or 
Having problems installing a Blogger xml template? READ THIS
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Sometimes, when you try and change your template, errors unfortunately occur.There may be a few reasons for getting this error. I have done my best to outline (below) popular causes for getting an error when trying to install my templates.
1) CHECK YOU HAVE UNZIPPED THE FOLDER YOU DOWNLOADED:
I offer my templates as zipped (.zip) folders. The zip folder you download from suckmylolly.com contains a few files that have been compressed, to reduce their file size. Usually this folder will contain the blogger template - template.xml for example - my terms and conditions and an extra folder which contains the images. You cannot expect to upload this .zip folder and have it work - why?: because it's a compressed folder and not a blogger template. Uploading the .xml file will NOT (USUALLY) CAUSE ANY ERRORS but uploading the .zip file will not work. You must UNZIP this folder before installing the template.
If you don't know how to unzip files then I advise you to read this or this. I do not use Windows all the time but I believe that for Vista and XP - all you need do is to double click the file to unzip it (or right click).
2) TRY ANOTHER BROWSER:
I too get an unexplained error message sometimes when I test my templates. I have no idea why this happens but either waiting a little while or trying another web browser often fixes things.
3) ERRORS WITH WIDGET LABELLING:
If you can *almost* install the template (ie: it asks you to confirm that you're about to delete your widgets but then when you click "OK" you get an error) - then you might need to change something in the code. This error occurs because the widgets are labelled incorrectly and Blogger gets confused when you try and change the template. I have no idea why this happens to some people and not to others but it's really quite simple to fix:
1. Before making any change, you should backup your current template. This can be done by going to "LAYOUT" >> "EDIT HTML" and then clicking on "Download Full Template".
2. Make sure you have some sidebar elements - eg: Profile, Blog Archive, Followers - before trying to upload the new template (this is so that you get the 'Widgets are about to be deleted warning').
3. Go to LAYOUT >> EDIT HTML and attempt to upload the new .xml template again. This will then bring up a page which lists the widgets about to be deleted - this is normal when installing a new template. You are then asked to confirm this step. Instead of confirming, follow the steps below:
4. Press Control+F (find function) and search for this phrase within the big box of code:
You should find some code such as these:
5. Change the number "1" in the code to be a "2".
ie: so it would now look like this:
Repeat this step for all these that you find in the code (change all the 1s to be 2s)
6. Confirm and save. This worked for me. I realise that it's quite scary to change your blog html if you're not experienced with html code, but it's quite a simple change and this is also the reason I recommend backing up your template before making any changes. Unfortunately things do sometimes go wrong so you should be prepared.
Of course I only recommend trying this last method if you feel comfortable altering the html. You may have trouble uploading any customised template unless this is altered.
6. Confirm and save. This worked for me. I realise that it's quite scary to change your blog html if you're not experienced with html code, but it's quite a simple change and this is also the reason I recommend backing up your template before making any changes. Unfortunately things do sometimes go wrong so you should be prepared.
Of course I only recommend trying this last method if you feel comfortable altering the html. You may have trouble uploading any customised template unless this is altered.
or
at 02:38 ,
Problems with your Blogger comments?
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
I've had a few questions from people with their Blogger blog comments not working (ie you click on the "post a comment" link but nothing happens. We have to check what kind of comments you have your blog set to.Log into your Blogger account.
Go to SETTINGS >> COMMENTS
You'll see a variety of options on this page. The one we need to check is the "Comment Form Placement". There are three choices:
- Full Page: this is where your comments/comment box are on the one page
- Pop-Up: this is when you click on "post a comment" and the comments open in a small pop-up window
- Embedded below post: this is where the comment loads/displays under the blog post being commented on.
If you have selected "Embedded below post" and yet, your comments do not seem to be working - follow these instructions to ensure they work.
1) Go to LAYOUT >> EDIT HTML
2) Back up your current template by clicking on "Download Full Template" (you should always back up your template/widgets before making any changes).
3) Under the big box of html code, you will see a link which says "Revert widget templates to default". Click this link. A pop up will appear which says
"This will discard all changes to widget templates. Your widget data will remain unchanged. Continue?"
Click "OK"
Refresh your blog and you will now see that the comments form is now embedded within your blog like this, underneath the corresponding blog post (it's a lot more streamlined and doesn't have the "Blogger" appearance that the pop-up and "whole page" comments forms do ie: they're not bright orange).
1) Go to LAYOUT >> EDIT HTML
2) Back up your current template by clicking on "Download Full Template" (you should always back up your template/widgets before making any changes).
3) Under the big box of html code, you will see a link which says "Revert widget templates to default". Click this link. A pop up will appear which says
"This will discard all changes to widget templates. Your widget data will remain unchanged. Continue?"
Click "OK"
Refresh your blog and you will now see that the comments form is now embedded within your blog like this, underneath the corresponding blog post (it's a lot more streamlined and doesn't have the "Blogger" appearance that the pop-up and "whole page" comments forms do ie: they're not bright orange).
This will fix the issue.
Good luck.
Good luck.
or
How to install "classic" templates:
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
********
PLEASE BE AWARE: that classic blogger designs are not compatible with "drag & drop" style widgets. If you want to add things to the side bar then you're going to have to edit the design yourself. You CAN add widgets but you will have to copy and paste the html/javascript code that is provided from wherever you got the widget from into the area of the code where you want the widget to be?
Don't know much about web design/html then I'd recommend that you use XML designs instead.
********
Here are the instructions for installing "old" or "classic" blogger templates.
Most of my older designs are this format - when you downloaded the template you'll find a .txt file of the code you need to use.
Here's what you've gotta do:
Log into your Blogger account and click on "Settings"
Select the "Template" tab and then from the Template page, please click on the "Edit HTML" submenu.
(click for a larger view)
At the bottom of the "Edit HTML" page (under the text box which is full of code), you will see a link: "Revert to Classic Template"
(click for a larger view)
A pop up window will open which says: "If you revert to your Classic Template, you will still be able to recover your current design. Click OK to revert".
CLICK "OK"
A page will then load (after you've clicked OK) which is another text box full of code. Please select all this text [either with your mouse or click CONTROL+A] DELETE ALL THIS TEXT
(click for a larger view)
Open the .txt file which has the code for your new Blogger design.
Select ALL this text [either with your mouse or click CONTROL+A] Copy this text [either using mouse, menu bar or CONTROL+C]
NOTE: If you want to save a copy of this text before you replace it, feel free to do so here.
Paste this text into the now empty text box [either by using menu or CONTROL+V] If you want to PREVIEW the design before you commit the changes, click PREVIEW. It will probably open a new window so you can check it.
When you are ready to save it, go back to the previous window (where you just pasted the code) and click SAVE! DO NOT PANIC if things get weird because it's very easy to chose a generic design and start again from scratch.
The biggest issue you'll probably have is not reading these instructions properly - please check this twice before contacting me. All the templates DO work, as I check them pretty thoroughly.
or
