert, using the Page Editor / Post Editor.

Revert, using the Pages / Posts dashboard pages.

The Pages / Posts dashboard page is a menu. Simply select one or more pages or posts, then click "Revert to draft". Click on "Yes" to verify. and you're done.

Hit "Revert to draft", after selecting a page or post.



Revert, using the Page Editor / Post Editor.

Any time that you are editing a previously published page or post, click "Revert to draft". And you're done.

Hit "Revert to draft", when in page / post editor.



And when you're done, you're done.

Once a post is newly draft, it's offline. Page / post content in cache on your readers's computers will be readable until it expires. New readers, on the other hand, will see a "404" immediately.

You can recover the post with the URL - or rename to a new URL.

If you revert to draft - then later, re publish without changing the title, you will get the same post, with the same URL, back. If you change the title with the post in draft status, you get the same post content, under a new URL, when you re publish.

If you do the latter by mistake - then discover the mistake later, you can recover the mistake by merging the new and previous URLs. Just add a custom redirect from the new to old URL (or vice versa).

Review / Recover The Draft Inventory, With One Mouse Click

Any time that you need, review the inventory of Draft posts. Just click on "Draft" under "Posts". You can Edit then Publish - or just Publish, immediately.

Check out the current Draft posts complement, from Pages or Posts - Draft. Then recover one or more.

Just select one or more posts, then "Publish".

Or edit a page or post, then Publish.



Either way, you can recover any pages or posts, reverted, easily enough - as long as you revert them, instead of deleting them.

Just understand the possibilities.

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Reverting a #Blogger blog post to draft status is a quick, yet reversible, way to take a post offline. The URL will be recovered, automatically - as long as you do not change the title.

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Blogger Magic - Move Content Between Blogs

Some blog owners, who publish multiple blogs with different subjects, may decide that some subjects would be better discussed in a different blog.

With various posts published in one blog, the owner may decide that those posts should be published in a different blog, to continue discussion. The question now is how to move posts, from one blog to another?

The dashboard "Export / Import" feature, which is now labeled "Import & back up", lets us copy pages and posts from one blog to another. Just copying all pages and posts, though, will create problems with duplicated content.

If you are going to move specific posts from one blog to another - and continue to publish both blogs - you have to add extra steps to the process.

Use "Import & back up", on the Settings - Other dashboard page.

1. Export all content from the first blog.
2. Import all exported content, to the second blog, as "Imported".
3. Publish imported content, selectively, in the second blog.
4. Delete content re published, from the first blog.
5. Setup custom 404 or custom redirects, from the first blog.
6. Remove imported yet un published content, from the second blog.

Export all content from the first blog.

Using the "Import & back up" wizard, on the dashboard Settings - Other page for the first blog, click "Back up Content". This will export all pages and posts, in the blog, to the file which you select.

To make it easier, label the posts that you want to "move" to the other blog, before you start "Back up Content".

I labeled my posts "Move".

Now, "Back up Content", from the first blog.

Use the file manager provided by your operating system, to create or select a file / folder, and actually save the file.



Import all exported content, to the second blog, as "Imported".

Using the "Import & back up" wizard, on the dashboard Settings - Other page for the second blog, click "Import Content" - then find and select the file just created. This will import all pages and posts, as exported from the first blog - and place the imported pages and posts in the special "Imported" status, on the Pages and the Posts dashboard pages.

Continue with "Import Content", to the second blog.

Select the file that you just created, above.

And having Imported everything, there are the posts - including those labeled "Move".



Publish imported content, selectively, in the second blog.

Using the "Pages" and "Posts" dashboard pages, select the newly activated "Imported" menu, as you wish. This will list all imported pages and posts, in turn.

Find the pages and posts that you want moved, select them, and click "Publish". If you labeled the posts to be "moved", simply display, and Publish, all posts with the designated label.

And, I Published the posts labeled to be "moved".



Note that, once Published, the "Imported" status is cleared.

Delete or revert content re published, from the first blog.

To prevent problems with search engines detecting duplicate content, you can delete or revert to draft status, each post in the first blog, the you just re published in the second blog. If you revert to draft status, you will have backed up content and a recoverable page / post URL.

Again, if you labeled the posts, you can delete or revert posts using the label.

Setup custom 404 or custom redirects, from the first blog.

You cannot use a custom redirect to automatically redirect from the first blog to the second. You can, however, setup a custom 404 page, in the first blog - or make custom redirects to a custom 404 page, in the first blog - advising the reader that the post just requested is now part of the second blog.

The reader will still have to intentionally click to jump into the second blog - but until Blogger blogs are not used as spam hosts, this will be necessary to avoid making your blog look like a spam host.

And as noted, please don't use this technique to re use a single blog. Duplication prevention will generate suffixed URLs, for pages and posts exported then imported to the same blog.

Remove imported yet un published content, from the second blog.

As a type of basic hygiene, once all of the posts are moved ("published"), remove all imported content that isn't published. If you ever repeat the exercise, you won't enjoy the duplicated content, that you will have to identify, from having Exported then Imported, twice.

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The "Import & back up" #Blogger dashboard wizard can be used to copy pages and posts, from one blog to another. Actually moving content requires more than just exporting from one blog, and importing to a second blog.



http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2016/06/blogger-magic-export-from-blogger-blog.html

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/hJ-WrGwnIFo

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Blogger Magic - Adding Label Search URLs

One of the simplest ways to make a blog useful is to add label searches.

Adding label searches, in page / post text, is not easy - unless you know how to build the URLs. Here's a label search from this blog.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/search/label/Blogger%20Magic

All that I want, when using that label search, is to add another reference to my "Blogger Magic" post series.

"Blogger Magic" emphasises how easy it is, to use Blogger. How easy is it, to remember that syntax - to add a label link? Maybe, a "Blogger Magic" reference, in this post?

When you read a blog post, that has label references, look at the bottom of the post.

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Please note the advice, at the bottom of the post.

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Look in the post footer, for the "Labels" section.

Here's the bottom of another post, from this blog.

Here's the bottom of this post.



Note that not all blogs will provide a "Labels" posts section. That is an owner choice.

Look at a label link, in the "Labels" section of the post - when provided.

There's the bottom of two of my "Label Search" posts - "Blogger Magic - A Blog Within A Blog", followed by this post "Blogger Magic - Adding Label Search URLs". Now, look at the Labels links.

In most blogs, the Labels links would be labeled "Labels". I call mine "Topics". As owner of this blog, that is my personal choice.

Also, in most blogs, the "Labels" section will be found, in the post footer. Some blog owners have chosen to position their "Labels" in the post header. This, too, is their choice - and carries with it, some risk.

See "Label Search"?



Look in the browser status area, when hovering over the link caption.

Look at the "Topics" section. See "Label Search"? Hover the mouse cursor, over the "Label Search" link.

See the label search URL, in the browser status area?



Look in the browser status area, when hovering over the link caption.

Hover the mouse over "Label Search", and look in the browser status area.

blogging.nitecruzr.net/search/label/Label Search

For a blog using an HTTPS redirect, you might see a slightly different URL.

If this blog uses the "HTTPS: Redirect" option, you might see it slightly differently.

https://blogging.nitecruzr.net/search/label/Label%20Search

Click on either of the above 2 links. OK, I cheated with the second link - since this blog, right now, does not support HTTPS - and I obviously don't want you looking at an HTTPS Error display.

Whether HTTP - or HTTPS - is in use, there is the label search link.

Whichever you see - and decide to use - with your blog, there is a label search URL. Now, get a label search URL from your blog - and use the URL, in another page or post in your blog.

This post opens many links in new tabs / windows, intentionally.

BTW - and if you have clicked on any of the links above - and since you have apparently read to this point - I have to warn you that many of the links, above, are intentionally coded to open in a new tab / window. That is necessary, based on the nature of the links in this post.

Many of the links in this post are clickable, simply to illustrate to you the content in label searches - as opposed to links which lead you to additional information in the blog. So as not to lead you away from this post, you should not lose context after clicking on a link - as long as you simply close the new (illustrative) tab / window.

My sincere apologies, if my seemingly gratuitous opening of new tabs / windows inconveniences or offends you.

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Some #Blogger blog owners want to use label search URLs, in page or post text. Getting a label search URL is easy enough, when you look in the post label search section - which is generally in the post footer.

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Blogger Magic - Third Party Templates

There are millions of Blogger blog owners - and each owner has their own idea, how their blog should look.

Not every blog owner is willing to settle for using a Blogger supplied template. Some blog owners design their own templates - and others choose templates provided by non Blogger developers.

Some blog owners - even those with no technical background - choose third party supplied templates, and demand instructions in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger. Not every blog owner can be supported, according to their personal level of need.

It's OK for you to install a new third party template, for your blog - though you should plan to do some extra work.

Third party templates should include some installation instructions.

A template publisher should provide instructions for uploading and installing their template. Installation procedures may vary, however.

• Easy install.
• Template restore.
• Template Edit HTML.

Easy install.

If the template publisher is honourable, using an install script, provided by the template publisher, can be the most reliable install procedure. A well written script can extract the template of your choice from the publishers library, copy it to your blog, and tweak the install to your satisfaction.

Giving control of your Blogger account, to an unknown third party, is not always the best idea, however.

Template restore.

If the template publisher provides a template as an XML file, and describes the template as "for Blogger", you can install the template from the dashboard. You will first download the template of your choice, to a local computer.

With a template downloaded locally, you use the Blogger "Backup / Restore" wizard, in the dashboard Template page.

Start with the dashboard Template page.

Hit the "Backup / Restore" button.

Hit the "Choose File" button.

Now, you have the file manager, provided with your computer. Select the file, containing the template just downloaded.



The "Backup / Restore" wizard is part of the Blogger dashboard. The template will be selected, using the file manager wizard on the computer being used.

Template Edit HTML.

This is the most universal procedure - if the template is provided as HTML. Just use the Blogger "Edit HTML" wizard, in the dashboard Template page.

The simplest install uses "Edit HTML", from the dashboard Template page.

Copy the HTML or Text file content, into the window.



In some cases, you may have to do some work, to use an HTML template.

It's your blog - and the template choice is yours too.

You can use any acceptable third party blog template. Many blog features will perform best, though, if you use the Blogger supplied post template.

To ensure up to date Blogger code, always refresh the post template, after installing a third party blog template.

And as always, I'll suggest that you backup the template, before and after installing a custom template.

If you install a third party template, you may have to support your blog, on your own.

Please understand that Blogger won't be able to support your third party template - that is the responsibility of the template publisher. Problems with your blog, after installing third party accessories, will be yours to resolve.

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There are millions of #Blogger blog owners - and each owner is different. Blog design - and templates used - will vary similarly.

Some blog owners cannot be satisfied by the Blogger supplied template library - and require third party produced templates.

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Blogger Magic - Links And Colors

We see an occasional question in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue about blog links - and the captions that change colour, mysteriously.

Some blog owners seem to regard the colour changes as one more Blogger pecadillo - ignoring the fact that colour changing link captions have been part of Internet design, since the early days.

In most blogs, you can change link colours - and prevent the colour changes - using the Blogger dashboard Template Designer.

You can change any color using the color code, or a color chart, part of any colour wizard.



To access the Template Designer, start from the dashboard Template page.

The Template Designer is behind the "Customize" button, on the dashboard Template page.

From the dashboard Template page, click on the "Customize" button.

Start with the Template Designer main page.

Click on Advanced - and look for "Links".

On my blog, I can adjust "Link Color", "Visited Color", and "Hover Color".



Template Designer menu and wizard combinations may vary.

The Template Designer menu / display can be adjusted according to the decision of the template designer.

Your template, when customized, using Template Designer, may have a "Links" section, with "Link Color", "Visited Color", and "Hover Color". It may have additional colours - or colours and fonts may be combined. All of this is as setup in the template "Variable definitions" section.

You can change any colour using the colour code - or a color chart.



If you want your links - including titles - to remain one colour constantly, change the 3 colours (or whatever your blog has) to one common value.

My blog uses "Link Color" = "2d25ce", "Visited Color" = "ce25c5", and "Hover Color" = "583fff". Your blog may use a different colour combination.

For a useful color number / visual chart, you can use W3Schools: HTML Color Picker.

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Not all #Blogger blog owners understand link captions - and how the caption colours change, to indicate pages that have been visited from a given browser. Some think the colour changes are a Blogger novelty.

In reality, link caption colours have been a feature, since browsers were first used in the Internet.

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Blogger Magic - Disable The HTTPS Redirect

SSL has been an option, for BlogSpot published blogs, since late last year - and we still see occasional questions, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about its use.

When I saved my post, I saw the error message

This page contains HTTP resources which may cause mixed content affecting security and user experience if blog is viewed over HTTPS.

I clicked "Fix" - and the error message went away. Should I have to go back and "fix" all my old blog posts, this way?

This blog owner will be better off, with "HTTPS Redirect" disabled.

Until HTTPS availability, for all Internet content and services, becomes a consistent reality, there will be problems with Blogger blogs - and confusion, as in the example.

Custom domain publishing is the most vulnerable Blogger feature, with blogs using "HTTPS Redirect". It's not the only possible complication, though.

Some blog owners will be better off, not enabling "HTTPS Redirect" - or if enabled, they will need to disable it.

HTTPS Redirect can be easily disabled.

"HTTPS Redirect" is not difficult, to disable. Go to the dashboard Settings - Basic page.

Click on "Yes".

Select "No".

And, the option is disabled.

And the owner won't see the confusing "Fix" / "Dismiss" options.



Now, you can publish the blog, to a custom domain. With "HTTPS Availability" not optional, blogs, with essential features that don't provide SSL, will still have unsatisfied readers who will demand HTTPS.

Some blogs would be better off with "HTTPS Availability" as an option.

You cannot eliminate all confusion, until SSL is uniformly available.

I will note, however, that disabling the redirection will not eliminate reader concern, from "Mixed Content" alerts - nor will it prevent owner confusion, from Post Editor warnings. As long as SSL is (may be) involved - automatic redirect or not - and until every Internet feature and service uses SSL consistently - there is going to be some confusion.

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Some #Blogger blog owners will need to disable the "HTTPS Redirect" option, to publish their blogs as they need. Right now, "HTTPS Redirect" is an option - and "HTTPS Availability" needs to be an option also.

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Blogger Magic - Export From A Blogger Blog

One of the most useful skills, when maintaining and publishing a blog, is backing up the content.

As you publish a blog, it's a very good idea to periodically backup the content - comments, pages, and posts. Sometimes, backed up content may save you hours of anguish.

Backed up content is not a waste of time or resources.

Backing up content - comments, pages (static pages), and posts (dynamic pages) is a very quick task - that consumes a minimal amount of resources.

Many people will benefit from a daily routine of backup. Backed up content can be used, in a variety of ways - if it is available.

Periodic backup of content is simple - and may save you much inconvenience.

Start from Settings - Other.

Click on "Back up Content".

Click on "Save to your computer".

Some operating systems may leave the browser, to save your content.

Click on "Leave".

Now, you use the file manager provided by your operating system, to select a file / folder, and actually save the file.



"Back up Content" is useful, in several tasks.

You'll find that daily backups uses a minimal amount of time, and computer resources. And even if you don't ever use the backed up content, you will be better off having it.

• Exporting content, to a different publishing system.
• Moving content, to another blog.
• Recovering from a corrupted template.
• Saving updated content.

All of these tasks use the "Back up Content" wizard. Do this regularly - and you won't regret it. Just remember where you save the content. Setup one or more standard folders, on your local computer.

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Using the "Back up Content" #Blogger dashboard wizard is a good task to do frequently - and regularly. It will save you a lot of time and trouble, if ever needed.

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Blogger Magic - Resequence Pages Buttons / Links

Some blog owners add pages - dynamic and static - to their blog, then discover that the Pages gadget lists them in the wrong sequence.

We see an occasional question, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger.

My pages are poorly organised. How do I change the sequence?

This is not a difficult problem, to correct.

It's not difficult to change the sequence of the Pages buttons or links, using "Configure Page List".

Use "List Order" in "Configure Page List" to change button / link sequence.

The "List Order" wizard, in "Configure Page List", is used to resequence all pages entries (buttons / links) - for dynamic and static pages, alike.

Just "grab" a pages entry to be moved, using the "handle" - and re position it as desired.

Start in the dashboard Layout page.

Find the Pages gadget. Here, it's in the "Cross-Column" container.

Edit the Pages gadget.

That gives you "Configure Page List".

Find "List Order".

To re locate a button / link, find the "9 dot" handle.

Grab the page button to be moved. Mouse over the "9 dots", click and hold the left mouse button.

Drag the button, to its new location - and release. And Save.

And now, we see the page buttons, in the new sequence.



Just "click and grab", and move any button, into its new sequence. And don't forget to Save.

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It's easy to change the order of the #Blogger Pages buttons / links, using the "List Order" GUI in "Configure Page List". Just click and drag any button / link, using the "9 dot" handle, into the desired location sequence.

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Blogger Magic - Followers / Reading List Visibility

When we use Blogger Following, we create a link to our profile, from each blog that we Follow.

That's the primary purpose of Following - to see, and to be seen. We also create links from our Followers profile, to each Followed blog. That's the purpose of having a profile - to describe ourselves, by the blogs that interest us.

Everybody does not want other people knowing about every blog that we Follow, though. To let us Follow blogs without being seen, we can Follow anonymously - or hide a blog, from our profile on other blogs.

When we Follow a blog, we can choose to Follow anonymously, or publicly.

We can change the option, to Follow anonymously or publicly, when needed. If we Follow publicly, we can hide this blog, in our profile, on other blogs.

We can also hide blogs in Reading List, to keep the list manageable.

Change between Anonymous and Public Following.

There are two ways of changing between anonymous and public Following.

1. Use the Followers gadget.
2. Use the Reading List wizard.

Use the Followers gadget.

If you are Following a blog publicly, you'll have your icon in the Followers facepile (the icon cloud in the gadget). You can edit your profile, and Follow anonymously - or continue to Follow publicly, but with this blog hidden from other blogs.

Click on "Options", when you are logged in to Following, as yourself.

Then, click on "Site settings".

Or, if you are Following publicly, you can click on your icon, then "Settings".

Now, you have the Settings wizard, for this site.

Click on "publicly" - since you can see this, when Following publicly.

If you're Following publicly, you can choose to Follow anonymously - or continue to Follow publicly, but not include this blog on your profile.



If you are Following a blog anonymously, you won't have your icon in the facepile. If you want to now Follow publicly, and you are properly logged in, you'll still have "Options" - then "Site settings".

Use the Reading List wizard.

There are two Reading List management wizards - one for Blogger profiles, the other for Google+ profiles.

Changing Reading List, with a Blogger profile.

If you have a Blogger profile, you use the Blogger "Manage Blogs I'm Following" wizard - that you access from the Blogger dashboard.

If you have a Google+ profile, you'll use Google friend connect "Sites I've joined".

Start from the Blogger dashboard home page.

Click on the "gear" icon, to the right of "Reading List".

Some blogs are Followed publicly.

You can make any publicly Followed blog, Followed anonymously.

Just click on "Change to anonymous".

Some blogs are Followed anonymously.

You can make any anonymously Followed blog, Followed publicly.

Just click on "Change to public".



Changing Reading List, with a Google+ profile.

If you have a Google+ profile, you use Google Friend Connect: Sites I've joined. You can't click to this wizard, from the dashboard.

If you have a Blogger profile, you'll use Blogger "Manage Blogs I'm Following".

Start from "Sites I've joined".

Find the blog that's relevant - and click on "Settings".

Some blogs are Followed publicly.

This blog is being Followed publicly.



If you choose to Follow publicly, using a Google+ profile, you can choose to display this blog, as part of your profile - when your icon is displayed on other blogs. Alternately, you can Follow this blog publicly - but make it non visible, from other blogs.

To Follow anonymously, click on "Follow anonymously", and "Save".

Some blogs are Followed anonymously.

This blog is being Followed anonymously.

To Follow publicly, click on "Follow publicly", and "Save".

If you Follow publicly, you can choose to hide the blog from your profile. You'll be visible, on this blog - but your profile, on other blogs, won't point to this blog.



Hide and un hide a blog, in Reading List.

Besides anonymity in Following, we can hide a blog, to make Reading List manageable.

So, be aware of the options for choosing private ("anonymous") vs public Following.

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When we Follow a blog, using #Blogger Followers, we have several options to control our visibility on different blogs. We can make ourselves fully or partially visible - or non visible.

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