News!! How To Edit Your Blogger Template

Update:   this data is instantly out of date.   See How to EditYour Theme inwards Blogger for electrical flow information.

Previously, I've looked at whether it's a practiced thought to edit your Blogger template or not.

For many people, editing the template is acceptable, because it is the exclusively way to do what they desire (remove the attribution, show a gadget on the homeppage only, add a Facebook similar push to posts, etc).


In general, the physical care for to follow is:

• Open the template-editor
• Make a back-up re-create of the template, every bit it is now
• Make the change
• Check that it works, together with if not, larn dorsum to the previous template.

Of course of written report it's non quite that unproblematic - at that spot are dissimilar procedures for working amongst dynamic vs designer or layout templates.

How to opened upwardly Blogger's template editor, for dynamic template blogs

If your spider web log has a dynamic template, together with then purpose the see-all-posts icon for the spider web log to larn into it the blog-options screen for the spider web log that you lot desire to edit.

When you lot are inwards the see-all-posts mode, the the address bar inwards your browser is similar this:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5381944372768369653#allposts/postNum=0

Copy your blogID number - that is, the digits betwixt blogID= together with #allposts (it's bold inwards the representative above)

Go go

http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

where you lot receive got replacd NNN... amongst your blogID


Note:  the final fourth dimension I tried this, it automatically opened inwards the onetime interface's template editor.   As always, brand sure enough you lot convey a backup re-create of the template - run across instructions below before changing this.

How to opened upwardly Blogger's template editor, for non-dynamic templates

• Go to the Design tab
• Click Edit HTML

• Note:  this footstep has instantly been removed - nevertheless I've left it hither for now, because I suspect that it may come upwardly dorsum inwards future:
  Click Proceed
  
  
  
  

Once you lot receive got your template opened upwardly inwards the template editor, the side past times side challenge is making changes successfully - together with beingness inwards a seat to recover if your changes were non successful.

How to edit your template

Make a backup re-create of your electrical flow template

It's tempting to skip this if you're exclusively making a little change. I fifty-fifty skip it myself sometimes. And it's non needed if this is the get-go fourth dimension you've ever customised your template - because you lot tin recover from problems past times simply reinstalling the measure template.

But if you lot would locomote upset to lose whatever template changes you lot made earlier, or if the alter you lot are making instantly is non minor, together with then I strongly recommend making a re-create before you lot start, simply inwards case.  To do this

• Click the Backup / Restore push near the locomote past times right of the dashboard (as shown below)
• Click the Download Full Template button, together with then wait piece the file downloads.
• After the download has finished, detect the place where your reckoner puts downloaded files.
• Find the file that was simply created,
• Rename it to something sensible
   (eg MyBlog template backup before alter 31 January 2012.xml)
• Move the file to somewhere safe: ordinarily somewhere on your reckoner is fine - or you lot brand similar to upload it to somewhere similar Google Docs, to locomote absolutely sure enough that it won't larn lost.

Make the alter to your template

• Check whether the alter you lot are making needs the Expand Widgets checkbox off or on, together with seat it to the right state.
  (If the article telling you lot desire to alter doesn't get upwardly it, together with then assume it should locomote off.)

• Find the code you lot involve to change:
  
  See this article from Southern Speakers if you're non sure enough how to purpose the find-feature that Blogger receive got instantly built into the template editor.
  
  Note:   many of the "how to" articles say to brand sure enough that the Expand Widgets checkbox off or on.   This checkbox has instantly been removed from Blogger's template editor.    If the instructions you lot are next says to larn out it "off", together with then you lot should simply locomote able to follow it every bit is.    However if you lot are told to plow it on, together with then you lot involve to detect the right business office of the code past times searching for the widget-id or department name, together with and then "unfold" that to run across the consummate code.   

• Make the alter (this article doesn't larn into the principles of template design, at that spot are plenty of other articles together with websites nearly that: I'm assuming that you lot know what you lot involve to do).

• Click the Preview button:

If Blogger tin brand feel of the alter you lot made, together with then a novel window or tab opens, showing a sentiment that looks similar your blog's homepage. It's non a existent re-create of your spider web log (the links won't work, the spacing mightiness non locomote quite the same, together with it volition receive got the give-and-take "Preview" diagonally inwards the locomote past times left corner).

Do a quick banking enterprise check that the covert looks right - for about changes you lot fifty-fifty locomote able to tell if the alter has been successful simply from this preview screen.

However:  If the novel window/tab shows an mistake message like

Your template could non locomote parsed every bit it is non well-formed. Please brand sure enough that all XML elements are unopen properly. <br/> XML mistake message: The chemical factor type "div" must locomote terminated past times the matching end-tag "</div>".Error 500

or

Your template could non locomote parsed every bit it is non well-formed. Please brand sure enough that all XML elements are unopen properly. <br/> XML mistake message: Element type "b:widget" must locomote followed past times either attribute specifications, ">" or "/>".

together with then Blogger has non been able to sympathise the alter you lot made. Sometimes the mistake message gives a clue nearly what's wrong, although it tin locomote misleading.   Check that you lot made the alter correctly - gear upwardly whatever errors together with click Preview again.  If it soundless doesn't work, inquire for assistance from the identify that suggested the alter you lot are making.

Once you lot are happy that the preview covert looks OK, click the Save or Save template button.

How to bear witness your template change

the page-gadget every bit a menu, the archive widget, ) your spider web log uses. You involve to decide what to test, based on all of these.

At least, I alwways click on together with banking enterprise check on these things when I've made a major template change:

1. the habitation page
2. the items inwards the carte du jour bar
3. a label value
4. an archive widget entry
5. custom-search-engine results
6. comments

And if I'm beingness specially reader-focussed, I'll besides banking enterprise check these things inwards more than ane browser:   ordinarily inwards the electrical flow version of Internet Explorer, Firefox together with Chrome.

Fixing Problems

If you lot detect that the template alter has caused problems, together with then ou receive got receive a alternative to make:

Can you lot together with your readers alive amongst the problems on your spider web log for "a while", piece you lot expect for other solutions? 

Or 

Do you lot involve to take away the alter right now, hence visitors tin purpose your spider web log every bit it was piece you lot solve the issues.

There is no right respond to this question:   It's a personal decision, based on the blog, together with your readers.

But if you lot do involve to take away the template change, here's how to do it:

• Click the Backup / Restore button near the locomote past times right of the dashboard
• Click Choose File together with detect the file that you lot downloaded earlier
• Click Upload.

It is best to restore your template before you lot receive got changed whatever gadgets.  If you lot larn a message nearly widgets beingness missing, together with then it way that the gadgets associated amongst your spider web log are non the ones referred to inwards the template.   If this happens, you lot involve to create upwardly one's heed whether to deep or delete whatever "orphaned" ones, together with may involve to banking enterprise check their settings again.

Making complicated changes

If you lot your template may involve a lot of "surgery" piece you lot figure out how to brand a change, together with then it may locomote a practiced thought to construct a individual test-blog to do the locomote in, together with exclusively re-create the contents into your "real" spider web log template when you lot are sure enough that you've got it right (or correct-enough).

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Related Articles

Advantages together with disadvantes of editing your Blogger template

 How to expand the widgets inwards your template editor.

Adding CSS formatting rules to your blog, without editng the template

How to take away the "powered past times Blogger" attribution from designer-template blogs

Putting a gadget on the homeppage only

Planning changes to your spider web log - without readers seeing what you lot are doing

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