How to Choose a Custom Blogger Template to Avoid Problems

So you have downloaded a custom Blogger template from the internet and now you want to customize it to the needs of your Blogger blog (Blogspot blog). Before you expend all that energy check under the hood to make sure the Blogger template isn't a lemon and that you are not going to be wasting your valuable time.

Blogger has been around for some years now and has gone through many changes. Before the most recent default templates were introduced, the choice of default templates was not that great leading many developers to crank out a heap of custom templates to meet the demand of bloggers looking for a theme that matched their blog. The problem was however, that many of these Blogger themes had missing code and many had hard coded fonts, color schemes, gadgets etc requiring coding knowledge to make alterations to the template.

Many of these custom templates are still around to download. Some are good, some not so good. Be aware if you use a custom template on your Blogger blog it will not perform as well as a default template and some may potentially have problems further down the track as Blogger introduces new features. In preference it is usually better to use a default template and customise it to your own specifications. In future posts I will talk a lot about how to go about this so watch this space.

In the meantime if you have downloaded and installed a Blogger custom template and you want to check it out before going ahead with making changes look for these three features immediately on installation of a custom template. If any are missing there are fixes available but it does mean an edit to the template code. Also bear in mind that if gadgets like these are missing the template was probably created a few years ago and it may be better to find something more recent.

1. Check that the Blogger quick edit wrench is working. That is the crossed wrench symbol that appears next to each installed gadget in the Blogger blog sidebar, header and footer when you view your blog and are logged in. The best place to check for this on installation is in the sidebar. Each gadget will have its own wrench symbol if this feature is working properly.
   
   If you really like the template but this feature is not working please check out my instructions to fix this issue Fix the Missing Quick Edit Wrench in Blogger
   
   


2. Check that the Blogger quick edit pencil is working. The quick edit pencil is the pencil that that appears beneath the post in the post footer when you are logged in and viewing your blog. It does not display in post preview mode. It must be enabled under Configure Blog Posts (Go to layout and then click on edit on the blog post gadget). If the quick edit pencil feature in Blogger isn't working once you are sure it has been enabled then try this fix
   
   


3. Check that the Blogger default share buttons are working. These appear in the post footer at the bottom of each post. You can see these in the image above. Make sure these are enabled by going to layout and then clicking on edit blog post gadget and then ticking enable the share buttons option.
   
   
   

Other Blogger Custom Template Checks
Also check that slideshow or image sliders are working first before you do anything else to the template as often template creators do not give instructions about how to get these working. If you are not going to get good support from the template creator think carefully about using the template.

Another factor to keep in mind with custom templates for Blogger is that you may not be able to remove the links below the footer because of copyright reasons. Sometimes template authors put several of these at the bottom of the template which can be annoying.

In this article I have provided a few tips to help you choose a custom Blogger template and hopefully prevent you from investing time and energy in a template that has been poorly coded and may not be worth the effort to customise in the long run.

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
No Quick Edit Wrench Problem in Blogger Fix
No Quick Edit Pencil Problem in Blogger Solution

How to Change the Blog Description Font Color in Blogger

Those new to Blogger often ask about how to change the blog description in a Blogger blog. In today's Blogger tutorial I show you how to modify your blog description using the Template Editor to change the color of the font. If you have made changes to the background color of your header you may also want to change the font color of the blog description.

If you want to learn how to change the font style or change the look of the text please see my Blogger tutorial on how to change the font size and font style of the blog description.

How to Change the Color of the Blog Description
Before you start ensure you have blog description enabled on your Blogger blog. This tutorial assumes you have a default Blogger template installed on your blog. If you are using a custom template these instructions may or may not work depending on the coding of your custom Blogger template.

1. Log on to Blogger and navigate to the dashboard of your blog


2. From the left hand menu select "Template"


3. On the Templates page under "Live On Blog" select the "Customize" Button
   
   
   
4. From the left hand menu select "Advanced"
   
   
   
5. Click on "Blog Description" currently the 5th item in the menu

6. Under "Description Color" choose a color from the suggested palette or from the drop-down menu or type in the color code if you know the hexidecimal value eg #FFFFFF for white and #000000 for black.
   

7. Notice that the changes you make can be seen in the live view below. When you are satisfied with the color scheme you have chosen save your changes and click View Blog. Please note that you might not able to see the changes in live view mode if you are using a custom template. In this case you will need to save the changes and then click view Blog to see the applied changes.

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
How to Change the Font Size and Style of the Blog Description in Blogger

How to Access Old Style Templates in Blogger (Blogspot)

"Can I still use the old default templates for my Blogger blog (Blogspot blog)?" is a frequent question I am asked on Blog Know How pretty often. Other people have asked me about the template I am using and how to get it. In answer to the first question as you can see older style templates do work on Blogger. And with respect to the second question the template I am using on Blog Know How is an enhanced version of the Rounders 3 Blogger template which is one of the older style default Blogger templates available from 2006 onwards.

In today's Blogger tutorial I am going to show you how to access the older style default Blogger templates (Blogspot templates) and activate them on your Blogger blog. This tutorial is mostly written for those new to Blogger who might not realise that there are a number of default Blogger layouts released in 2006 that are still perfectly usuable. Also there may be some of you who would like to revert back to an older style Blogger template but are not sure how to find the old templates on Blogger.

A Word of Warning First
At the outset I need to say that by applying an older style Blogger template to an existing blog you may lose some of the advanced design and layout features in the Blogger Template Designer. This may not be a drawback if you are happy to do a bit of tweaking and may actually be a far better alternative than downloading a free custom Blogger template that may have a host of compatibility problems with Blogger especially if it was released a while ago. There are some pretty good free custom Blogger templates out there and there are some which were thrown together and have all sorts of problems which are not easily solvable unless you know how to code in CSS.

So please be warned that you may potentially lose some features in converting to an older Blogger template. For instance if you are using the Simple default Blogger template and already have a three column layout selected with a 2 or 3 column footer then you will find that Blogger will revert to a two column layout and place all your widgets in the sidebar if you select an older style template. You will then need to manually add the footer and the extra sidebar. See my tutorials on how to add a 3 or 4 column footer to Blogger and how to manually add an extra column to Blogger for help with this.

I suggest before you start that you download a full back up of your template and that you upload this to a test blog to see how it looks rather than trying it out on a live blog. However if you decide go ahead and later change your mind and want to revert back to the one of the newer Blogger templates you will need to manually shift your widgets out of the sidebar using the drag and drop feature in Page Elements

How to Access Older Style Blogger (Blogspot) Templates

Note: These instructions assume you are using the updated Blogger interface. If you are using the old Blogger interface (you will have a message at the top of your blog "Try the updated Blogger interface") then start at step 3.

1. From Overview in the updated Blogger interface click on the wheel icon at the top right which will give you an array of Blogger options
   
   
2. Select the Older Blogger Interface from the drop down menu
   
   
   
   
3. The older style Blogger Dashboard will now be visible and displaying a list of blogs if you have more than one otherwise just the one. Click on Design from the list of links under the blog title you wish to apply the older Blogger template to.
   
   
   
4. Click on the Edit HTML link located under the Blogger tabs menu
   
   
   
   
5. Once on the Edit HTML page scroll to the bottom of the page and on the left you will see a heading entitled Old Templates. Click on the Select Layout Templates from the list. Avoid the Classic templates as these date from Blogger's first inception and are really too old to be of use.
   
   
   
   
6. You will now be on the older style Blogger templates page and can scroll through and select a template. Use the preview link to see how your blog looks with one of the older style templates applied. I use the Rounders 3 for Blog Know How by the way although I have adapted it to a 3 column layout.
   
   
   
   
7. Once you are sure you want to change over to an older style template click on the save button to apply the older style default Blogger template to your Blogspot blog.
   
   
8. Click on View Blog at the right of the menus tabs to view your changes and navigate around your blog.
   

Today I have shown you how to change your Blogger blog over to one of the older style Blogger templates. Remember that in doing so you may sacrifice some of the advanced layout and design features available in Template Designer but it will give you the option of more template options and a time-saving alternative to having to download and try out heaps of free custom Blogger templates available on the internet only to find they don't work properly. And remember that even with free custom Blogger templates most do not work with Blogger Template Designer. Having to manually add a footer or an extra column to your Blogger blog are really minor changes if everything else is working fine.

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs

How to Fix Missing Quick Edit Pencil in Blogger Blogspot

Is your custom Blogger template missing its quick edit pencil at the bottom of your Blogger posts (Blogspot posts)? Don't worry. In this Blogger tutorial I discuss how to show a quick edit pencil icon beneath Blogger posts if it is missing. This is a common Blogger problem among custom Blogger templates but fortunately it only takes a couple of minutes to fix.

This Blogger tutorial follows on from my previous Blogspot tutorial about fixing missing Blogger icons. Check out how to show quick edit gadget wrench in Blogger (Blogspot) for help with this issue.

In my previous Blogger tutorials I have also discussed how to fix many other common Blogger problems eg how to fix a missing embedded comment form in Blogger. Take a look at all my Blogger tutorials on how to fix common Blogger problems (Blogspot problems) here

Fix Missing Quick Edit Pencil Blogger Blogspot
The quick edit pencil is a nice Blogger feature that you would not want to be without. A click on this time saving Blogger icon gives you direct access to your Blogger posts without having to go through "Edit Posts"

So if the free custom Blogger template you downloaded from the internet has no quick edit pencil displaying under your Blogger posts when viewing the actual published post then it can be fixed by taking the following the steps below:

1. Login to Blogger
   
   
2. Go to your Design > Page Elements
   
   
3. Click on the Blog Posts edit button located in the bottom right hand corner of the widget
   
   
   
4. A Configure Blog Posts window will pop up displaying a number of different features that can be turned on and off on your blog posts.
   
   
5. Make sure that Show Quick Edit is checked. Tick the box and save if Show Quick Edit is not already checked
   
   
   
   
6. Now navigate to an actual published post and check whether the quick edit pencil is now displaying in or around the footer of your blog post. Remember that you must be logged into Blogger to see the quick edit pencil - it is not displayed to your visitors
   
   If the pencil is there then that is the end of this Blogger tutorial. The pencil just needed to be enabled. So thank you for joining me today and if you have any other issues with Blogger be sure to check out my how to fix common problems in Blogger tutorials or take a look at the list of all the Blog Know How Blogger tutorials
   
   If the Blogger quick edit pencil is still missing it means that some important code has been omitted from your Blogger template and it will need to be added to get the quick edit pencil to show up
   
   
7. Go to Design > Edit HTML
   
   
8. Back up your template
   
   
9. Check the Expand Widget Templates box by placing a tick in it
   
   
10. Find the following line of code by holding down the CTRL key and F at the same time:
    
    

    <b:includable id='postQuickEdit' var='post'>

    
    
    
11. Check whether the following code is under it:
    
    

    <span class='post-icons'>
<!-- email post links -->
<b:if cond='data:post.emailPostUrl'>
<span class='item-action'>
<a expr:href='data:post.emailPostUrl' expr:title='data:top.emailPostMsg'>
<img alt='' class='icon-action' height='13' src='http://img1.blogblog.com/img/icon18_email.gif' width='18'/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>

<!-- quickedit pencil -->
<b:include data='post' name='postQuickEdit'/>
</span> </div>
    

    
    
12. If part or all of the code is missing copy and paste it above :
    
    

    <!-- quickedit pencil -->
<b:include data='post' name='postQuickEdit'/>

    
    
    
13. Save changes to your Blogger template
    
    
14. Go to an individual published post page and see your new quick edit pencil displayed under your Blogger post

Tips and Troubleshooting
If you want to change the Blogger quick pencil icon you can by changing the image. Simply replace the image as depicted in red with the URL address of your own image. If your image is a different size you may have to change the width and height as shown in blue for the image to display correctly

<span class='post-icons'>
<!-- email post links -->
<b:if cond='data:post.emailPostUrl'>
<span class='item-action'>
<a expr:href='data:post.emailPostUrl' expr:title='data:top.emailPostMsg'>
<img alt='' class='icon-action' height='13' src='http://img1.blogblog.com/img/icon18_email.gif' width='18'/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>

<!-- quickedit pencil -->
<b:include data='post' name='postQuickEdit'/>
</span> </div>

In this Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) I have shown you how to fix a missing Blogger quick edit pencil that is not showing. I have demonstrated how to enable the quick edit pencil in Blogger via Page Elements and I have provided you with the missing code in the event that the quick edit pencil code is missing from your custom Blogger template.

Please let me know if this tutorial has been useful for you by leaving your comments and opinions below.

Related Articles
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How to Add Missing Quick Edit Wrench to Blogger

In this Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) I show you how to add a quick edit wrench to Blogger if it is missing from a Blogger gadget. Check here to find a solution for a missing quick edit pencil not showing in Blogger

The quick edit feature allows you to edit a Blogger gadget directly from the blog itself rather than having to go through the Design > Page Elements screens and then finding the actual widget itself before you can edit it.

Heaps of times I have downloaded custom Blogger templates only to find that there are lots of omissions compared to a default Blogger template. If you are using a custom Blogger template with the quick edit feature missing here is a step by step guide to insert the missing quick edit feature into your Blogger template

The quick edit can be missing from anywhere in your Blogger template. I have chosen to use the sidebar for this tutorial but the solution works wherever the quick edit feature has been removed or never inserted in the first place.

Tutorial Difficulty rating: Easy
Time: Less than 5 minutes
Suitable for all levels of Blogger expertise

How to Add the Quick Edit Wrench to a Blogger Gadget

1. Login to Blogger
   
   
2. Go to Design > Edit HTML
   
   
3. Check the Expand Widget Templates box
   
   
4. Using CTRL + F buttons together bring up the search box
   
   
5. Enter the following search term
   
   

   </b:includable>

   
   
   
6. Scroll through your Blogger template. You will see that every instance of </b:includable> is highlighted in yellow.
   
   
7. Once you come to the sidebar widgets which is the most likely place for the quick edit to be missing from look for something like the following (this will vary from template to template). This is the start of the first sidebar if you had a template with a two column sidebar
   
   <b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar1' preferred='yes'>
   
   
8. Now look at the picture below. You can see that this is the code for a Javascript/HTML widget as shown in red
   
   
   
   
9. Just identify the widget that has the missing quick edit feature and add the following line of code immediately before the </b:includable>
   
   

   <b:include name='quickedit'/>

   
   
   
   
   
10. Use the Preview button to check your changes before committing to them
    
    
11. Don't forget to click on Save Template

In this Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) you have learned how to fix a missing quick edit button often missing from custom Blogger templates. No matter where the quick edit button has been omitted (sidebar, footer, header etc) it can be added in to a Blogger template very easily so that a Blogger gadget can be edited without having to go through the Blogger design screen.


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How to Fix the Quick Edit Pencil when it is not Showing Up in Blogger Blogspot
How to Fix a Missing Embedded Comment Form in Blogger
How to Fix Common Problems in Blogger

How to Change Bullet Point Style in Blogger (Blogspot) Lists

In Part 1 of this three part series of Blogger tutorials I discuss how to change bullet point styles of lists you may want to include in Blogger posts. This first Blogger tutorial deals with unordered lists and how these can be styled using CSS in Blogger (Blogspot). The second part of these tutorials will deal with ordered lists while part 3 discusses bullet point changes you can make to your sidebar, footer and menus.

Today you will learn how to:

• change the style of bullet points in unordered lists
  
• add bullet points to unordered lists if they are absent
  
• add an image instead of a bullet to lists in your Blogger posts

This tutorial is rated easy and is designed so that even Blogger newbies can make the changes they want to their Blogger template. Changing the bullet point style involves changing the CSS styling in your Blogger template (Blogspot template). Join me as I walk you through this step by step guide.

How to Add Bullet Points to a Blogger Post
If you are still using the old Blogger editor you will need to add bullet points manually to any unordered lists you create in Blogger posts. If you are using the new editor the work is done for you. Either way though this is the type of code that generates unordered lists:

<ul><li>Create your own list markers in Blogger</li>
<li>Create unordered lists in Blogger</li>
<li>Create bullet points in Blogger</li>
</ul>

Any text can be placed between the two <li></li> tags. Simply copy this list into a Blogger post and substitute your text for mine and you will have an unordered list.

Circular Bullet Points
Circular bullets (also known as markers or discs) are displayed in Blogger by default whenever unordered lists appear. This means that whenever the <ul></ul> tags are used in Blogger posts a leader dot or disc will appear before each line of text denoted by <li>. (Note I will discuss ordered lists <ol></ol> tags in part two of this tutorial).

An unordered list in a Blogger post using the <ul></ul> tags would appear like this:

• Change Bullet Point Style in Blogger
  
• Add Bullets to Blogger
  
• Changing the look of unordered lists in Blogger
  

We can make lots of changes to the look of these filled discs or filled circles by changing the CSS styling in Blogger. For instance we can have squares, or we can choose to have no bullet point at all. Here's how.

To Add Square Bullet Points to Blogger (Blogspot)
The following code will replace the filled circle bullet points with squares instead:

1. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
2. From the Dashboard go to Design >Edit HTML
   
   
3. Back up your template
   
   
4. Find the posts section of your CSS stylesheet which will be before ]]></b:skin> tag
   
   
5. For the following default Blogger templates eg "Simple" add the following CSS code to the post section like this
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: square;
   }

   
   
   
6. Save template and view blog post to see the circular bullet points have been replaced by square ones

To Add Circle Bullet Points to Blogger (Blogspot)
To add unfilled circle list markers or bullet points to Blogger posts do the following:

1. Follow steps 1-4 as per square bullets
   
   
2. Add the following code to the posts section of the CSS stylesheet of your Blogger template by entering the following code:
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: circle;
   }

   
   
   
3. Save the changes to your template and view a blog post to see the empty circle bullet points

How To Indent Bullet Points in Blogger
There are two ways to increase the indentation of list style markers or bullet points.

1. Using the Inside or Outside Element
   The indentation of bullet points can be varied using the "inside" element. By default the list will be "outside" unless the "inside element" is used. The following code shifts the indentation of the list further to the right.
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: circle inside;
   }

   
   
   
   
2. Custom Indentation CSS Styling
   It is also possible to add custom indentation styling to lists. For instance here I have added a 2.5em indent using the following code to the circles example:
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: circle;
   margin-left: 2.5em;
   }

   
   

How To Replace Bullet Points with an Image in Blogger (Blogspot)
Sometimes you may prefer to have an image list marker or icon instead of a bullet point. You will need to host your image somewhere such as a free image hosting service eg Flickr or Photo Bucket. Follow the steps below to replace bullet points in your Blogger posts with an image

1. Follow steps 1-4 as per square bullets
   
   
2. In the CSS styling of the posts section of your Blogger template and before the </head> insert the following code:
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: url("http://URLaddressofImage.gif");
   }

   
   
   
3. Replace URLaddressofImage with the URL address of the image you have uploaded to an image hosting service. Note in most cases the file will have a .gif extension. If the extension is anything other than .gif you will need to change this too.
   
   
   
4. Save the changes to your Blogger template and navigate to a post page to see your image list marker installed

How to Remove the Bullet Points from Blogger Posts
If you are going for a minimalist look you may prefer to have no bullet points in the lists in your Blogger posts. In this case:

1. Follow steps 1-4 as per square bullets
   
   
2. In the CSS styling of the posts section of your Blogger template and before the </head> insert the following code:
   
   

   .post ul li {
   list-style: none;
   }

   
   

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
How to Add CSS Styling to Blockquotes in Blogger
How to Add, Delete or Remove Blogger Image Borders
How to Align and Justify Posts in Blogger
How to Add a Divider Between Blogger Posts
How to Add or Change a Background Image in a Blogger Template

Remove Image Border in Default Blogger Templates Simple and Awesome Inc

In this Blogger tutorial I show you how to remove the border around images in Blogger posts (Blogspot posts) when using one of the latest default Blogger templates Simple or Awesome Inc.

If you are using an older generation Blogger template or a custom template the solutions contained in this article may work for you however it is more likely that you will need to follow the methods to remove image borders outlined in my previous Blogger tutorial Change or Remove Blogger Image Borders (Part 1)

Below I explore two methods of removing or deleting image borders in the Blogger template Simple. The first method shows you how to remove the image border using Template Designer and the second method outlined describes how to remove the image border manually by changing the code.


Method 1 - Use Template Designer to Remove Image Border in Blogger

1. From the Blogger Dashboard go to Design > Template Designer
   
2. Then select Advanced > Images
   
3. Under Border Color use the drop down arrow to open the color palette
   
4. Change the setting to transparent by checking the small box on the bottom right hand side marked "transparent"
   
   
   Note: If you are using the black version of the Awesome Inc template you will need to change the Background Color to transparent too. Click on the down arrow of the color palette and select transparent.
   
   
5. Click Apply to Blog to save your changes to the template
   
6. Navigate to any post page to view images in posts without the border

Method 2 - Change Template Code to Manually Remove Image Border from the New Default Blogger Templates

1. From the Blogger Dashboard go to Design > Edit HTML
   
2. Back up your Blogger template
   
3. Find this line amongst the declared variables at the top of your template
   
   

   <Variable name="image.border.color" description="Border Color" type="color" default="transparent" value="#cccccc"/>

4. Change to the value of the border color to transparent like so
   
   

   <Variable name="image.border.color" description="Border Color" type="color" default="transparent" value="transparent"/>

5. Save your changes to the template
   
6. Navigate to any post page that has an image and see that the border around the image is no longer visible

In this Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) I have shown you how to remove or delete the border around images in Blogger posts for the newest generation of default Blogger templates Simple and Awesome Inc. I have discussed two different methods to remove the border around the images either by adjusting the settings in the Blogger Template Designer or by manually changing the code of the variable in the CSS styling section of the default Blogger template


Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
How to Change or Remove Blogger Image Borders (Part 1)
How to Change the Blog Title Border in Blogger Minima Template
How to Add CSS Styling to Blockquotes in Blogger
How to Align and Justify Posts in Blogger
How to Add a Divider Between Blogger Posts
How to Add or Change a Background Image in a Blogger Template
How to Remove the Link from a Single Image in a Blogger Post

Add Profile Images to Blogger Comments

Today I will show you how easy it is to have Blogger (Blogspot) display profile images in the embedded comments section of your blog even if you are using a custom template.

About a month ago Blogger announced that it was enabling profile images (profile avatars) in the embedded comments section on Blogger (Blogspot) as part of its 10th birthday feature series. The new profile image feature which has been available on other commenting options has now been extended to the embedded comments option. This is good news if you are using a default template as you will now see a small avatar next to your visitors comments and your own avatar if you have uploaded a profile image.



Default Blogger Templates - Enabling Profile Images
Profile images work on default Blogger templates and have been automatically enabled by Blogger. If you are using a default Blogger template with embedded comments enabled and have recent comments on a post you will see a profile image to the left of visitor comments (provided they have uploaded one that is). Your profile avatar will also display when you respond to visitor comments again provided you have uploaded one. (To upload your profile photo click on Add Photo at the Dashboard). If profile images are not displayed enable them by going to Settings > Comments and checking the Yes radio button at the bottom of the page which says Profile Images Enabled.

Custom Blogger Templates - Enabling Profile Images
If you are using a custom template you may still be able to see profile images in your embedded comments section. Check out Settings > Comments to make sure Profile Images are enabled. If you can't see profile images you can still add this feature by tweaking your Blogger template. Follow the instructions below to have Blogger display profile images in the embedded comments section of your custom Blogger template.

Add Profile Images to Comments Section of a Custom Blogger Template
If you are using a custom Blogger template you can use the following method to add profile images to the embedded comments section of your Blogger template.

1. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
2. Go to Design > Edit HTML
   
   
3. Back up your Blogger template as a precaution by downloading the full template to your computer
   
   
4. Expand Widget Templates by checking the box on the right hand side
   
   
5. Find the following line in your Blogger template by using CTRL + F:
   
   

   <dl id='comments-block'>

   
   
6. Change the above line to the following:
   
   

   <dl expr:class='data:post.avatarIndentClass' id='comments-block'>

   
   
7. Scroll down a few lines and find the following line in your Blogger template:
   
   

   <a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>

   
   
8. Directly before the above line paste the following code block:
   
   

   <b:if cond='data:comment.favicon'>
   <img expr:src='data:comment.favicon' height='35px' style='margin-bottom:-2px;' width='35px'/>
   </b:if>
   <a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>
   <b:if cond='data:blog.enabledCommentProfileImages'>
   <data:comment.authorAvatarImage/>
   </b:if>

   
   
9. Click Save Template
   
   
10. Click View Blog and navigate to a page with commenting to see avatars next to comments in the embedded comments area
    

Tips and Troubleshooting

• If you have added the author commenting highlight hack to your Blogger template there will be 2 instances of the code at Step 7 to change
  
  
• If your template does not have the code mentioned in Step 5 and Step 6 check that dl has not be replaced by div. In this case leave the div as is and replace the rest of the code in the line.
  
  
• Blogger has only enabled profile images for Blogger and Google profiles so if your visitors comment using identities such as "Anonymous" or "Name/URL" their image profile will not be displayed. If OpenID, AIM or other identities are used these favicons will be displayed instead.
  
  
• Profile avatars load last so they will not prevent visitors viewing your content if you have a lot of comments on some pages

In today's Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) you have learned how to enable profile images in the embedded comments section in Blogger. If you are using a default Blogger template this can be achieved by enabling profile avatars in your Blogger template. If you are using a third party custom template I have shown you a Blogger hack that will display profile images next to comments on your blog. As always I am interested in how you get on with this tweak. Good luck!


Related Articles
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Add Missing Embedded Comments Section to a Blogger Template
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How to Get More Comments on a Blogger Blog

Add CSS Styling to Blockquotes in a Blogger Template

Today I continue the series of Blogger tutorials (Blogspot tutorials) by showing you how to apply CSS styling to blockquotes in a Blogger template. Other articles I have already published on the subject of CSS styling include:

How to Add, Delete or Remove Blogger Image Borders
How to Align and Justify Posts in Blogger
How to Add a Divider Between Blogger Posts
How to Add or Change a Background Image in a Blogger Template.

Today's tutorial on Blogger blockquotes will be useful if you are using a default Blogger template or a third party custom template. It will show you how to change your blockquote area in the following ways:

• Add a background color to the blockquote
  
• Add a border around the background of the blockquote
  
• Add or change the color of the blockquote text
  
• Add or change padding around the text
  
• Add or change the margin
  
• Add a background image

Blogger beginners you can relax as I have written this Blogger tutorial with you in mind. I will walk you through the steps of styling the blockquote section and you will see that it is not as daunting as it first appears. This Blogger tutorial assumes no knowledge of CSS styling. I have rated the difficulty level as easy to medium because it does involve making adjustments to your Blogger template.

How to Change the Blockquote Section of a Blogger Template

First of all let's take a look at the CSS Styling for the blockquote section of a default Minima Blogger template.

.post-body blockquote {
line-height:1.3em;
}

.post blockquote {
margin:1em 20px;
}

.post blockquote p {
margin:.75em 0;
}

As you can see the blockquotes area of this Minima template has minimal styling. Apart from line height and margin indentation there has been no additional code added to improve the look of the template.


Let's go ahead and give the blockquotes in your Blogger posts some styling. I will use the Minima template to show you but you can do the same for another default template or custom template. As always back up your Blogger template by downloading it to your computer before you begin to make any changes.

1. CSS Styling to Add a Background Color to Blockquotes
   Adding a background color to the blockquote area can be achieved in 1 of 2 ways.
   
   
   1. One way is to enter the hex color directly into the styling as I have done below. This code will add a light grey background to the blockquote area.
      
      

      .post-body blockquote {
      line-height:1.3em;
      background-color: #cccccc;
      }

      
      
   2. Another way to add a background color using CSS styling for the blockquote area is to make use of the variable names already set up. The border color is light grey #cccccc by default in a Minima template. The advantage of this option is that if you decide to change the border color under Layout > Fonts and Colors the blockquote color will automatically change to the new color too.
      
      

      .post-body blockquote {
      line-height:1.3em;
      background-color: $bordercolor;
      }

      
      If you wanted the background color to be the same as the blog title color rather than the border color you would write this instead
      
      

      .post-body blockquote {
      line-height:1.3em;
      background-color: $titlecolor;
      }

   
   
2. CSS Styling to Add a Border Around Blockquotes
   You have your background in place now let's add a narrow border around the background to add some more definition. The following will add a 1px solid border around the outside of your blockquote area in your Blogger posts.
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: #cccccc;
   border: 1px solid #cc6600;
   }

   
   or if using variables
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: $bordercolor;
   border: 1px solid $titlecolor;
   }

   
   
   
3. CSS Styling to Add Padding Around Blockquotes
   Now if we were to leave the styling at this point one of the problems would be that the text would butt up against the background which is not a good look. To create some space between the text and the background edge all the way around we use CSS styling to add some padding like this:
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: #cccccc;
   border: 1px solid #cc6600;
   padding: 20 px;
   }

   
   or if using variables
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: $bordercolor;
   border: 1px solid $titlecolor;
   padding: 20 px;
   }

   
   
   
4. CSS Styling to Add or Change the Text Color of Blockquotes
   If you want to accent your blockquote area in your posts one effective way to do this is to make the blockquote text color a different color from the text color of your pages. We do this by picking a color and adding the following line to the code:
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: #cccccc;
   border: 1px solid #cc6600;
   padding: 20 px;
   color: #cc6600
   }

   
   or if using variables
   
   

   .post-body blockquote {
   line-height:1.3em;
   background-color: $bordercolor;
   border: 1px solid $titlecolor;
   padding: 20 px;
   color: $titlecolor;
   }

   
   
   

Tips and Troubleshooting
If you want to add further modifications to the blockquotes area of your Blogger template here are several other possibilities.

1. CSS Styling To Change the Margin of Blockquotes
   You can increase the margin from 1em to 1.5em by changing the margin line to
   

   margin: 1.5em 20px;

   
   
2. CSS Styling to Add a Background Image to Blockquotes
   You can have your own image as a background in your blockquotes area of your posts by adding this line:
   
   

   background: url(http://URL of your image.jpg);

In today's Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) you have learned how to add CSS styling to the blockquotes area of your Blogger posts. I have shown you how to add a background, a background border, change the text color, add padding, change the margin and add a background image to the blockquotes code block. If you have a moment please let me know how you got on customizing your own Blogger template. Any questions please ask.


Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
How to Add, Delete or Remove Blogger Image Borders
How to Align and Justify Posts in Blogger
How to Add a Divider Between Blogger Posts
How to Add or Change a Background Image in a Blogger Template

How to Align and Justify Blogger Posts

This is the second article in a series about CSS styling tricks and tips for Blogger written with Blogger beginners and novices in mind but suitable for all bloggers who want to customize their existing Blogger template. While the first article dealt with how to add or remove image borders in Blogger today I show you how to align and justify Blogger posts.

Skill Level: Beginner

Rating: Easy

Time: 1 Minute

Many of the questions that my readers ask me are about how to customize various features of their Blogger template (Blogspot template). Over the coming weeks I will be focusing on some simple CSS styling tricks and tips to help you get more out of your Blogger template. Much can be achieved by learning a little about CSS. So before you rush off to download a custom Blogger template consider customizing your existing Blogger template.

This tutorial is part of a series of articles that I will publishing over the coming weeks about customizing your Blogger template using CSS styling. I will be targeting beginner bloggers and newbies to Blogger as well as more seasoned bloggers so if you want to spice up your Blogger template please read along.

How to Justify Blogger Posts (Blogspot Posts) Using CSS
It is easy to change the text alignment of your Blogger posts with the addition of one extra line in the CSS styling section of your Blogger template (Blogspot template). By default the alignment is set to left align so that the text aligns to the left while the right edge is ragged. You can also have right alignment where the text aligns to the right and the left edge is ragged.

Another not so common option is to justify the text so that both left and right edges are straight. Users of MS Word and other word processing programs will be familiar with justify as an alignment choice. Justify stretches out the text so that each line has an equal width similar to what you will find in newspapers and magazines. I have found justifying my Blogger posts to be a useful feature on several of my blogs and thought some of you might to. Below are instructions on how to justify your Blogger posts so that all your blog's articles are justified but first take a look at the difference in presentation of these 2 blog posts just by justifying the alignment of the text. Makes a big difference don't you think?

1. Before you start check how text is currently aligned on your Blogger posts. If it is left aligned you will be able to follow this trick to justify it. If it is already justified no need to go any further.
   
   
2. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
3. From the Dashboard click the Layout link for your blog and then click on Edit HTML
   
   
4. Back up your template by downloading it in full as a precaution
   
   
5. Use CTRL + F to find the code block beginning with .post in the CSS styling section of your Blogger template. As templates will differ greatly there are no hard and fast rules about what styling will be in this block. Here is a typical code block taken from the default Minima Blogger template
   
   

   .post {
   margin:.5em 0 1.5em;
   border-bottom:1px dotted $bordercolor;
   padding-bottom:1.5em;
   }

   
   
6. Add the following line to the code block before the end brace (the end curly bracket)
   
   

   text-align:justify;
   
   so that your code now looks like:
   
   .post {
   margin:.5em 0 1.5em;
   border-bottom:1px dotted $bordercolor;
   padding-bottom:1.5em;
   text-align:justify;
   }

   
   
7. Click on Save Template
   
   
8. Click View Blog to see the alignment of all your posts has now changed to justified
   

Tips and Troubleshooting

1. If your Blogger template justifies posts and you would like to left align them find the code beginning with .post in your Blogger template and add the following line to the block:
   
   

   text-align:left;
   
   so that your code now looks like:
   
   .post {
   margin:.5em 0 1.5em;
   border-bottom:1px dotted $bordercolor;
   padding-bottom:1.5em;
   text-align:left;
   }

   
   
2. If you want the posts right aligned you would substitute the word right for left.

In this tutorial you have learned how to justify your Blogger posts to create a straight rather than ragged margin edge. By using this tip to add one line of code to your Blogger template you can enhance the look of your Blogger posts. This tweak only takes a minute but can markedly improve the presentation of your Blogger posts. Please keep reading along for more CSS tips and tweaks in the coming weeks.

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
How to Add, Delete or Remove Blogger Image Borders

Add 3 Column or 4 Column Footer to Blogger

In this Blogspot tutorial you will learn how to convert your existing Blogger footer (Blogspot footer) into a 3 column footer or a 4 column footer. With more columns in your Blogger footer you will be have the extra room to accommodate more widgets such as Flickr photos and Twitter updates. Also you will be able to put less frequently used widgets such as recents comments, archives, followers, About Me etc at the bottom of your template so that only the most important widgets are loaded first.

This tweak involves adding code to the footer section of your existing Blogger template to change it to 3 columns or 4 columns. The tutorial is not beyond the capabilities of Blogger newbies and webmasters with intermediate skills but care needs to be taken when modifying your Blogger template so back up before you start. For best results a Blogger template with a width of around 900px is best.



How to Add a 3 Column Footer to Blogger

1. Log in to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
2. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
   
   
3. Move any existing widgets out of the footer section and place them in the sidebar temporarily and save changes
   
   
4. Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
   
   
5. Back up your template as a precaution by downloading it to your computer
   
   
6. Find the following section in your Blogger template
   
   

   <div id='footer-wrapper'>
   <b:section class='footer' id='footer'/>
   </div>

   
   If you are having difficulty finding this section trying searching for footer-wrap or something similar as sometimes this section is called something else in some templates.
   
   
7. To Add a 3 Column Footer to Blogger
   Replace all the code located in Step 6 with the following
   
   

   <div id='footer-columns'>
   <div id='footer1' style='width: 30%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col1' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer2' style='width: 40%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col2' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer3' style='width: 30%; float: right; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col3' preferred='yes' style='float:right;'/>
   </div>
   <div style='clear:both;'/>
   </div>
   

   
   To Add a 3 Column Footer to Blogger with a Lower Footer Section
   Replace all the code located in Step 6 with the following
   
   

   <div id='footer-columns'>
   <div id='footer1' style='width: 30%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col1' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer2' style='width: 40%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col2' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer3' style='width: 30%; float: right; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col3' preferred='yes' style='float:right;'/>
   </div>
   <div style='clear:both;'/>
   <p/>
   <div id='footer-bottom' style='text-align: center; padding: 10px;'>
   <b:section class='footer' id='col-bottom' preferred='yes'>
   </b:section>
   </div>
   <div style='clear:both;'/>
   </div>
   

   
   
   To Add a 4 Column Footer to Blogger
   Replace all the code located in Step 6 with the following
   
   

   <div id='footer-columns'>
   <div id='footer1' style='width: 25%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col1' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer2' style='width: 25%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col2' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer3' style='width: 25%; float: left; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col3' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'/>
   </div>
   <div id='footer4' style='width: 25%; float: right; margin:0; text-align: left;'>
   <b:section class='footer-column' id='col4' preferred='yes' style='float:right;'/>
   </div>
   <div style='clear:both;'/>
   </div>
   

   
   
   
   
8. Save changes to your Blogger template.
   
   
9. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements. You will now see a 3 column footer, 3 column footer with a lower section or a 4 column footer depending on what option you chose.
   
   
10. Move the desired gadgets to the new Blogger footer columns. Create new widgets to fill up the footer columns if necessary. Save your changes.
    
    
11. Click View Blog to admire your new footer section
    

Tips and Troubleshooting

1. To Add Padding Between Footer Columns in Blogger
   To create some padding between the columns add the following code to the style section of your Blogger template - before </b:skin> tag.
   
   #footer-columns {
   clear:both;
   }
   
   .footer-column {
   padding: 10px;
   }
   
   
2. To Add a Border to the 3 or 4 Column Blogger Footer
   
   
   • For Top Border Only of the 3 or 4 Column Footer
     Paste the following code before the </b:skin> tag
     
     #footer-columns{
     border-top:1px dotted $bordercolor;
     clear:both;
     margin:0 auto;
     }
     
     Replace $bordercolor with a hex color if default color is not displayed. Change this color to suit your template. For example
     
     
     #footer-columns{
     border-top:1px dotted #113355;
     clear:both;
     margin:0 auto;
     }
     
     
   • For a Box Border Around the 3 or 4 Column Footer
     
     #footer-columns{
     border:1px dotted $bordercolor;
     clear:both;
     margin:0 auto;
     }
     
     Replace $bordercolor with a hex color if default color is not displayed. Change this color to suit your template. For example
     
     #footer-columns{
     border-top:1px dotted #113355;
     clear:both;
     margin:0 auto;
     }
     

In today's Blogger tutorial you have learned how to add a 3 column footer or a 4 column footer to your Blogger template (Blogspot template). You have also learned how to add some styling such as a border above the footer and around the footer. As always I am available to answer questions if you need assistance. Good luck!

Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs
Customize Blogger Tips

Show Date Above Blogger Post Title

Sometimes you may download a Blogger Blogspot template which does not display the date header above the post title. I recently struck a free Blogger template like this and it took some time to find the right part of the template to fix the date. Plus the answer was not as far as I could tell listed in Blogger help. So to help anyone desperately struggling to find the solution to this problem I have decided to share this information in this article.


To Display the Date Header Above Post Title

1. Log in to Blogger

2. Go to Layout > Edit HTML

3. Back up your template before attempting any changes

4. Type the following into the search box (CTRL + F) to find the block of code beginning with this line:

<data:adStart/>

5. Paste the following lines of code

<b:if cond='data:post.dateHeader'>
<h2 class='date-header'><data:post.dateHeader/></h2>
</b:if>

into the code block as shown here:

<data:adStart/>
<b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
<b:if cond='data:post.dateHeader'>
<h2 class='date-header'><data:post.dateHeader/></h2>
</b:if>
<b:include data='post' name='post'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:post.includeAd'>
<data:adEnd/>
<data:adCode/>
<data:adStart/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:post.trackLatency'>
<data:post.latencyJs/>
</b:if>
</b:loop>
<data:adEnd/>
</div>

7. Click the Save Template button

8. View Blog to see the date above the header


Today's Blogger Blogspot tip has shown you how to add the date above the post title on a Blogger Blogspot blog. The date above the post is often missing among slightly older Blogger templates but thankfully the fix is fairly easy.


Related Articles
List of Blog Know How Tutorials for Blogger Blogs

Add Missing Embedded Comments Form to Blogger

Today I will show you how to fix your Blogger template if the embedded comments feature is missing or not working. I decided to write this article because I have noticed that the embed a comment below the post feature is often not working in many Blogger custom templates available for download. This is usually because many of these templates were released prior to Blogger enabling embedded comments.

If you have downloaded a custom template that has embed a comment missing then read on as I will show you how to insert the code for embed a comment form into your template. Inserting code into a blog template can be challenging for some but if you follow these instructions it is not beyond even virtual beginners.

1. Login to Blogger if you are not already logged in

2. Navigate to Settings > Comments. Under Comment Form Placement make sure the Embedded below Post radio button is set. Save any changes you make.



3. Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML

4. I strongly recommend you back up your template by downloading it to your computer before proceeding

4. Check Expand Widget Templates

5. Use CTRL + F to bring up the Blogger Toolbar

6. Look for the following code block by entering <span class='paging-control-container'> into the find box on the toolbar. Note if you don't have this code look at the alternative option below #7 in this post

<b:if cond='data:post.commentPagingRequired'>
<span class='paging-control-container'>
<a expr:class='data:post.oldLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.oldestLinkUrl'>
<data:post.oldestLinkText/>
</a>
<a expr:class='data:post.oldLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.olderLinkUrl'>
<data:post.olderLinkText/>
</a>
 
<data:post.commentRangeText/>
 
<a expr:class='data:post.newLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.newerLinkUrl'>
<data:post.newerLinkText/>
</a>
<a expr:class='data:post.newLinkClass' expr:href='data:post.newestLinkUrl'>
<data:post.newestLinkText/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>

7. Paste the following code into your template immediately after the code block above and before this line of code <div id='backlinks-container'>

<p class='comment-footer'>
<b:if cond='data:post.embedCommentForm'>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowNewComments'>
<b:include data='post' name='comment-form'/>
<b:else/>
<data:post.noNewCommentsText/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</p>
</b:if>

Alternative Option
If you don't have the code as mentioned in #6 you will likely have the following:

<p class='comment-footer'>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a> </p>
</b:if>

In which case replace with this code:


<p class='comment-footer'>
<b:if cond='data:post.embedCommentForm'>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowNewComments'>
<b:include data='post' name='comment-form'/>
<b:else/>
<data:post.noNewCommentsText/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</p>
</b:if>


8. Click on the Save Template button to save your template changes

9. Click on the View Blog link and test your embed comment feature by clicking on the number of comments link found at the bottom of each post. Notice that the post will now be displayed along with the embed a comment form below the post



Troubleshooting
As there are many variations amongst templates neither of these options may work in which case try this solution from Blogger Buster:

Find: <b:include data='post' name='comments' />

Immediately below this line add the following line:
<b:include data='post' name='comment-form'/>

In this tutorial I have shown you how to add the embed comments form into your custom Blogger template if it is missing so that visitors can comment easily.

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