The New Blogger Template Designer Is Here

After months of waiting, Blogger today released their new template library.

Instead of a static library, though, they chose to provide an array of combinable choices.

• Multiple, exciting styles.
• A huge library of theme organised backgrounds, each with an associated colour palette.
• A selection of layouts, with symmetrical combinations of
  • 2, 3, and 4 columns
  • with and without split sidebars
  • in both left and right variations
• Adjustable column widths.
• An updated Fonts and Colors GUI interface, with selections for new template objects like Pages Index gadgets.

From the dashboard or navbar, select "Design". From "Page Elements", then select "Template Designer" - and check out the possibilities.

What we have, now, is an almost infinite variety of possibilities, which should keep many bloggers happily occupied for days. If the Template Designer for your blog lacks options, you can even add some wizards to the Designer menu.

As with every new feature Blogger presents to us, always remain aware of security restrictions on your computer and network, and consider how the Designer content is hosted. If you can't get the Designer to work on your browser, try another browser or another computer.

Those deficiencies aside, I now have a new look for my Buzz blog, and another for my Recipes blog.

Accepting Membership In Another Blog May Change Post Editor Settings

Recently, we've seen an occasional question about mysteriously changed post editor selections.

Where did my options toolbar go?

or

Why do I now see the new post editor?

Right now, as part of the deployment of the new post editor, there are 3 selections, in Settings - Basic - Global Settings - Select post editor.

• Updated editor
• Old editor
• Hide compose mode

If you make this change under one blog, you'll find it true for all of your blogs. I've also noted, under some circumstances, that when you accept membership in someone else's blog, and the other person was using a different post editor selection, the other person's selection will now be yours, globally.

The next time that you accept membership in a blog, check your post editor setting. If the owner of the blog was using a different setting, your setting may have changed.

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Problems With The New Dashboard And Post Editor

Bloggers everywhere are now enjoying the new look of the redesigned Blogger Dashboard, and the improved buttons in Post Editor. With every change though, such as a redesign or improved functionality, comes problems. This change is no exception.

I notice that there's a new dashboard but I also noticed that when I try to put my cursor over the "publish" button it turns into a line and the button doesn't work unless I rest it below the publish button.

or

The button for NEW POST, PUBLISH POST & SAVE NOW are NOT working?

or

I can't upgrade my template. There's no "UPGRADE YOUR TEMPLATE" button!

Whenever Blogger makes a script change, like this one (that's visible), or similar ones that you can't see immediately, things will stop working. Sometimes, it will be because of old code, cached on your computer, interfering with their new code. Other times, it may be because of differences in the browser that you are using. And in many cases, you'll have a security device in the browser, in the computer, or on your network, that interferes with cookies and / or scripts on your computer.

If you see a problem, check the Blogger Help Forums, and look for others reporting the same problem. Look at the etiological spread of the problem. If you don't see a huge flood of reports of your problem, look at your computer, and see if there's anything different on your computer, that could contribute to the problem on your computer.

(Update 9/30 18:00): Blogger Employee is now asking for diagnostics describing your experience with the missing Template Upgrade button.

Please reply to this thread with your browser and operating system info.

Also, I recommend trying from another browser to see if that helps.

(Update 8/17): Help us out here, provide details please if you're affected by this problem. Precision counts here.

• What is your exact problem - buttons missing, or buttons don't work?
• What buttons, on what screen?
• Are you using Draft (Blue) or Production (Orange) Blogger?
• What browser, and what operating system (name and version) do you use?
• What anti-virus product, and what cookie / script blockers, do you have on your browser or computer?
• Have you tried clearing both cache and cookies, and restarting the browser?

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New Blogger June 2008 - Embedded Comments

Many bloggers who depend upon comments as an essential part of their posts have never been content with comments in a separate window - popup or not. Occasionally, you see the anxious query

Does anyone know how to make all comments appear directly under the post?

Until now, the answer to that question has always been

Not under native Blogger, unfortunately.

With New Blogger June/July 2008, that limitation is no more. Now, you have a third option for displaying comments.

Embedded below post

Note that you may, or may not, see my test comment below this post. If you're viewing posts in archive view, or in main page view, you'll still see the comment link, and have to click on that. A page with multiple posts, and comments interspersed between the posts, would be too hard to read.

If you're viewing this individual post, inline comments "Embedded below post" make sense.

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Future Scheduled Posts Now a Thing Of The Present

Scheduling a post, to publish in the future, is not at all a difficult task. Before you hit the "Publish Post" button, simply select the "Post Options" link just above that button, and change the date and / or time to some time in the future. Then, hit the button.

If it takes effect, when you hit the button, instead of getting the

Your blog post published successfully!

screen, you'll see the "Edit Posts" menu, with your new post listed, but shown with the "scheduled" notation besides the date / time stamp.

After the indicated date / time, refresh the "Edit Posts" screen, and you'll see that the post is now published. Or refresh the front page of the blog, and the newest post, just published, should be at the top. With dynamic publishing of the blog, you (or another blog reader) will have to do something in the way of reading the blog, to trigger the publishing.

If you're like me, and like to publish posts with a far future date, to keep some posts at the top of the blog, just Publish the post once without changing the date. Then Edit the post, and change the date as you like. The future posting date only takes effect when you change the date on a new post; edit the post after publishing, and the future posting feature is bypassed.

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Are you having a problem with scheduled posts? Which scenario applies in your case?

1. Things that post immediately, when they shouldn't.
2. Things that post later, when they should post immediately.
3. Things that never post.

What time zones differences might apply, in your case?

• Time zone where you live.
• Time zone on your computer.
• Time zone of the blog.
• Is DST in effect?

And look very carefully, at how you typed the post date and time, and at several relevant settings on your blog and you computer. Did you type the date as "mm/dd/yy", or as "dd/mm/yy", for instance?

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