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 - Using "Add a Gadget"

One of the most useful features of Blogger is the ability to add many different accessories, to a blog.

There are accessories, for every blog - and for every owner preference. The "Add a Gadget" wizard, in the Blogger dashboard, is the best procedure for adding accessories, to customise a blog reliably.

Using "Add a Gadget" is a simple process. It will be most useful, in the long term, if used cautiously, however.

Adding a gadget is not difficult.

Start from the Blogger dashboard Layout page.

Click on any link to "Add a Gadget", to that template section.

This link, for instance, will add a gadget to the right sidebar.



Choose any of dozens of interesting and useful accessories.

Be knowledgeable, when adding accessories.

Similar to the process of adding an HTML gadget, there are a few mistakes that you can avoid, when adding a gadget in general.

1. Some sections of the Layout page may not allow gadgets to be added.
2. When you find an interesting gadget, be selective!
3. Some Blogger provided gadgets are found under "More Gadgets".
4. Don't use "Add your own" - unless you know what you're doing!
5. Add a new gadget, when adding important features.
6. A gadget, as added, will be displayed on every page of the blog.

Some sections of the Layout page may not allow gadgets to be added.

Each template section can be subject to gadget limits, and to locking. This will prevent addition, removal, and / or re positioning of gadgets.

If you're unable to add, remove, or reposition a gadget, you may have to edit the template - and change the section settings.

When you find an interesting gadget, be selective!

"Add Gadget" lists gadgets produced by third party developers, as well as by Blogger Engineering. Some non Blogger produced gadgets won't benefit your blog, in the long term.

Look for "By Blogger", for the best choices.



Not all third party gadgets are intentionally malicious - but the most reliable gadgets will be explicitly labeled "By Blogger".

Some Blogger provided gadgets are found under "More Gadgets".

The "Basics" tab in "Add a Gadget" contains mostly gadgets "By Blogger" - and most gadgets "By Blogger" are found in "Basics". Some gadgets "By Blogger" are in "More Gadgets" - and you may have to search that list, carefully, to find what you need.

Don't use "Add your own" - unless you know what you're doing!

There are 3 tabs, in "Add a Gadget".

1. Basics.
2. More Gadgets.
3. Add your own.

The latter, "Add your own", can lead to frustration.

If you are not familiar with coding XML gadgets (and probably do not need this advice), don't bother with "Add your own". Stick with "Basics" and "More Gadgets".

Add a new gadget, when adding important features.

You can install HTML code using the Template Editor - or you can add an HTML snippet into an existing HTML gadget - if you wish. I highly recommend that you add a new HTML gadget, for each important accessory, though.

A gadget, as added, will be displayed on every page of the blog.

By default, a gadget, once added, will be visible on every template page. You can, with some care and effort, make specific gadgets display selectively.

Enjoy adding accessories, properly.

So enjoy accessorising your blog - just accessorise carefully.

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You can add any number of useful accessories, to a #Blogger blog, using the "Add a Gadget" wizard in the dashboard Layout page. The best choices are explicitly labeled "By Blogger".

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Share Posts, From Private Blogs, By Email

Owners of private blogs have, periodically, lamented the lack of options for distribution of comments and posts. We've seen a few queries, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger.

How do I let my readers subscribe to my private blog?

There's no good answer, to please everybody, here.

You can't use EMail, FeedBurner, or Reading List, for sharing private blog content. FeedBurner requires the blog comments / posts newsfeeds - and private blogs don't produce newsfeeds.

If you need to distribute content from a private blog, you'll have to use BlogSend.

Private blog post subscriptions require the dashboard "BlogSend" feature.

You'll have to use "BlogSend" to provide email subscriptions, for private blogs - and that limits you to 10 subscribers (1 who should be you). That's the "Email posts to" option in the dashboard Settings - Email page.

"BlogSend" aka "Email posts to" is the only option, for private blogs.



You can try to email specific posts, from a private blog.

You can try to use the Blogger post footer "Email Posts" feature.

Just enable the "Email Post Links" option in "Configure Blog Posts". You cannot enable "Show Share Buttons" - but you can enable "Show Email Post Links".

Use "Configure Blog Posts" from the dashboard Layout page.

Look under "Post Page Options" for "Show Email Post Links".



With the option enabled, and the icon visible, it's still a no go.

D'Ohh!



There's still no social sharing of private blog content.

Note the advice for "Show Share Buttons".

Sharing is available only for public blogs.

You can't share blog content, outside Blogger, if the blog is private. That protects private blog owners, from having their confidential posts distributed to the world.

We can't share content from private blogs, using EMail, FaceBook, Google+, Pinterest, or Twitter.

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If you publish a private #Blogger blog, you cannot email or share comments or posts. Your only option will be BlogSend aka the "Email posts to" dashboard option.

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Post Data Cannot Be Moved Above The Post Body

Blog owners have been requesting the ability to position various post content items above the post body, for years.

We've seen reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about problems moving Comments, Labels, Share Bar, and others.

Several years, "Arrange Items" was upgraded to allow Labels to be moved above the post body. That option was provided briefly - then removed later.

Depending upon what items are currently in a specific location, moving other items into - or out of - that location may or may not be successful.

The "Arrange Items" wizard is not magical.

Code for each item, which can be moved, has to specifically support repositioning into any one of the target boxes.



Any item move may, or may not, be successful. Various details may affect success.

• Item being moved.
• Item current location.
• Item target location.
• Other items in the same current location.
• Other items in the same target location.
• Post template status - customisation, etc.

Frequently, when a problem with "Arrange Items" is reported, the blog owner is trying to target a position above the post body.

Diagnosing a post template problem, which involves arranging items, can involve any of these details. Not so many blog owners want to re arrange items - and even less want to arrange items above the post body - so there is not a lot of experience with diagnosing these problems.

Success - or failure - may involve several scenarios.

In some cases, the drag and drop operation, in "Arrange Items", may not accomplish anything. The owner may drag the item into place - and watch as the item perversely moves itself back, to where it was.

In other cases, the move may appear successful. The item may seem to move, and stay where is is dropped.

The owner may Save - then refresh blog display, and see the item still where it was. Opening "Configure Blog Posts", the item may or may not be displayed where it is now - or where it is wanted.

In some cases, the item may be moved successfully - and some other item, in the original or current location, may stop working.

We have seen all of these problems reported. Frequently, there is only one course of action.

• Reset the post template.
• Start over.

In many cases, resetting the post template is the only way to repair a problem caused by moving an item to where it should not go. With the template reset, the owner will have to choose whether to try again - and risk a repeat, of the same problem.

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Moving #Blogger post template items, from one location to another, is not always successful - and sometimes causes problems with other blog content. Attempting to move items above the post body is a frequent cause of problems.


https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/Gv2Mgnpg3TE

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https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/u6mZEd1mjLY/discussion

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Blogger Magic - Set Main Page Size

One of the most visible changes, to the blog display, involves properly setting main page size.

You change the posts count using "Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page, or "Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard. Both let you set the main page display limit.

You can limit main page size by days with posts, or by total post count.

Main page size is your choice, for your blog - but think of your readers, waiting for a typical main page display to download.

Many don't have extreme bandwidth, nor are the Blogger servers overly robust. When your blog, or even a single post, takes 2 or 3 minutes to load, your blog may need tuning.

Main page size is one key setting, in encouraging reader activity, and in improving search engine relationships.

• "Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page.
• "Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard.

"Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page.

"Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard.

There are alternate techniques, for changing main page size - use of a dynamic template, with endless scrolling - and segmenting the blog using pages. And adding Jump Break, to the posts, lets you make the individual posts smaller.

But for a simple blog setup, just limiting main page size is the first step to showing your readers that you respect their need to view your blog, without excessive waiting.

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One of the simplest changes that you can make to a #Blogger blog, to make it easier to view, involves setting a reasonable main page size. This helps your readers view the blog, in main page view, without a lot of waiting.

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Blogger Magic - Managing The Pages In Your Blog

Some blog owners are never quite sure how to manage all characteristics of the Pages, in their blog.

From time to time, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we see evidence of the confusion.

How do I hide the Home tab?

or

I can't rename my pages!

Some blog owners may know of one Pages management wizard, but not another. To the untrained eye, it may all seem like one big magic show.

There are actually 3 wizards, which let us manage the pages.

• The Configure Page List wizard (aka Pages gadget).
• The Layout wizard.
• The Pages wizard.

The Configure Page List wizard (aka Pages gadget) is accessed from the Layout wizard, by Editing the Pages gadget. Alternately, if QuickEdit is enabled, use the QuickEdit icon, on the blog itself.

If the Pages gadget is not visible on the Layout display, you may need to add the gadget, before you can Edit it.

To make the Pages gadget function as a horizontal link bar - the most popular layout - you add the gadget into the "crosscol" template section, in the dashboard Layout page. The "crosscol" section, on standard Blogger templates, contains CSS rules which make lists display horizontally.

"Configure Page List" has various functions, to assist you in managing pages.
The Layout wizard is accessed from the dashboard. It has three functions, in managing pages.

• Provide access to the "Configure Page List" wizard, by Editing the Pages gadget.
• Relocate / restructure the pages list, by dragging and dropping the Pages gadget.
  • Drag the Pages gadget to the top of the blog layout, and it morphs into the tabs gadget.
  • Drag the Pages gadget into the sidebar, and it morphs into a linklist.
• Let you add the Pages gadget, using "Add a Gadget".

The Pages wizard is accessed directly from the dashboard menu. It is now used solely to add, edit, and delete static pages, with the same look and feel as the Posts wizard. All other functions, formerly provided by the Pages wizard, are now provided by "Configure Page List".

None of this is magic - though the complementary functions of the different wizards may make one think of a typical MMORPG team. And the recent redesign of the wizards has caused some confusion, being recently discovered.

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Be Aware When You Install Third Party Code

We've been seeing a few problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from blog owners who are not aware of the risks from installing third party code, on their blog.

Some blog owners are not even aware that the code being installed is not supplied by Blogger - and is not subject to the same coding standards as code supplied by Blogger.

Third party accessories and code - from simple JavaScript that installs in the blog template, to attractive XML gadgets installed using the "Add a Gadget" wizard - has always been a challenge, to Blogger blogs.

Knowing when you are installing code provided by someone other than Blogger / Google, and taking appropriate precautions, is your responsibility. What you install can affect your reader activity - and even your reader's computers.

Blogger provides a large library of XML coded accessories, installed using the Layout "Add a Gadget" wizard.

Sadly, the Blogger "Add a Gadget" library is subject to abuse by hackers.
As we have learned in the past, however, the "Add a Gadget" accessory library is also used for distribution of non Blogger supplied gadgets. Gadgets supplied by Blogger are available using "Add a Gadget", and are labeled "By Blogger".

Google does have other accessory libraries - the late "iGoogle" library is one well known one. That aside, most Blogger blogs - and all non Google websites, which are used for distribution of Blogger accessories and gadgets - are non Blogger products.

Consider, carefully, any third party code.
Be aware of what you are about to install, on your blog.

• A gadget provided using "Add a Gadget", and labeled "By Blogger" is a Blogger provided gadget.
• A gadget provided using "Add a Gadget", but not labeled "By Blogger", is not a Blogger provided gadget.
• A gadget provided using a Blogger blog, which is not published by Blogger, is not a Blogger provided gadget.
• A gadget provided using a non Google website is not a Blogger provided gadget.

These are examples of Blogger supplied gadgets. Anything different is not a Blogger supplied gadget.

If you install non Blogger code in the template, and later see

Your blog has been deleted because of MALICIOUS JAVASCRIPT

this is a risk which you take.

Consider the risks involved, before installing third party code.
Do not install non Blogger code on your blog, without knowing the risks.

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Remove The "Next Blog" Link From The Navbar

Ever since Blogger added the "Next Blog" link to the Blogger Navbar, blog owner and readers alike have periodically asked one question, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

How do I remove the "Next Blog" link, from the Navbar?

The "Next Blog" link, long ago added to generate random traffic for new blogs, is occasionally perceived as leading unwary readers to blogs where they should not wish to go. Some "adults" of various intention have asked this question, quite seriously, in fear of their blogs being inadvertently linked to blogs with unsavoury content.

The navbar coded as it is, there is no known ability to customise it, and to remove specific elements such as the "Next Blog" link. Generally, we simply advise people, when they have the need, to remove the Navbar.

Use the Layout wizard, Edit the "Navbar" gadget, and select "Off".

That noted, it is possible to remove the "Next Blog" link (and all buttons and links to its left), with a bit of CSS - for blogs with the owner able and comfortable with using the Template Designer. For a simple way to remove the "Next Blog" link, use the "Add CSS" menu option in the Template Designer, and add one snippet of code.

#navbar-iframe {
margin-left:-510px;
}

When you do this, you will lose 5 other buttons and links.

• The dashboard icon.
• The Blog Search window.
• The "G+ Share" icon.
• The share count display.
• The multi-function share / "Report Abuse" menu.

So hackers / spammers will appreciate the last menu being unavailable, on their blogs.

You may see this tweak demonstrated, in my New Template Laboratory. It's an ugly solution - but for blog owners who truly don't want their blogs linking to "Next Blog", it may be useful.

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