Use "Quick Edit" To Bypass The Dashboard Menu

One very useful Blogger feature is the option to bypass the Blogger dashboard - to edit the various gadgets, and existing blog posts.

The feature, termed "Quick Edit", provides two different icons, generally visible to the proper recipients, with the option enabled, on the published blog.

• The "Quick Edit" "pencil" is visible to administrators and authors, in the posts toolbar, to the right of the "Email Post" icon. This will generally be in one of the post footer lines.
• The gadget "screwdriver / wrench" icon is visible to administrators, to the lower right of each template gadget (except for "Blog Posts").

Though the "screwdriver / wrench" icon is more visible, that icon has no name, and no selection option in the Blogger dashboard. And, there are more mysteries.

The "Quick Edit" option is selected using "Configure Blog Posts", as "Show Quick Editing".

Most blog owners enable "Quick Edit" on their blogs, routinely.


What I see, of the"Search Me, Direct" gadget, in this blog.


The Quick Edit icon, that I see. You should not not see the icon, when you view this blog - but you may see it, on a gadget in your blog, when you view your own blog.


You enable "Quick Edit" from the dashboard Layout page.
Though the option affects visibility of the "screwdriver / wrench" icons, in the blog template, there is no dashboard Settings selection. It is only selected as a post template option, in "Configure Blog Posts".

The "Configure Blog Posts" wizard is accessible only by Editing the "Blog Posts" gadget, from the dashboard Layout wizard. There is no "screwdriver / wrench" icon which allows access to the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard.

Names used to identify the "Quick Edit" icon may vary.
Adding to the mystique here, residents of Europe may term the "wrench" as a "spanner". Long ago, some blog owners referred to the "screwdriver / spanner / wrench" icon as "dragonflies".

Both the "pencil" and "screwdriver / wrench" icons may or may not be consistently visible. Both icons have been known to be invisible / non functional, with improperly configured cookie or script filters.

The icon may be visible, even when not operational.
And thanks to caching, a blog owner may see either the "pencil" or "screwdriver / wrench" icon when logged out of Blogger - and mistakenly conclude that the public, in general, is able to access the Dashboard or Post Editor for his blog, and change blog options or edit posts. Having logged out, then clicking on any visible icon - or clicking on a carefully configured link URL, we can verify that no illegal access is possible.

And some blog owners, thanks to an intriguing terminology variation, may refer to the "pencil" as an option for editing a "blog".

All that said, use of the Quick Edit URL - with Quick Edit enabled or not - can be very useful, in removing gadgets properly identified.

Blogger Magic - "Configure Page List"

The "Configure Page List" wizard is an extremely useful - yet obscure - feature in the dashboard Layout page.

Not every blog owner sees the "Pages" gadget, in the "Layout" page and knows to click on "Edit", to access "Configure Page List". Nor do all owners know how many assorted functions, previously part of the "Pages" dashboard wizard, are now found, exclusively, under "Configure Page List".

"Configure Page List" is an essential component in the pages management suite, in the Blogger dashboard.

"Configure Page List" is accessible in two different ways.

• From the Layout dashboard menu - if the Pages gadget has been added to the blog.
• Using the appropriate "Quick Edit" icon - if "Quick Edit" is enabled, for the blog.

Add the Pages gadget, to the blog, if it's not present.

If the Pages gadget is not visible on the Layout display, you may need to add the gadget, to the blog.

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.

Enable "Quick Edit", if necessary.

If you wish to use "Quick Edit" to access "Configure Page List", you may need to enable "Quick Edit".

"Configure Page List" has many functions.

Find the Page List gadget, in "Layout", and click on the pencil icon.

When you edit the Page List gadget, you get "Configure Page List".



Here, we see "Pages to show" (to select static pages), "Add external link" (to add dynamic pages), and "List Order" (to delete dynamic pages, using the "X").

"Configure Page List" has various functions, in managing both dynamic and static pages.

• Change the Title of the Pages gadget, in the Layout wizard display, using "Title".
• Hide / Show "Home" and various static pages, created by Page Editor, by using "Pages to show".
• Resequence the order of display of the various pages, by dragging and dropping using "List order".
• Add dynamic pages, previously called "Web address" entries, using "Add external link". Dynamic pages can include individual posts, archive retrievals, label searches, and other blogs or websites. Be very precise, when entering an "Add external link" entry for "Web address (URL)".
• Delete dynamic pages, by clicking on the "X", using "List order".
• Note that to change the caption or URL for a dynamic page, you must delete then re add a new dynamic page entry, using the desired name and URL.
• Let you remove the Pages gadget, using the "Remove" button.

To use "Configure Page List" effectively, you need to understand the differences between Pages and Posts.

The gadget will change form, depending upon location.

The "Pages" gadget may be present in various locations, in the blog - and may have different appearances, depending upon location.

In either appearance, if "Quick Edit" is enabled, you can access "Configure Page List" by clicking on the "Quick Edit" icon. Or, you can Edit the Pages gadget from the Layout menu in the dashboard.

History.

In 2014, Blogger reorganised the various pages maintenance utilities, and moved a wide assortment of functions into "Configure Page List". This change caused some confusion, with many blog owners.