Template Corruption

PROCEED WITH THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Though it's not very hard to do, it may be like killing flies with a shotgun. Be aware that it may correct or change, not only the "broken" or missing item you're concerned about, but some other things you have forgotten that you changed or added! When the post template is "reset", some items you added in the post area (not content) may disappear and you'll have to do some work to put it back.

This procedure surprised me when it eliminated the coding I'd done that placed one cartoon image near the end of each post and another "divider" image at the very bottom of the post. Also, the image signature (my initials in script) in the "Posted by" will have to be replaced in one of my other blogs. I'm in no hurry.

[The same sort of warning may apply to the link you find below the "Edit Html" box that says "Revert widget templates to default". I have not yet used this button, mostly because I have a lot of gadgets that I've edited and I worry that the revert (like this one) might fix too much! But certainly I have read where some people said it had worked for them.]

Missing Post Template Components

Nitecruzr has already done a good job, I think, on explaining this little fixit, so I've added notes and direct you to his post also called Template Corruption The only significant addition I can make is to show the code line in another way so that you can be certain of what you're intended to delete and then replace in his directions. [More below...] In my own code (for this blog) I located the following: <div id='main-wrap1'><div id='main-wrap2'> <b:section class='main' id='main' showaddelement='no'> <b:widget id='HTML9' locked='false' title='' type='HTML'/> <b:widget id='HTML6' locked='false' title='' type='HTML'/> <b:widget id='HTML8' locked='false' title='EMERGENCY STEPS' type='HTML'/> <b:widget id='Blog1' locked='true' title='Blog Posts' type='Blog'/> </b:section> </div></div> It is the line of code in red that I removed and later replaced. (See further important details at Chuck's post.) Make sure that you made a note of where in your code you removed the red line of code! If you can't put it back in the right place, you may beat your head against the wall trying to remember (ouch!). If you were really familiar with this blog, you'd notice the Email envelope icon has returned below each post for the first time in ages!

Post Template

Adding code or text to every post

If adding a bit of code to every post is sufficient to do a certain job, why bother with Copy and Paste? Why not use the Post Template? You can use CSS for some things, but it's more difficult in some cases. If you're new to Blogger, it's easier to wrap your brain around the Post Template! Go to Dashboard, click on Settings. click Formatting. Go almost to the bottom of the page. Post Template is the eleventh item, I believe. Place any code or text that you wish to have in every post. Every time you create a new post, that template will take effect. If you start your post above the code, then that code will be at the bottom of each. As far as that goes, any code you wish could also be at the top of your post, as long as you're careful to put your post between the top template code and the bottom template code. You are already at the bottom of the Formatting List, but be sure to "Save Changes" before you exit.

[More below...Examples]

Below are items of code or text you might want in every post and can put it in every new post with the Post Template. These are only examples, not meant as literal recommendations—after all, I don't know you well enough! I used to put a colored line at the bottom of each post with <hr color=crimson> a <br /> (or 2 or 3 of them) would add a small blank space. You might add the codes needed in each post for your Expandable post hack or some other item of code (font size or font colors, perhaps) that you like, but hate to type in each time. You can either use it a little or a lot, depending on how comfortable you can get with it or how often you wish to have some of the same formatting in each post. The Post Template will not help you with existing (old) posts, only with ones you create after the Template has been created.

Strikethrough Code

Once in a while someone knows about the strikethrough tag without knowing what its called or how to utilize it, so here is the strikethrough tags: <strike>TEXT</strike> I don't see any way to do this in Compose Mode, so you have to switch to the Edit Html Mode in order to do it. At times people don't know the exact word that's involved in this and may say "cancel" or some other similar word.

Preformatted Text--Show Spaces and Html

ee cummings's defunct but would not like this stupid Blogger bogger, cause he couldn't do this little dance in it, could he? would he, mister death?

Dear mr cummings: I know you're dead, but you might try putting the text of your poems between these tags:

<pre> text </pre>

This means that it will accept the preformatted text exactly as presented, though usually not in fancy fonts. The pre tags are also useful for computer codes if you don't wish to use the html ampersand codes or otherwise translate the special coding signs.

[More below...]

The PRE element contains preformatted text. Visual browsers should render preformatted text in a fixed-width font, should not collapse whitespace, and should not wrap long lines.

PRE is useful for formatting computer code or poetry where whitespace is important, but since preformatted text is inherently visual, authors should avoid dependence on it wherever possible. When using PRE, authors should avoid altering the element's fixed-width font or non-collapsing whitespace properties by means of style sheets.

related matters:

-- NON-BREAKING SPACES can be used as extended space or as a tab. A non-breaking space looks like this:   Three of them would be simply:     An ee cummings poem, though, might drive you crazy, so be cautious! SHOWING HTML CODE: -- AMPERSAND CODES can be used in short sections to show the code itself (which is what I did to show the non-breaking space code above). HTML Ampersand Character Codes -- For longer sections that need to be "translated" or if you're lazy, the programs below convert html code for you. Both work well, though Postable's first screen is a little less intuitive. For Postable's mysterious first screen, just left-click the mouse on the phrase in the upper left corner, "for your copy and pasting pleasure" and, when the screen clears, you can enter the code you want it to fully display. Next you click on "Make it friendly" in the lower right corner and it will do so. Right-click the mouse and Copy the highlighted text, then paste it where you intend it to show. Postable Quick Escape

END.

View Anyone's Source Code

Internet Explorer

To view the code that other people use to display an icon, image, button, or other item, look at the browser (not Blogger) toolbar up above (while you are at their site) and 1. click View 2. click Source 3. right-click your mouse 4. click Select All 5. right-click again and click Copy. 6. open a Notepad file and Paste the code there. 7. Locate the applicable code, where it starts and ends. 8. Copy and Paste that snippet of code into your own template or page elements.

FIREFOX
For those of you who use or are comfortable with Firefox, it's simpler: 1. Mark (highlight) the area of interest. 2. Then right-click the mouse. 3. Click on "View Selection Source". 4. Code will appear on screen; Copy & Paste what's needed.

END.

Links As Code

Using Buttons In The Post Editor

Many people do this: 1. Go to the site you want to link to and highlight it in the Browser's Address Box up above. Right-click and Copy the URL. 2. Go to New Post or your saved post in your blog and highlight the word or title that will serve as the link. 3. Click on the icon that looks like a chain and globe above the Post Editor. 4. Paste your copied URL into the box that appears in the far top left corner. 5. Click Okay in that box. 6. You'll see the URL in an "anchor" formula like this: <a href="http://rodentia.blogspot.com">Blog Name</a> 7. If you haven't already done so, add the blog title or the text you want between the start and end tags: <a href="http://rodentia.blogspot.com">The Rat Squeaks</a> This way, you'll have entered the entire link formula almost entirely by Blogger mechanism, thereby preventing any risk of misspelling the link.

Below is a combined screenshot of both the Html and the Compose screen, showing location of the chain symbol, etc.




Making Links The Manual Way, With Code

Every site you visit or create has a link name. you can find mine at http://rodentia.blogspot.com/

However, in a template, the link would read:

<a href="http://rodentia.blogspot.com/">The Rat Squeaks</a>

and the code would be unseen except for

"The Rat Squeaks".

If you're in a site and want to link back to it from your own site, put the cursor up in the Address window, right-click the mouse and then click Copy in the menu that appears close by. When you get to your template or to your temporary file (wherever), you can Paste what you copied before. Then you'll have to work it out like the formula shown above.

Permalinks

If you want to be able to point to a specific post, rather than just to the front page of the blog, find the bottom of the post and hover your cursor over things until the time indicator or some other item shows the term "permanent link". Then you can keep the cursor on that and right-click. The menu will show, among other things, Copy Shortcut. Click on that. Now you have the link you want in this case. Again, you have to insert it into the formula. like so:

<a> href="url">Title</a>

See also Links List and Clickable Button Link

In addition to the above, one can locate and copy the Permalink for a post by resting one's cursor over the post title. Just right-click your mouse and click "Copy Shortcut" in the Menu that opens. Then you can right-click it when ready to "Paste" it into the location of your choice.

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